Larchwood Lake is a small, clear stillwater south of Torrent Creek, in the rainbow trout country of the East Kootenay's St. Mary River watershed. At roughly 15 hectares (37 acres), it is one of the region's smaller stocked lakes, and one of its longest-running: the province has been topping it up with rainbow trout, on and off, since 1958.
The water
The lake's official waterbody identifier places it in the St. Mary River drainage. A 1961 provincial survey measured it at a maximum depth of 10.1 m and a mean depth of just 2.9 m, with Secchi-disk clarity to 4.9 m, deeper than the lake averages. In practice that means the water column is clear from top to bottom across most of the lake: there is little of the murky, stratified deep water that pushes fish out of casting range in summer, and shallow-water tactics stay productive for more of the season than on a deeper, greener lake.
Stocking
For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Larchwood Lake carries a put-grow rainbow trout program: 69 recorded releases between 1958 and 2026, totalling more than 220,000 fish, entirely rainbow trout. The modern pattern (2016 onward) is a steady 500 Pennask-strain yearlings every spring, occasionally topped up with a batch of already-grown Fraser Valley "spring catchable" rainbow (2023 and 2025) for anglers who want fish in hand sooner rather than fish that need a season to grow into the net.
Larchwood Lake — 222,371 fish stocked, 1958–2026
Rainbow Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 500 |
| 2025 | 1,000 |
| 2024 | 500 |
| 2023 | 750 |
| 2022 | 500 |
| 2021 | 500 |
| 2020 | 500 |
| 2019 | 500 |
| 2018 | 500 |
| 2017 | 500 |
| 2016 | 500 |
| 2015 | 1,000 |
| 2014 | 1,000 |
| 2013 | 1,500 |
| 2012 | 1,500 |
| 2011 | 1,500 |
| 2010 | 1,500 |
| 2009 | 1,500 |
| 2008 | 1,500 |
| 2007 | 1,500 |
| 2006 | 1,500 |
| 2005 | 2,000 |
| 2004 | 3,000 |
| 2003 | 3,000 |
| 2002 | 3,000 |
| 2001 | 3,000 |
| 2000 | 3,000 |
| 1999 | 3,000 |
| 1998 | 3,000 |
| 1997 | 3,000 |
| 1996 | 3,000 |
| 1995 | 3,000 |
| 1994 | 3,000 |
| 1993 | 3,000 |
| 1992 | 3,000 |
| 1991 | 3,000 |
| 1990 | 3,000 |
| 1987 | 2,000 |
| 1986 | 2,000 |
| 1985 | 2,000 |
| 1984 | 2,000 |
| 1983 | 7,000 |
| 1982 | 7,000 |
| 1981 | 4,000 |
| 1980 | 5,000 |
| 1979 | 4,000 |
| 1978 | 4,000 |
| 1977 | 4,000 |
| 1976 | 5,000 |
| 1975 | 5,000 |
| 1974 | 5,000 |
| 1973 | 5,000 |
| 1972 | 5,000 |
| 1971 | 4,000 |
| 1970 | 6,000 |
| 1969 | 4,000 |
| 1968 | 4,000 |
| 1966 | 7,040 |
| 1964 | 7,975 |
| 1963 | 19,040 |
| 1962 | 22,266 |
| 1961 | 4,800 |
| 1960 | 3,000 |
| 1958 | 5,000 |
The fishing
A shallow, clear, put-grow lake like this fishes on classic small-stillwater lines: chironomids under an indicator over the shoals, and leech patterns worked slowly along any drop-off, are the standard starting point for rainbow holding over Chironomids (Midges) and Leeches, the everyday forage of small BC put-grow lakes. Because the whole lake sits within the clarity band the 1961 survey recorded, there is no obvious need to fish deep water that the fish can't be seen in; work the shallower structure first and confirm current local reports before committing a day.
Conditions
- Depth: max 10.1 m, mean 2.9 m (BC lake survey, 1961-08-16).
- Clarity: Secchi disk to 4.9 m, well below the lake's average depth, a genuinely clear water column.
- Size: roughly 15 ha (37 ac), among the smaller stocked lakes in the region.
Access and the rules
Larchwood Lake sits south of Torrent Creek in the Rocky Mountain Trench portion of the East Kootenay. Launch, road and parking details are not yet confirmed; check locally before hauling a boat in, and be ready to fish it as a shore or small-craft water given its size.
