The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Boulder

A stocked stillwater in the Slocan River watershed, surface area not recorded, carrying Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout and Rainbow Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Boulder is a stocked stillwater in the Slocan River watershed. Surface area not recorded.

The water

Boulder sits in the Slocan River watershed, covering surface area not recorded.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Boulder is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 14 recorded releases totalling 44,180 fish (Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout), last stocked 1998-09-30.

Stocking record

Boulder — 44,180 fish stocked, 1976–1998

Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.

YearRainbow TroutCutthroat Trout
1998·1,000
1996·1,000
1994·1,000
19931,000·
19922,000·
19862,000·
19855,000·
1983·5,500
19825,230·
1981·5,450
1980·5,000
1978·5,000
1976·5,000

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

Boulder 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
Slocan River watershed
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Access & the rules

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