Smith Lake Fishing in Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia

• Overview

  Out in Cariboo Regional District, British Columbia, sits Smith Lake. The water sits 1,026 metres up. Surface area runs to about 5 hectares — small enough to read in one session. On size it sits at the modest end of our Cariboo Regional District list. For supplies, Williams Lake is 21 km out. Kamloops sits 219 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Smith Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Records held for Cariboo Regional District cover sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon and bull trout. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Smith Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 15°C and January about -8°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early April. Averages suggest open water from about early April through to roughly late November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Smith Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. The nearest alternative is Lyne Lake, 0.9 km out. Check the position on Smith Lake before loading the car.