Russel Lake is a stillwater in the Slocan River watershed, West Kootenay. It carries no recorded surface-area or depth survey, and its fishery rests entirely on a stocking record that ended in 2011.
The water
Russel Lake sits in the Slocan River watershed group, identified in the provincial waterbody register by its Slocan-district identifier (00534SLOC). No FISS bathymetry survey or lake-health signal is on file, so depth, clarity and shoal structure are unconfirmed; treat any on-the-water read as a first look rather than a returning angler's report.
Stocking
For an angler weighing whether Russel Lake is worth the drive, the stocking record is most of what there is to go on. The province logged 14 releases here between 1982 and 2011: all rainbow trout of Pennask strain, fry stage, roughly 2,000 fish per release for close to 39,000 fish total. The last recorded release was 2,000 Pennask-strain rainbow fry on 2011-10-18. Nothing has been logged since.
Russel — 39,230 fish stocked, 1982–2011
Rainbow Trout. Source: Province of BC — FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
| Year | Rainbow Trout |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,000 |
| 2009 | 2,000 |
| 2007 | 2,000 |
| 2005 | 2,000 |
| 2003 | 2,000 |
| 2001 | 2,000 |
| 1999 | 2,000 |
| 1997 | 2,000 |
| 1995 | 2,000 |
| 1993 | 2,000 |
| 1986 | 4,000 |
| 1985 | 5,000 |
| 1983 | 5,000 |
| 1982 | 5,230 |
Fifteen years without a recorded top-up means Russel Lake's fishery, if it still holds fish, runs on holdover and any natural reproduction the rainbow have managed rather than an active put-and-take program. Confirm locally before planning a trip.
The fishing
Absent a current report, fish it on classic small-lake lines: a chironomid under an indicator over the shoals early in the season, leech patterns and a Woolly Bugger worked along any drop-off as the water warms, and a hatch-matched dry such as the Adams for an evening rise if fish are showing. Any rainbow trout you find this long after the last stocking release should be handled as a wild fish.
Before you fish
Access and the rules
No public launch, trailhead or parking information is on record for Russel Lake. Use the coordinates above to locate it and confirm road access and any private-land crossings locally before you go; the regional default quotas above apply since the lake carries no water-specific exception in the current synopsis.
Conditions
- Stocking status: last recorded release 2011-10-18 (2,000 Pennask-strain rainbow trout fry); no releases logged in the 15 years since.
- Depth and water-health survey: no FISS bathymetry or lake-health survey is on file for Russel Lake.
