Caribou Creek

River
34.7 km
Mapped channels
6
Species listed
12 m
Median channel width
2.81%
Median gradient
15.1 m³/s
Mean annual flow estimate
Caribou Creek is a tributary creek flowing into columbia river. Recorded fish: Brook Trout, Bull Trout, Kokanee, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout.
No live gauge
No gauge readings are available for this water.
Season
Driving directions

Region 4 Regulations — guide reviewed 2026-07-31

Confirm the current BC freshwater fishing regulations (Region 4 – Kootenay) before you fish; this water is part of the Columbia River system.

The water

It flows into columbia river within the Lower Arrow Lake watershed (Lower Arrow Lake → Columbia River). It runs stream order 6 (well down the network, toward river scale; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 35 km. brook trout, bull trout, kokanee, mountain whitefish, rainbow trout, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (71 records). The fish-passage model expects Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout here too, since the reach is reachable with no barrier between, though there is no direct record yet. Named tributaries: burton trout creek, goatcanyon creek, londonderry creek, blue grouse creek, walton creek, Miller Creek, snowslide creek, juanita creek, big gulch creek.

The fishing

As a small stream, a tributary of Columbia River, Caribou Creek fishes the way creeks of its size do: short drifts with a buoyant attractor dry over a light dropper, working the pocket water and the heads of pools. Match the fly box to the season and confirm against a current local report.

Conditions

•
Navigability: not a casual float: whitewater or canyon evidence on this water; treat as wade unless a guide says otherwise (median channel width ~12 m, wide; median gradient ~2.81%, moderate; peak mean-annual discharge ~15.063 m³/s, moderate flow; canyon-confined sections with ~142 m walls (DEM)).

Access & the rules

Access for Caribou Creek, meaning the roads in, put-ins and any walk-in or seasonal limits, is worth confirming locally before you commit a day. The drainage map shows how the water sits in its valley.

Before you fish

Confirm the current BC freshwater fishing regulations (Region 4 – Kootenay) before you go This water is part of the Columbia River system.. Official synopsis: gov.bc.ca fishing regulations.
Page reviewed 2026-07-31