McDame Lake, British Columbia: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  In British Columbia, McDame Lake falls inside Stikine Region. The surface lies 922 metres up. With some 32 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. About 4.3 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Our Stikine Region list holds plenty of bigger water. For a base, Watson Lake sits 106 km out. Kamloops sits 1123 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on McDame Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, mountain whitefish and Arctic grayling. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Fish McDame Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 12°C; the cold one sits at -15°C. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. After mid May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice usually gives way near mid May, and forms again about late October. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. At McDame Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Callison Lake, 1.8 km away, makes the obvious fallback. What applies at McDame Lake may have changed since it was mapped.