The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Canyon

A stocked stillwater in the Kootenay–Columbia basin, surface area not recorded, carrying Rainbow Trout and Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Canyon #2 is a stocked stillwater in the Kootenay–Columbia basin. Surface area not recorded.

The water

Canyon #2 sits in the Kootenay–Columbia basin, covering surface area not recorded.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Canyon #2 is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 25 recorded releases totalling 54,000 fish (Rainbow Trout, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout), last stocked 2012-10-03.

Stocking record

Canyon #2 — 54,000 fish stocked, 1976–2012

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

YearRainbow TroutCutthroat Trout
20122,000·
20112,000·
20102,000·
20092,000·
20082,000·
20072,000·
20062,000·
20052,000·
20042,000·
20034,000·
20022,000·
20012,000·
20002,000·
19992,000·
19982,000·
19972,000·
19962,000·
19952,000·
19942,000·
19932,000·
19922,000·
19912,000·
19902,000·
19892,000·
1976·4,000

Stocking appears to have wound down after 2012. 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

Canyon #2 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
Kootenay–Columbia basin
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Access & the rules

Confirm the launch, parking and any motor/float or seasonal restrictions for Canyon #2 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.