Bear Lake
MU 1-4, Vancouver Island
48.8147° N, 124.1286° W
- Surface area
- 15.8ha
- Maximum depth
- 8.8m
- 29 ft
- Elevation
- 163m
Open Bear Lake in the appThe 7-day forecast, max depth and wildfire smoke check, on the lake's own coordinate.
Bear Lake at a glance
- Region
- Vancouver Island
- Management unit
- MU 1-4
- Species
- Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout (last recorded 1989), Brown Trout (last recorded 1990), Atlantic Salmon (last recorded 1923)
- Lake size
- Small Water (< 50 ha)
- Ice fishing
- Open to ice fishing, confirmed
- Coordinates
- 48.8147, -124.1286
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Fish on record at Bear Lake
| Species | First recorded | Last recorded | Records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Trout | 1989 | 1989 | 1 |
| Brown Trout | 1980 | 1990 | 4 |
| Atlantic Salmon | 1912 | 1923 | 2 |
A year is when the Province last recorded the fish here, not a statement that it is caught today.
How to fish Bear Lake
Best times of year at Bear Lake
- May - June
- September - October
Bear Lake fishing regulations
We have no lake specific regulations on file for Bear Lake yet.
Getting to Bear Lake
0.4 km of traced road to the shore by way of Bear Lake Rd. The road at the end is a loose surface. It stops 310 m short of the shore.
Coordinates: 48.8147, -124.1286
Depth chart for Bear Lake
8.8 mdeepest
Bear Lake runs to 8.8 m (29 ft) at its deepest.
The Province sounded Bear Lake and published the depth chart surveyed in 1969. It runs to 2 sheets.
The ice year at Bear Lake, modelled
Modelled from air temperature, not an ice report. It says nothing about whether ice will hold you.
In the model Bear Lake froze in 45 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 15 December and 11 January, and ice-off between 4 January and 7 February. The median winter freezes on 27 December and opens on 18 January.
the middle half of modelled winters the median ice cover in the median winter
Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 2 February 2025 to 20 February 2025, 18 days.
Bear Lake is open to ice fishing under the regulations on file.
Whether a lake is open to ice fishing says nothing about whether its ice will hold you. Ice conditions vary year to year and across a single lake. Check locally before going out, every time.
Bear Lake climate, 1960 to 2025
Averaged over a year, the air above Bear Lake is 0.5 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.
- +0.5 Csince the 1960s
- 6.1 Caverage year now
- 5.6 Caverage year then
- -11 daysbelow freezing, change
each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025
each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025
This week at Bear Lake
The forecast on this lake's own coordinate, refreshed through the day. The app reads these seven days for fishing and scores each one.
| Day | Sky | High / low | Wind | Rain | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 20 Oct | Partly cloudy | 18° / 4° | 13 km/h, gusts 21 | dry | Steady |
| Wed 21 Oct | Overcast | 19° / 9° | 8 km/h, gusts 18 | dry | Falling (-4.9 hPa) |
| Thu 22 Oct | Overcast | 16° / 7° | 4 km/h | dry | Steady |
| Fri 23 Oct | Overcast | 15° / 4° | 4 km/h | dry | Rising (+10.2 hPa) |
| Sat 24 Oct | Overcast | 15° / 4° | 5 km/h | dry | Rising (+2.4 hPa) |
| Sun 25 Oct | Overcast | 17° / 6° | 6 km/h | dry | Falling (-1.4 hPa) |
| Mon 26 Oct | Overcast | 17° / 6° | 5 km/h | dry | Steady |
Trout lakes near Bear Lake
- Cowichan Lake 12 km away
- Cowichan Lake (Including Bear Lake) 12 km away
- Mayo Lake 13 km away
- Dimple Lake 15 km away
- Silver Lake 22 km away
All 193 lakes on Vancouver Island, with today's conditions on each.