Murray Lake in Thompson-Nicola Regional District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Murray Lake falls in Thompson-Nicola Regional District, part of British Columbia. It sits in pine and birch country. With some 38 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. There is roughly 5.2 km of bank, more than one visit can cover properly. Start from Merritt, 39 km down the road. Princeton is 51 km away, with Hope at 55 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Murray Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Thompson-Nicola Regional District: Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, rainbow trout and pink salmon. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Fish Murray Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 14°C in August and bottom out at -6°C in December. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at late November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. That shapes the year on Murray Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. You can camp about 330 m away, going by the mapping. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Brook Lake, 6.3 km out. Where Murray Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.