PPS Destinations Report 

Kluatantan River, BC, Canada

Date:        October 2009

 Reported by Dr. Chris Travis, Laguna Hills, CA, USA

We just finished fly fishing the Babine River , with Lani Waller, and had a day off in Smithers to wash our clothes and re-gear for a trip into the wilds of Northern British Columbia near the Spatsizi Wilderness. Our destination was the Kluatantan River , the headwaters of the tri-divide of the Skeena River , the Stikine River , and the Nass. It is the sacred headwaters of the aboriginal first nations who live there.  

We flew an otter into one of a thousand lakes near the Yukon and walked to a hunting camp, sort of, adjacent to the lake. Hunters were just leaving on the otter after harvesting, moose, caribou, and gulp…Grizzly bears. Another hunting group flew in with us and we all made our way to the “rustic” bunk cabins situated near the shore of the lake.  We had no idea where the river was in relation to the hunting camp, but we found out quickly the next early morning, it was a cold boat ride across the lake to the origin of the Kluatantan River . We walked about 45 minutes down the river to some fine swinging water and started to string up our rods in a mini camp spot which was no more than some canvas tarps in a heap in case it really started raining hard.  

The stark reality of being in absolute wilderness went away after swinging a steelhead tube fly on floating line suddenly stopped and a torpedo went airborne into my backing. 15 minutes later, I released a 38 inch steelhead hen which was lying in 2 ft of water. The whole river is very skinny and floating lines with light tubes, riffled hitched nymphs, or skating dry flies were the norm. Many times we could see the fish we were casting to and that is rare for steelhead.  Every turn brought us to perfect holding water for steelhead and they did not disappoint us. On some runs, skating dry flies were more effective than streamers or nymphs. The fish would explode on the surface sometimes four or five times per drift. What a thrill. We were very lucky to have great clear water and the steelhead numbers were high. I landed 35 in 5 days with some going over 20 lbs. One giant was memorable, because I hooked him on a Waller Waker dry fly.  

We saw moose up close and Grizz tracks were everywhere, but they did not want an encounter any more than we did. So, we made a lot of noise when walking on the banks of the river. I am sure we smelled human too. The snow capped mountain views were spectacular and the leaves of the Aspens and Popler trees were all turning gold in the valleys.  All postcard scenes.  

I know I keep saying this, but Northern British Columbia is the most beautiful wild place I have ever witnessed. You must keep your wits about you and be ready for anything that may come your way. There is no evidence of human intervention in the areas we fished, and only 2 people a week are allowed on the river with a qualified guide. The season is very short, only 5 weeks. One week after we flew out, the lake froze over with no one going in or out until the following early summer.  

A couple days had us fishing with huge snow flakes floating down to create an incredible winter wonderland. The wind was not a factor on the “Klui” either, because there was none, or the huge pines growing right next to the bank protected us. Two handed rods and spey casting was the norm to cover the whole water effectively, and to keep away from the structure behind you when casting.  

Ken Morrish, at Fly Water Travel, handles all the bookings to this remote location. The fishing is arguably the finest skinny water wild steelhead fly fishing in the world. Keep this one on your to do list. Some photos are attached.

Chris

Following are some thumbnails of trip photos.  Please click on them and then return to this page by hitting the ' back ' button on your browser.