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Scrapbook pictures from our 2004 trip to the Spatsizi Wilderness, north of Smithers, BC; a Travel Adventures escorted trip. 

Spatsizi Wilderness for Unlimited Rainbows

The rainbows are all over the place!  While not huge, they still aggressively take the fly.  Of the 300 plus fish each in our group caught (yes, 300 plus each), 60% were on dries.  Most of the fish are 12-15 inches, but 20% of the catch easily exceeded 15".  Grayling and bull trout are also present, with the bull trout being close to trophy size. 

Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park is located in northwestern British Columbia, Canada.  It is one of Canada's largest and most significant parks, 3,600 square miles in area, not accessible by road, only by fly in, usually out of Smithers, British Columbia. 

      It is true; trout only swim in beautiful places!  The scenery here is breathtaking:  lakes and streams, white goats, bears, moose, bald eagles, glaciers and snow covered mountain tops.  All are seen daily from fly outs or from the lodge.  Every evening while waiting for dinner, guests and guides enjoy viewing the surrounding mountains sides in search of the wildlife on the distant mountain terraces and slides.

The fishing season in Spatsizi begins the end of June (shortly after ice out) and goes through the first week in September.  Situated at the virtual headwaters of the Stikine River is Laslui Lake - the central lodge and base camp, consisting of a chalet and log cabins.  Breakfasts are served at 8am, a half an hour after coffee has been served in your room.  First class dinners are prepared by an excellent chef precisely at 8pm.

Daily fly outs are in Cessna 185 float planes so as to experience a new river or lake every day and are usually 10 to 40 minutes from the lodge.  The first fly out is usually by 9am.  All planes return to the by 7pm.

There are numerous streams, rivers and lakes where inlets and outlets abound with unlimited fishing. The daily catches are phenomenal - when the hatch is on, the streams produce extraordinary numbers.  There is no competition from other lodges as Spatsizi Wilderness is the only lodge in the park.  An occasional canoe group is seen and only the odd fishing group that has flown in from a distant base.

Lunches are riverside on freshly caught trout, cooked to perfection by the guides using an extremely tasty Spatsizi recipe.  Other than the two or three trout cooked for lunch, all other fishing is strictly catch and release, single barbless hook.

While we were fishing Laslui Outlet within an hour of arrival, our first fly out was to Rognass Creek.  Fishing the outlet of the lake that is the beginning of the creek started out rather slow.  In fact I probably had only 10 fish in the first hour and was really unsure as to what the fly-de-jour was going to be.  There was no consistency to the takes or to the location of the fish.  Wadding was super easy on this beautiful piece of water, never more than waist deep, clear to the bottom and average width of about 60 feet. I decided to head further downstream to explore and came to an interesting set of riffles.  Still a little puzzled as to choice of fly I eventually opted for a Hornberg, probably a size 12.  I could start this fly out as a dry, and then retrieve it as a wet.  Well, this was the fly.  I have to say that I could not keep the rainbows off my hook.  I caught 28 rainbows on one Hornberg.  The fly was a wreck.  I was down to two wraps of silver tinsel and maybe three strands of the teel feather left on the hook before giving in to a change.  The Rognass gave up 100 rainbows to me before lunch.  Confession:  I actually told Billy LaBonte, our excellent guide, that I was getting tired of taking the fish off the hook.  After lunch I continued downstream with amazing success.  Another 50 trout, all witnessed by a beautiful bald eagle that kept a careful watch on his stream from high overhead in flight or a top a high fir tree.

A short trip (very short) from the Lodge up river is Tauton Lake.  Canoes are strapped on to the floats and sent up early.  The flight is no more than 10 minutes.  Power boats have previously been placed on the lake and are used to access the inlet and other fishing spots.  On this trip, the outlet fished the best.  Swinging big black Wooly Buggers attracted good size rainbows.  In the faster current we were fishing, the trout would run and jump spectacularly; three or four times before bring to the net.  In the deeper runs that would dump into the deeper pools, bull trout would often chase a small hooked rainbow.  Change to a bigger zonker pattern and the bull trout would chase and nail it when stripped.  These were big bulls; good fight and a strong pull.  The float and canoe trip downstream and back to the lodge offers a chance to stop and wade the deeper drop offs and pools, all successfully.  Dry fly action in the afternoon was exciting when casting to rising fish that might be more than 40 feet away all lined up along an obvious seam in the water and directly in the feeding lanes.  The river is strong enough to float in the canoes all the way back to camp, except for the gentle paddle that is required at the end, near the lake, but this is only about 15 minutes worth.

Mink Creek, was another fly out destination.  Interesting water; just find the drop offs and you were into fish.  Mink Creek has a few graylings along with larger rainbows.  The Stikine River also has a pool about 400 yards downstream from a falls that is loaded with graylings.  Unfortunately the day we visited, it was raining, so hard in fact, that we could barely see the far bank and that was only 40 feet away!  We tried for about two hours in pouring rain, and then gave up.

The Firesteel was our last fly-out for the week and is actually located in Tatlatui Park and is the headwater for the Finlay River.  Rainbows only at the Firesteel.  Around 5pm the plane picked us up for the flight to the Firesteel camp which is located on a secluded stretch of the river.  The Firesteel outpost is rustic yet comfortable.  No electric, but running water and hot showers!

Dry fly action was remarkable.  You wait for a target (a rise) and cast to it right away.  Bang!  Fish on!  As on all of the other waters, fly patterns are very basic.  Dry flies like Royal Wulffs, Stimulators, Parachute Adams, and Elk Hair Caddis all work great.  Wet flies that work well are Hare's Ears, Woolly Buggers, Pheasant Tails, and Hornbergs.  Nothing small; use 14s or larger.

While overnighting at the Firesteel camp, you get to fish the evening rises.  Ray Collingwood is the host at this original base camp and Ray loves to fish and show off his section of the river.  It was here that we woke up the following morning to a heavy fog over the river that yielded a large bull moose feeding on the river bottom at the opposite shore.  Just a beautiful offering from Mother Nature.  The moose outlasted our patience, for we took numerous pictures and even approached to within 25 feet in the boat for a final set of photos, yet Mr. Moose was unimpressed! 

Guides and pilots are all experienced, knowledgeable and very helpful at Spatsizi.  I think even a novice angler can experience a trip of lifetime memories!  Horseback riding, canoeing, and hiking are also available from the Lodge.

If you want to read more about this great area, find a copy of the March 2004 National Geographic.
                                                                                                                        ~~ C

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