I pity the man that comes easy to the sport of steelheading. This is the guy we’ve all heard about, the one that buys a fiberglass fly rod and on the first day, before he has figured out how to use it, lands a trophy steelhead of over twenty pounds. On one hand one might think that the poor fellow would be hooked for life, but really, where does he have to go after a fish like that? Imagine if he caught that fish on a dry fly! The lost soul may as well hang up his chunk of fiberglass...

When asked what their favorite time to fish, most hardcore B.C. still water fly fisher’s agree that late June and caddis fly hatches are at the top of the list. This time of year can bring some of the biggest trout to the top to feed and create some of the most exciting displays of surface takes that you may ever encounter. Traveling sedges are also not your every day run of the mill caddis flies. No sir, these are the biggest of the big in the caddis fly world. Most travelers average around one inch long with many nearing...

The Fraser river is the largest river in British Columbia, winding its way from Mount Robson to the Strait of Georgia, a length of over 850 miles. This magnificent river begins as a glacial fed stream, tumbling northwest towards Prince George, barely avoiding a passage to the Arctic watershed along the way, when it sweeps southerly to begin its tumultuous downhill journey to the Pacific. It flows through several biogeoclimatic zones and past interesting and unique ecosystems; from open alpine to spruce stands, through the dry ponderosa pine bunchgrass zone of the interior plateau and through coastal western hemlock laden...

My rod twitched slightly, and then I could feel the fish gently pick up the bait. I waited for the fish to take the bait, and then set the hook. Some minor headshakes were felt and then slack line. Here it comes, it’s going to jump. The huge twelve and a half foot fish leaped straight out of the water all the way to its dorsal fin and rolled over like a humpback whale. The waves from the landing lapped at the side of the boat. After a sweaty, see-saw battle, we surfed the great fish to shore and pulled...

When most people think of flyfishing locally or in the Interior - they generally think of Cutthroat, Rainbows or Brook Trout. In this article I'm going to bring to your attention another interesting fishery - Kokanee on the fly. These beautiful landlocked descendants of the Sockeye Salmon can make for one of the most challenging and exciting fisheries that you can experience. The food source that makes this fishery happen is the family "Chironomidae" or in layman's terms chironomids. Though the main food source in the kokanee's life cycle is plankton the other source which makes them vulnerable to the...

The tell tale tug of a steelie is the drug that keeps us up to our armpits in ice water, dreading going back to the warmth of the daily grind. Steelhead are only fish but they have the mystic power to take over one’s mind, soul and time. The addiction can be overwhelming. The only way to suppress it is with a hard fought slab of silver steelhead on the fly, the very notion conjures up romance and prestige - the pinnacle of west coast fly fishing. Many would be steelhead fly fishers become utterly lost in the maze of...

It has been said of winter steelheading with a fly rod, that one can achieve the same effects and have nearly the same results by standing in a bucket of ice water in your back yard casting heroically. Sometimes it may seem so, believe me I’ve had my droughts, but I would like to shed some light on the topic of cold water steelhead that may help a few fly chuckers turn the table. When I’m speaking of “cold water” I mean water temperatures that are below 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the water temps reach this stage a steelheads metabolism...

With the exception of steelhead, nothing beats coho on the fly. Often, fly fishing coho is very effective. This isn’t always the case, canyon pools, pocket water and deep fast runs are best left for more standard methods. For example the lower portions of the Chehalis, Vedder, Harrison, Nicolmen, Nicomekl, Kanaka, Alouette, and the Capilano make for ideal-near perfect fly water. As far as gear is concerned most trout outfits will suffice. Even a 5 or 6 weight fly rod will handle a silver salmon though a 7 or 8 is more suitable. Keep in mind most coho are on...

Around the Kamloops area, winter has shed its hold on the interior plateau. Lakes have begun their ritualistic ice off and the dormant cabin fevered fly anglers are dusting off boxes of flies and rods waiting for the timely openings. This is a time of feast or famine, as many of the lakes have not yet “turned over” Turn over is an expression used to describe the way a lake changes in temperature after the long hold of winter has loosened its grip. Basically what happens is that the water nearest the surface is colder during winter than the water...

Since I was a small boy, I have been enchanted by cutthroat trout. There is just something about these fish that is very appealing. While Kamloops trout may leap higher and Cariboo rainbows fight harder, there is nothing more thrilling to me than catching a sea-run cutthroat fresh from the ocean. My fascination with cutthroat trout goes back 50 years, when my father took me fishing in Maria Slough, near Agassiz. Although I was only four years old, I vividly remember my father casting a fly and catching trout after trout, filling a fishing basket. As I touched the dying...