Fishing

Fishing BC/Joel Clifton

Two words: year-round fishing. Ok, maybe that’s three, but who cares?
We have fish to catch! It doesn’t matter what time of year you stop by, Kamloops has a spot for you to cast a line. If you don’t want to work too hard (Is fishing work?), the spring and fall months are the most consistent. Head up to the higher elevation lakes in the summer for a change of scenery, or take advantage of actively feeding fish beneath the ice in the winter. It doesn’t matter if you’re catching minnows alongside the kids or hungry for some trophy stillwater, come experience some of the BC Interior’s best fishing.

Top 5 fishing lakes near Kamloops

There are 100+ lakes in the Kamloops area, but a select handful take the bait as far as fishing hotspots go. From reeling in a rainbow trout to trolling for kokanee salmon, cast a line at one of these fishing havens—all less than a one-hour drive from Kamloops.

Edith Lake

Known to locals as the Old Fishing Highway, Edith Lake is 25 minutes west of Kamloops off Highway 5A. The recreation site features camping for 15 units, day-use areas with picnic tables, a fishing dock, and three boat launches for cartop or small trailered boats. The icing on the amenities cake? The lake is stocked with Kamloops rainbow and brook trout.

Learn More about Edith Lake

Monte Lake

Got trolling on the brain? Head to Monte Lake to enjoy some of the region’s best! Located 50 km (30mi) SE of Kamloops on Highway 97, Monte Lake is a great place for kokanee salmon between early spring and fall months. If you’re a fan of the cold, stop by in January to try your hand at ice fishing (conditions permitting).

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Tunkwa Lake

Tunkwa Lake Provincial Park is one of British Columbia’s premier fishing destinations. If that’s not reason enough to hit the road, how about this? You can cast for rainbow trout from a boat, tube, canoe, or the shore. That’s right, a tube. Located 40 km (25 mi) from Kamloops off Highway 1 West between Savona and Logan Lake, come for the day or stay a few nights at the Tunkwa Provincial Park campsite or the open-year-round Tunkwa Lake Resort (https://www.tunkwalakeresort.com/)

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Roche Lake

Where are the fly fishers at? A short 35 km (22 mi) from Kamloops, Roche Lake Provincial Park is one of the most popular fly fishing lakes in BC. Get this, you can expect to catch fish up to 6lbs. Set up camp at the Roche Lake Provincial Park or cozy up in a cabin at Roche Lake Resort. Need a boat? You can rent one from the resort (https://rochelake.com/).

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Jacko Lake

Hardly enough time to play a car game, Jacko Lake is only 15 km (9 mi) SE of Kamloops, and is what stillwater fans’ dreams are made of. Rainbow Trout are stocked annually and grow up to 10lbs. Reeling one in is not quite a spin class worth of work, but it is more fun. The day-use site has a gravel boat launch and is open from spring to fall. You might want to leave the compact car at home for this trip. A 4x4 vehicle is recommended to access the lake.

Learn More about Jacko Lake

Plan your Kamloops fishing trip

Three primary strains of rainbow trout are stocked in local lakes by the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC: Pennask, Blackwater, and Fraser Valley. Eastern brook trout can also be found in some Kamloops stillwaters, as well as chinook salmon, kokanee, burbot, northern pikeminnow and carp.