The Angling Report news letter

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This is a great publication to subscribe to for FFing travel info.

Bill - We missed this a few years ago but thank you for the kind words.

We (The Angling Report) are still going strong.

Here is a recent edition of the newsletter:

http://www.anglingreport.com/online_..._NCC-74656.pdf

Hope to hear from you soon!

Mike @ The Angling Report

I wanted to add that if anyone wants a free copy of our newsletter, just email me at theanglingreport@gmail.com and I will throw one in the mail for you.

Attachment 10678

Noticed the sponsors in your pdf link, one which was Pitt River Lodge. Here is my free trip report of the Pitt River Lodge that others won't have to pay a fee to read about. The ISE show, back when it was in San Mateo, one of the vendors happened to be the Pitt River Lodge. Ken Hanley had his video of Baronoff Island playing in the booth next to Pitt River Lodge booth. Ken’s fine video had us primed and frothing about silvers and pinks. Can’t blame Ken. He was just playing his video work of his favorite spot on earth. But we were primed just like Pavlov's dog. Somehow the shorter trip to Vancouver next to Ken caught our eye. We asked the gal at the booth questions and were told how fantastic this location was, not to mention the 20,000 silver run on their river. The photos, if anything portrayed a destination within a couple of hours from Vancouver. A group of us booked the trip. I should probably mention here that you should never go to these shows with rabid, impulsive angling friends and a credit card. The booth’s photos and marketing got the better of us.

Here is the trip.

We were picked up at the airport by a limousine service in a stretch SUV that the lodge said would get us to the lodge. Too fancy for us, but hey, is this the only thing available? We stopped at McDonalds, bought the limo driver breakfast, picked up some alcohol and headed to the drop off point along the Pitt River Lake. We were then charged by the hour for the ride. About an hour later a large fishing trawler showed up to pick us up. The offset vertical rollers were still intact at the back of the boat. There were another four to six anglers from the local pulp mills ready for a grand weekend of silver fishing. The lodge owner operated the fishing trawler that transported us to the other end of the lake. When asked about the trawler, the lodge owner said he saw that the fishing industry along the inland passage was going downhill and to survive, he decided tourism and destination angling would be his saving grace. The 45 minute boat ride placed us at the inlet of the Pitt River, which looked the closest to what I envisioned in Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion. Jitneys were running about and pushing logs together on this particular part of the lake. Blocks of logs were cabled and ready to be transported down the lake for processing- possibly lumber or wood pulp. Both sides of the lake had logs cabled in large expanse waiting for a tug to move them off site. Tractors with large dangling claws were on the shore loading logs onto parallel rails that helped slide the logs into the lake. This was the end of the road along the Pitt River valley, a logging concession, now owned by the Hells Angels according to the lodge owner. His lodge, the only other competing private land owner was in the middle of the logging concession living in harmony. We were told that the logging had been going on for 100 years in the Pitt River drainage. We off loaded our gear from the trawler and were transported in an old school bus down a strictly radio controlled dirt road. Every tenth of a mile, the bus driver got on the CB radio to announce his location along the road for the 15-16 foot wide haulers would know our position. Not only was the road radio controlled, but the speed limit was 25 miles an hour. We were lucky as the Sikorsky helicopters used to transport the downed or harvested trees from the steep hillsides to waiting haulers along the road had ended for the season. The trees we did see were the remaining hardwoods covered with moss and ferns in the crotches of branches as high as 20 feet. Lumber costs had plummeted, so raw logs were going cheap and the only way to make money was by production- removing the trees as fast as possible. This was no way an old growth area. But the saving grace, the lodge had a old growth stump in front of their lodge that doubled as an outhouse at one time. The area was second and possibly third growth after the old growth had been removed earlier in the last century. We were told that historically, any navigable river along the West Coast of Canada was logged as soon as possible according to our host.

