Fly fishing for Steelhead on the Heber River

How to get to the Heber

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You reach this river in British Columbia exactly same way you get to the Gold River. Crossing a bridge about 10 kms before you reach Gold River, you can catch a glimpse of the Heber for the first time. Your second chance is about 2 km before town, where the river runs near the road. Otherwise it cannot be seen from any road. Some points of access to the Heber you may find by yourself, others are hard to find. In all of Vancouver Island you may run into black bears, around the Heber you also have to watch out for cougars in Winter.

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The Heber is a tributary to the Gold River and the junction is right in the town of Gold River. There fishing nymphs may lead to hook ups, as the water is quite deep. In September and October you may see many salmon right there. From the junction upstream to the river upstream from the Canyon all fishing in the Heber is prohibited. In the Heber upstream only fly fishing for trout is allowed. There are some spots that are worth trying a dry fly. Even strike indicators are strictly forbidden. You should also take note that it is closed entirely in winter. You will find all necessary information in the Freshwater Fishing Regulations. Before fishing any river for the first time, you should read these to avoid unpleasant surprises. Any violation of regulations will meet severe consequences on all fly only waters all over BC.

All steelhead in the Heber are without exception wild fish. This river has a healthy, hardy, self - reproducing strain of fish, but the number of fish per km is lower and their size is smaller than in other rivers. Finally, there's one more drawback: the Heber is apt to react considerably to heavy rains as well as to dry spells. Just one example: on all my trips to BC within the last four years, the Heber could not be fished even once. Unfortunately, these periods when the Heber cannot be fished seem to happen more and more frequently.

In case you want to fish the Gold River, you might also try the Heber. The main season for the Gold being in winter when the Heber is closed, this might not be easy to combine. To travel all the way just for the Heber just might not be worthwile. You might still try to fish for salmon in the Gold, where they reach considerable size. Last not least, you always have the gorgeous scenery on Vancouver Island´s West Coast at your disposal!

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British Columbia River

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