Melvin Lake in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Melvin Lake is one of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District listings for British Columbia. The water sits 1,957 metres up. Surface area runs to about 6 hectares — small enough to read in one session. Compared with other British Columbia water on our list, it sits high. Nearest town is Lillooet, 33 km off. Mount Currie lies 36 km off, Pemberton another 41 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Melvin Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, recorded fish include Coho salmon, sockeye salmon and rainbow trout. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Melvin Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -9°C and August at about 11°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Break-up comes around mid May, and the run that follows is short and strong. The open-water window runs from around mid May to about early November in an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Melvin Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. If the gate is shut, Duffey Lake at 10 km is the nearest alternative. What applies at Melvin Lake may have changed since it was mapped.