Stern Lake in Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, British Columbia, is where Stern Lake sits. This is rolling bush country. Roughly 1.45 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. At about 5.7 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. The nearest town is Fort St. James, 55 km away. The nearest city of size is Kamloops, 495 km away. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Stern Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako cover sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, pink salmon and Chum salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Stern Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -11°C to 14°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Look for the thaw near mid April; the fishing lifts straight after. The season between ice runs from about mid April to mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Expect Stern Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. For a change of water, Adams Lake is 2.8 km distant. Confirm before you fish Stern Lake.