The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Jeffrey

A stocked stillwater in the St. Mary River watershed, surface area not recorded, carrying Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Jeffrey is a stocked stillwater in the St. Mary River watershed. Surface area not recorded.

The water

Jeffrey sits in the St. Mary 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. Jeffrey is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 20 recorded releases totalling 158,468 fish (Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout), last stocked 1994-09-02.

Stocking record

Jeffrey — 158,468 fish stocked, 1942–1994

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

YearCutthroat Trout
19942,000
19921,000
19881,000
19835,000
19805,000
19765,000
19745,000
196324,000
19599,200
19578,968
19556,300
195410,000
19535,000
195210,000
195110,000
194910,000
194710,000
194611,000
194310,000
194210,000

Stocking appears to have wound down after 1994. 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

Jeffrey 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
St. Mary River watershed
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Access & the rules

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