Region 5
Trout fishing in the Cariboo
The Cariboo has more lakes than roads, and most of them hold rainbows.
Quesnel Lake. Photo: larry griffith, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.
328 lakes, 40 with live conditionsUpdated 11 September
The plateau east of Williams Lake and the country along Highway 24 carry the classic stocked and wild rainbow water, with lake trout and kokanee in the deep ones and brook trout in a few. The season is a little later than the Thompson, with ice-off in May on the higher lakes, and the fishing holds through a cooler summer. Distances are long; the seven-day forecast is worth reading before the drive.
The Cariboo holds 328 of the 1,842 stillwaters on BC Trout Finder, the water most people mean when they search for trout fishing near Williams Lake, Quesnel and 100 Mile House. 53 of them are trophy class. 264 have a rec site or campground on the shore. Depths run from 1.5 m to 511 m.
- 328lakes on their own coordinates
- 264with a rec site or campground on the shore
- 53trophy waters
- 511 mthe deepest lake on record here
Open the live mapEvery lake in the Cariboo on one map, with the week ahead on each.
Fishing best in the Cariboo right now
Our 1 to 100 score on each lake's own coordinate, highest first. Rebuilt every morning.
What is in the Cariboo
- 328 lakes mapped on their own coordinates
- 59 with a depth and a sourced regulation on file
- 53 trophy class waters, fish in the 5 lb and up range
- 264 have camping at a rec site or provincial park
- 139 open to ice fishing under the regulations on file
Best trophy trout lakes in the Cariboo
- Abbott Lake
- Anahim Lake
Anahim Lake, BC, is a popular fly
- Big Lake
- Bishop (Brown) Lake
- Blue Lake (Near Alexandria)
- Bluff Lake
- Bootjack Lake
- Bouchie Lake
Bouchie Lake is located west of the city of Quesnel across the Fraser River. Travel up the paved Nazko road for approximately 13 km (8mi) to this popular
- Bowers Lake
Turn east, off Hwy 97, onto Hwy 24. Follow Hwy 24 to Sheridan Lake. Turn north to Needa Lake. Bowers is located a few miles north of Needa on the same road.
- Bowron Lake
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Stillwater trout gear
Lines, leaders, lures and flies for BC lake trout, searched on Amazon.ca.
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Every lake we cover in the Cariboo, with today's conditions
A dash means we have no observed forecast for that lake right now. We would rather leave it blank than fill it in.
Trout lakes near towns in the Cariboo
Reading the water
Other BC fishing regions
Data from the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, the BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis, and Sites and Trails BC.