The Ultimate Steelhead Trip

[Dustin Revel]

I am starting to plan a trip for the ultimate steelhead experience. The nicholas Dean lodge looks great, but unfortunately is out of the budget of a high school student. My question is: is a do it yourself trip to the Dean river pausible?
I am not set on that particular river or country for that matter. Please share your Steelhead experience including lodging and details on guides etc.
Dusty Revel

[shawn kempkes]

dusty

a do it yourself Dean river trip is very doable. It takes some planning
and a good deal of cash to do it. You need to charter a helicopter to get in there and that is the biggest expense of the trip about 3500 cdn to get to the river from Bella Coola. If you want to know more e-mail me and I will send you some info.

[bigtj]

On your budget a bulkley/morice trip would be do-able, biggest cost gas and fishing licenses. You would still have some pretty darn good fishing. You're looking at $1500 to $2000 for a week to 10-day BC trip, unguided.

For something cheaper you could fish the Trinity and Klamath for a few hundred bucks, same goes for the Rogue or Umpqua. The fish are smaller but they are still nice and you could do 3 or 4 weeks for less than $500 if you are frugal. Throw in 2-3 couple guide trips and you are going to be looking at between $750 and $1000 for a week long trip.

Best,

-John

[Dustin Revel]

i fish the trinity pretty regularly and i will probably fish the klamath for the first time this season. big fish can be had there, but there are also crowds that come with these fish, which doesn't really bother me; however, seclusion seems a bit more like my style.

I'll google bulkley and morice and see how they look.

John and Shawn thank you for the advice. more advice is still welcome thanks in advance,
Dusty

[matt johnson]

hey Dusty,

I am guessing that you would want to your trip to fall within your summer vacation time frame?

If that is the case, the Dean would be the ultimate steelhead destination, but as has already been mentioned, even a DIY trip is spendy.

I think your second best option would be to stage your trip around Terrace, BC in August. August is the beginning of the run, but you should be able to get in a couple of good weeks before school starts.

I have not fished it yet, but I understand there is some decent road access to the Copper River. It gets an early run of fish and if it is in shape, could be great for surface fishing.

I am sure there is some good bar fishing on the Skeena in and around Terrace. Canadian steelheaders are a lot less secrative than U.S. steelheaders. If you inquire about access in the tackle shops in Terrace I'm sure that would point you in the right direction.

About 45 min. up the Skeena from Terrace is an area called Kitwanga. There is supposedly some awesome Skeena bars you can access from the road.

About 1.5 hours up the Skeena from Terrace there are some epic bars to fish off the road on the Skeena. This is the area just downstream from the confluence of the Kispiox. August may be a little early, but there undoubtably would be a few fish around. I fished this area last September, around the 20th, and was pretty much ruined for life by the place and the fish.

The Skeena may not be for everyone, but I love it. It is huge water, about twice as big as the lower Sac in the summer. This is the land of giant steelhead that savage big wiggly flies on the swing. You are fishing travelling lanes that are right on the bank. You wade up to your knees at most, and a 60' cast covers the water perfectly.

Don't be too discouraged if you run into people in BC. There is very little uncrowded steelhead water anymore. Good luck with your planning! Matt.

[Dustin Revel]

the trip doesn't have to be during summer, for this kind of trip I could get all my assignments done before I left. I was looking into the terrace area and it is definately an option. i would like to get a guide for the first day to shorten the learning curve.

Does anybody know any guides in the area? phone numbers would definately be appreciated. the local guides probably know the best places to stay etc.

I don't think there is anything better in life than steelhead savaging big wiggly Flies

thanks,
Dusty

[matt johnson]

Dusty,

If the school year is not going to impact a Sept./Oct. time frame, then you are in business for Skeena country.

From Anderson, you can drive up to Smithers in about two days if you push hard.

The guys who are serious about this spend at least 3 weeks up there. I would start your trip about September 15. You need this amount of time because you can easily be blown out for extended periods.

There is a lifetime of great steelhead water to explore up there. However, you may want to focus on just one or two systems for the duration of your stay. I think you would ultimately maximize your effectiveness by doing this. It is fun to explore, but if you are patient, the steelhead will come to you.

For a guide reference, give Oscar's in Smithers a call (they are on the net). Oscars is basically your authority on steelheading in the area.

If you bring a pontoon you can do all kinds of floats on the Bulkley. You can get your car shuttled for about $20 Canadian a day (call Oscars). However, because it is so close to Smithers, the Bulkley gets hit pretty hard. It is a great river nontheless.

I am guessing a 3 week stay would probably run you about $2000 if you are a thrifty planner. Everything is expensive in Canada. It is cold up there in the fall. Camping could be a little rough. You will definitely want to mix in some hotel time. A trailer would be nice.

If you open minded about getting blown out, encountering sometimes crowded conditions (Bulkley and Kispiox), and taking a few skunks even though you are fishing in steelhead paradise, you should have the trip of a lifetime! Good luck. Matt.

[Anne Vitale]

Dustin, you might consider a trip to the Skeena River that I just came back from 4 days ago. The trip was set up by Jeff Bright in conjunction with the Nicholas Dean Lodge in Terrace BC. Essentially it was a week long, on the river, camping trip on a sandbar/rockbeach just up stream of Terrace.

Before we got there, the lodge set up two large utility tents (one for the kitchen/eating area and the other for storage) along with six sleeping tents complete with cots and mattresses. All you need to bring is your own sleeping bag and big game fishing gear.The folks at the lodge ferry you out to the campsite on Monday morning and returns to ferry you back on Friday. In the mean time you get to fish right there at camp 24hrs a day if you wish.

The fishing was fantastic. I managed to get 3 steelhead to hand--the largest close to 20lbs-- while losing at least 5 times that due to that glorious fish’s ability to shake a hook. The fish were all dancers---chrome bright, strong and fresh from the sea. My right arm and shoulder are still aching. To make it even more exciting, interspersed between steelhead hook ups were hook ups to chrome bright 8-10 lbs sockeye, coho, and pink salmon. Twenty fish days per angler were not uncommon.

The price for the trip was $1750 + approx. $100 for licenses. Included were two guides between the hours of 8-5 each day (mostly to help you get your line unstuck from the rocks and to help land your fish), camp prepared meals, and the boat ride to and from the town of Terrace.
I understand that Jeff is going to organize the trip again next August. I’m already signed on for next year. Anyone interested can reach Jeff at jeff@jeffbright.com

[Rick J]

Three of us did the Smithers trip maybe 6 years ago - fished the Bulkely and Skeena on our own - while catching was not great, the fishing was awesome - beautiful water.

Another option would be the Grand Ronde in north eastern Oregon/south eastern Washington. Probably the best steelhead habitiat river I have seen. Much of it paralels a gravel road so you can fish it on your own but I would highly recommend a guided trip with Scott O'Donnell - he has two options - a 4 night 5 day float on the lower river - did thsi last year with Bill and we had a great trip. He does this early fall - September and early October. He then moves to a lodge in the upper river and does guided trips out of the lodge with 3 or 4 prime floats.

A really great experience and a chance to learn spey casting from two of the best casters in the business

[Dustin Revel]

thanks everybody for the advice.
Dusty Revel