Priest Lake
MU 1-5, Vancouver Island
49.0558° N, 123.7736° W
- Surface area
- 2.6ha
- Maximum depth
- 10.4m
- 34 ft. Province survey, 1975
- Elevation
- 8m
Open Priest Lake in the appThe 7-day forecast, max depth and wildfire smoke check, on the lake's own coordinate.
Priest Lake at a glance
- Region
- Vancouver Island
- Management unit
- MU 1-5
- Species
- Rainbow Trout (last recorded 1942), Cutthroat Trout (last recorded 1954)The newest of these fish records is from 1954.Species from the province's fish observation records.
- Lake size
- Small Water (< 50 ha)
- Ice fishing
- Open to ice fishing, confirmed
- Coordinates
- 49.0558, -123.7736
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Fish on record at Priest Lake
| Species | First recorded | Last recorded | Records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Trout | 1941 | 1942 | 2 |
| Cutthroat Trout | 1954 | 1954 | 1 |
A year is when the Province last recorded the fish here, not a statement that it is caught today.
How to fish Priest Lake
Best times of year at Priest Lake
- May - June
- September - October
Priest Lake fishing regulations
We have no lake specific regulations on file for Priest Lake yet.
Getting to Priest Lake
10.4 km of traced road to the shore by way of Yellow Point Rd and Cedar Rd. The road at the end is a paved surface. It stops 130 m short of the shore.
Coordinates: 49.0558, -123.7736
Depth chart for Priest Lake
10.4 mdeepest4.8 mmean
Priest Lake runs to 10.4 m (34 ft) at its deepest, by the Province survey, 1975.
The mean of 4.8 m (16 ft) is read off the same chart, surveyed in September 1975.
The Province sounded Priest Lake and published the depth chart surveyed in 1975.
The ice year at Priest Lake, modelled
Modelled from air temperature, not an ice report. It says nothing about whether ice will hold you.
In the model Priest Lake froze in 38 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 15 December and 14 January, and ice-off between 5 January and 4 February. The median winter freezes on 29 December and opens on 17 January.
the middle half of modelled winters the median ice cover in the median winter
Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 3 February 2025 to 18 February 2025, 15 days.
Priest 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.
Priest Lake climate, 1960 to 2025
Averaged over a year, the air above Priest Lake is 0.8 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.
- +0.8 Csince the 1960s
- 10.6 Caverage year now
- 9.8 Caverage year then
- -9 daysbelow freezing, change
each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025
each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025
This week at Priest 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 | 15° / 7° | 18 km/h, gusts 36 | dry | Steady |
| Wed 21 Oct | Overcast | 16° / 8° | 11 km/h, gusts 24 | dry | Falling (-5.4 hPa) |
| Thu 22 Oct | Overcast | 14° / 8° | 16 km/h, gusts 34 | dry | Steady |
| Fri 23 Oct | Partly cloudy | 14° / 5° | 14 km/h, gusts 26 | dry | Rising (+10.2 hPa) |
| Sat 24 Oct | Overcast | 13° / 5° | 13 km/h, gusts 20 | dry | Rising (+2.4 hPa) |
| Sun 25 Oct | Overcast | 15° / 7° | 10 km/h, gusts 16 | dry | Falling (-1.5 hPa) |
| Mon 26 Oct | Overcast | 15° / 8° | 5 km/h | dry | Steady |
Priest Lake, in brief
What fish are in Priest Lake?
Rainbow Trout (last recorded 1942), Cutthroat Trout (last recorded 1954). Species from the province's fish observation records.
Which management unit is Priest Lake in?
Priest Lake is in MU 1-5, on Vancouver Island. The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is organised by management unit; check it before you go.
Trout lakes near Priest Lake
- Long Lake (Nanaimo) 1 km away
- Michael Lake 3 km away
- Quennell Lake 4 km away
- Holden Lake 7 km away
- Stocking Lake 11 km away
All 193 lakes on Vancouver Island, with today's conditions on each.