Rainbow trout
Good
Fish shallower as the lake turns over; leeches and small lures along the shoals. Rivers fish best in the warmest hours.
Okanagan Lake at Kelowna Fishing Report
Updated Fri, Sep 25, 2026 from live weather and water data
Okanagan Lake at Kelowna: kokanee and rainbow trout in the long valley lake, with a live level gauge at the city.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.21 m
Air / High
16 °C / 17 °C
Wind
ESE 4 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 08NM083, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Okanagan Lake at Kelowna rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. The gauge reads 1.21 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind ESE around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1006 hPa and a high of 17 °C. Water sits around 15 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Tie on: Float and roe · Swung fly through the tailout · Jerkbait, long pauses · Hair jig on the rock. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 16 °C with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
British Columbia requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$11.43. British Columbia fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with BC Freshwater Fishing before you keep anything; the Rainbow trout page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Okanagan Lake at Kelowna today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:49), sunset (18:48), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Water Survey of Canada station 08NM083 (OKANAGAN LAKE AT KELOWNA).
Lake level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 08NM083. Latest reading 2026-09-25 10:20.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low17 °C / 11 °C
WindESE 4 km/h, gusts 9 km/h
Pressure100.57 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain93% cloud, 89%
Sunrise / Sunset06:49 / 18:48
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~15 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Okanagan Lake at Kelowna
The best day on Okanagan Lake at Kelowna this week looks like Sunday Sep 27, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Sunday, Sep 27 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, Sep 25 — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 06:49 to 18:48
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Rain, 27 km/h
- Rain chance
- 89%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Okanagan Lake at Kelowna: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Rainbow trout
Lakes: ice-off to June and September to freeze-up; rivers through the open season
Canada’s most stocked sport fish, in thousands of BC, Alberta and prairie lakes and in the famous rivers, the Bow first among them. Wild rainbows in the rivers; stocked fish in most small lakes. Fish shallower as the lake turns over; leeches and small lures along the shoals. Rivers fish best in the warmest hours.
Kokanee
Late spring and summer
Landlocked sockeye of the BC interior lakes: Okanagan, Kootenay, Shuswap and many smaller lakes. Schools in open water and feeds on plankton. Fish spawn in fall and leave the fishery.
When to come: the Okanagan Lake at Kelowna calendar
Activity by species and month for the Canadian year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Kokanee
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 15 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Okanagan Lake at Kelowna today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 18 °C, wind to 10 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 22 °C, wind to 13 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 26 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
BC freshwater fishing licence, from C$11.43 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by BC Freshwater Fishing and, in salt water and for salmon, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the British Columbia licence page before you keep anything.
Access
A BC freshwater licence is needed; the lake’s limits and closures are in the synopsis linked below..
About this water
Okanagan Lake at Kelowna is a lake in British Columbia, Canada, covered from the British Columbia reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Okanagan Lake at Kelowna: the full guide
Okanagan Lake at Kelowna
Okanagan Lake fills the Okanagan Valley for more than a hundred kilometres from Vernon to Penticton, with Kelowna on its eastern shore and the bridge across it at the city. It is a deep, cold lake in dry, sunny country, fished for kokanee and rainbow trout from boats. The Water Survey of Canada gauge at Kelowna supplies the lake level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Kokanee are trolled in summer, and rainbow trout are fished through much of the year, with the cooler months the best for the larger fish. Lake whitefish and burbot live in the lake as well. The lake’s limits and closures, including those that protect the kokanee spawning streams, are in the synopsis.
Where to fish it
Boats troll the open lake off Kelowna, Peachland and Summerland for kokanee and rainbows; shore anglers fish the points and the creek mouths. Kelowna’s marinas and launches are the main access. Kalamalka and Skaha lakes, in the same valley to the north and south, are fished for the same species with their own rules.
Planning a visit
Kelowna has an airport and every service; the lake is busy with boaters in summer, when the fishing is best early and late in the day. Afternoon winds can make the open lake rough. The vineyards on the benches above the lake and the local legend of Ogopogo, the lake monster, are part of every visit.
The water through the year
The lake level is regulated at Penticton and rises with the spring runoff; the lake stratifies in summer, sending the kokanee and trout deep. Kokanee spawn in the creeks and along parts of the shore in the fall, and those spawning areas are closed to protect them.
Reading this report here
The gauge at Kelowna shows the lake level and the chart the last 30 days. The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, shows when the lake stratifies. Pressure and sky build the score.
Licence, access and rules
A BC freshwater licence is needed; the lake’s limits and closures are in the synopsis linked below.
Common questions
What fish are in Okanagan Lake?
Kokanee and rainbow trout, with lake whitefish and burbot.
When is kokanee season on Okanagan Lake?
Summer is the main kokanee trolling season.
Is the lake level controlled?
Yes, it is regulated at Penticton and rises with the spring runoff.
Is fishing good at Okanagan Lake at Kelowna right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Water level and flow readings
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 08NM083 — OKANAGAN LAKE AT KELOWNA
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.