Horsethief Creek

River
65.2 km
Mapped channels
Horsethief Creek drains into the Columbia River near Invermere in the Columbia Valley, and gives its name to a wider family of small feeder creeks, Stockdale, Bruce, Law, Farnham, McDonald, Red Line, Gopher, Andreen, Haultain, Paulding and Fan. Local fish-inventory data returns 8 direct records here across kokanee, bull trout, mountain whitefish, longnose dace, longnose sucker and westslope cutthroat trout, a broader species mix than most of its own tributaries carry, which makes this a conservation-minded scout water rather than a casual numbers stream.
No live gauge
No gauge readings are available for this water.
Season
Driving directions

At a glance

Fact
Details
Type
Columbia Valley tributary
Drainage
Into the Columbia River near Invermere
Size
Stream order 6 · 331 mapped segments
Fish
Bull trout, cutthroat, kokanee, whitefish
Water
Wide, gentle gradient
Access
No named access point confirmed

Region 4 Regulations — guide reviewed 2026-07-08

No Horsethief Creek-specific exception appears in the checked Region 4 extraction, so the regional defaults apply: streams closed Apr 1 to Jun 14, trout and char catch-and-release from Nov 1 to Mar 31, and a single barbless hook requirement on all streams. Confirm the current synopsis and any in-season notices before fishing.

Measurements

Measurement
Reported value
Median channel width
32.1 m
Median channel gradient
0.94 %
Mean annual discharge estimate
15.407 m³/s

The water

Horsethief Creek's confluence sits at 50.53924, -116.38649, part of the Columbia River system in the Radium-Invermere-Fairmont corridor. It runs stream order 6 (at the top of the network on a scale that runs from 1 for a headwater trickle up to 6 or more for a full river), across 331 mapped channel segments. The channel geometry reads wider and gentler than the small tributaries that feed it: median width around 32.1 m (wide), median gradient around 0.94% (gentle), and peak mean-annual discharge around 15.4 m³/s (moderate to high flow). That combination points to a valley creek with real size and volume lower down, closer to a small river than the narrow, steep feeder creeks in its own family, though no float report or boat launch has been confirmed for it.

The fishing

The confirmed fish signal here is the most varied in the local Horsethief family: kokanee, bull trout, mountain whitefish, longnose dace, longnose sucker and westslope cutthroat trout across 8 records. Bull trout and cutthroat are the species worth planning around; the kokanee record most likely marks a lower-creek food pulse tied to the creek's connection with the Columbia rather than a resident population running the full length of the creek. Typical food through the system is caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies and terrestrials, with baitfish and fry and forage fish in play wherever bull trout or kokanee are present.
Fact
Details
Columbia Valley tributary
Into the Columbia near Invermere
Stream order 6
331 mapped segments
6 species recorded
8 local fish-inventory records
Wide, gentle gradient
~32 m median width

Bull trout and cutthroat: handle with care

Both species carry conservation weight across the Columbia system. Keep any bull trout or westslope cutthroat wet, minimize handling time, and treat gravel that looks like spawning habitat as no-fishing water through the summer and fall.
Small-stream attractors and naturals are the sensible starting point: a Stimulator, Elk Hair Caddis, Royal Wulff or Adams up top, a Hare's Ear, Prince Nymph or Pheasant Tail underneath, and a small, dark Woolly Bugger for the resident char.

Conditions

•
Navigability: wide and gentle by the family's standards (median width ~32.1 m, wide; gradient ~0.94%, gentle; peak mean-annual discharge ~15.4 m³/s, moderate to high flow), a valley creek with real size lower down rather than a narrow headwater trickle.
•
Stocking: no stocking record. Horsethief Creek runs entirely on wild fish.

Access and the rules

No named trailhead, put-in or parking area has been confirmed for Horsethief Creek itself. It sits within the broader Columbia Valley forest road network near Invermere, and Kootenay Troutfitters guides the wider Radium-Invermere-Fairmont corridor across lakes, rivers and streams, though no source confirms a program built specifically around this creek.

Before you fish

No Horsethief Creek-specific exception appears in the checked Region 4 rules, so the regional default applies: streams are closed Apr 1 to Jun 14, trout and char are catch-and-release from Nov 1 to Mar 31, and a single barbless hook is required on all streams. Confirm the current Region 4 synopsis and any in-season notices before fishing.
Page reviewed 2026-07-08