Come June on Heffley Lake, the water to be on is a pair of side-by-side bays known as the Twin Bays, where chironomid fishing can get about as exciting as stillwater fly fishing gets. Loons and osprey work the same water. The lake lies beside the road to Sun Peaks, half an hour or so out of Kamloops, high enough that it keeps its ice well into spring and is still waking up when the lower lakes are in full swing.
Heffley used to be two lakes. An irrigation dam at the west end joined them into one long, narrow reservoir, with plenty of shoreline and several islands and bays for its size. It fishes as three parts: the shallow west end by the dam, the bays and shoals strung along the middle, and the east end where the inlet creek comes in.
The west end is a big shallow flat of weed beds over marl, and just east of it the bottom falls away abruptly into deep, cold water. That drop-off is the reason to start here: trout hold in the cold water beside the flat and come up onto the weed to feed. Nymphs, leeches and bloodworm patterns all work over the shallows.
The middle of the lake is the part to explore. Shoals, shoal bays and submerged islands give you one feeding edge after another, and the Twin Bays are among them. The south shore is mostly undeveloped, with cabins and the recreation site on the north side, so the quieter water is across the lake from where you launch.
The east end is where the inlet creek enters, and that creek is the trout’s spawning channel. Fish the lake water off its mouth and leave the creek to the spawners; the region closes streams to fishing from 1 January to 30 June, so check the regulations for the creek. The two resorts are at this end.
Little Heffley Lake is a few minutes west on the same road, and Community Lake waits in the high country to the north.
Fish in this water
Each fish is rated by its strongest evidence. A rating says how sure we are a fish is here, not how many there are, whether it is worth fishing for or whether you may keep it.
Likely
Older records here, recent stocking, a local guide or fly shop, a guide listing, or recent records on connected water nearby.
How to fish it
For chironomids, anchor over a shoal in the Twin Bays or along the west end drop-off and hang a pupa under an indicator on a floating line, set just off the bottom. If it goes quiet, move it up or down before you change patterns. Over the west end weed, cast a leech or nymph on a slow sinking line and strip it slowly back over the tops of the weed. When nothing is showing, cast a single Doc Spratley, shrimp or damsel nymph and work it slowly along the shoal edges, moving a little between casts until you find fish, then stay and cast to them. You may fish only one fly on the line; when it stops working, change it.
Access and safety
From Kamloops, drive north on Highway 5 and take the Sun Peaks exit onto the Heffley-Louis Creek Road, which runs along the lake. The recreation site on the north side has a gravel boat launch, which is not built for large boats, and a small cartop launch. Its campsites are first come, first served, and they fill quickly in summer. In a dry year the launch has been closed to trailered boats when the water dropped, so a cartop boat or float tube is the safe bet late in summer. The water is cold at depth, so wear a life jacket in a float tube or canoe.
Questions
Where do I launch? At the recreation site on the north side. Trailers are possible when the water is up; in a dry summer, bring a cartop boat.
Is there camping? Yes, at the recreation site on the north side, and there are two resorts at the east end.
Where next? Little Heffley Lake just down the road, or Community Lake higher up.