More Summer Chinook on the Fly and the Arrival of Chum Salmon

Nicholas Dean guide Sky Richard with a Chinook just under 40 lbs, caught by client Ruud from South Africa.

We are still feeling the effects of the large snowpack and cool Spring, as water conditions have still remained high on the Skeena and the majority of its tributaries.  However, the Kitimat River has still continued to provide reasonably good fishing on most days, and there are still some absolutely huge Chinook in the system, along with the arrival of the numerous Chums and Pinks.  One of last week's highlights?  Client Ruud from South Africa experienced what he called the "fight of his lifetime!"  In a long, slow moving pool with a soft inside seam, he hooked a very large Chinook estimated in the 45 to 50 lb range, and he fought it for well over an hour before the 20 lb tippet broke on a mid stream snag.  The Kitimat can be notorious for all the wood in its substrata, which sometimes makes for an unfortunate ending with big fish.  But, you can bet that this experience will be etched in his memory  for a long time to come....

Ruud with a good Chinook caught on his new Hardy Sintrix spey rod, stripping flies on the borders of a small back channel.

Fresh, chrome bright and likely less than a day from the Ocean - even smaller Chinook fight extremely hard.

A bright Chum from the lower Kitimat river.  These fish are spectacular game fish, but unfortunately don't receive the credit they deserve.  Hook one or two of these fish in the 20 lb range and you'll know what I mean...

Our Chinook fly fishing program combines classic swinging on larger pools and runs as well as retrieving flies along seams and back channels, where the fish like to rest.  Some Chinook are light biters, but others like this one absolutely hammer the fly!

Dustin with another nice Chum on the Kitimat River.

Summer Chinook Fly Fishing on the Kitimat River

Despite challenging water conditions, the Chinook Fly Fishing experienced last week was nothing short of remarkable. Here, Sky Richard poses with a chrome bright Chinook just shy of 40 lbs.

As is often the case with fishing, varying water levels, clarity and weather conditions have all had an influence on fishing during the past two weeks of our Chinook Fly Fishing season.  A large snowpack - rumoured in the 180% to 220% range, depending on who you talk to - combined with unseasonably cool weather had delayed the freshet that normally has subsided on the Kitimat River and other Skeena river tributaries by mid June.  Jeff Bright and his client Don Nelson were on the back end of this freshet, but still managed to hook into and land several Chinook between 15 and 35 lbs in the last week of June.  With water levels being close to perfect this week for these anadromous freight trains - decent flows, with just enough clarity for the fish to see the fly - our clients experienced outstanding fly fishing in what was the best week of fly Chinook Fly Fishing we've experienced - ever!  Here's a few photos from clients Adrien and Phil from the UK.

Floating on the Kitimat - an enjoyable way to fish this productive river.

Adrian Whitfield with one of many Chinook that he landed while spey fishing with our guides last week.

Combine large, extremely hard fighting chrome bright fish and the often pleasant weather of Summer, and you've captured our Chinook Fly Fishing program.

Dustin Kovacvich and his clients hit the run just right on this day - this is one of 9 landed that day, with 16 hooked in total! This is absolutely an exceptional day by any standard - in most cases, 1-3 grabs in a day is a more realistic expectation.  So, when these kinds of days come along, they are not soon forgotten!

Admiring a big, bright Chinook on the Kitimat River.

Of course, a big part of our fishing program regardless of the season - camaraderie and just enjoying time spent on the river.

Kitimat River Chinook - On the Fly, Continued

Here's another 40 lb Chinook Salmon caught by Jason Drummond on the Kitimat River yesterday with guide Dustin Kovacvich.  This is the biggest fish Jason has ever landed - well done!  Happy to say it was on one of my flies too, a large two toned pink Intruder, fished just off the bottom.

Chinook fishing on the Kitimat River continues to be productive for our clients swinging large Intruder flies on their spey rods.  Indeed, it has been a great season on the Kitimat and there are still fresh Chinook pouring in each day.  These Chinook tend to keep their heads down, so it's important that you sink your fly deeply in the water column.  Jason Drummond ensured his fly was just off the bottom, and was rewarded with this 40 lb fish!  A tense 30 minute battle ensued, but in the end, Nicholas Dean Lodge head guide and manager, Dustin Kovacvich, was able to get the big fish in the net.  Well done Jason!

More Chinook Fly Fishing on the Kitimat and Copper Rivers!

