As water temperatures warm, insect hatches begin and the fun never ends. Gerrards are now stocked in several lakes throughout the interior. Their size, strength, speed and stamina are considered the ultimate challenge by legions of freshwater anglers. No other place in the world offers them in such abundance as BC - or in such varied fishing situations. Steelhead are found in creeks and streams throughout the coastal regions, Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands, and in major river systems like the Fraser, Bella Coola, Skeena, Nass, and Stikine, as well as the world renowned Thompson.
Many rivers contain both, but some have only one or the other.
Both species are opportunistic feeders, but their diet tends to favour small fish over aquatic insects. Coastal cutthroat are present in most lakes and rivers along the coastal mainland and offshore islands, and wherever accessible to saltwater they are often anadromous. It is not uncommon for anglers to encounter these heavily-spotted trout while fishing for steelhead. Westslope cutthroat originated in the Kootenays of southwest BC, but have been successfully stocked in many lakes in the Okanagan. Although trout in high alpine lakes are seldom large, they reach very respectable sizes in lower elevation lakes and streams in the Kootenays, where they are popular with fly fishers.