The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

This article chronicles a recent trip to Quesnel Lake in central British Columbia.  This is the first part of the series. 

Quesnel Lake Region

Elysia Resort was my destination, which is located on Quesnel Lake in the Caribou Mountains of British Columbia. The drive was about 1300 miles and would take me two hard days of driving to reach the lodge from my home in Clayton. I needed to reach Williams Lake, BC by Saturday afternoon in order to pick up my fly fishing partner, Rob at the Williams Lake Airport. He was going to fly; I drew the short straw to play the role of mule in ferrying all the gear north. No worries. I like long drives in the car and the chance to see new country. Thank goodness my daughter had gotten me a new IPOD filled with music just before this trip. GOOGLE Maps indicated my drive would be about 21 hours. It turned out to be 24 hours each way!

I pulled out of my driveway at 4:50, made a quick stop to fill my coffee cup and thermos, and ventured forth on what promised to be a true adventure. I crossed the Benicia Bridge in the dark and hit Interstate 80 just as first light was beginning to appear on the Eastern horizon. I turned off on 505 and headed north. My map indicated that once I hit highway 5, it was 806 miles till I would exit I-5 in Bellingham, Washington. The sun was rising as I made my way north on I-5, Williams at 6:40 AM, Redding at 8:00, Yreka at 9:30 and crossed into Oregon about 10:00. The Smokies were out in force this morning as this was approaching the July 4th week and I drove through many speed traps on the drive. Thank goodness I was able to avoid one of those unplanned stops. Just South of Portland I hit heavy traffic and slowed to a crawl. Jeez, what was I thinking heading through Portland on Friday afternoon just preceding a July 4th Holiday? The trout had obviously clouded my judgment. About 45 minutes delay and finally I crossed the Columbia River Bridge. Shortly after I crossed the Toutle River in Washington and my mind started to wander back to Mt. Saint Helens and the devastation that happened in this area during the eruptions.

As I continued North, I started crossing several of the famed steelhead waters in Washington; the Cowlitz, the Kalama, the Nisqually, the Stillaguamish, the Skagit, and the Nooksack. A little later in the summer and early fall I would have been tempted to stop and fly fish. But I still had many miles to cover. My trip slowed dramatically again in heavy traffic in Tacoma and finally after another hour delay I crossed through downtown Seattle about 8:30. It had been a

Any firearms, and booze or tobacco, what’s your purpose in Canada, where you heading?

Just a couple of stoplights north of the border is the town of Abbottsford, and I was not going to make another mile in the car today. I found a motel, checked into a room and headed to the only place still open in town, a Boston Pizza. A bachelorette party was in full swing at the table next to mine and I was mildly amused at the unfolding scene of a young lady and girlfriends letting loose. A couple of beers and a personal pizza for me and nothing could keep me from that soft pillow in the hotel room.

6:00 AM broke early and I felt a bit hung-over from the long drive yesterday. But I decided to get going anyway and packed up the few things carried into the room the night before and broke for the highway. It had rained steadily overnight and the remnants from the passing storm still lingered in the valley this morning. The mountains reached high on both sides of the valley. To the south the high Rockies lifted into the sky and snow still covered the northward facing slopes. Down the middle of the valley was the Fraser River, which was still raging from the spring snowmelt. I had been told the Fraser is a big river, but until I saw it with my own eyes, the descriptions had not done it justice. It was huge, draining a large portion of southern and central British Columbia. My point of reference is the lower Sacramento, but this river made the Sac look like a creek. It is a beautiful river, and untamed by man.

The Frasier River in Hope, British Columbia

The drive up the Fraser River valley was a real treat. This is Northern rain forest country and everything was incredibly green. It must have been a real engineering feat to complete the road along this steep and narrow valley. The river itself is a milky brown color from the glacial runoff of many creeks and rivers upstream. The peak of the runoff was a few weeks prior, but the river still was displaying awesome power through riffles and runs of this beautiful valley. The river was expecting some 5 million salmon this year; it boasts one of the largest runs of salmon in the world. I was a bit early for the salmon runs, which were beginning to appear in the lower river. For me, the large trout in Quesnel Lake would be the focus this trip.

The Fraser River Valley, British Columbia

After a couple of hours on the road this morning, I left the Fraser River and headed up the Thompson River, a major tributary of the Fraser. Had I not watched Fly Fishing the World on TV this past year, I would never have known of the steelhead reputation of the Thompson. It was featured in an episode of this program last winter. Heading up the Thompson one arrived at the hallowed waters of Spence’s Bridge. The river certainly wasn’t fishable at these flows. But it was cool to drive through this area and witness waters that this fall would welcome steelheaders from throughout the world. The eastward turn along the Thompson was accompanied by a radical shift in terrain. Whereas the coast is green and rainy, the Thompson flows in the rain shadow of the coastal range. Only 9 inches of precipitation falls annually in this area and it is dry sagebrush scrub.

The Thompson River in Full Fury

The Thompson at Spence’s Bridge, British Columbia

After following the Thompson for an hour or so, I climbed out of the valley and up to the central BC Plateau. The country changed radically again, from dry and arid, to spruce and lodgepole forests with lakes every few miles, or kilometers. I passed through 70 Mile House, and 100 Mile House, Lac La Hache, 150 Mile House, and finally William’s Lake. Everything was green through the plateau, as the spring had brought 5 weeks of non-stop rain. Amazingly, the rain stopped as I passed each town and we were to be blessed with excellent weather throughout the remainder of the week.

I had two tasks in Williams Lake; to shop for adult beverages, and pick Rob up at the airport. The first task proved a little more challenging that I anticipated. Williams Lake was right in the middle of their annual Rodeo, which they claim is the third largest rodeo in North America. The normally small town was bursting at the seams with people and numerous roads were blocked off for the festivities. But persistence paid off and I was soon outfitted with some of BC’s finest Ales and a spot of single malt. Thank goodness I overestimated our needs for the week, because by the end of the week it was clear I had underestimated our consumption abilities and we darn near ran out!

Rob’s plane was right on time into the Williams Lake airport and we immediately embarked on the final hour and a half drive to Elysia Lodge. We backtracked through 150 Mile House and turned eastward toward the town of small Horsefly. The Elysia Resort website had given instructions to drive to Horsefly and turn right at Clarke's Store, cross the Horsefly River and follow the signs 26 miles to the Resort on a well maintained gravel road. We were entering the remote Caribou Mountains, and we couldn’t wait to get there. Cell phone coverage had been left behind in William’s Lake, and there wouldn’t be any TV, News or anything else from the outside world for the next week. I was going to get used to that real quick!

Quesnel Lake Region Map 

We passed by Horsefly Lake, Keno Lake and the turnoff to Hen Ingram Lake as we proceeded to the lodge. Finally around a turn Quesnel Lake emerged, with the Elysia Lodge perched on a bluff overlooking this spectacular scene. Harmony very efficiently checked us into room 19 and soon we were enjoying a scotch and cigar overlooking the lake from our room’s balcony. Dinner in the lodge was excellent. We met Quille, the lodge’s resident guide with 30+ years of experience guiding in the area. Quille was on tap for the morning and we had to get ready. Some gear organization and time to hit the pillow. It had been a long two day drive to BC and Quesnel Lake and we were here. Tomorrow we were going to the North Arm of Quesnel Lake, a 25 mile fiord extending northward from the lodge with numerous creek mouths to fish and large rainbows to catch.

The View off our Room at Elysia Resort

Next Report: The North Arm and Phil's Elysia Special