Cameron Lake is a stocked stillwater west of Upper Arrow Lake, northwest of Nakusp, in BC's West Kootenay. It holds rainbow trout and a legacy population of brook trout, and a provincial stocking record running from 1926 to 2026 makes it one of the longer-documented stillwaters in the region.
The water
Cameron Lake covers 35.4 hectares, with a maximum depth of 12.5 m and a mean depth of 4.2 m. A 1970 provincial reconnaissance survey (A Reconnaissance Survey of Cameron Lake) recorded a Secchi depth of 5.2 m and a surface pH of 7.4: a moderately clear, moderately productive basin, well within casting and light-troll range from shore or a small boat.
Stocking
For an angler weighing whether the drive is worth it, the release record is the fishing report. Cameron Lake has 66 recorded releases between 1926 and 2026, splitting cleanly across three eras. From 1926 to 1981 it carried wild eyed-egg and fry transfers of Pennask, Beaver, Pinantan, Knouff and Spahomin Lake strain rainbow trout, standard mid-century BC stocking practice. From 1982 to 1999, Aylmer-strain brook trout were added on top (plus two small batches taken from Cameron Lake's own fish), totalling roughly 83,800 brook trout over 13 releases; none have gone in since. Since 2013, a rainbow trout yearling plant has landed every single year without a miss: Blackwater R strain fish, 5,500 to 6,153 a season, delivered alternately from the Dragon Lake and Premier Lake hatchery stations, the same broodstock program that seeds Premier Lake itself. Across all eras combined, rainbow trout account for 53 releases and roughly 324,000 fish.
Cameron Lake — 407,707 fish stocked, 1926–2026
Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout | Brook Trout |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5,500 | · |
| 2025 | 5,500 | · |
| 2024 | 5,500 | · |
| 2023 | 6,000 | · |
| 2022 | 6,000 | · |
| 2021 | 6,000 | · |
| 2020 | 6,000 | · |
| 2019 | 6,000 | · |
| 2018 | 6,153 | · |
| 2017 | 6,000 | · |
| 2016 | 6,000 | · |
| 2015 | 6,000 | · |
| 2014 | 6,000 | · |
| 2013 | 6,000 | · |
| 2012 | 6,000 | · |
| 2011 | 6,000 | · |
| 2010 | 6,000 | · |
| 2009 | 2,000 | · |
| 2008 | 2,000 | · |
| 2004 | 2,000 | · |
| 2003 | 2,000 | · |
| 2002 | 2,000 | · |
| 2001 | 2,000 | · |
| 2000 | 2,000 | · |
| 1999 | · | 2,000 |
| 1998 | · | 2,000 |
| 1997 | · | 2,000 |
| 1996 | · | 2,000 |
| 1995 | · | 2,000 |
| 1994 | · | 2,000 |
| 1993 | · | 2,000 |
| 1992 | 2,000 | · |
| 1991 | 2,000 | · |
| 1990 | 2,000 | · |
| 1989 | 2,000 | · |
| 1988 | 2,000 | · |
| 1987 | 2,000 | · |
| 1986 | 2,000 | · |
| 1984 | 2,000 | 13,665 |
| 1983 | · | 28,000 |
| 1982 | · | 28,100 |
| 1981 | 3,000 | · |
| 1980 | 3,000 | · |
| 1979 | 3,000 | · |
| 1978 | 3,000 | · |
| 1977 | 3,000 | · |
| 1976 | 3 | · |
| 1975 | 3,000 | · |
| 1974 | 3,000 | · |
| 1973 | 5,000 | · |
| 1972 | 2,500 | · |
| 1971 | 5,000 | · |
| 1970 | 2,000 | · |
| 1968 | 5,000 | · |
| 1966 | 5,000 | · |
| 1963 | 5,000 | · |
| 1962 | 3,936 | · |
| 1961 | 2,050 | · |
| 1960 | 4,000 | · |
| 1958 | 2,800 | · |
| 1934 | 80,000 | · |
| 1926 | 50,000 | · |
That history is why the lake fishes the way it does today. Any brook trout you catch are residual, decades removed from the last plant in 1999; the rainbow trout are the live program, with a fresh cohort of Blackwater yearlings entering every June and growing on through the season on the lake's natural forage.
The fishing
Work Cameron Lake on standard small-lake stillwater lines. In spring and fall, fish a chironomid under an indicator or a small balanced leech over the shoals and drop-offs. As the shallows warm through summer, push a full-sink line and a Woolly Bugger deeper along the drop-offs toward the lake's 12.5 m basin. A brook trout taken incidentally on the same water is a bonus from a program that ended in 1999, not something to plan a trip around.
Conditions
- Depth: max 12.5 m, mean 4.2 m (BC lake survey, 1970-08-28).
- Clarity and chemistry: Secchi 5.2 m, surface pH 7.4 (BC lake survey, 1970-08-28).
- Stocking today: Blackwater R rainbow trout yearlings only, 5,500 to 6,153 released annually since 2013 (Dragon Lake and Premier Lake hatchery stations); no brook trout have been released since 1999.
Access and the rules
Cameron Lake sits west of Upper Arrow Lake and northwest of Nakusp, in BC's West Kootenay. Confirm the boat launch, shoreline access and any seasonal or motor restrictions locally before you commit a day.
