The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Tributary Creek

Boundary Creek

A stocked creek in the Kootenay Lake watershed, a tributary of Kootenay River, carrying Westslope Cutthroat, Rainbow and Cutthroat and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Boundary Creek is a tributary creek flowing into Kootenay River. Recorded fish: Westslope cutthroat, rainbow, cutthroat, dolly varden, kokanee, brook trout.

The water

It flows into Kootenay River within the Kootenay Lake watershed (Kootenay Lake → 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 23 km. Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, cutthroat, dolly varden, Kokanee, Brook Trout, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (144 records). Named tributaries in the index: Dodge Creek, Blue Joe Creek, Meadow Creek.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Boundary Creek is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 16 recorded releases totalling 289,344 fish (Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout), last stocked 1957-01-01.

Stocking record

Boundary Creek — 289,344 fish stocked, 1927–1957

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

YearRainbow TroutCutthroat TroutBrook Trout
1957··20,000
1956··10,500
195025,000··
194920,000··
19489,900··
19475,000··
194619,424··
194515,000··
194420,000··
194319,520··
194220,000··
194120,000··
1931·5,00045,000
1928··10,000
1927··25,000

Stocking appears to have wound down after 1957. 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 Kootenay River, Boundary 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.

water_drop
Tributary Creek
Kootenay Lake watershed
straighten
Stream order 4
~23 km
set_meal
Westslope Cutthroat and Rainbow
144 records
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Conditions

  • Navigability: mixed, confirm access and flow before choosing drift vs wade (median channel width ~6.6 m, moderate width; median gradient ~0.8%, very gentle; peak mean-annual discharge ~1.571 m³/s, low flow).

Access & the rules

Access for Boundary 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.

gavel

Before you fish

Confirm the current BC freshwater fishing regulations (Region 4 – Kootenay) before you go This water is part of the Kootenay River system.. Official synopsis: gov.bc.ca fishing regulations.