I once fished the hallowed waters of B.C on a road trip to Alaska. But it was brief, uneventful and hardly an introduction to some of the most famous river systems in the world. So when the chance fell upon my lap to visit again for a real introduction, I jumped.
This time’s trip would be based out of Frontiers Lodge with longtime client and friend Steve.
Frontiers is a premier steelhead experience on the Bulkley system, with helicopter access to other inaccessible waters. There’s acclaimed chefs, exceptional comfort (your own cabin with heated floors!) experienced guides and fabled rivers.
Even though the lodge hosts 12 anglers a week, the unique set up feels like half that. The guests split the week between the Bulkley and their upper river establishment on the Morice.
Our first day was a half day, lodge staff picked us up at our hotel in Smithers for our short drive over to the lodge to check into our cabin, have a bite to eat and then head out for an afternoon session.
We jumped in the truck and set off to see if we could turn a fish or two on a skated dry fly. Steve got a small fish to hand on the dry and I turned a fish on my second cast but couldn’t get it back.
Frontiers full service bar and and 3 course dinners did not disappoint!
On our first full day of fishing, four guests packed up for the Morice, a few days of clothes and fishing equipment was all we needed for our stay at their upper lodge.
Like most of the west coast, fires smoldered in the distance and on the way up to the Mo…
It was a pink salmon year on the Skeena system and apparently the largest return in 30 some odd years. Our first and second day on the Morice was slow for steelhead, but the procession of pink salmon was reminiscent of a National Geographic film…
The Morice lodge is a cozy outpost with everything you need and nothing you don’t. Joe, the chef prepared scrumptious meals, the linens and beds were very comfortable and the splashing of pink salmon spawning on the gravel bar out front helped sleep come easy.
On our third and final day on the Morice the weather cooled, clouds rolled in and there was a notable change on the river.
The many thousands of pinks seemed to consolidate over night, grouping on the edges or moving to the gravel and it finally seemed as if the steelhead might have enough space again to find the room to chase down a swung fly.
In the first run of the day Steve locked into a nice XXlb fish that sadly spit the hook after a few minutes tussle.
Shortly after I lucked into a fish and managed to lead mine in for a quick picture with guide Jordan. The fish had been tagged, so Jordan got the information to report.
A few runs later, Steve found a pod of biters and in quick succession hooked a few…
My last fish of the day came on a long, broadside cast to the far side. Nearly instantly after the fly landed I felt a touch, and the fish proceeded to pluck the fly for 40 feet before he climbed on enough to set up on him. Tight to the fish I waded in, Jordan looking on, but the fish came to the surface, much like Steve’s earlier and threw the hook on a good head thrash.
Back at the main lodge we were pleased to hear others along the river had done well and the change in weather had stirred a bite across the system.
I was excited to get back on the Bulkley the next day, this time downstream, near the canyon, and below the spawning pinks.
The water in the canyon is lovely, but in spite of our best efforts, the fish eluded us until the very last run. Stripping in my dry fly a fish boiled but I couldn’t reintrigue it. I noticed four fish traveling close to the bank that day and I made a mental note that if I returned to that beat I’d wade no deeper then my ankles and fish closer to shore.
The following day was on the upper Bulkely and lower Morice and back to the land of spawning Pinks. But at least here there were a few willing participants in the area.
My fishing partner Victor was fast into fish in the morning. With the prevalence of spawning pinks we noticed the steelhead were acting like large trout, sipping eggs in shallow water behind redds. B.C. yes, but steelhead anywhere can’t resist eggs.
I managed a couple nice fish before we moved along to another pool downstream.
Just before lunch Victor locked into his best fish of the trip…
That evening back at the main lodge I chatted with Ed, an angler from the UK about his experience of fishing the lower Bulkley as I’d be headed back there for my final day fishing. Much like me the day before he’d had a slower day but he did manage to hook a fish (on the hang down) and also briefly stripping in his dry fly. I had all the info I needed and was ready. Fish no deeper than my ankles and refrain from fishing long casts.
Delighted to be back on the water with Steve again, in the first run of the day he found a player! Apparently the fish boilded a few times at his fly and even ate it, but alas he couldn’t quite tighten up.
About mid way thru the day I was chatting with our guide Michael about how fast I should be fishing my dry fly. He was of the opinion to fish it fast, as fast as I could get it to go.
Up to that point I had been chugging my dry, much as I often do at home. But in a long bouldery run where my chugged fly just didn’t seem to be fishing right I started changing my angles and cast to achieve a faster swing and presentation.
By casting slightly upstream and turning my rod tip downstream, essentially dragging by my fly with a belly down stream, I was able to achieve a delightful, fast skitter that immediately caught the attention of some resident bull trout and smolt. No steelhead yet, but I’d obviously figured out something that triggered a response.
Sticking with my new presentation of drawing my fly quickly through the insides of the pool I found my first fish of the day wading ankle deep, with less then the shooting head out of my rod tip, in two feet of water, 10ft from the bank.
A bright chrome small bulkley fish, we admired it and quickly let it go.
With just a few runs to go before I needed to get to Smithers airport for my evening flight to Vancouver, I kept at my fast presentation, fishing short and moving quickly. After steaming thru a run that didn’t seem right for the dry fly, Michael encouraged me to jump down a few hundred yards to the next run while Steve was working the gut upstream with a tip.
The next run had a shallow shelf high in the riffle that cascaded into a shallow boulder field that looked just deep enough to hold a fish.
I kept my upstream cast, downstream belly and draw, maneuvering my fly thru the pool. Just a dozen casts in, a fish peeled off the shelf and tore off down stream ten feet before snatching the dry fly like a trout. Watching the fish fold off the ledge and accelerate to the downstream swinging fly was one of the better dry fly eats I can remember, so fun!
I let out a whoop that apparently Michael could hear from a quarter mile away and he came racing with the net to help out.
That last fish of BC was the most memorable because it reminded me that steelhead are steelhead, no matter where you might be fishing for them. It always helps to try and pick up those subtle hints a river might be telling you. And as always in steelheading, never forget its more then hang it out there and hope like hell.
Thank you to Steve for the invite, Frontiers for having such a top shelf operation, the lodge staff and chefs, guides Jordan, Ollie, Michael and Nick and the Morice and Bulkley rivers.