The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Finger

A stocked stillwater in the Columbia River watershed, surface area not recorded, carrying Rainbow Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Finger is a stocked stillwater in the Columbia River watershed. Surface area not recorded.

The water

Finger sits in the Columbia River watershed, covering surface area not recorded.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Finger is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 6 recorded releases totalling 28,500 fish (Rainbow Trout), last stocked 1990-09-07.

Stocking record

Finger — 28,500 fish stocked, 1962–1990

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

YearRainbow Trout
19903,000
19893,000
19723,000
19703,000
19638,500
19628,000

Stocking appears to have wound down after 1990. 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

Finger 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
Columbia River watershed
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Access & the rules

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