French Slough

River
7.76 km
Mapped channels
7
Species listed
42.3 m
Median channel width
0%
Median gradient
0.53 m³/s
Mean annual flow estimate
French Slough is a tributary creek flowing into kootenay river. Recorded fish: Burbot, Kokanee, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout, Yellow Perch.
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 Kootenay River system.

The water

It flows into kootenay river within the Kootenay Lake watershed (Kootenay Lake → Kootenay River). It runs stream order 4 (mid-range in the network; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 8 km. burbot, kokanee, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout, yellow perch, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (12 records). The fish-passage model expects bull trout here too, since the reach is reachable with no barrier between, though there is no direct record yet. Named tributaries: urmston creek, simmons creek.

The fishing

As a small stream, a tributary of Kootenay River, French Slough 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

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Navigability: driftable: wide, low-gradient sections suit a float/raft (median channel width ~42.3 m, broad; median gradient ~0%, very gentle; peak mean-annual discharge ~0.526 m³/s, very low flow).

Access & the rules

Access for French Slough, 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 Kootenay River system.. Official synopsis: gov.bc.ca fishing regulations.
Page reviewed 2026-07-31