The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Tributary Creek

Leppard Creek

A creek in the Kootenay Lake watershed, a tributary of Buckworth Creek, holding Westslope Cutthroat and Rainbow in provincial fish-inventory records.

Leppard Creek is a tributary creek flowing into Buckworth Creek. Recorded fish: Westslope cutthroat, rainbow.

The water

It flows into Buckworth Creek within the Kootenay Lake watershed (Kootenay Lake → Kootenay River). It runs stream order 3 (mid-range in the network; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 3 km. Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (1 record).

The fishing

As a small stream, a tributary of Buckworth Creek, Leppard 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. Match the fly box to the season and confirm against a current local report.

water_drop
Tributary Creek
Kootenay Lake watershed
straighten
Stream order 3
~3 km
set_meal
Westslope Cutthroat and Rainbow
1 record
footprint
Wade Water

Conditions

  • Navigability: wade water: narrow channel, fish on foot (median channel width ~3.6 m, narrow; median gradient ~9.24%, very steep; peak mean-annual discharge ~0.182 m³/s, very low flow).

Access & the rules

Access for Leppard 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.

gavel

Before you fish

Confirm the current BC freshwater fishing regulations (Region 4 – Kootenay) before you go This water is part of the Buckworth Creek system.. Official synopsis: gov.bc.ca fishing regulations.