Stave River Fishing Location & Species

This lake is not a part of the Stave River but is tucked in on the east side of the river along highway 7. This lake is private and has created a lot of controversy on fishing access with anglers and the residents. I’d recommend getting some sort of permission or treading lightly if you try to fish this lake. The lake has a decent largemouth bass fishery. 

The Stave River fishing boundary is just the Ruskin dam and is accessed on the east side of the river. 

Ruskin Spawning Channel, there is absolutely NOT FISHING ALLOWED on this side channel. This is a great place to observe and photograph spawning salmon. 

The west channel of the Stave River has some long stretches of water that can (and do) hold a lot of anglers. The upper run is accessed along Wilson Street and a short walk to the river. I’d recommend waders or expect get wet as you access some of these upper runs. Parking has become an issue for the residents of this neighborhood and authorities are cracking down (especially during Salmon season), so make sure you’re parked in a valid spot. 

The toilet bowl is a round (“bowl”) shaped section of water on the east side of the river. The first run below the boundary dumps into the toilet bowl. This section has very little current from the river and is great place to fly fish, float fish or cast a spoon or spinner into.  

The east side channel is a long stretch that has both easy and tough access points. The upper sections of the channel are easy to access from the picnic park/parking lot (just below the “toilet bowl”). The lower sections you’ll need to do some bush whacking through the marshy area and tall grass.  

The Stave River dumps into the lower section of the Fraser River. At the Stave River mouth there are a number of species you can target both in the Stave and in the Fraser. In fact, this is a unique location as you can bank fish for White Sturgeon from this location.