Chilko River Fly Fishing Excursion

Introduction
British Columbia Canada
Surround yourself with crystal clear water and unspoiled mountain wilderness. Our  seven night River Fly Fishing package offers you six and half days of fully guided river fly fishing for Trophy Native Rainbow Trout, you can also enjoy fishing for amazing Bull Trout on Chilko Lake. 
 
Chilko Lake is 50 miles long and surrounded by the snowcapped peaks of the Pacific Coast Mountains. It is the highest fresh water lake in North America and offers you a wild, scenic backyard as big as it gets. It is considered to one of the most beautiful places in British Columbia.  The Chilko River flows from Chilko Lake and is right outside your front door offering some of the best river dry fishing for wild Rainbow Trout. This river is not stocked, these are wild native rainbow trout living in one of North America's top fly fishing rivers. It all adds up to a great fly fishing trip, fun and good times.
 
You can float a line from a drift boat, jet sled or float-tube. Wade the riverbank for total serenity. You can spend the day on awe-inspiring Chilko Lake fishing the mouth of glacial streams surrounded by majestic mountain peaks, pristine beaches, and no one for miles. If you want a day off from fly fishing, we have a herd of well trained horses, canoes, kayaks, and miles of horse trails for hiking. Or you can always kick your feet up on the deck and read a book or soak in the hot tub. The choice is yours.

Accomodation


Accommodations
This is a stationary ride, so all nights will be spent at the same location.

Description
The wilderness log lodge provides a warm and welcoming gathering place to enjoy good times with your fellow travelers. Situated adjacent to the Chilko River, the location of the lodge and guest cabins all take advantage of offering you beautiful views of the river, valley, and the Coast Mountains. The lodge hosts the dining area, the great room with a big stone fireplace, a fully stocked bar of beer, wine, and spirits, Jacuzzi, barbecue area, and big decks. The lodge is a great place to share a drink, play a great game of cards, soak in the Jacuzzi over looking the river, or take advantage of the big deck while viewing millions of stars. Of course an option is to sit by the roaring fire sharing  a great story of the day. Canoes and kayaks are also available for use.
Please note there is no cell phone reception or WIFI. 


Cabins/ Rooms
We have 3 log cabins and 4 rooms in the lodge to accommodate up to 16 guests (a mix of riders, fly fishers, or bear viewers. Riding groups are kept to 6 to 8 riders max). Each unit is set up for two people and offers private bathrooms, comfy beds with Egyptian cotton sheets and duvets, gas fireplaces, or a wood burning stove. The accommodations are very comfortable. There is daily maid service to ensure that your room or cabin is kept comfortable for your stay at the lodge. We have a laundry machine available and clothesline at the lodge, which can be used in the evening- otherwise the cabin attendant can do laundry for a small fee.

Room Occupancy
Single supplement will include a private room but may have a shared bathroom with the same gender.



Meals
All meals are included in this trip from lunch on Day 1 to breakfast on your last day.

Life at the lodge is focused around the great outdoors. The gathering of everyone for meals is a special time of the day. We serve all meals at the lodge "family style."
Wonderful Canadian breakfasts as well as fresh fruits, cereals, yogurts, and juices are served before you active day on the river, lake or trail.
Lunch is spent streamside, on top of a mountain, or wherever your wanderings have taken you, giving you total freedom throughout the day.
The evening meal is especially nice. After a great day, everyone can relax with a good dinner, a glass of wine, and great company, sharing stories from their adventures. Wonderful meat dishes, breads, salads, pastas, vegetables, delicious desserts and table wines are served. This is all "no guilt" eating, as your active day ahead needs the energy!

Another highlight is a fully stocked bar located within the lodge where you can purchase drinks for an extra fee. It is the perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine or cocktail while you sample tasty appetizers made by the in house chef. The bar is fully stocked with an assortment of spirits, beer and wines.

Dietary Restrictions
We can cater to vegetarians with prior notice.
 

This trip includes some wine with dinner and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Riding

Bull Trouts
Bull Trout are built for predation and here we target these apex predators both on the Lake and in the Chilko River. They grow to trophy sizes and are often seen hammering shoals of salmon smolt on the lake and will even chase down hooked rainbows to the boat. They offer exciting sub-surface action. The average size of these predators is between 5-8lbs with much larger fish caught on a regular basis. You will fish off the banks of Chilko Lake using large streamers on sink-tip and full sinking lines on 6-7 weight rods. A day on the lake comes highly recommended and depending on weather conditions, we will get you up there to experience a little bit of paradise.

