Canada Fly Guide
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Lower Elk Lake

A stocked stillwater in the Elk River watershed, Head of Elk River, surface area not recorded, carrying Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.
Updated July 31, 2026

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Lower Elk Lake is a stocked stillwater in the Elk River watershed, Head of Elk River. Surface area not recorded.

The water

Lower Elk Lake lies Head of Elk River; in the Elk River watershed. It covers surface area not recorded. The lake survey puts it at max 6.8 m, which sets the depth you fish.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Lower Elk Lake is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 18 recorded releases totalling 35,125 fish (Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout), last stocked 2024-10-03.

It is still stocked (most recent release 2024-10-03), so it fishes as a put-grow water: this season's fish come from the latest cohorts, topped up to keep it going. The chart below shows the release history by year and species.

The fishing

Lower Elk Lake fishes as a put-grow stillwater: work chironomids under an indicator over the shoals in spring, then leech and attractor retrieves along the drop-offs as the shallows warm. The stocking record below is the truest read on the size and cohort of fish you will find.

waves
Stocked Stillwater
Elk River watershed
water
max 6.8 m
lake survey
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Conditions

  • Depth: max 6.8 m, Secchi 0.8 m (BC lake survey 1990-07-31).

Access & the rules

Confirm the launch, parking and any motor/float or seasonal restrictions for Lower Elk Lake locally before you commit a day; the map shows where the lake sits in its drainage.

gavel

Before you fish

Confirm the current BC freshwater fishing regulations (Region 4 – Kootenay) before you go. Official synopsis: gov.bc.ca fishing regulations.