Joseph Creek is a tributary creek flowing into St. Mary River. Recorded fish: Westslope cutthroat, bull trout, rainbow, cutthroat, dolly varden, kokanee.
The water
It flows into St. Mary River within the St. Mary River watershed (St. Mary River → Kootenay River). It runs stream order 5 (well down the network, toward river scale; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 35 km. Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout, Rainbow Trout, cutthroat, dolly varden, Kokanee, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (256 records). Named tributaries in the index: Jim Smith Creek, Hospital Creek.
Stocking
For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Joseph Creek is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 18 recorded releases totalling 262,710 fish (Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout), last stocked 1998-10-19.
Joseph Creek — 262,710 fish stocked, 1929–1998
Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout | Cutthroat Trout |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | · | 36,000 |
| 1962 | 5,250 | · |
| 1958 | · | 20,000 |
| 1955 | · | 15,700 |
| 1954 | 9,700 | 6,980 |
| 1953 | · | 4,020 |
| 1947 | · | 2,425 |
| 1943 | · | 21,785 |
| 1942 | · | 21,960 |
| 1941 | · | 21,600 |
| 1940 | · | 11,190 |
| 1939 | · | 22,600 |
| 1932 | · | 25,000 |
| 1931 | · | 22,500 |
| 1930 | · | 6,000 |
| 1929 | · | 10,000 |
Stocking appears to have wound down after 1998. 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
As a small stream, a tributary of St. Mary River, Joseph Creek fishes the way creeks of its size do: short drifts with a buoyant attractor dry over a light dropper, working the pocket water and the heads of pools. The stocking record below is the truest read on what you will catch.
Conditions
- Navigability: mixed, confirm access and flow before choosing drift vs wade (median channel width ~7.4 m, moderate width; median gradient ~1.46%, gentle; peak mean-annual discharge ~0.933 m³/s, very low flow).
Access & the rules
Access for Joseph Creek, meaning the roads in, put-ins and any walk-in or seasonal limits, is worth confirming locally before you commit a day. The drainage map shows how the water sits in its valley.
