Fenwick Lake is a stocked stillwater in the Kootenay River watershed, in BC's East Kootenay. It has no confirmed tributary or outflow in the provincial stream-network records, so it fishes as a standalone stocked lake rather than part of a larger creek system.
The water
Fenwick Lake's surface area and depth are not recorded in the provincial lake survey. What is on record is the stocking ledger: the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC (FFSBC) has logged 45 releases here, starting in 1957 and continuing through 2026.
Stocking
For an angler judging whether the drive is worth it, the stocking record is the fishing report. Fenwick Lake is a put-and-take rainbow trout fishery: 42 of the 45 recorded releases (60,334 fish) were rainbow trout, most recently 750 Pennask-strain yearlings on 2026-05-20, averaging about 5 g at release. A shorter run of westslope cutthroat trout went in three times in the early-to-mid 2000s (2002, 2004 and 2006, fall fry, 3,000 fish total, Connor strain) but has not been repeated since; today's program is rainbow-only.
Fenwick — 63,334 fish stocked, 1957–2026
Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout | Cutthroat Trout |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 750 | · |
| 2025 | 750 | · |
| 2024 | 750 | · |
| 2023 | 802 | · |
| 2022 | 750 | · |
| 2021 | 750 | · |
| 2020 | 750 | · |
| 2019 | 750 | · |
| 2018 | 750 | · |
| 2017 | 750 | · |
| 2016 | 750 | · |
| 2015 | 750 | · |
| 2014 | 1,125 | · |
| 2013 | 750 | · |
| 2012 | 500 | · |
| 2010 | 1,000 | · |
| 2009 | 1,000 | · |
| 2008 | 1,000 | · |
| 2006 | · | 1,000 |
| 2004 | · | 1,000 |
| 2002 | · | 1,000 |
| 2000 | 1,000 | · |
| 1998 | 2,000 | · |
| 1997 | 2,000 | · |
| 1996 | 4,000 | · |
| 1990 | 2,000 | · |
| 1989 | 2,000 | · |
| 1988 | 2,000 | · |
| 1987 | 2,000 | · |
| 1986 | 2,000 | · |
| 1985 | 1,500 | · |
| 1984 | 1,500 | · |
| 1982 | 1,500 | · |
| 1970 | 6,000 | · |
| 1969 | 2,000 | · |
| 1968 | 3,000 | · |
| 1966 | 900 | · |
| 1964 | 1,087 | · |
| 1963 | 1,230 | · |
| 1962 | 1,050 | · |
| 1961 | 2,400 | · |
| 1960 | 1,000 | · |
| 1959 | 500 | · |
| 1957 | 3,240 | · |
That near-continuous run since 1957, through several hatchery strains (Beaver, Gerrard, Niskonlith, Premier and now Pennask) before settling on today's Pennask yearlings, makes Fenwick a genuine put-grow water: last year's plant is this year's fish, refreshed on close to an annual cycle. The chart above shows the full release history by year and species.
The fishing
With no local report to draw on, fish Fenwick Lake on the tactics that work most small East Kootenay put-grow stillwaters: chironomids under an indicator over the shoals early in the season, then leech patterns and attractor retrieves worked along any drop-off as the water warms through summer. The 2026 release averaged only about 5 g per fish, so freshly stocked yearlings run small; the better fish in the creel are more likely holdovers from earlier cohorts.
Conditions
No FISS lake survey is on record for Fenwick Lake, so depth, clarity and thermal structure are unconfirmed. Treat it as an average interior stillwater and fish the shoals and any drop-off until a survey or a field report says otherwise.
Access and the rules
No launch, road or facility information is confirmed for Fenwick Lake. Its coordinate places it in the East Kootenay's Kootenay River country; confirm the approach locally before you go.
