Marion Lake sits in the upper Kootenay River headwaters southeast of Golden, near the northwest corner of Kootenay National Park. It is a small East Kootenay stillwater carried entirely by the provincial stocking program: no wild population is on record here, and the fishery is whatever the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC puts in.
The water
The lake has no confirmed surface area, depth survey or launch details on record yet, so treat this as a working profile rather than a full site guide. What is confirmed is the stocking history: 33 recorded releases between 1968 and 2025, split between westslope cutthroat trout (about 110,700 fish) and rainbow trout (about 55,700 fish), all under the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC's angling program.
Marion — 166,439 fish stocked, 1968–2025
Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout | Cutthroat Trout |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | · | 5,000 |
| 2022 | · | 5,000 |
| 2021 | · | 2,500 |
| 2019 | · | 5,005 |
| 2018 | 5,000 | · |
| 2017 | 5,104 | · |
| 2016 | 5,090 | · |
| 2015 | 5,000 | · |
| 2014 | 5,000 | · |
| 2013 | 5,000 | · |
| 2012 | 5,540 | · |
| 2011 | 5,000 | · |
| 2009 | 5,000 | · |
| 2005 | · | 5,000 |
| 2003 | · | 5,000 |
| 2001 | · | 3,500 |
| 2000 | · | 12,000 |
| 1998 | · | 5,000 |
| 1996 | · | 5,000 |
| 1994 | · | 5,000 |
| 1992 | · | 5,000 |
| 1991 | 3,000 | · |
| 1990 | 3,000 | · |
| 1988 | 2,000 | · |
| 1987 | 2,000 | · |
| 1983 | · | 7,500 |
| 1981 | · | 7,700 |
| 1980 | · | 4,500 |
| 1978 | · | 5,000 |
| 1976 | · | 5,000 |
| 1974 | · | 5,000 |
| 1969 | · | 5,000 |
| 1968 | · | 8,000 |
Cutthroat have been the backbone strain since the earliest releases, with Kiakho-strain fry in 1968-69 giving way to the Connor strain that has carried the program since the 1970s. Rainbow releases run in parallel, mostly Blackwater-strain yearlings through the 2010s and Premier and Gerrard-strain fish in earlier decades. The most recent release was 5,000 Connor-strain cutthroat yearlings in June 2025, averaging 7.5 g, which puts fresh fish in the lake as of this season.
The fishing
Marion fishes as a put-grow stillwater built around cutthroat, with a rainbow year-class mixed in depending on the release cycle. Standard small-lake stillwater tactics apply: work a chironomid under an indicator over the shoals in spring and early summer, when both species sit shallow and feed hard after ice-out, then move to leech and attractor patterns along any drop-offs as the water warms. Because the last confirmed release (2025) was cutthroat, expect the cutthroat year-class to dominate this season, with older rainbow mixed through from prior stockings.
Read the release, not the calendar
Conditions
- Stocking: put-grow angling program, 33 recorded releases 1968-2025, 166,439 fish total (110,705 westslope cutthroat trout, 55,734 rainbow trout). Last release 5,000 Connor-strain cutthroat yearlings, June 2025.
- Depth and bathymetry: no lake survey on record yet.
Access and the rules
Access, launch type and parking for Marion Lake are not yet confirmed. It sits southeast of Golden near the Beaverfoot River / Moose Creek country at the edge of Kootenay National Park, but the road and any seasonal or private-land limits need a local check before you commit a day.
