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

It flows into elk river within the Elk River watershed (Elk River → 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. bull trout, Dolly Varden, mountain whitefish, Westslope (Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (38 records).

For an angler judging whether the fishing is worth the drive, the stocking record is the fishing report. Hartley Creek is a put-and-take angling fishery, stocked with catchable game fish: 2 recorded releases totalling 35,000 fish (Brook Trout), last stocked 1928-01-01.

Stocking appears to have wound down after 1928. Confirm whether it is still topped up or now fishes as a residual, wild population. The chart below shows the full release history.

As a small stream, a tributary of Elk River, Hartley 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. The stocking record below is the truest read on what you will catch.

Access for Hartley 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.