John McKay Creek

River
5.51 km
Mapped channels
John McKay Creek is a tributary creek flowing into sinclair creek. Recorded fish: bull trout, rainbow, dolly varden.
No live gauge
No gauge readings are available for this water.
Season
Driving directions

At a glance

Fact
Details
Type
Tributary Creek
Watershed
Columbia River
Size
stream order 4, ~6 km
Fish
Bull Trout, Rainbow and Dolly Varden
Water
Wade Water

Species

•
Dolly Varden

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 Sinclair Creek system.

Measurements

Measurement
Reported value
Median channel width
3.8 m
Median channel gradient
9.41 %
Mean annual discharge estimate
0.092 m³/s

The water

It flows into sinclair creek within the Columbia River watershed (Columbia 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 6 km. bull trout, rainbow trout, dolly varden, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data.

The fishing

As a small stream, a tributary of Sinclair Creek, John McKay 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.
Fact
Details
Tributary Creek
Columbia River watershed
Stream order 4
~6 km
Bull Trout and Rainbow
recorded
Wade Water

Conditions

•
Navigability: wade water: narrow channel, fish on foot (median channel width ~3.8 m, narrow; median gradient ~9.41%, very steep; peak mean-annual discharge ~0.092 m³/s, very low flow).

Access & the rules

Access for John McKay 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 Sinclair Creek system.. Official synopsis: gov.bc.ca fishing regulations.
Page reviewed 2026-07-31