China Lake Depth Map & Fishing Spots (BC)

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Lake depth chart

China Lake, BC

Max 13 ft

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Where to start

Chironomids (stillwater midges) window is on — see the hatch outlook

Hatch outlook

Chironomids (stillwater midges)Active window

Typical here: Sep 1 – Oct 31 · the smaller fall second season — hatches continue on mild afternoons

nymphearly morning, start of the day — fish the bloodworm ON the bottom — 4–6 inches off the mud before the emergence starts
pupathe cool morning hours are prime — as the emergence builds, slide the pupa up to 12–15 inches off bottom under the indicator; a little wind chop does the jigging

Concentrates by DEPTH BAND and mud type, not a fixed spot: roughly 20–25 ft in spring, deeper midsummer, in against the feeder creeks in summer heat, 5–25 ft in fall. Match the band.

This one translates almost perfectly: a slip float with a 1/64–1/100 oz midge-pattern jig set 4–15 inches off bottom over a mud flat, dead-sticked with the chop doing the work. Depth control is everything — no moving lure imitates a hanging pupa; the float rig IS the technique.

The event happens over open mud flats alongside weedlines, channels and basin edges; feeder-creek mouths in summer heat

Water boatman fall flightsActive window

Typical here: Sep 1 – Oct 31 · fall mating flights on calm sunny days — 'raindrops hitting the water'; a smaller spring flight is documented right after ice-off

adultmiddday-ish on calm, sunny fall days — the fishable moment is the splashdown: boatmen dive in headfirst trailing an air bubble and make repeated trips back to the surface — a fly or lure that dives nose-first on the drop imitates exactly this

Takes are seldom subtle — trout ravage boatmen as they hit the water and during their subsurface runs.

Tailor-made for hardware: a small 1/16 oz silver-bellied spoon or jig cast AT the rings of a splashdown sinks headfirst exactly like the natural — twitch-pause it back through the top few feet. On flight days fan-cast the shallow weed margins.

The event happens over near-shore shallows, weed beds and shoal margins on calm sunny fall afternoons

Scuds (Gammarus shrimp)Active window

Typical here: Jan 1 – Dec 31 · year-round — the biomass behind the Kamloops fishery's growth rates; most important early spring and again in fall as dying weed cover exposes them

adultall day, year-round — best when weed cover is thin (early spring, late fall) — quick 1-inch 'shrimpy' strips along the weed beds and marl; in fall a subtle slow retrieve just off the bottom

Not an event — the pantry. Scud water is why these lakes grow big rainbows; fish them when nothing is hatching.

No hardware imitates a half-inch freshwater shrimp well — this is a jig game: a small olive/tan micro-jig under a slip float worked along the weed edges, or fished just off bottom in fall. Otherwise treat scud water as the signal that the lake grows big fish.

The event happens over weed beds, chara and marl flats and shoal-zone debris in calcium-rich lakes

Leeches (stillwater staple)Active window

Typical here: Jan 1 – Dec 31 · year-round — the go-to at ice-off before the chironomids start, and again through fall

adultany hour; low light and the cool ends of the season fish best — slow steady hand-twist or 2–3 inch pulls — in fall a slow steady pull outfishes a fast strip — or hang a balanced leech under an indicator

Baseline food, not an event — the honest 'nothing is hatching' answer on every interior lake, bracketing the season at ice-off and late fall.

The most spin-friendly item on the menu, with agency-documented tactics: slow-troll a Worden's Triple Teazer or Panther Martin along the drop-offs (the BC agency's own recommendation), or fish a black or olive marabou jig under a slip float over the shoal edge.

The event happens over shoal-zone vegetation, woody debris and rock, sliding to the drop-offs by day

Next on this water

Callibaetis (Speckled Dun) · mayflyApr 15 – Jul 31 · in ~6 months

Damselfly migration · forageJun 1 – Jul 31 · in ~8 months

Traveling sedge (giant lake caddis) · caddisJun 10 – Aug 15 · in ~8 months

Recommendations come from depth structure and seasonal species behavior. Treat them as a starting point, not a guarantee. Contours on this water are approximations. Never use for navigation. Always check local regulations.

