Island Lake

MU 3-12, Thompson-Nicola
49.9228° N, 120.2931° 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 9 September 2026. The lake's depth is not drawn on this map.

Surface area: 44ha
Elevation: 1,498m
Campsites: 8; At Island Lake rec site

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

Trophy fish at Island Lake

Island Lake is known for trophy Rainbow trout to 10 lb.

Rainbow trout to 10 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.

Island Lake at a glance

Region: Thompson-Nicola
Management unit: MU 3-12
Species: Rainbow TroutThe newest of these fish records is from 2024.Species from the province's fish observation records.
Lake size: Small Water (< 50 ha)
Ice fishing: No ice fishing closure on file
Coordinates: 49.9228, -120.2931

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Fish on record at Island Lake

Species in the Province's fish observation records
Species	First recorded	Last recorded	Records
Rainbow Trout	1950	2024	168

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

How to fish Island Lake

Best times of year at Island Lake

May - June
September - October

Island Lake fishing regulations

Rainbow trout daily quota = 2; single hook. Source: Province of British Columbia

Getting to Island Lake

A 15 vehicle public recreation site with campsite and boat launch can be found on the west side of Island Lake. A resort can be found on Dee Lake.

36.5 km of traced road to the campground by way of campground access, Paradise Lake FSR, Bobs Lake Pit Rd, Pothole-Boot Lake FSR, The Wart FSR, Shrimpton Road FSR, Loon Lake Rd and Bates Rd. The road at the end is a loose 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: 49.9228, -120.2931

Camping and rec sites at Island Lake

Island Lake
Campsites
8 designated
To the shore
53 m

Access: From Merritt travel on highway 5A for 23 km until the highway meets Highway 97C. From there proceed east on 97C towards Kelowna for 26 km. Proceed to the right onto the Elkhart Lake turnoff. Keep to the right and go underneath the highway. Immediately turn left onto the Paradise Lake Road. Drive to the end of the paved section of road (about 8 km) and turn left and drive about 400 metres to the camp site.
Coordinates: 49.924953, -120.285702
The site on Recreation Sites and Trails BC

The ice year at Island Lake, modelled

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

In the model Island Lake froze in 65 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 27 October and 7 November, and ice-off between 11 May and 3 June. The median winter freezes on 1 November and opens on 25 May.

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

Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 14 November 2024 to 29 April 2025, 166 days.

No ice fishing closure is recorded for Island 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.

Winterkill at Island Lake

Winter 2022-23Winterkill confirmedAn outcome reported the spring after. Winterkill Update: Spring 2023, Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.

Island Lake climate, 1960 to 2025

Averaged over a year, the air above Island Lake is 1.2 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.

+1.2 Csince the 1960s
3.9 Caverage year now
2.8 Caverage year then
-14 daysbelow freezing, change

Average year at Island 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 Island 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	Clear sky	10° / -5°	11 km/h, gusts 20	dry	Steady
Wed 21 Oct	Overcast	14° / 2°	16 km/h, gusts 34	dry	Falling (-6.3 hPa)
Thu 22 Oct	Overcast	10° / 0°	11 km/h, gusts 21	dry	Falling (-1.9 hPa)
Fri 23 Oct	Light drizzle	4° / -4°	20 km/h, gusts 32	dry	Rising (+12.7 hPa)
Sat 24 Oct	Overcast	4° / -6°	14 km/h, gusts 22	dry	Rising (+6.6 hPa)
Sun 25 Oct	Overcast	3° / -7°	10 km/h	dry	Rising (+2.5 hPa)
Mon 26 Oct	Overcast	7° / -6°	7 km/h	dry	Falling (-1.6 hPa)

Open Island Lake in the app

Island Lake, in brief

What fish are in Island Lake?

Rainbow Trout. Species from the province's fish observation records.

Which management unit is Island Lake in?

Island Lake is in MU 3-12, in the Thompson-Nicola. The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is organised by management unit; check it before you go.

Trout lakes near Island Lake

Bobs Lake 1 km away
Paradise Lake 2 km away
Elkhart Lake 3 km away
Boot Lake 4 km away
Creighton Lake 4 km away

All 342 lakes in the Thompson-Nicola, with today's conditions on each.