The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Tributary Creek

Meachen Creek

A creek in the St. Mary River watershed, a tributary of St. Mary River, holding Westslope Cutthroat, Bull Trout and Rainbow in provincial fish-inventory records.

Meachen 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 4 (mid-range in the network; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 34 km. Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout, Rainbow Trout, cutthroat, dolly varden, Kokanee, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (70 records). Named tributaries in the index: Fiddler Creek.

The fishing

As a small stream, a tributary of St. Mary River, Meachen 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.

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Tributary Creek
St. Mary River watershed
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Stream order 4
~34 km
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Westslope Cutthroat and Bull Trout
70 records
sailing
Driftable

Conditions

  • Navigability: driftable: wide, low-gradient sections suit a float/raft (median channel width ~13 m, wide; median gradient ~1.92%, gentle; peak mean-annual discharge ~2.577 m³/s, low flow).

Access & the rules

Access for Meachen 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.

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Before you fish

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