The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Stocked Stillwater

Procter Lake

A stocked stillwater in the Elk River watershed, E. of Sage Creek, W. of Nettie Creek, surface area not recorded, carrying Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout and Rainbow Trout and topped up by the provincial stocking program.

Procter Lake is a stocked stillwater in the Elk River watershed, E. of Sage Creek, W. of Nettie Creek. Surface area not recorded.

The water

Procter Lake lies E. of Sage Creek, W. of Nettie Creek; in the Elk River watershed. It covers surface area not recorded.

Stocking

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Procter Lake is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 5 recorded releases totalling 38,500 fish (Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout), last stocked 2000-09-22.

Stocking record

Procter Lake — 38,500 fish stocked, 1952–2000

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

YearRainbow TroutCutthroat Trout
2000·12,000
1977·10,000
1976·5,000
1974·10,000
19521,500·

Stocking appears to have wound down after 2000. Confirm whether it is still topped up or now fishes as a residual, wild population. The chart below shows the full release history.

The fishing

Procter Lake 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
Elk River watershed
egg
Stocked
put-and-take

Access & the rules

Confirm the launch, parking and any motor/float or seasonal restrictions for Procter Lake 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.