Pass Lake - Kamloops

Close to Kamloops - Closer to my Heart

Pass Lake BC has long been a quality fishery and in my mind qualifies as the #1 best fly fishing lake in the Kamloops area and should be on the list for your fly fishing vacation.

Teddy's 13lb Thanksgiving Turkey - Oct 2005


It was when I moved to the region in 1982 and remains so today. Some things have changed but the lake keeps producing trophy rainbow trout, especially since the introduction of triploids. Pass has always had large fish. The lack of natural spawning habitat and prolific food source made it a perfect candidate for introducing the fast growing, hard fighting and extremely tasty triploid rainbow. These clean, silver bullets have been reputed to grow to over 20 lbs in this lake.

Access:

Easily accessed by a 2wd vehicle (it used to be a tough 4x4 road), Pass Lake is about 25 kms north of Kamloops on the Lac du Bois Road. The road starts in the north side of town at the entrance to Bachelor Heights and winds through some terrific desert-mountain terrain. Stay left at the McQueen Lake fork and go another couple of kilometers until you see the access sign on the right.

There is a well-maintained BC Forestry Campground (15 vehicle units) and boat launch. See your BC Fishing Regulations regarding special restrictions governing catch limits, size limits, seasonal opening and closures and gear restrictions.

Lake Info:

The lake is surrounded in shoals. This makes it hard to decide where to fish first. The clear water makes it easy to spot fish in the shallows when they are cruising. You can see bottom to about 20 feet.

My favorite areas are to the left or to the right of the boat launch or straight across the lake to the north - east shore. Many fisherman spend quality time at the west and north-west end near the Agricultural Research station. Some of the biggest fish are caught in this area however they are hard to catch. I don't think that there are a lot of fish in Pass Lake but chances are if you catch one, it will be big.

Note: Pass lake has been susceptible to winter kill the last couple of years. There was a fair loss of fish in 2008 and an expected partial kill again in 2009.

The lake is small enough to fish effectively with a belly boat or pontoon boat but deep and large enough to use a small boat and motor. There are no motor restrictions on the lake as of 2007 however I can see that this issue will come up for consideration some time in the future. This is a quality fishery and our hope is that every fisherman will treat it with the respect it deserves.

Suggested Fly Patterns:

Leech, chironimid and bloodworm patterns are effective all year round with particularly better success in May -early June and late Sept to mid- Oct. June produces an absolutely phenomenal mayfly hatch as well as a hearty traveling sedge hatch for the dry-fly enthusiast.The fall produces some nice chiromomid hatches and the fish are also heavily feeding on dragons, damsels and leeches while trying to fatten up for the winter.

Other Local Lakes and Activities:

McQueen Lake - Education Center

Isobel Lake - brook trout, rainbow trout (some restrictions as this may be a children's fishery only for 2009- Check you BC Fishing Regulations for Region 3). Includes the educational Interpretive Forest Centre

Lac du Bois Provincial Park