Non-Fishing Activities
Although this is first and foremost a fly fishing trip, if you want a day off from fly fishing, we have a small herd of well trained horses and miles of wonderful trails to explore. Our guides are really good at matching each riders personality and abilities with the perfect horse. Our horses are well trained, fit, and most importantly willing. Our herd consists of around 35 horses and is made up of a mixture of many different breeds (Quarter, Arab, Appaloosa, Paint, Draft and Thoroughbred). You will be amazed at how well they do their job!

Itinerary


Whether you are experienced at fly fishing or a beginner, both the Chilko River and Chilko Lake are a great spots to enjoy the sport of fly fishing. This fully guided 8 day excursion with our excellent guides will ensure your fly fishing trip is the best it can be. Our packages are from Sunday to Sunday, offering you six and half days of excellent fully guided fly fishing for wild trophy rainbow trout.

All guides are experienced and passionate about river fly fishing. They are not only avid fly fishers, but great people to spend the day out on the water with.
There is one guide for every two anglers or when fly fishing up the lake, one guide for every four fly fishers. Our guides take care of the details, so you get to relax and enjoy the fly fishing. They offer you helpful tips for the right flies, knots, fish behaviors and casting instructions. 

If you can stand to take your eyes off your fly for a moment you may spot bear, moose, mule deer, eagles, osprey or even the elusive wolverine. But don’t glance away too long, you’ll miss the rise of your beautiful trout and all the action.


Sustainability
The river now, by law, is catch-and-release, fly fishing only, single barbless hook and has a bait ban. The regulations on Chilko Lake are also single barbless hook and have a bait ban.
We feel strongly about the Chilko water system and started practicing and promoting catch and release fishing in 1985. The main reason, we never wanted to see “stocked trout” in the Chilko system.
We are determined to preserve the Chilko River and are proud to call it a true sustainable fishery. In keeping with the ethos of sustainability it needs all of us to contribute to its preservation in a shared goal for the future. The Rainbow and Bull Trout of this river system (and all rivers) must be handled minimally and with the respect they deserve in a bid to preserve them for future generations to come.  If you land a particularly memorable fish then, with reserves, our guides will only be too happy to help with a quick and hassle free photo.
Our goal is to ensure the Chilko River and Chilko Lake species remain a true wild native species. These beautiful fish are a finite resource. We ask all guests to participate in helping us maintain a population of strong and healthy native trout.

Catch and release is effective providing you do it properly, so a few tips to make sure your fish returns to the wild, strong, healthy, and alive.
- use clean, sharp barbless hooks for a quick release of the trout.
- use proper leaders that the fish is not played to exhaustion. 
- for large trout use a rubber net (debate goes on) for a faster catch and quicker release, less handling, and if needed, resting the trout prior to letting it go. Otherwise do a hands-free release, meaning do not touch the fish, just gently remove the bar while it is in the water and let it go. 
-i f you catch a fish while wading, keep the fish in the water, do not drag it onto the rocks, and remove the fly gently, and let the fish go. If it is tired, make sure it is rested prior to doing so.
- it is best to keep the fish in the water so it can keep breathing.  If you bring it out of the water for a quick photo, you can only keep it out for ten seconds, otherwise you are damaging the fish.
- if you are using waders and boots in multiple watersheds, make sure you keep and disinfect your equipment and boots. You do not want to transfer invasive species or viruses between watersheds. If you are bringing your own boots, please make sure you clean them properly before arrival. If you are concerned, we keep a supply of extra Orvis waders and wading boots at your disposal.

The Chilko has both resident and non-resident fish spawning, hatching, and emerging at different times of the season. We keep wading to the shelves and avoid wading in the gravel beds. 
We do not anchor in the spawning beds. Dragging an anchor through the gravel beds destroys key fishing spawning habitat.


Seasons
The fishing season starts mid-June to mid-September with the dry fly fishing season in July and August. We are blessed with the certain knowledge that the consistent dry fly action for large, scrappy Rainbows is second to none.
The river opens in mid- June when the wet fly fishing is excellent for both Rainbows and Bulltrout. At the end of June our dry fly season begins as the fish start looking up, throughout July and August the dry fly fishing is second to none. In September as the salmon move into the river, the Rainbows and Bulltrout start to feast on salmon eggs. In mid-September the river closes for fishing from a motor boat in respect of the spawning salmon.


