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Francis Lake

MU 1-4, Vancouver Island
48.9536° N, 124.6989° W

Map of Francis Lake: the shoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, the roads round it from the BC Digital Road Atlas and the traced road in.124°43.2′W124°43′W124°42.8′W124°42.5′W124°42.2′W124°42′W124°41.8′W124°41.5′W124°41.2′W48°57′N48°57.2′N48°57.5′N48°57.8′NFrancis Lake0250500 mNMap of Francis Lake: the shoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, the roads round it from the BC Digital Road Atlas and the traced road in.124°42.5′W124°42′W124°41.5′W48°57′N48°57.5′N0500 mN
WaterTraced road inRoadRough surface roadShoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, roads from the BC Digital Road Atlas, under the Open Government Licence, British Columbia. The lake's depth is not drawn on this map.
Surface area
42.2ha
Maximum depth
41m
135 ft
Elevation
217m

Open Francis Lake in the appThe 7-day forecast, max depth and wildfire smoke check, on the lake's own coordinate.

Francis Lake at a glance

Region
Vancouver Island
Management unit
MU 1-4
Species
Rainbow Trout (last recorded 1993), Dolly Varden (last recorded 1985), Cutthroat Trout (last recorded 1993), Coho Salmon (last recorded 1995)The newest of these fish records is from 1995.Species from the province's fish observation records.
Lake size
Small Water (< 50 ha)
Ice fishing
Open to ice fishing, confirmed
Coordinates
48.9536, -124.6989

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Fish on record at Francis Lake

Species in the Province's fish observation records
SpeciesFirst recordedLast recordedRecords
Rainbow Trout193019934
Dolly Varden197819852
Cutthroat Trout199319931
Coho Salmon198519952

A year is when the Province last recorded the fish here, not a statement that it is caught today.

How to fish Francis Lake

Best times of year at Francis Lake

  • May - June
  • September - October

Francis Lake fishing regulations

We have no lake specific regulations on file for Francis Lake yet.

Getting to Francis Lake

39.7 km of traced road to the shore by way of Carmanah Mainline and Franklin River Rd. The road at the end is a paved surface. It stops 150 m short of the shore.

The road route traced to Lake shore at Francis Lake, 39.7 km.Start of the traceLake shore5 km
The route traced over the BC Digital Road Atlas. A trace is a line on a map, not a report on the road: check conditions before you drive it.

Coordinates: 48.9536, -124.6989

Depth chart for Francis Lake

41 mdeepest

Francis Lake runs to 41 m (135 ft) at its deepest.

The Province sounded Francis Lake and published the depth chart surveyed in 1979.

The ice year at Francis Lake, modelled

Modelled from air temperature, not an ice report. It says nothing about whether ice will hold you.

In the model Francis Lake froze in 54 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 13 December and 26 January, and ice-off between 13 January and 23 February. The median winter freezes on 29 December and opens on 27 January.

Modelled ice season at Francis Lake: freeze-up most winters between 13 December and 26 January, ice-off between 13 January and 23 February.OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunFreeze-upIce-off

the middle half of modelled winters the median ice cover in the median winter

Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 1 February 2025 to 22 February 2025, 21 days.

Francis 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.

Francis Lake climate, 1960 to 2025

Averaged over a year, the air above Francis Lake is 0.6 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.

  • +0.6 Csince the 1960s
  • 7.1 Caverage year now
  • 6.5 Caverage year then
  • -12 daysbelow freezing, change
Average year at Francis Lakedegrees C, yearly mean
5 C7 C10 C1960198020002020

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

Days below freezingdays a year averaging under 0 C
1052941960198020002020

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

This week at Francis 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.

DaySkyHigh / lowWindRainPressure
Tue 20 OctClear sky17° / 7°14 km/h, gusts 23drySteady
Wed 21 OctOvercast16° / 9°12 km/hdryFalling (-4.8 hPa)
Thu 22 OctOvercast14° / 6°6 km/hdrySteady
Fri 23 OctOvercast14° / 4°7 km/hdryRising (+10.1 hPa)
Sat 24 OctOvercast15° / 4°7 km/hdryRising (+2.0 hPa)
Sun 25 OctOvercast17° / 6°7 km/hdryFalling (-1.6 hPa)
Mon 26 OctOvercast18° / 8°6 km/hdrySteady

Open Francis Lake in the app

Francis Lake, in brief

What fish are in Francis Lake?

Rainbow Trout (last recorded 1993), Dolly Varden (last recorded 1985), Cutthroat Trout (last recorded 1993), Coho Salmon (last recorded 1995). Species from the province's fish observation records.

Which management unit is Francis Lake in?

Francis Lake is in MU 1-4, on Vancouver Island. The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is organised by management unit; check it before you go.

Trout lakes near Francis Lake

All 193 lakes on Vancouver Island, with today's conditions on each.

Reading the water