Tunnel Lake, British Columbia: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Tunnel Lake in Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, British Columbia. The setting is lake country bush on every side. Small even by pond standards, it rewards one careful line. It is a small entry by Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine standards. The nearest place of any size is Ketchikan, 134 km away. Kamloops sits 881 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Tunnel Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Reported across Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine: pink salmon, Chum salmon and Coho salmon. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Tunnel Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -7°C to 11°C. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. That is the shape of the year on Tunnel Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Fetter Lake, 0.5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position at Tunnel Lake before loading the car.