Chilko River
Imagine your perfect big, western trout stream and you’re imagining the Chilko River. The character of the river is punctuated with long, deep pools, riffles, boulder gardens, shelves, structure, white water and braided channels all of which offer a wide variety of fishing opportunities. The river is crystal clear and it’s common to see large trout slowly rising from the river bed to take your fly. The constant flow and temperature of the river maximize insect hatches and the growth of the resident fish. The river flows out of Chilko Lake which acts as a natural filtration system, ensuring consistent water flow and its legendary clarity. The Chilko River then continues north easterly through the Chilcotin plateau and meets the Chilcotin River which, in turn, pours into the mighty Fraser River.
The Chilko River is not stocked; these are wild native rainbow trout living there. No dams, no logging, just clear, drinkable fresh cold water, fed from glaciers that keep our rainbow population healthy, strong and hungry. This offers you exceptional dry or wet fly fishing for beautiful, hard fighting rainbow trout.
These stunning Chilko Rainbows grow to healthy sizes due to the large late summer runs of BC Sockeye, Chinook, and Coho salmon, the spring smolt escapement from the lake and the never ending summertime insect hatches make for some of the best trophy trout fly fishing in the world. Be under no illusions that you will encounter wild ‘bows over 20 inches and perhaps that trophy fish of your dreams in the high twenty inch range.

Fishing on the Chilko river is done is various ways:
- Wade all the different pools and ledges for the first 9 km with full guide support. Your guide will move you from shelf to shelf and offer assistance when needed. Most fishing clients spend a good portion of their time wading on the river shelves. It is a good mix of drifting, wading and floating.
- Drift fish from flat bottom jet sleds. We float the river, stop, wade, and float to the next spot. Once at the end of your drift, the jet motor is used to move upstream for another drift. One person may fly fish from the bow and one from the stern while your guide directs you over the shelves. Usually one day is spent on the "drift boat" taking you down the river about 22 km's and driving back to the lodge by vehicle. We have 4 flat bottom jet sleds that are used as "drift boats" on the river. We also keep belly boats (float tubes) for our guests to use, with the guide moving you back to the top of the runs with the jet sled. On a hot day a float tube on the river is a nice way to spend the day.
- Head up Chilko Lake on the Double LL, fly fish knee deep in clean blue waters, lunch on a pristine beach, surrounded by majestic mountain peaks and no one for miles.


Chilko Lake
This lake is considered to be, by many, the most pristine and beautiful lake on the planet. The lake is the largest, high elevation lake in North America and in places reaches depths of over 1600 feet. It supports the 3rd largest run of Sockeye in British Columbia and both the river and lake are the natural spawning grounds and rearing habitat for rainbow trout, steelhead, bull trout, rocky mountain whitefish, sockeye, chinook, and coho salmon. It is home to a healthy population of indigenous Bull Trout, Rainbows and the mythical White Sturgeon.
The Lake boats that we also use are larger and can typically carry four anglers at a time and you will fish off the banks of Chilko lake.

Rates and Dates for Chilko River Fly Fishing Excursion

Dates Note:

Other Info
Meeting: Chilko Lake
Airport: Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Transfer: South Terminal Signature Building

Climate:

Alexis Creek area 

Seasons
The months during which we operate our trips (May, June and September) are usually warm during the daytime, but can get cool in the evenings. During July and August you can expect temperatures in the low 70's to mid 90's Fahrenheit (18 to 30 °C).

Spring
Spring is a burst of new energy and the warmth of the sun. It is new vibrant colors from the first blade of green grass, to the budding of a new leaf, crisp blue skies, and snowcapped peaks. With the spring the river gains in size and large migrations of Sockeye Salmon fry and smolt take place. With a billion one-year old Sockeye heading to the Pacific Ocean and billions of minute fry hatching and making their way to Chilko Lake, the Rainbow Trout and Bull Trout congregate in the river for a feast. Steelheads are spotted spawning in the shallows and leaping out of the Chilko River to have a look around. Wild roses and Sunflowers are starting to bloom on the side hills, giving the land more and more color.

Summer
Summertime means big hatches, blue skies, warm days, alpine trips and wildflowers. Dry fly fishing on the river starts and the laughter can be heard from trail where the riders are cantering through the trees along the water. Life does not get any better than this!

Indian Summer
Indian Summer in September and October is a very special time of year at Chilko. It is an explosion of autumn colors, an abundance of wildlife, and an orchestra of sounds. With the changing seasons the Sockeye & Chinook salmon return in vast numbers, spawning on the river and lake. The water wiggles with red spawning fish, bringing down the Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, Herons, Ducks, Ospreys, and other wildlife to feast on the dead salmon that have already laid their eggs for the cycle to begin all over. This is a wonderful time to visit!

Winter
Soft falling snowflakes bury the earth and silence falls within our valley. The Trumpeter Swans move into Chilko and add their grace and beauty to the splendor of the frozen land. Only the running water of Chilko River reminds us of earlier times, and the seasons to come.