B. C.
Adventure
by
Dennis G. Bitton
 Imagine
a place where you can fish for steelhead, two to five
species of Pacific salmon, and rainbow and coastal
cutthroat trout--all at the same time, and all with a fly
and fly rod. It's possible at Moose Lake Lodge in central
British Columbia.
The lodge is "converting" from a
hunting/fishing lodge to a "fly fishermen
preferred" lodge. The reasons are simple. Owners
John and Mary Lou Blackwell have operated this remote
wilderness lodge for over 25 years. They started as a
hunting lodge, largely because of the fantastic hunting
for moose, bear and other species in the area. Then they
put boats on the lake at their doorstep, attached
outboard engines and invited fishermen in, to diversify
and build their business.
About eight years ago, they started
advertising in fly fishing magazines, attending fly
fishing shows and developing a fly fishing clientele.
They're glad they did.
The
Good Guys
"Fly fishermen are easier on our
equipment and facilities," explains Mary Lou.
"They're easier to please, easier to get along with
and generally pleasant around the lodge." Mary
directs the kitchen and dining room staff (herself and
two to four other people) so she should know.
"They're also easier on the fish,"
adds John. "With their attitude towards Catch &
Release fishing, they don't kill as many fish and they're
satisfied with a good fishing experience. They don't have
to take home a case of canned salmon to be happy."
Moose Lake Lodge is located approximately 80
miles east of Bella Colla, British Colombia. It's
accessed by an hour and 20 minute commuter flight from
Vancouver, B.C. with the plane landing directly on the
lodge's own airstrip. Fishermen can fly their own light
planes in if they like, and many do. The runway's
coordinates are in the lodge's literature.
Slightly north of Bella Colla, the lodge has
fishing rights on the first few miles of the famous Dean
River, at its mouth off the Dean Channel, which runs
south and west to connect with the Inland Passage which
reaches most of the way from Seattle to Alaska.
From the main lodge on Moose Lake, just 40 air
miles north of the little community called Anahim Lake,
B.C., fly fisherman can fish the upper Dean for rainbow
and dolly varden trout. The well publicized Blackwater
River (listed as West Road on many road maps) is also
nearby and has an amazing number of two to five pound
rainbows available for dry fly activity. John has a camp
rule insisting on fishing this stream barbless. If you've
ever daydreamed about "pigging out" on
"too many" two pound rainbows in one day,
you'll want to fish the Blackwater. I fished it, and it's
the closest thing to a guarantee you'll ever get out of
Mother Nature.
The big attraction of Moose Lake Lodge
facilities for many fly fishermen is the coastal lodge
and cabins at the mouth of the Dean River. Three cabins,
complete with bathrooms and flush toilets (which can only
be truly appreciated when not available at other
"spike" camps) and a lodge complete with
kitchen, dining room and sitting room, make roughing it
easier. King salmon, pink salmon, chum salmon, coho,
sockeye and bawdy steelhead make it downright enjoyable.
The hot meals at the beginning and ending of each day,
including oversized fresh prawns you can pull from the
Dean Channel yourself, are a true touch of luxury in the
wilderness.
 Trout
seasons start earlier than the steelhead or salmon
seasons, sometimes as early as May 15. But most guests
are looking for steelhead and one or more species of
salmon in the same week's visit. That means June 15 to
September 15 for most visitors, with an assortment of the
species already listed being available in the Dean and
other nearby coastal streams, including some on islands,
that John and his staff can whisk you to in pontoon
equipped bush planes. The fantastic scenery is an added
bonus.
Those seeking king salmon (chinooks) have to
come early (June 15 - July 10) or late (Aug 25 - Sept.
10). Moose Lake Lodge guests have caught chinook weighing
upwards of 60 pounds, with 40 plus pounders being taken
every season. Die hard steelhead fishermen should
concentrate on dates between June 15 and August 10 on the
lower Dean, and April 15 to May 10 and September 1 to
October 20 on the coastal rivers. John and Mary Lou say
guests have been successful on all these dates, and that
very often it's the customers' personal or business
schedule that determines when they can come. British
Colombia, the fish and the Blackwells simply do the best
they can for every fly fisherman who shows up.
Repeat bookings and new bookings obtained by
word of mouth recommendations indicate that the dates are
not as important as a willing attitude to fish for
whatever species happens to be available at the time.
Water levels and temperatures have been good
four out of the last five years, and that's about all
that need be said scientifically about fishing out of
Moose Lake Lodge. Area waters are subject to abrupt
weather changes, like everywhere else on the planet, but
John and his pontoon equipped planes can move you to
better weather conditions so easily that a good day's
fishing can be assured most of the time.
