Bittern Lake is a small stocked rainbow stillwater in the upper Columbia Valley, south of the community of Parson, between the Columbia River and Spillimacheen River drainages. Go Fish BC lists it among the region's small-lake gems, describing it as a spot to "fish for great big trout in a beautiful setting."
The water
The lake covers 19.46 hectares. A provincial reconnaissance survey on 1982-07-09 found a maximum depth of 12 m and a mean depth of 4 m, with clear water (7.9 m Secchi visibility), the kind of depth and clarity that rewards fishing structure rather than the open middle. Exactly which system it drains into, the Columbia River or the Spillimacheen, has not been confirmed.
The fishing
Bittern fishes as a put-grow stillwater: the rainbow trout go in as small yearlings and grow on the lake's natural forage before anglers catch them, so the fish in the net any given summer are one or two seasons removed from the truck, not fresh off it. Work a chironomid under an indicator over the shoals, and swing a balanced leech or Woolly Bugger along the drop-offs suggested by the 12 m deep hole. The stocking record below is the closest thing to a fishing report this lake has.
Some of this stock shares Premier Lake's genetics
Stocking
Bittern has been stocked with rainbow trout every single year from 1990 through 2026, 37 recorded releases without a gap, totalling roughly 126,500 fish. The program has settled into a steady annual pattern in recent years: about 4,000 Blackwater-strain yearlings each spring, averaging 9 to 12 grams at release. Early releases in the 1990s used Pennask and Premier-strain rainbow at a smaller 3,000 fish per year. The full year-by-year history is below.
Bittern Lake — 126,500 fish stocked, 1990–2026
Rainbow Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 4,000 |
| 2025 | 4,000 |
| 2024 | 4,000 |
| 2023 | 4,000 |
| 2022 | 4,000 |
| 2021 | 4,000 |
| 2020 | 4,000 |
| 2019 | 4,000 |
| 2018 | 4,000 |
| 2017 | 4,000 |
| 2016 | 4,000 |
| 2015 | 4,000 |
| 2014 | 4,000 |
| 2013 | 4,000 |
| 2012 | 4,000 |
| 2011 | 4,000 |
| 2010 | 4,000 |
| 2009 | 4,000 |
| 2008 | 4,000 |
| 2007 | 4,000 |
| 2006 | 1,000 |
| 2005 | 500 |
| 2004 | 3,000 |
| 2003 | 3,000 |
| 2002 | 3,000 |
| 2001 | 3,000 |
| 2000 | 3,000 |
| 1999 | 3,000 |
| 1998 | 3,000 |
| 1997 | 3,000 |
| 1996 | 3,000 |
| 1995 | 3,000 |
| 1994 | 3,000 |
| 1993 | 3,000 |
| 1992 | 3,000 |
| 1991 | 3,000 |
| 1990 | 3,000 |
Access and the rules
No confirmed public launch, trailhead or parking area has turned up for Bittern Lake; the only located reference places it near the community of Parson in the upper Columbia Valley. Confirm the access road and any seasonal restrictions locally before planning a trip.
