Pothole Lake, British Columbia: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Pothole Lake lies in Thompson-Nicola Regional District, in British Columbia. Around the bank it is mixed forest. It covers about 3 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Our Thompson-Nicola Regional District list holds plenty of bigger water. Nearest place of any size is Barrière, 22 km away. It is 60 km to Kamloops, the nearest city. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Pothole Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Survey and observation records for Thompson-Nicola Regional District include Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon and rainbow trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Pothole Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 13°C, while January sits near -8°C. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Plan any trip to Pothole Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. If the gate is shut, Grant Lake at 1 km is the nearest alternative. Nothing here settles the position at Pothole Lake for certain.