After dinner, we met a couple anglers from Singapore and Malaysia smoking cigars in the front of the lodge discussing their remarkable day of fishing for silvers with lures cast into deep holes of waiting silvers. We told of our wanderings along the river's edge near the lodge, climbing over high and dry massive logs jams left in place after the river changed its course. We landed a few dollie varden and rainbow for our efforts between 5 of us. This would also be the last day of fishing for our stay. A double low just off the coast was working its way into Southern BC and headed our way. Then the rains came. The river the day before was an emerald color, was now the color of mocha with a visibility of a couple inches along the shore only. The river became a torrent. The next day we took the bus up to the top of the valley where the road crossed the river. The plan was to drop a rope tethered raft from the top of the bridge, walk down to the water and jump in the raft for a day on the river. Looking upstream the river poured out of a narrow canyon. Full sized logs and washed out trees floated in the mocha turbulence and standing waves. Plans were assessed on safety and the float trip was abandoned for the day. But what to do with anglers ready to fish? The slow ride back to the lodge, we encountered a flat tire. What does one do with a flat? Drive back to the lodge on the rim and replace the tire. We were offered a trip back to the docks where we arrived are the logging concession and fish for cutthroat in the shallows of the lake. We transferred into the school bus and headed down the road to fulfill our day on the water. We did engage in conversation nightly with our host and hostess in conversations of the history of the area, especially the Provincial Park upstream of our location. The river in the park barely rose due to the protected old growth rainforest and the run off did not alter the water clarity nor did the river rise. We were totally amazed with their description as we would check the water clarity through out our trip in hopes of a change in river conditions. It was never to be. Towards the end of our stay, we did a float trip, where we fished an eddy at the top of the outside curve. It must have been at least a mile long outside curve covered entirely by a log jam 50-60 yards wide. The guide dropped us off above the eddy and we fished it to the end of a gravel bar. Our guide brought the raft down stream to our location and we depart right on the seam of the eddy. Row as he might, we stayed right in the seam and were headed toward the log jam. Just as we hit the log jam, the raft high sides up onto the log jam. So now we are sitting on top of the log jam wondering what our exit strategy is. We don’t know how we miraculously did not go under the log jam. Now for the walk out over moving water on the log jam. We can see the river moving below us for the width of the log jam. There is bear scat and moss on the logs, but now also wet from the rain has us concerned until we can see gravel and soil underfoot. Did we just survive this event? Our guide calls for a ride on his radio and states that our location is near the dynamite shack. When we get back to the lodge, the owner asks us what happened. I replied, let him (the guide) tell you. He claims the oar lock broke. The two of us don’t contradict nor confirm the incident. We just wanted out at this point.

I still recall the lodge owner's wife comment about our group coming from California and asking if we ever got tired of seeing blue sky. Her preference was to see the fog and mist filter through the trees, it was heaven. She never got out except for a trip to Costco every two weeks. All I could do was raise my eye brows. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that weather is one of the variables that we can not control on these trips. And under different situation, this might have been a very enjoyable trip. We did play pool until bed time every night, something I haven’t done since my service days. We even helped figure out why the diesel generator quit working early one night. So you might say we did enjoy our challenges in the wilderness among a working logging area. We were asked if we would consider coming back anytime. We answered, “we would think about it.” I haven’t thought about it until seeing the layout for Pitt River Lodge as a sponsor to your PDF. The photo is indeed tempting, but the memory remains as if it happened yesterday. The sight of the gravel river bank washing away and watching full grown trees fall prey to the river’s flow. Yes, it was amazing. Our original contact back in San Mateo was the owner’s sister. Come to find out, she doesn’t even fish except for these trade shows. But she was effective at the show. Our guide went to guide school the following year. When I asked about the raft and how they retrieved it, the owner said that they went out on the guide’s day off to get it off the log jam and left a second raft on the log jam. Go figure. Don't look upon this report as a disgruntled individual, but rather a shared report at no cost to the reader. Hope it was worth the read. 80)

We do have a few more reports on Pitt River Lodge. We have sponsors as a reader service but we do not offer any favorable coverage in return. We print everything that our subscribers send us - good and bad. Below is a link to a report and I also added the entire text of a second report from another subscriber who wrote about his stay at the lodge in 2013.

Taking Another Look At Salmon Fishing at Pitt River Lodge in British Columbia

http://www.anglingreport.com/archive_details.cfm?
id=2041

http://www.pittriverlodge.com/reviews.html

Honor Roll Report Found! A Wilderness Lodge Near Vancouver

Editor Note: Subscriber Matthew Capofreddi tells us he has found a lodge that is near Vancouver, British Columbia, but still provides a genuine wilderness fishing experience. On one of his two trips to this lodge, thanks to a storm, he had a real adventure along with good fishing, he says. We are putting Matthew Capofreddi on our Subscriber Honor Roll for taking the time to file this report. His Honor Roll fishing cap is already in the mail.

I travel to Canada for work frequently, and I wanted to combine a work trip with a day on the Bow River in Calgary in June 2012, but, unfortunately, the river was usually high at that time. As Vancouver was one of my stops, I did a quick Google search for fly fishing in Vancouver and that is when I first read about Pitt River Lodge. I decided to give the place a try with limited research and, boy, am I glad that I did! The lodge really provides what it advertises, namely, a wilderness adventure close to Vancouver.

My trip started with a one-hour drive to the boat dock at Grant Nar- rows east of Vancouver. There, I was picked up in a jet boat. The ride across Pitt Lake was incredible, with snowcapped mountains on either side and waterfalls spilling down into the lake. Although the boat ride took an hour, it felt like it took a few minutes because of the incredible sights along the way. At the end of the journey, we docked at a rustic logging camp and loaded our gear into a pickup truck for the drive to the lodge.



