ITINERARY
sustut river
babine river
dean river kispiox river
bulkley river
bulkley river at a glance There ’ s a good mix of hard-to-reach water and accessible water that makes the Bulkley a favorite with the lodge crowd and do-it-yourself fishermen . Highway 16 accesses the easy-toreach water whereas the lodges that fish here spend much of their time on the upper river . The scenic factor is off the charts . season Mid-August through November steelhead Average 12 pounds and regularly run 15 to 20 pounds . location Located in north-central British Columbia ’ s interior near the town of Houston . where to fish Between Smithers and Houston accessing the river via Highway 16 . who to call Frontier Farwest Lodge , 877.846.9153 bulkleysteelhead . com
Ultimate Game Fish ? Steelhead , of Course !
The ultimate game fish ? Pick your poison ? Or should we say addiction . A strong case can be made for rooster-fish , golden dorado , permit , bonefish , king salmon , sailfish , and . . . well , you get the point . The list goes on . gill mckean photo
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When pressed with that question recently ( what is the ultimate game fish ?) I answered without hesitation . Steelhead . Hands down , it ’ s at the top of the heap . Make no mistake there are other worthy candidates , and to be perfectly honest , I have not caught a bonefish or a permit or a roosterfish . But I have caught enough steelhead in my lifetime to know that there aren ’ t a lot of other fish that I ’ d rather catch .
Presenting the ultimate challenge , steelhead can be difficult to catch at times . Which in some people ’ s view that makes them a little more special . Because our rivers are not teeming with them , it means spending a lot of time fishing for fish that may or may not be in the river . Which is why some people would rather catch bonefish . Understandable . Bones present a difficult challenge as well , and their numbers are considerably higher . And I ’ m told they fight every bit as hard .
When steelhead are in the river I would argue that they are easy to catch . They take
www . travelinganglermagazine . com to the fly aggressively and they fight as hard as any freshwater game fish that swims . You won ’ t find harder-fighting freshwater specie . Their takes are explosive ( yes , they can pull the rod out of your hand ) and once hooked they become acrobatic . And they fight like a junkyard dog ‘ til the bitter end . In the world of fish fights , there are none better .
Finally , when you decide to fish for steelhead you invariably end up in places that are remote and absolutely breathtaking . That ’ s part of the draw and in some people ’ s opinion it is reason they fish for steelhead . The fight , the mystique and the intrigue are ancillary to the destination . Hard to argue with that .
There are plenty of places in North America to swing a fly for steelhead , but few places get a steelhead bum ’ s heart pounding like British Columbia . Home to some of the prettiest rivers around , BC also has some of the better steelhead populations to complement the surroundings . Here ’ s our list of the best places to fish for steelhead this fall . Peter Lloyd babine river at a glance The Babine is 60 miles long and all of it is difficult to access . Throw in stories of 20- and 25-pound steelhead and you have a river with a world-class reputation . There are a handful of lodges on the Babine , and they will put you into the best runs via jet boats . season September through October steelhead Average 14 pounds and 15 to 20 pounds are common . location Located in north-central British Columbia ’ s interior . where to fish Upper 15 miles of the Babine . who to call Babine Norlakes , 250.847.6160 babinenorlakes . com
dean river at a glance Limited to boat and plane , access on the Dean puts