McNair Lakes is not individually listed in the Region 4 synopsis, so the regional stillwater default applies: trout daily quota 5, with no more than 1 rainbow over 50 cm kept. A freshwater licence is required for anglers 16 and over. Confirm the current synopsis before you fish.

A 1970 provincial reconnaissance survey of the north basin found a maximum depth of 10.4 m and a mean depth of 3.6 m across roughly 3.3 hectares of surface water, with a Secchi reading of 6.1 m and a surface pH of 8.5, moderately clear water typical of small East Kootenay stillwaters. No survey or report has turned up for the middle or south basins' fishing character, so treat McNair as a small, shallow-leaning lake cluster until a local account says otherwise.

For an angler judging whether the drive is worth it, the release record is the fishing report. Provincial hatchery records log 34 releases into the north basin between 1976 and 2026, and the program has changed character once along the way. From 1976 to 2008 it ran as a biennial plant of wild-origin, Connor-strain westslope cutthroat trout fry, 18 releases totalling nearly 42,000 fish. Since 2009 it has run instead as a rainbow trout program, settling by 2012 into a steady annual drop of 500 Pennask-strain yearlings every spring, most recently 500 fish on 2026-05-13. Any cutthroat left in the lake now would be a holdover from that older program rather than part of the active stocking.

No on-the-water report has turned up for McNair Lakes, so the honest read comes from what the data shows: a small, shallow, put-grow rainbow stillwater with a legacy cutthroat population possibly still present. That combination points toward standard small-lake tactics rather than anything lake-specific. Work a chironomid under an indicator, or a balanced leech, over the shoals using the standard stillwater rig, and keep a dry like an Adams ready for a calm evening. The 500 fresh Pennask yearlings dropped each spring are next season's fish, so the ones in the net any given summer are typically a year or two off the truck rather than fresh from it.

No boat launch, road access or parking information is on record for McNair Lakes. Confirm access locally before committing a day to it; the map panel shows where the lake sits relative to Kimberley and the nearest roads.