I first fished McCreight Lake on Vancouver Island back in the early 60s, it was called bear lake then. The fishing was great then, and it still is today. You reach the lake from rock bay road, a well-travelled road that is in good condition.
This lake is set in some very nice country, mountains and valleys with wildlife all around you. The lake is stocked with cutthroat trout and has kokanee as well. I have caught Trout up to 1.5 kg over the years from this lake. It is fished best from a boat, trolling as this is a very deep lake. Although at the west end, where the sandy beach is and the Armor De Cosmos Creek flows in, you can bottom fish here, I usually have good luck here and if you are hungry, there are wild blueberries growing everywhere.
There are 3 recreation sites on the lake along with lots of camping areas plus several car-top boat launches. At the west end of the lake, there is a trail that takes you down to where the creek that feeds the lake flows in, there is a nice sandy beach here and lots of room for camping, this is such a nice beach.
At the east end of the lake, there are some marshy areas where the lake narrows just before the outflow. I have had some great fishing there using a canoe. There are logs here that you will need to pull your canoe over in order to get into the good spots, buts it’s really worth the effort.
The whole area is thick with wildlife so bring your camera. One time, as I was canoeing along in the narrows, I looked over toward the shore and not more than 15 meters away was a black bear, not noteworthy as there are many here. What was interesting about this bear was the fact that he was sitting on a stump just like a man would and the look on his face as we went by was quite comical. You could tell he was not sure what this log with two heads sticking out of it was. He looked quite humorous and made my day.
My son and I just went there today. He would like to go back with our camper and spend some time there.