The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Bear

A stocked stillwater in the Lower Arrow Lake watershed, ~13.2 ha surface area, carrying Rainbow Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Bear is a stocked stillwater in the Lower Arrow Lake watershed. ~13.2 ha surface area.

The water

Bear sits in the Lower Arrow Lake watershed, covering ~13.2 ha surface area.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Bear is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 27 recorded releases totalling 107,500 fish (Rainbow Trout), last stocked 2009-09-30.

Stocking appears to have wound down after 2009. 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

Bear 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
Lower Arrow Lake watershed
straighten
13.2 ha
surface area
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Access & the rules

Confirm the launch, parking and any motor/float or seasonal restrictions for Bear 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.