Phinetta Lake Fishing in Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia

• Overview

  Phinetta Lake falls in Cariboo Regional District, part of British Columbia. What surrounds it is pine and birch. Roughly 28 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The whole outline is near 4.1 km, and most of it is walkable. Clearwater sits 37 km from the bank. Kamloops is the closest city, 91 km away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Phinetta Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Across Cariboo Regional District, recorded fish include sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon, bull trout, Coho salmon and longnose sucker. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. The near bank of Phinetta Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 14°C in August and bottom out at -8°C in January. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Phinetta Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. A camping area sits within 520 m of here. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Birch Lake is 2.4 km off. Treat Phinetta Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.