I'd like to tell you that I discovered a
secret fly pattern that worked especially well, but the
truth is that Blackwater rainbows hit almost anything
rainbows hit anywhere else. Experienced fly fishermen
enjoyed using their personal favorite dry fly patterns,
without the worry of selective trout they fish over most
of the time on their home waters. Literature provided by
the lodge suggests using some exotic sounding steelhead
and salmon fly patterns (Purple-Orange-Red Popsicle,
Egg-sucking Leech, Squamish Poacher) and some standards
like Purple Perils, General Practitioners, and Black
Wooly Buggers. Truth is, all of these patterns can be
found in any good steelhead/salmon fly tying book--or at
least some close looking "relatives". What's
important about fly patterns on the Dean River is to tie
(or buy) a fairly large selection with a good number (a
dozen or more) of every pattern you bring. There's a
tying bench at the lodge if you run short, and Mary Lou
and others can tie for you if you don't know how.
Eight-weight fly lines with heavy (rate six)
sink tip lines and short (four feet or less) leaders will
work for fish up to 15-20 pounds. A 10 to 12 pound test
leader (straight tippet material, no taper) will handle
the terminal connection
Wading in neoprene waders is the norm. Planes,
and occasionally boats, are used to get the fly fisherman
to easily wadable water. Sometimes a hike of a mile or so
is necessary to reach good water on coastal streams, but
you can take as long as you want to cover the distance,
and coastal cloud cover often means an absence of direct
sunlight. Being short and fat myself; neoprenes, sunlight
and hiking do not go well together, so I appreciated the
cloud cover.
If you've never seen the Pacific Northwest
rain forest, hiking the coastal streams around Moose Lake
Lodge's Dean River lodge can be an exhilarating
experience. There's a 200 foot waterfall close to the
lodge, that sings visitors to sleep every night they're
there.
Getting
There
Getting to Moose Lake Lodge is comparatively
easy. Just book a flight to Vancouver, B.C. and
coordinate dates and arrival times with Moose Lake Lodge
personnel for a connecting flight directly to the lodge.
You're asked to limit your total luggage weight to 40
pounds, so pack carefully.
To contact Moose Lake Lodge, write to them in
care of General Delivery, Anahim Lake, British Columbia
VOL 1CO, or call (604) 742-3535. From January through
March, you can call an answering service at (503)
575-1152.
 If
you're still having trouble finding Anahim Lake (they
pronounce it like the Anaheim near Los Angeles, by the
way) on the map, try this: go to the directory of cities
for British Columbia in your atlas; find Bella Colla, get
the coordinates and locate it on your map; just move your
finger to the right (east). There's Anahim Lake. Moose
Lake Lodge is north of that small town a shorter distance
than you just moved your finger. Dean Channel is just a
little ways north of Bella Colla (move your finger
straight up).
It's all remote. I stayed up late nights to
listen to the silence at the main lodge and the waterfall
at the smaller lodge on the coast. It was wonderful.
Rules,
Rumors and Fees
You hear a lot of scuttlebutt about BC fishing
laws and exorbitant fees. I talked my way through a lot
of it with John and Mary Lou, and here's what I came away
with. BC is joining the 20th century. There are more
rules regarding sports fishing than there used to be.
Some people in BC would like to keep it all for
themselves. But they're a minority and not the fishing
guides and lodge owners. All the rules are designed to
help preserve some great sports fishing. Special streams
have special regs. You can't drive to BC and fish
anywhere you like without checking the rule book. Most
visitors should use a qualified lodge/guide. That's true
everywhere else in the world, why not BC?
Take your money with you and pay the fees,
sometimes daily, as you're asked to pay them. Buy the
local equivalent of conservation stamps and support the
resources. Take a pair of pliers with you to bend down
barbs. It's not required everywhere, but it is mandatory
in some places. If you tie flies, bend the barbs down in
the vise before you start tying. It saves you the
exasperation of busting the whole point off, after you've
finished tying.
Don't equate the "old" BC (brochure
pictures showing 30 dead fish or 100 lb halibut or 80 lb
king salmon) with the "new" BC of inland sport
fishermen who have to fight boorish sportsmen, bad
mannered local residents and clear cut logging practices
to protect a resource and way of life they love. BC is
remote and wonderful, but it is vulnerable. Study before
you comment. Visit before you judge. Help more than you
hurt.
 
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