All Around Angler

Please welcome guest contributor, Steve Lanigan, as he describes his wilderness, fly fishing trip into BC’s Tsuniah Lake Lodge!


By Steve Lanigan

Tsuniah Lake Lodge http://tsuniahlakelodge.com up in British Columbia was our home base for a wilderness fly-fishing trip during early September. What made this a unique experience was that we were float tube fishing on a 48-mile long lake!



We were fortunate to have our fishing friend, Doug, in our group since he’s stayed at the lodge several times over the years and he knew where nearby fishing hot spots were located. In fact, several years ago Doug was the one who figured out that float tube fishing was a productive (and fun!) way to fish for large bull trout and rainbows that were feeding where sockeye salmon were spawning along the lakeshore.



As a result, the lodge now has a large supply of float tubes for anyone to use (of course the lodge owners also know the good places to fish, but it made Doug feel “special” to be our guide).

Our focus was having someone from the lodge drop us off at nearby Chilko Lake where we spent most of our time fishing. Most of us had never been in a float tube before, but we all figured it out in no time. When the winds came up, we stayed tucked into sheltered bays and had one of the lodge boats drop us off and then later pick us up. The fishing was excellent, although I was surprised that weighted streamers were much more effective at catching fish than egg patterns.



The scenery was stunning as the lodge is located on the east side of the Coast Range, 200 miles north of Vancouver B.C. The best way to get to the lodge is to fly in, although you can also drive (four hours on a “rough” road) to the lodge from Williams Lake, B.C. The accommodations were great, the food was excellent (I gained five pounds), and the entire Brebner Family, who own and have been running the lodge for the past 50 years were always friendly and helpful.



We also enjoyed some horse back riding, fishing out of hand-made rowboats for rainbows in Tsuniah Lake (in front of the lodge), and taking a day-long boat ride on Chilko Lake where we used spinning tackle to catch fish. The only thing I’d do differently next time is to make sure I have good fitting fins. Mine felt fine in the store, but on the water they ended up blistering the tops of my toes. Fins that don’t cover the end of your toes seem to be the way to go.