Canada 1988
Kispiox steelhead
This was my first intercontinental trip. I was 20 years young and full of adventure. The plan was to visit Yellowstone parc and then travel by Greyhound to Kispiox BC. However, this was the year of the terrible fires in Yellowstone and that closed the parc for visitors. I camped and fished Mallard's rest outside the parc for a day. Then moved on to BC. It was a long sit but I didn't mind as I was going to steelhead paradise! Fished the Skeena and some other tributaries (Bulkley and Copper) but mainly the famous Kispiox river. The fly fishing was hard work but the rewards unforgettable! On this image I hold my biggest steelhead of the trip, a 97cm long, 20 pound male.
Back in the day I used a 9'6" #9 fly rod. For a relatively small river like the Kispiox that worded fine. However, people I met (like Jim Vincent) were starting to use double handed fly rods those days and they were much more productive. Easy casting, more distance and better line control.
Steelhead are extremely strong. Often they come fresh from sea and will jump like crazy after hook-up. The river also offers them to use the current in their favor and so they will. To battle them take a workhorse fly reel with a strong drag. You're using around 40/00 so you can pull hard.
I've caught steelhead on dry flies and I must say that is the most exciting was of fishing for the. But steelhead don't come up easy on most rivers. I had succes on Kisiox and the Copper back in 1988 but most fish are hooked deep. So bring sinktips in several sinkrates. The closer to the bottom you present your streamer, the bigger the chance of hooking up. So if you fish the best zone you will damage and destroy fly lines. Bring at least one spare sinktip line to keep you going.
Tie your streamers on strong hooks. They will bend out if not strong enough! I had that happen on a few dry flies that new friends gave to me on the river. You're not going to hookup a lot when hunting the illusive steelheads so once you do hookup make sure your gear is 100%. Even than you only have a 50% chance of landing the fish.
