The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Dainard Lake

A stocked stillwater in the Kootenay River watershed, S of Dainard Creek, NE of head of Kootenay River SE of Golden, surface area not recorded, carrying Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Dainard Lake is a stocked stillwater in the Kootenay River watershed, S of Dainard Creek, NE of head of Kootenay River SE of Golden. Surface area not recorded.

The water

Dainard Lake lies S of Dainard Creek, NE of head of Kootenay River SE of Golden; in the Kootenay River watershed. It covers surface area not recorded.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Dainard Lake is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 6 recorded releases totalling 12,000 fish (Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout), last stocked 2000-09-06.

Stocking record

Dainard Lake — 12,000 fish stocked, 1983–2000

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

YearCutthroat Trout
20001,000
19981,000
19962,000
19881,000
19872,000
19835,000

Stocking appears to have wound down after 2000. 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

Dainard Lake 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 River watershed
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Access & the rules

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