Fishing Robert Lake in Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia

• Overview

  Robert Lake is a Cariboo Regional District water, British Columbia side. The land about it is lake country bush. It runs to roughly 49 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The full circuit measures close to 4.3 km on foot. For a base, Williams Lake sits 46 km out. The big place round here is Kamloops, 212 km distant. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Robert Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Cariboo Regional District, recorded fish include sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon, bull trout, Coho salmon and longnose sucker. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Robert Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 16°C and January near -7°C. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Once it clears, about early April, the fishing comes on quickly. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early April and starts locking again about late November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Robert Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is a campsite 200 m from the water. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. McCauley Lake, 5.3 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at Robert Lake are worth checking on the day.