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Fly Fishing Trip to Corbett Lake Lodge - Merritt, BC.


Corbett Lake Lodge Fly Fishing
Corbett Lake Lodge - Boat Launch

I opened the stillwater fly fishing season with a wild trip to Corbett Lake Lodge. Corbett Lake is located just outside of Merritt, British Columbia and its around a three hour drive from my front door step. It’s a private fishery, stocked with some beautiful big Rainbow Trout and we had the pleasure of catching a lot of them!


I arrived at Corbett Lake Friday morning on the last weekend of April to find the boat launch area still covered in ice. There was a narrow pathway leading out to open water carved out by the Lodge’s caretaker, I believe his name was Jim. (Shoutout to Jim and his dog Paul) At this point, only 25% of the lake was fishable.

Regardless, I put the boat in the water and began carving my path through the shifting ice.

Fly fishing ice off
Ice off!

With the air temperature in the mid twenties (Celsius) and a constant blow of wind, by late afternoon the ice was completely off the lake. It was actually astounding to watch how fast the ice disappeared. No longer did I have to be selective as to where I fished. As the water opened up, it was game on!



Corbett Lake is well structured. It has a large surface area of shoals which surround the lake, these are ideal grazing grounds for Rainbow Trout that stalk the 3-4 ft shallow water. The drop-offs are steep, abrupt and covered in thick vegetation. It’s a paradise for growing large healthy Rainbow Trout, until of course, they chomp down on the wrong food source and end up on the line of a fly rod. The lake is bordered by those classic Merritt grass rolling hills, often times I missed a few takes because I found myself staring at the scenery and not my indicator.

The average size Rainbow Trout at Corbett Lake
The average size Rainbow Trout at Corbett Lake

The cabins are exactly what you would expect to find at a fishing lodge. Rustic, clean and perfect for a weekend getaway. The bathrooms were equipped with showers, plenty of sleeping space, drinkable water and a big bbq on the patio. The cabins surround the southern end of the lake and the main lodge is located at the entrance of the property which includes a restaurant, a great selection of hand tied flies and of course, a well stocked bar.


It felt great to finally be back on the water again after what seemed like a long winter of tying flies. The first day was all smiles and a few fish. Day two, we dialed it in with a killer balanced leech pattern.

FISH ON!




Tap the video below to watch our adventure at Corbett Lake Lodge!




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