This absolutely stunning 40 lb Chinook Salmon was caught by Jeff Bright on the Kitimat River a few short weeks ago - his biggest fish ever!  And yes, it was caught while swinging a large fly on a spey rod!  Chinook Salmon are absolutely outstanding game fish on the fly, and while it's never easy, putting your dues in for a fish like this sure is worth it in my books.  jeffbright.com photo

Same fish, different angle.  Kitimat River Chinook sure are girthy, and mean.  This fish took Jeff downstream through two pools, and his guide, Sky Richard, had to give chase with the raft, manoeuvring around logs, stumps and other mid stream obstructions.  jeffbright.com photos

A classic portrait Jeff Bright portrait shot of a bright Kitimat River Chinook and the chartreuse fly that fooled it. jeffbright.com photo

Here's a good selection of Chinook flies for using on the Kitimat, Skeena and Copper Rivers.  Big, bright and flashy is often what works best, though of course you need to factor in local water conditions too.  Chinook seem to have a soft spot for chartreuse, blue, purple and orange.

Joakim Sjoholm Lennart landed this 30 lb Chinook on the Kitimat River last weekend, by slowly stripping a chartreuse bead head fly through a slow moving back channel.  Such edges and seams are great spots for Chinook to rest on their upstream migration and it's here that they're most receptive to flies.

Don Nelson fighting a Chinook on the Kitimat River and trying to keep it out of the wood.  jeffbright.com photo

That's Don Nelson and Nicholas Dean Lodge guide, Sky Richard with a feisty 30 lb Chinook. jeffbright.com photo

The Copper River is an excellent river to target Chinook Salmon on the fly, and Joakim landed this 20 lb fish at one of the first pools he fished.  Nice work, Joakim!

All in all, it's been a very successful couple of weeks targeting Chinook on the fly, and this season lasts until the end of the month.  Check back again soon for more updates!

Epic Chinook Fly Fishing!

Few moments in fly fishing are as electric as the grab of a large Chinook (King) Salmon.  Here, Don Nelson and Nicholas Dean guide Sky Richard pose with a 30 lb Chinook caught while swinging a large fly on one of the Kitimat River's numerous seams.

Fly Fishing for Chinook Salmon was nothing short of epic last week here at Nicholas Dean Lodge!  Jeff Bright - writer, conservationist and Nicholas Dean trip host - joined us last week with long time repeat guest, Don Nelson to sample the Chinook Salmon fishing that the Skeena region has to offer.  In short,  they hooked thirteen Chinook last week and landed eight, averaging 25 lbs.  Jeff also managed to land a monster, bright chrome fish that is deserving of its own story, to be continued in another post...

Fly fishing for Chinook is never easy and in some sense you could say that they're sometimes even more difficult to hook than Steelhead.  But, when conditions align like they did last week for Jeff and Don, the rewards are often BIG!  Big game fly fishing, indeed...

Don's first Chinook of the week - a bright 20 lb fish.

Swinging a fly through a soft pocket, Don Nelson landed this fish after a 45 minute battle.

The Kitimat River sees a number of "Jacks" - smaller Chinook less than 65 cm in length.  What they lack in size they do make up for in aggressiveness and fight!

Sky and Don with another Jack Chinook Salmon.

A great way to cap off the trip for Don - a 30 lb Chinook from the depths of a small side channel seam.

June Fishing Update - Chinook Salmon

John Sartinsky is all smiles after landing this 25 lb Chinook Salmon on the first morning of his trip. All photos by Harriet Sartinsky

It's mid June and we're off to a great start to our Summer Chinook guiding season here at Nicholas Dean Lodge.  Last week we had the pleasure of hosting John and Harriet Sartinsky from La Crescenta, California on their first ever trip to BC.  When we first started talking about the trip, John told me that Harriet woke up one morning in January and said, "I want to catch a salmon over 20 lbs."  A short while later, John and Harriet were booked in, and last week they found themselves reeling in several Salmon and enjoying the fine dining provided by Alf Leslie at Yellow Cedar Lodge.  We're happy to report that Harriet  did achieve her goal, landing a 35 lb Chinook on the first day of her trip!

At the end of their trip, Harriet told me that it was one of the best trips she'd ever been on!  This is about the best review we can receive and we're happy to have had the opportunity to guide these great people.  Check out some of the photos from their trip below...

Dustin launching the Clackacraft drift boat in a small creek, en route to the Kitimat River's bright Chinook Salmon.

Harriet Sartinsky and her first Chinook Salmon ever!

You can tell by the grin that Harriet is a very happy angler in this moment!

A good action shot - it's always a nervous moment until you get the fish in the net.

Fishing a clean seam on the main channel Skeena can be a productive way to target migrating Chinook Salmon.

The happy couple at the end of their trip.

Looking forward, Jeff Bright and his crew arrive next week to target Chinook on the Spey rod, as part of our "big game" Chinook Fly Fishing program.  Stay tuned for more details...