Idabel Lake

MU 8-12, Okanagan
49.7275° N, 119.1831° W

WaterTraced road inRoadRough surface roadRec siteShoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, roads from the BC Digital Road Atlas, under the Open Government Licence, British Columbia. Rec site position from BC Recreation Sites and Trails, checked 7 September 2026. The lake's depth is not drawn on this map.

Surface area: 42.6ha
Maximum depth: 12.8m; 42 ft
Elevation: 1,250m

Serene mountain getaway lake near Kelowna offering consistent rainbow and brook trout action.

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

Trophy fish at Idabel Lake

Idabel Lake is known for trophy Rainbow trout to 6 lb.

Rainbow trout to 6 lb

Trophy sizes this lake is known for, not a typical catch. They are historical records from our own big fish list, with no date on file, not recent catches.

Idabel Lake at a glance

Region: Okanagan
Management unit: MU 8-12
Species: Rainbow Trout (last recorded 1995), Brook Trout, Longnose Sucker (last recorded 1995)The newest of these fish records is from 2026.Species from the province's fish observation records.
Lake size: Small Water (< 50 ha)
Ice fishing: No ice fishing closure on file
Coordinates: 49.7275, -119.1831

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Gear for rainbow trout

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What people catch at Idabel Lake

A stocked brook and rainbow trout lake east of Kelowna. Fish average 12 to 14 inches and 16 inch fish are common enough to plan for. Nothing here is a trophy water, it is a reliable one.

Eastern Brook Trout Stocked
Typically 12 to 14 inches
Bigger fish: over 16 inches is not uncommon
Between 3,000 and 5,000 stocked annually.
Source: BC Fishn
Rainbow Trout Stocked
Typically 12 to 14 inches
Bigger fish: over 16 inches is not uncommon
Source: BC Fishn

Fish on record at Idabel Lake

Species in the Province's fish observation records
Species	First recorded	Last recorded	Records
Rainbow Trout	1937	1995	56
Brook Trout	1985	2026	57
Longnose Sucker	1951	1995	2

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

How to fish Idabel Lake

Trolling small spinners, fly casting woolly buggers, chironomid indicator fishing.

Best times of year at Idabel Lake

June - August
September - October

Idabel Lake fishing regulations

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

Getting to Idabel Lake

McCulloch Road southeast of Kelowna. Idabel Lake Resort and public boat launch.

4.7 km of traced road to the campground by way of Hydraulic Lake Rd and McCulloch Rd. The road at the end is a rough surface.

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: 49.7275, -119.1831

Camping and rec sites at Idabel Lake

Hydraulic Lake Recreation Site
To the shore
3518 m

30 vehicle campsites (RSTBC REC1672)
Facilities: Toilets, Tables
Access: From the city of Kelowna, travel southeast on Hwy. #33 to the Hydraulic (McCulloch Reservoir) Lake Road. Turn west (right) and follow this road a few kilometers to the lake. Hydraulic is approximately 35 km. (22 mi.) southeast of Kelowna.
Coordinates: 49.776444, -119.172565
The site on Recreation Sites and Trails BC

Depth chart for Idabel Lake

12.8 mdeepest

Idabel Lake runs to 12.8 m (42 ft) at its deepest.

The Province sounded Idabel Lake and published the depth chart.

Depth chart (PDF)

The ice year at Idabel Lake, modelled

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

In the model Idabel Lake froze in 65 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 31 October and 12 November, and ice-off between 3 May and 22 May. The median winter freezes on 6 November and opens on 13 May.

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

Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 15 November 2024 to 24 April 2025, 160 days.

No ice fishing closure is recorded for Idabel Lake, so the general regional regulations apply.

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.

Idabel Lake climate, 1960 to 2025

Averaged over a year, the air above Idabel Lake is 1.3 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.

+1.3 Csince the 1960s
3.0 Caverage year now
1.6 Caverage year then
-15 daysbelow freezing, change

Average year at Idabel Lakedegrees C, yearly mean

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

Days below freezingdays a year averaging under 0 C

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

This week at Idabel 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	11° / -2°	12 km/h	dry	Steady
Wed 21 Oct	Overcast	15° / 3°	12 km/h, gusts 25	dry	Falling (-5.5 hPa)
Thu 22 Oct	Overcast	14° / 3°	12 km/h	dry	Falling (-3.4 hPa)
Fri 23 Oct	Overcast	6° / -1°	22 km/h, gusts 34	dry	Rising (+11.7 hPa)
Sat 24 Oct	Overcast	5° / -3°	11 km/h	dry	Rising (+7.9 hPa)
Sun 25 Oct	Overcast	4° / -5°	10 km/h	dry	Rising (+2.5 hPa)
Mon 26 Oct	Mainly clear	9° / -4°	5 km/h	dry	Steady

Open Idabel Lake in the app

Idabel Lake, in brief

What fish are in Idabel Lake?

Rainbow Trout (last recorded 1995), Brook Trout. Species from the province's fish observation records.

Which management unit is Idabel Lake in?

Idabel Lake is in MU 8-12, in the Okanagan. The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is organised by management unit; check it before you go.

Trout lakes near Idabel Lake

Haynes Lake 3 km away
Pear Lake 3 km away
Mcculloch Reservoir 4 km away
Minnow Lake 4 km away
Duck Lake 4 km away

All 212 lakes in the Okanagan, with today's conditions on each.