Fly fishing for Steelhead on the Kispiox
Rivers in Western Canada - Kispiox River
How to Get to the Kispiox
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Wether you arrive from the West via Terrace of from the East via Smithers , the place to turn off the Yellowhead Highway is New Hazelton.
From there you turn onto Churchill Road, which will take you to the village of Kispiox after about 20 kms. On your way, you will cross the Kispiox on a one-lane steel bridge which might be worth a few shots with your camera.
The village of Kispiox is on the junction where the Kispiox River runs into the Skeena. If you leave town on the main road in northern direction with the Kispiox running on your left side, after about 12 kms you will reach a bridge crossing the river. Continue for about a km and a half and you will reach the Steelhead Camp. It is run by a couple from Austria who will be glad to help you in any way they can. In case there should be a vacancy, don't hesitate even a second to rent one of their cabins. You can start to cast your fly right across the street.
The Steelhead
The Kispiox is certainly among the rivers producing the world's largest steelhead, but it can be rather capricious. A good friend of mine caught his largest steelhead ever in the Kispiox, but it took him four visits, and it was the only steelhead he ever caught there. Unfortunately, some of the local residents behave in a way making it a little too easy to get into trouble with them. They obviously would like to reserve some pools for their paying guests and have resorted to throwing stones at other anglers in the past. Beginners beware! A boat will give you a considerable advantage.
If you intend to wade across the river, be very careful! The smoother sections used to cross are followed by rapids with strong currents. To loose your footing there can lead to a very unfortunate outcome, to say the least.
Fishing a one-handed fly rod here isn't easy, but it can be done. It isn't easy to cast a heavy brass or tungsten bead head with a 5 to 6 m leader for up to 40 meters. You should practice all that at home - the time spent in Canada is just too precious!
A beautiful spot for fishing nymphs or dries. The smooth current is ideal for nymphing with a drag-free drift.
A beautiful pool with enough room for several anglers. It continues a good ways to the right of the picture and accommodates up to 6 anglers without any problem.
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- Wolfgang Fabisch
- Nürnberger Str. 45
- 90542 Eckental / Germany
- Phone 011 49 9126 288640
- Fax 011 49 9126 288643
- Copyright: Wolfgang Fabisch
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