The lodge provides classic fishing accommodations, with options to stay at either the main lodge or one of the cabins. The latter offer limited services. There is plenty of room in the main lodge to socialize with other guests, including a bar area (you need to bring your own liquor and beer) and pool table. During my first trip to Pitt River Lodge (I have now been there twice), I was one of only three guests. All of us were warmly welcomed and provided with great meals and a very comfortable bed. The next morning I met my guide and we headed out with the other guests in a pickup. After a drive of about five miles, we dropped off the other guests, along with their guide and raft, as they were going to float down the lower section of the river. My guide and I drove on to the end of the road, where, incidentally, the owners are building a new lodge with great views and access to higher sections of the river. We then hiked up the river another couple of miles where we could see glaciers on the mountains further to the north. At that point, we started fishing and hiking our way back down the river. We were hoping that some sea-run bull trout (very similar to a Dolly Varden) had worked their way into the upper sections of the river. Unfortunately, we weren’t very lucky. Although the views were incredible, the fishing was quite slow.

The Pitt River is a classic, glacially fed river with big water and many braids. The fishing and wading are not easy. We fished primarily by swinging large flies through the seams, mostly weighted leech, sculpin and trout pat- terns. Toward the end of the day, after working our way down the river, we did manage to land a few bull trout. They are great fighters, especially in fast water. They reminded me of the bluefish I catch back home in the coastal waters of New England. They were extremely tough fish, even the smaller ones we caught that day in the two-to three- pound range. They left me wondering what it would be like to hook up with some of the larger fish that are widely known to be in the river. Interestingly, in one section of the river, we floated egg patterns through riffs with indica- tors and managed to catch a few decent- sized rainbow trout. It was hard to believe that they were rainbows, as they were mostly white and very similar in coloration to the bulls.

When we returned to the truck after an exhausting hike up and down the river, I was ready to take off my waders and have a nice cocktail. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. We saw storm clouds building and quickly got into the truck to drive back to camp. As we drove down the road, the storm grew worse and began to blow down trees all around us. At that point, we didn’t know if we should stop or drive on. A few kilometers later, the decision was made for us, as our way was com- pletely blocked by a very large tangle of trees across the road. We radioed back to camp to have someone drive in our direction to meet us. After waiting for a half hour or so, we realized that they couldn’t reach us, so we go out of the truck in the middle of the storm and started walking. It was at that point that we saw a bear behind us run off into the woods.

We didn’t get far before we realized that we were in real trouble, as there were many trees across the road, some of them quite large. We had to work our way down the road, around and through the trees for a couple of miles before we finally met up with the others who were trying to cut their way through the mess to rescue us. After this adventure, I was very happy to have a warm shower and nice meal before promptly falling asleep.

The next day, when the full extent of the damage was assessed, we realized that it would be impossible to reach the more productive sections of the river, so we decided to cut the trip short by a day. I was very disappointed, as I was looking forward to fl the river after my long hike. I found out later that it took another week for them to cut the trees and free our truck.



Fast-forward to June of this year when my business schedule provided an opportunity to spend another weekend in Vancouver. My first thought was to get back to Pitt River Lodge. On this trip I was met at the lodge with hugs and reminiscing stories of my grand ad- venture a few years earlier. Again, I was one of three guests in the main lodge, but there were two other anglers in one of the cabins. As before, the next morn- ing, we all headed out in trucks, this time with three rafts. The guides had planned the day to ensure that none of the guests fished the same pools.

We quickly learned that the river was up from the previous day, which resulted in a push of big bulls up the river. We used the raft primarily for transportation and wade-fished. We were quickly into fish, and this time they were the big ones. I managed to land a few in the seven to ten pound range and lost others that might have been bigger. Again, I was amazed at the power of these fish, which shouldn’t be surprising, I guess, given their ability to work all the way upriver from the ocean. The next day, the number of fish hooked and landed was higher, but the size of them was generally smaller (two to four pounds). This appeared to be driven by a drop in the river after a heavy rain overnight. The cold rain, I was told, slowed the glacial melt and offset the impact of the rain itself. We caught all of our fish both days by swinging large flies through the pools and seams. My guide had created many of the patterns we used, and he had named them after sections of the river (Sally Soft Sand, Jimmy John’s Boil, and Blue Lagoon were a few). Although this was his first year at the Pitt River, he was very knowledgeable and comfortable on the water. All in all, I probably landed about five to six large fish on the first day and a dozen on the second day. I will definitely be going back to Pitt Lodge again. The next time I might try to schedule a visit during the salmon or steelhead runs.

—Matthew Capofreddi.

Don Causey Note: Capofreddi gives the cost of his latest trip as $1,700 (Canadian). The complete lineup of available trips, as well as more information about the fishing and the facility, are available on the lodge’s website at: www.pittriverlodge.com.