Rainbow Lake Fishing near Anahim Lake, British Columbia

• Overview

  Rainbow Lake lies within the bounds of Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia. This is mixed forest country. Surface area is around 82 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Some 8.6 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Anahim Lake lies 44 km from the water. Then Bella Coola, 102 km, and Burns Lake, 154 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Rainbow Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Open biodiversity records for Cariboo Regional District list sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon and bull trout. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. At Rainbow Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -10°C to 12°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Rainbow Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Tezla Lake, 7 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position on Rainbow Lake before loading the car.