Rainbow Trout

Depth · ft

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Fishing China Lake: what the data says

6-acre lake in British Columbia. The lake tops out around 13 ft. The chart is a model: real shoreline, published maximum depth, interpolated in between. A planning tool, never a navigation product. What follows comes from the same scoring engine that paints the spots above.

On the chart, China Lake draws 6 acres inside 0.3 miles of shoreline. The basin is a simple one (shoreline index 1) — close to a bowl, so the structure on the chart matters more than the bank. The whole water is littoral — nothing here runs deeper than ~15 ft, so it's all weed-and-bait territory. You'll find it in Thompson-Nicola Regional District. Closest neighbour on DepthScout: Little Big Bar Lake, 6 mi east of here.

Rainbow Trout fishing at China Lake

In spring, rainbow trout run shallow here, mostly 3 to 13 ft. Summer keeps them at 3 to 13 ft, and they winter in 3 to 13 ft. Shoreline break is the standout, a drop-off at roughly 6 ft, rated prime for winter rainbow trout. Time it for early morning and the evening. You won't need more than a dodger + spoon (deep troll) or a flutter spoon most summer days.

Depth note: when a documented seasonal range extends below this chart, the table shows the deepest mapped working water, not a verified holding depth.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	3 to 13 ft chart-limited; documented 5 to 20 ft	dawn & dusk	Shoreline break (6 ft)	Inline spinner (silver), Small spoon
Summer	3 to 13 ft chart-limited; documented 8 to 30 ft	dawn & dusk	Shoreline break (6 ft)	Dodger + spoon (deep troll), Flutter spoon
Fall	4 to 13 ft chart-limited; documented 10 to 35 ft	dawn & dusk	Shoreline break (6 ft)	Casting spoon, Jerkbait over shoals
Winter	3 to 13 ft chart-limited; documented 8 to 40 ft	dawn	Shoreline break (6 ft)	Jigging spoon, Tube jig (white)

Notable structure

3 pieces of structure are mapped here — Deep basin, around 11 ft, is the deepest of them.

Deep basin: deep basin, around 11 ft
Shoreline break: drop-off, around 6 ft
Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 3 ft

China Lake fishing regulations

Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for British Columbia waters are set by the BC freshwater fishing synopsis — and special regulations can apply to China Lake specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.

Check the official British Columbia fishing regulations →

Common questions

How deep is China Lake?

China Lake is about 13 ft (4 m) deep at its deepest point. The contours here are modeled from the water's real shape and maximum depth, so treat them as a rough guide.

What fish are in China Lake?

Anglers target rainbow trout on China Lake. This isn't a survey of the water — none is published for it — but an informed estimate from the species common to the region, narrowed by this water's depth, size and each species' range.

Where is the best fishing spot on China Lake?

Shoreline break is the top-rated area: a drop-off in about 6 ft of water that rates prime for rainbow trout in winter. Scroll up to the map for the complete spot list by species and season.

When is the best time to fish China Lake?

For rainbow trout, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.

What are the fishing regulations for China Lake?

Fishing on China Lake is regulated by the BC freshwater fishing synopsis. Check the official British Columbia regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.

Nearby waters

Little Big Bar Lake 6 mi · Onion Lake 7 mi · White Lake 8 mi · Canoe Lake 10 mi · Brown Lake 11 mi · Big Bar Lake 12 mi · Moore Lake 15 mi · Valenzuela Lake 15 mi · Koster Lake 16 mi · Pollard Lake 19 mi · Beaverdam Lake 20 mi · Gustafsen Lake 20 mi

See how China Lake stacks up: best rainbow trout lakes in British Columbia

More water nearby: Thompson-Nicola Regional District fishing maps (322 charts). Browse all British Columbia fishing maps. See every water on DepthScout. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.

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