Russel Creek is a tributary creek flowing into Koch Creek. Recorded fish: Rainbow Trout.
The water
It flows into Koch Creek within the Slocan River watershed (Slocan River → Kootenay 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 11 km. Rainbow Trout, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (20 records). The fish-passage model expects Bull Trout, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout here too, since the reach is reachable with no barrier between, though there is no direct record yet. Named tributaries: Milton Creek.
Stocking
For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Russel Creek is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 14 recorded releases totalling 39,230 fish (Rainbow Trout), last stocked 2011-10-18.
Russel — 39,230 fish stocked, 1982–2011
Rainbow Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,000 |
| 2009 | 2,000 |
| 2007 | 2,000 |
| 2005 | 2,000 |
| 2003 | 2,000 |
| 2001 | 2,000 |
| 1999 | 2,000 |
| 1997 | 2,000 |
| 1995 | 2,000 |
| 1993 | 2,000 |
| 1986 | 4,000 |
| 1985 | 5,000 |
| 1983 | 5,000 |
| 1982 | 5,230 |
Stocking appears to have wound down after 2011. 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 Koch Creek, Russel 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 ~6.6 m, moderate width; median gradient ~7.03%, steep; peak mean-annual discharge ~0.939 m³/s, very low flow).
Access & the rules
Access for Russel 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.
