McWaters Lake Fishing near Dawson Creek, British Columbia

• Overview

  This water sits in Peace River Regional District, British Columbia. The surface lies 799 metres up. With some 31 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The edge runs 2.1 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Some 16 km away sits Dawson Creek, the nearest settlement. Beaverlodge follows at 65 km, then Taylor at 67 km. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on McWaters Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Survey and observation records for Peace River Regional District include mountain whitefish, longnose sucker and largescale sucker. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. McWaters Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 15°C; the cold one sits at -13°C. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice is part of the season here, ending near late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Time your trip to McWaters Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Failing this one, try Klukas Lake, 1.6 km away. Nothing on McWaters Lake should be assumed from this page alone.