Fly Fishing the 350-Mile Undammed Skeena River

The Skeena River and its tributaries are a legendary destination for wild chinook and steelhead fly-fishing in northern British Columbia. The second-longest river system in BC, the undammed 350-mile Skeena is a life-list angling location due to its long, wild runs and productive fly fishing for all four native trophy species: chinook, steelhead, coho, and Dolly Varden.

Eddie Bauer Sport Shop guides Andrew Bennett and Lucas St. Clair landed in Terrace, BC and the riverside Skeena Spey Lodge last spring to fish the legendary braided bigwater of this system via jet-boat-accessed wading. 

Utilizing two-handed rods with locally designed flies and sink tips, they maintained mental focus during twelve-hour days in rough coastal weather fishing the Kalum—a lake-fed tributary of the Skeena. 

Eventually their patience and persistence paid off, with St. Clair landing a 12-pound wild steelhead on a black-and-blue intruder pattern tied the night before and named the Richard Sherman.

What fly? The "Richard Sherman"