The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Pickering

A stocked stillwater in the Bull River watershed, surface area not recorded, carrying Brook Trout and Rainbow Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Pickering is a stocked stillwater in the Bull River watershed. Surface area not recorded.

The water

Pickering sits in the Bull River watershed, covering surface area not recorded.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Pickering is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 91 recorded releases totalling 306,292 fish (Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout), last stocked 2026-04-10.

Stocking record

Pickering — 306,292 fish stocked, 1952–2026

Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.

YearRainbow TroutBrook Trout
2026·3,000
2025·3,000
2024·3,000
2023·3,000
2022·3,000
2021·3,000
2020·3,000
2019·3,000
2018·3,000
2017·3,000
2016·3,000
2015·3,000
20142,0573,000
20132,0003,000
20122,0003,600
20112,0003,000
20102,5003,000
20092,0123,000
20081,6003,000
2007·4,140
2006·4,000
2005·3,000
2004·3,000
2003·3,000
20021,0007,000
2001·4,300
2000·8,750
1999·3,000
1998·3,920
1997·3,000
1996·3,000
1995·3,000
1994·3,000
1993·3,000
1992·3,000
1991·3,000
1990·3,000
1989·3,000
1988·3,000
1987·3,000
1986·5,400
1985·3,000
1984·3,000
1983·3,000
1982·3,000
1981·3,000
1980·3,000
1979·3,000
1978·3,000
1977·3,000
1976·5,726
1975·5,000
1974·4,400
1972·3,000
1970·5,000
1969·5,000
1968·5,000
1967·9,900
1966·10,000
1965·10,000
1964·10,300
1963·9,900
1962·9,975
1961·3,220
1960·4,800
1959·3,100
19578,192·
19551,500·
19535,000·
19525,000·

It is still stocked (most recent release 2026-04-10), so it fishes as a put-grow water: this season's fish come from the latest cohorts, topped up to keep it going. The chart below shows the release history by year and species.

The fishing

Pickering fishes as a put-grow stillwater: work chironomids under an indicator over the shoals in spring, then leech and attractor retrieves along the drop-offs as the shallows warm. The stocking record below is the truest read on the size and cohort of fish you will find.

waves
Stocked Stillwater
Bull River watershed
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Access & the rules

Confirm the launch, parking and any motor/float or seasonal restrictions for Pickering locally before you commit a day; the map shows where the lake sits in its drainage.

gavel

Before you fish

Confirm the current BC freshwater fishing regulations (Region 4 – Kootenay) before you go. Official synopsis: gov.bc.ca fishing regulations.