Nechako River - below Cheslatta Falls (08JA017): Loading current reading...
Stockingtype a lake - what went in, when, how many
Live from the provincial stocking database - type a lake name for its recent stocking history.
Coming up on the water
November 2026
Lake trout go shallow. Cooling water brings char up - spoons and big minnow patterns along drop-offs.
Kokanee and rainbows. Interior lakes concentrate fish before ice-up; trollers and stillfishers both score.
First-ice prep. Late month, the shallow northern lakes start thinking about ice - the hardwater season is close.
December
Lakes freeze. Ice forms through the month; first ice fishing on the shallower lakes late December.
January
Ice fishing. Rainbows and char through the ice; river options mostly frozen out.
Ice safety: be confident about ice thickness before going out on any ice. Check it yourself, in several spots, every trip - ice varies lake to lake and day to day, and no report can tell you it is safe. When in doubt, stay off.
Salmon returns analysis and hatchery data by region
DFO data · AI-generated summaries
Choose a salmon species and river. Each bar shows one year: taller means more fish. The latest reported year is orange. These are selected monitored populations, not a complete regional census.
Checked October 14, 2026. Annual history: NuSEDS June 1, 2026 snapshot, with population-specific latest years up to 2025. This is not a live 2026 return estimate. Gaps are not zero; reported DFO estimates are not invented counts.
Loading species charts...
Hatchery plans and reported production
2026 brood plan dated August 18, 2026. Many plan rows are Preliminary. Release timing depends on species and stage; a brood year is not a return year. Post-season reports dated February 19, 2026 cover 2023 and 2024 broods. The 2024 cohort has incomplete smolt releases. Juvenile output is not adult return, marine survival or proof of recovery.
Nadina River Spawning Channel - young salmon releases
Sockeye
2023 released
1,136,445
2024 released
6,578,656
2026 plan
22,500,000
Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.
DFO figures and notes
2026 brood primary release target: 22,500,000 juveniles. Stages: Chan Fry. Objectives: Harvest. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.
2023 brood: reported actual releases 1,136,445. On rows with both numbers, 1,136,445 released against 22,500,000 targeted (5%). This measures reported juvenile production only.
2024 brood: reported actual releases 6,578,656. On rows with both numbers, 6,578,656 released against 22,500,000 targeted (29%). This measures reported juvenile production only.
Plan context
AI-generated summary: The 2026 brood plan lists Sockeye production, with harvest objectives. Targets are planned juvenile releases, not adult returns. Compare the post-season rows below for reported production; blanks and incomplete cohorts are not failures.
Spruce C Wldlf Ass - young salmon releases
Chinook
2023 released
58,470
2024 released
39,815
2026 plan
94,000
Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.
DFO figures and notes
2026 brood primary release target: 94,000 juveniles. Stages: Fed Fry. Objectives: Conservation, Rebuilding. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.
2023 brood: reported actual releases 58,470. On rows with both numbers, 58,470 released against 57,000 targeted (103%). This measures reported juvenile production only.
2024 brood: reported actual releases 39,815. On rows with both numbers, 39,815 released against 77,000 targeted (52%). This measures reported juvenile production only.
Plan context
AI-generated summary: The 2026 brood plan lists Chinook production, with conservation, rebuilding objectives. Targets are planned juvenile releases, not adult returns. Compare the post-season rows below for reported production; blanks and incomplete cohorts are not failures.
Sources, coverage and how to read these charts
AI summaries are derived from the linked DFO records, not written or endorsed by DFO. Checked October 14, 2026; this section is a dated snapshot, not automatic monitoring.
Each plotted series keeps one population ID, species, river/run and metric. Natural adult spawners exclude jacks. Where not available, clearly labelled total-return series include categories recorded by DFO. Populations and rivers are never added into a region total.
History shown from 2006 to 2025 when available. A population needs at least three reported values and a value from 2020 onward. Type 6 presence/absence and no-survey rows are not plotted as numeric abundance. Conflicting duplicate population-year records are omitted. Blanks remain gaps.
Final, Near Final and Preliminary estimates are labelled in the point details and table. Methods and quality differ; a reported estimate is not necessarily an exact census. Changes in effort, methods and missing surveys limit trend comparisons.
Pink odd/even lines preserve parity. Four-year calendar blocks are a viewing aid, not an assumption that Chinook, coho, chum or every sockeye population returns on a fixed four-year cycle. No values are projected beyond the source.
Hatchery targets cover primary juvenile release events only; no transfer double counting or alternate-strategy targets. Post-season totals exclude alternate strategies; percentages use only rows with both target and actual.2024 is incomplete, so comparing its total directly with2023 would mislead. Target attainment alone does not establish ecological success.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Source terms linked in the footer. No DFO endorsement is implied.
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Wind, waves and swell (Windy)
Check the regs yourself before you fish.
Openings, closures and limits change without notice, sometimes mid-season and area by area.
Everything here is an aggregation for convenience, not an official source. Always confirm the
current rules for your specific management area directly with
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
(saltwater / salmon) and the
B.C. Freshwater Fishing Regulations
before you go.