The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Josephine

A stocked stillwater in the Bull River watershed, ~1.8 ha surface area, carrying Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Josephine is a stocked stillwater in the Bull River watershed. ~1.8 ha surface area.

The water

Josephine sits in the Bull River watershed, covering ~1.8 ha surface area.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Josephine is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 7 recorded releases totalling 11,125 fish (Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout), last stocked 2000-09-14.

Stocking record

Josephine — 11,125 fish stocked, 1983–2000

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

YearCutthroat Trout
20001,000
19981,000
19961,125
19922,000
19892,000
19852,000
19832,000

Stocking appears to have wound down after 2000. 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

Josephine 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
Bull River watershed
straighten
1.8 ha
surface area
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Access & the rules

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