Hill Creek is a tributary creek flowing into Columbia River. Recorded fish: Brook Trout, Bull Trout, Dolly Varden, Kokanee, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout.
The water
It flows into Columbia River within the Upper Arrow Lake watershed (Upper Arrow Lake → Columbia River). It runs stream order 4 (mid-range in the network; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 22 km. Brook Trout, Bull Trout, Dolly Varden, Kokanee, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (128 records). The fish-passage model expects Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout here too, since the reach is reachable with no barrier between, though there is no direct record yet.
Stocking
For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Hill Creek is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 109 recorded releases totalling 8,384,564 fish (Rainbow Trout, Bull Trout, Kokanee, Dolly Varden), last stocked 1999-10-28.
Hill Creek — 8,369,333 fish stocked, 1939–1999
Rainbow Trout, Kokanee, Bull Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout | Kokanee | Bull Trout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1,185 | 357,784 | 4,568 |
| 1998 | 3,424 | 172,745 | 6,684 |
| 1997 | 6,634 | 245,061 | 392 |
| 1996 | 7,235 | 435,571 | 1,140 |
| 1995 | 15,377 | 167,086 | 2,467 |
| 1994 | 10,168 | 123,695 | 7,544 |
| 1993 | 10,192 | 501,131 | 11,541 |
| 1992 | 28,290 | · | 13,998 |
| 1991 | 27,041 | · | 19,913 |
| 1990 | 27,695 | · | 11,822 |
| 1989 | 24,464 | · | 1,029 |
| 1988 | 28,374 | · | 8,424 |
| 1987 | 45,429 | · | · |
| 1986 | 26,863 | 173,964 | · |
| 1985 | 43,865 | 175,000 | · |
| 1984 | 15,000 | · | · |
| 1983 | 3,116 | · | · |
| 1982 | 3,000 | 1,812,600 | · |
| 1981 | 2,500 | 2,113,300 | · |
| 1980 | 1,500 | 250,000 | · |
| 1979 | 5,000 | · | · |
| 1978 | 1,560 | 1,309,500 | · |
| 1952 | 15,000 | · | · |
| 1950 | 15,000 | · | · |
| 1949 | 15,000 | · | · |
| 1946 | 9,712 | · | · |
| 1945 | 10,000 | · | · |
| 1944 | 10,000 | · | · |
| 1943 | 9,750 | · | · |
| 1942 | 10,000 | · | · |
| 1939 | 10,000 | · | · |
Stocking appears to have wound down after 1999. Confirm whether it is still topped up or now fishes as a residual, wild population. The chart below shows the full release history.
The fishing
As a small stream, a tributary of Columbia River, Hill Creek fishes the way creeks of its size do: short drifts with a buoyant attractor dry over a light dropper, working the pocket water and the heads of pools. The stocking record below is the truest read on what you will catch.
Conditions
- Navigability: wade / technical: steep gradient, pocket water (median channel width ~7.2 m, moderate width; median gradient ~5.12%, steep; peak mean-annual discharge ~1.019 m³/s, low flow).
Access & the rules
Access for Hill Creek, meaning the roads in, put-ins and any walk-in or seasonal limits, is worth confirming locally before you commit a day. The drainage map shows how the water sits in its valley.
