Imagery: Esri, Vantor, Earthstar Geographics

›

Kaufman Lake

Stillwater

Species listed

Kaufman Lake is a small stillwater in the East Kootenay, held by rainbow trout, westslope cutthroat trout and brook trout. No location description, surface area or depth survey is on file for it, and no lake-specific fishing report has turned up, so this is a working read built from its stocking record rather than a field-tested guide.

Species

Reported species; current abundance is unknown.

Rainbow Trout

Westslope Cutthroat Trout

Brook Trout

No live gauge

No gauge readings are available for this water.

Season

Driving directions

Region 4 Regulations — guide reviewed 2026-07-08

Kaufman Lake is not individually listed in the Region 4 synopsis on record, so the general provincial and Region 4 (Kootenay) rules apply. Confirm the current synopsis before you fish.

The water

The lake sits in the Kootenay-Columbia basin; its exact drainage and outflow have not been confirmed. Fifteen recorded releases span 1982 to 2010, mixing all three species over that stretch, which points to a lake managed as a small, low-traffic put-and-take fishery rather than a marquee stillwater.

The fishing

With no dedicated report for Kaufman, the honest starting point is the same small-lake program that works across the region's stocked stillwaters: chironomid under an indicator fished over the shoals in spring and early summer, then leech and attractor retrieves worked along any drop-off as the water warms. Confirm that read against a local source before you plan a trip around it.

A stocking program that appears to have stopped

Kaufman's release record runs from 1982 to 2010: about 9,984 rainbow trout, 2,000 westslope cutthroat trout and 1,500 brook trout across 15 releases. The last recorded release was 1,000 Connor-strain westslope cutthroat fry on October 21, 2010. Nothing has been recorded since, so treat the fishery as residual and lightly stocked at best until current status is confirmed, rather than an active put-and-take program.

Access and the rules

No launch, trailhead or road access has been confirmed for Kaufman Lake. It is not individually listed in the Region 4 synopsis on record, so the general provincial and Region 4 (Kootenay) rules apply.

Before you fish

Confirm the current BC freshwater fishing regulations (Region 4, Kootenay) before you go. Official synopsis: gov.bc.ca fishing regulations.

Stocking

The full year-by-year release history, coloured by species, is below: rainbow, westslope cutthroat and brook trout released between 1982 and 2010, from the Province of BC (FIDQ / FISS Fish Releases) via the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.

All Rivers & Lakes

Small-Lake Stillwater

Chironomid Under Indicator

Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC

Page reviewed 2026-07-08