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

• Overview

  Patrick Lake sits in Thompson-Nicola Regional District, out in British Columbia. It sits at 1,398 metres above sea level. The water covers some 16 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The whole outline is near 1.6 km, and most of it is walkable. For a base, Barrière sits 26 km out. Kamloops sits 77 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Patrick Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Open biodiversity records for Thompson-Nicola Regional District list Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, rainbow trout and pink salmon. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Anyone new to Patrick Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 13°C, the coldest about -9°C. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. The season between ice runs from about late April to mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It sets the rhythm of the year at Patrick Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Failing this one, try Caverhill Lake, 3.5 km away. Where Patrick Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.