Joseph Creek is a tributary creek flowing into St. Mary River. Recorded fish: Brook Trout, Bull Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Largemouth Bass, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout.
The water
It flows into St. Mary River within the St. Mary River watershed (St. Mary River → Kootenay River). It runs stream order 5 (well down the network, toward river scale; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 35 km. Brook Trout, Bull Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Largemouth Bass, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (256 records). Named tributaries: Jim Smith Creek, Hospital Creek.
Stocking
For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Joseph Creek is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 18 recorded releases totalling 262,710 fish (Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout), last stocked 1998-10-19.
Joseph Creek — 262,710 fish stocked, 1929–1998
Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout | Cutthroat Trout |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | · | 36,000 |
| 1962 | 5,250 | · |
| 1958 | · | 20,000 |
| 1955 | · | 15,700 |
| 1954 | 9,700 | 6,980 |
| 1953 | · | 4,020 |
| 1947 | · | 2,425 |
| 1943 | · | 21,785 |
| 1942 | · | 21,960 |
| 1941 | · | 21,600 |
| 1940 | · | 11,190 |
| 1939 | · | 22,600 |
| 1932 | · | 25,000 |
| 1931 | · | 22,500 |
| 1930 | · | 6,000 |
| 1929 | · | 10,000 |
Stocking appears to have wound down after 1998. 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 St. Mary River, Joseph 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: mixed, confirm access and flow before choosing drift vs wade (median channel width ~7.4 m, moderate width; median gradient ~1.46%, gentle; peak mean-annual discharge ~0.933 m³/s, very low flow).
Access & the rules
Access for Joseph 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.
