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

• Overview

  Secret Lake is one of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District waters in British Columbia. Elevation runs to 1,443 metres. It runs to roughly 28 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The whole outline is near 2.9 km, and most of it is walkable. It is high ground by British Columbia standards. Start from Barrière, 32 km down the road. The nearest city of size is Kamloops, 63 km away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Secret Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Thompson-Nicola Regional District, recorded fish include Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, rainbow trout and pink salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Fish Secret Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year August sits at 13°C and January at -8°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at mid November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. At Secret Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Bare Lake, 3.1 km away. The position on Secret Lake is worth confirming on the day.