Fishing at Richie Lake, Thompson-Nicola Regional District, British Columbia

• Overview

  The Thompson-Nicola Regional District end of British Columbia holds Richie Lake. The water sits 726 metres up. At about 14 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. There is roughly 2.5 km of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. You are 23 km from Sahali. Kamloops sits 25 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Richie Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. County-wide records name Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, rainbow trout and pink salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Richie Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August runs about 17°C on average, January about -7°C. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. Look for the thaw near early April; the fishing lifts straight after. Ice usually gives way near early April, and forms again about late November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. The season on Richie Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Should this one be busy, Trapp Lake is 3.4 km off. Ask locally about Richie Lake if anything is unclear.