Help Lake sits east of the south end of Kinbasket Lake's Columbia Reach, a small widening of Succour Creek carrying rainbow trout from a stocking program that ran almost every year from 1974 to 2003.
The water
The lake is a modest 11.97-hectare basin and, notably, a shallow one: a Province of BC reconnaissance survey put the maximum depth at just 2.4 m and the mean at 1.2 m, with a mildly alkaline surface pH of 8.5. That depth-to-area profile matters on the water: a lake this shallow warms through fast in summer and carries real winterkill risk under ice, so it fishes as a fertile but exposed basin rather than one with a cool, deep-water refuge to fall back on.
Stocking
For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Help Lake was stocked with rainbow trout in 28 recorded releases between 1974 and 2003, totalling roughly 95,200 fish across fry, fingerling and yearling life stages, drawing on Pennask, Premier, Tunkwa and Beaver strain broodstock over the program's three decades. The last recorded release was 2003-05-12: 2,000 Pennask-strain yearlings, wild origin, averaging 5.5 g.
Help Lake — 95,167 fish stocked, 1974–2003
Rainbow Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout |
|---|---|
| 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 | 2,667 |
| 1988 | 5,000 |
| 1987 | 2,000 |
| 1986 | 4,000 |
| 1985 | 5,000 |
| 1984 | 5,000 |
| 1983 | 5,000 |
| 1982 | 5,000 |
| 1981 | 5,500 |
| 1980 | 5,000 |
| 1979 | 5,000 |
| 1978 | 5,000 |
| 1975 | 5,000 |
| 1974 | 8,000 |
Stocking appears to have wound down after 2003. Confirm whether the lake is still topped up or now fishes as a residual, wild population, and treat that as your first question before planning a trip around it.
The fishing
With no confirmed local reports on file, fish it on the standard small, shallow-lake program for rainbow trout: a chironomid under an indicator worked over the shoals covers the water in a basin with no deep drop-off to speak of, and a small Woolly Bugger or leech pattern fished slow through the same skinny water stands in for a troll. Given the shallow, warm-prone basin, an early-season or shoulder-season visit is the safer bet if ice-out or summer oxygen conditions are in doubt.
A lapsed stocking record
Conditions
- Depth: max 2.4 m, mean 1.2 m, surface area 11.97 ha (Province of BC reconnaissance survey, 1984-07-05).
- Water chemistry: surface pH 8.5, mildly alkaline.
Access & the rules
The lake sits east of the south end of Kinbasket Lake's Columbia Reach in the Columbia River watershed; exact road access, launch, parking and any seasonal or private-land restrictions are not yet confirmed and should be checked locally before a trip.
