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Waterbody record7-37

Williston Lake

Williston Lake covers about 1,727 km² in British Columbia’s Omineca region (management unit 7-37), about 2 km northwest of Mackenzie and 83 km west of Fort St. John. Special regulations include catch-and-release for Arctic grayling in some areas or seasons and bait bans in some areas or seasons.

British ColumbiaLakeMU 7-3756.02970, -123.90637

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Regulations

Waterbody-specific regulationWilliston Lake (in Zone A) (includes waters 500 m east/upstream of the Causeway Road) (Region 7A)
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Rule
No rainbow trout under 30 cm Bait ban 500 m upstream and downstream of Causeway Road July 1-Oct 30 See Nation Arm REMINDER: Arctic grayling catch and release from tributaries See mercury warning on page 75 and definition of “stream mouth” on page 80 in the Provincial Regulations
Last updated: Apr 01, 2025 · Synopsis page 61 · PDF page 67 · Current BC updates
Waterbody-specific regulationWilliston Lake (in Zone B) (Region 7B)
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Rule
No rainbow trout under 30 cm See mercury warning page 57 in Region 7A, and definition of “stream mouth” on page 80 Arctic grayling catch and release  Bull trout daily quota =1 (none under 30 cm or over 50 cm), Oct 16-Aug 14 Lake trout daily quota =3 (none under 30 cm, 1 over 50 cm), Nov 1-Sept 14
Last updated: Apr 01, 2025 · Synopsis page 66 · PDF page 72 · Current BC updates

Default regulations

Region 7A default regulationsGeneral Zone A Regulations
4 rulesView details

  • Set lining: is only permitted in the lakes of Zone A (see tables for exclusions). Set lines are restricted to one line with a single hook with a gap of not less than 3 cm (see page 8). All set lines must be marked with the angler’s name, address and telephone number. See “Rules on Bait Usage” (see page 8). Any game fish that you catch other than burbot must be released.

  • No fishing (spring closure): in any stream of Zone A, Apr 1-June 30. (See tables for exceptions).

  • Single barbless hook: must be used in all streams of Zone A, all year.

  • Bait ban: applies to all streams of Zone A, all year. See page 8 for details. (See tables for exceptions).

Region 7A default regulationsZone A Daily Quotas
8 rulesView details

  • Trout/char: 5, but not more than

    • 1 over 50 cm
    • 2 from streams
    • 3 lake trout
    • 1 bull trout (Dolly Varden)

  • NOTE: Bull trout (Dolly Varden) may only be retained Oct 16-Aug 14. These fish may only be taken from lakes and only 30-50 cm in length.

  • And you must release:

    • Bull trout (Dolly Varden):
      • from streams, all year
      • from lakes, Aug 15-Oct 15
    • Lake trout:
      • of any size, Sept 15-Oct 31
      • under 30 cm all year

  • Arctic grayling: catch and release only

  • Burbot: 5

  • Kokanee: 10 (none from streams)

  • White Sturgeon: CLOSED TO ALL FISHING

  • Whitefish: 15 (all species combined)

Region 7A default regulationsDaily & Annual Quotas for Salmon
1 ruleView details

  • Please refer to the NOTICE on page 77 for Salmon Regulations.

Region 7A default regulationsPossession Quotas
3 rulesView details

  • Possession quotas = 2 daily quotas for most species. See tables for exceptions.

  • Lake trout: possession quota = 1 daily quota.

  • Bull trout (Dolly Varden): possession quota = 1 daily quota.

Last updated: Apr 01, 2025 · Synopsis page 58 · PDF page 64 · Current BC updates

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