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[naturelover]

Hi,

I'm looking to go somewhere, first or second week of April, for combined fishing/camping/hiking; around 3-4 nights. Either car camping or hike-in camping; more secluded the better.
Would be doing shore fishing, casting lures (don't know how to fly fish). With nearby long hikes (half-day to full-day) would be great.

Was looking at Hicks Lake, but doesn't seem to have much in way of long hiking trails.

Also was looking at some lakes in the Okanagan, especially Vernon area, but have only been to Okanagan in summer, so not sure if weather will be cold for that time of year (especially at night?). (looking at Provincial Parks in the Okanagan area, most seem to open for camping later in the year). Was considering Becker Lake or Damer Lake, or some other small lake in the area.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Feel free to pm me as well.
Thanks.

[Blood_Orange]

I spent my teenaged years in Vernon. Early April will be cold especially at night... there's a fair amount of snow on the ground right now but it's been warming up the last couple of days. There's some nice country out there but it depends on your tolerance for cold.

What about the island? Sooke-Port Renfrew stretch, Port Alberni area, or else go up North towards Port Hardy. There's got to be some nice lakes hiding in there. There's also a sinkhole on the north end of the island that I always meant to go check out but never made the trip.

[naturelover]

Hi,

My camping gear is rated to -5C, but below freezing is usually uncomfortable; comfort range would be around 5C nighttime low temperature.

Hadn't considered the island, mostly to avoid ferry costs, but will take a closer look at the areas you mentioned. Should be warmer as well.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[poper]

Look into Hoover lake, it’s a nice hike in, and fishing can be pretty good,there might be a old boat left up there still that you can use, shore fishing is a bit tough but will work.

[RalphH]

There is a walking trail around the perimeter of Hicks. There is other hiking in the Park and nearby as well.

http://www.harrison-hot-springs.com/hiking.html

[clarki]

How about some of the lakes up the Chilliwack Valley?

Radium, Pierce are high elevation and likely snowed in at that time but consider Greendrop or Lindeman. You can do day hikes toward Flora, or east along the Trans Canada trail, and the fish in both lakes respond well to a little spinner.

In years past the snow was off the trail by April, but this has been a weird snow year so it's hard to say what is up there now.     

[sbc hris]

Early April is REALLY early in the year for that sort of thing, especially with all the snow we have this year. Anywhere in the interior is going to be a crapshoot weather wise, but fairly likely very cold and miserable. Also there’s a really really good chance that nothing will be iced off yet in the interior at that time. Also, any serious hikes are going to be totally snow covered for quite some time yet. If you’re really insistent on doing a trip at this time, the Squamish area will be your best bet, or possibly Lindeman/Greendrop area as Clarki mentioned, but that will be hit or miss this year.
Cheers, and good luck wherever you end up 

[Damien]

+++Early April is pushing it a bit.  Unless car camping and do like a  half day hike in, then hike out situation.  I wouldn't be doing any hike in overnighting at that time.  You can be a sprained ankle or blown out knee away from putting yourself in dire circumstances.

The hike to Lindeman is about 2 hours.  So you could hike in, fish the day around the lake and head back by dark to get a fire going and camp on somewhat dryer gravel or in your car.  If you're feeling saucy, you can keep going to Greendrop.

[colin6101]

I'm going to echo what everyone else here is saying. It's just too early for most good hike in lakes in the lower mainland that involve fishing. A little bit later in the year the Chilliwack lake road hikes are all good fishing for the most part. I'm also partial to the Widgeon lake hike but you will have to paddle up the creek to access that one. I did the Cheakamus lake hike two years ago during Easter long weekend and it was another 9km of hiking the logging road just to get to the usual parking lot. The lake was ice free right where it becomes the river  but there was three feet of snow all around it so it depends on the type of camper you are.

Here is what Cheakamus looked like:


Here's a photo of Radium lake in late May one year for some perspective:


This is the path to Flora lake in late June another year:

[RalphH]

Lindeman Lake: https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/lindeman-lake/

The round trip to the north end and back to the trail head & car park is 2 hours. The lake shore is steep, features lots of jagged boulders and fishing access isn't all that easy. If ice free I'd guess the fish would not be all that active.

[naturelover]

Hi all,

So what I'm gathering from the responses is that I've chosen one of the best times of year for hike-in fishing, and that the possibilities are endless, yes?  .. 

Thanks for the suggestions, so it seems something more low-lying like certain areas of Vancouver Island, or gulf islands, Squamish, lower-lying lakes like Hicks, etc.. would be okay.
And if I wanted to do any long hikes, which usually involve going upwards (elevation), they'd likely be snow covered, and I'd need to bring along some snow-shoes; but to keep base camp at lower elevation.

I may postpone the trip till last week of April to give a little more breathing room.

Thanks for the tips.