Mud Lake is a small stillwater in the Moyie Lake watershed of the East Kootenay, draining through Monroe Creek a short distance south of Cranbrook. It carries nothing but westslope cutthroat trout, planted with the same Connor-strain broodstock every few years since 1981, most recently in 2025. Provincial hatchery records log this water under the name "Mud," but the identical waterbody registration and release history also show up under Little Monroe Lake, a short distance away, so local anglers may know it by either name.
The water
No gazetteer entry or bathymetric survey is confirmed specifically for Mud Lake, so surface area, depth and drop-off structure are unrecorded. Go in expecting a small East Kootenay stillwater until a survey or a local report says otherwise.
Stocking
For an angler weighing whether a small, out-of-the-way lake like this is worth finding, the release record is the honest fishing report. Provincial hatchery records log 21 releases into Mud Lake between 1981 and 2025, totalling 54,530 fish, every single one a Connor-strain westslope cutthroat trout. Plants through 2014 drew on wild broodstock; since 2016 the source has mixed hatchery and wild stock, but the strain itself has never changed. The most recent release, on 2025-05-20, put 1,500 yearlings (7.6 g average) into the lake, following similar-sized plants in 2022 (2,000 yearlings) and 2019 (1,500 yearlings).
Little Monroe — 54,530 fish stocked, 1981–2025
Cutthroat Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Cutthroat Trout |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,500 |
| 2022 | 2,000 |
| 2021 | 500 |
| 2019 | 1,500 |
| 2016 | 3,000 |
| 2014 | 3,000 |
| 2012 | 3,000 |
| 2011 | 3,000 |
| 2009 | 2,660 |
| 2008 | 5,000 |
| 2007 | 1,000 |
| 2005 | 3,000 |
| 2003 | 3,000 |
| 2000 | 3,000 |
| 1999 | 190 |
| 1998 | 3,000 |
| 1996 | 5,000 |
| 1994 | 5,000 |
| 1985 | 2,000 |
| 1983 | 2,000 |
| 1981 | 2,180 |
That consistency makes this a single-species, single-strain lake: whatever comes to hand here will be a westslope cutthroat carrying Connor lineage, sized to whichever release cohort has had the longest to grow since it went in.
The fishing
No local report has surfaced for Mud Lake, so treat the following as a general read on the lake type rather than a confirmed pattern. As a small stocked cutthroat stillwater it should fish on standard small-lake stillwater lines: a chironomid under an indicator over the shoals in spring, then leech and attractor patterns worked along any drop-offs as the water warms. A balanced leech or Woolly Bugger covers the retrieve game until a local report says otherwise.
A single-strain cutthroat lake
Access and the rules
No launch, road or parking details have been confirmed for Mud Lake. Treat it as a regulation-and-access check before committing a day: verify the road in, any private land or seasonal closures, and the exact Region 4 rules that apply to this water.
