Return to the Dean

I first learnt about the Dean river in British Colombia whilst fishing for King salmon in Alaska. That trip to Alaska happened to be my very first in pursuit of King Salmon (Chinook being the Canadian name).  I caught two King Salmon that week, around 25-30 lbs, which redefined my understanding of what it takes to tame such an exceptionally strong fish.  My guide on that day was Jeff Hickman, a young, passionate and purposeful individual as well as being a fantastic guide.  Around that time, we were both bitten by the Dean dream.  Mine was just a footnote in my life whilst for Jeff it turned into his life.

The year was 2007 and I was fishing / Jeff was guiding, at a camp called Alaska West which had just been bought by an individual who was hoping to turn his success with a software business into a fishing emporium under the name of Deneki Outdoors.  Alaska West on the Kanektok was known to have excellent King Salmon fishing, but as so often happens during a trip, conversations turned away from the subject matter in front of us, namely Alaskan Kings, but instead to the Chinook of the Dean River in British Colombia.  Fish that were reputed to be so big or so powerful or both that without the assistance of a ‘chase’ boat they were almost un-landable.  I had been brought up fishing for Atlantic Salmon where having a salmon pull you into the backing was considered a major event.  A fish that required a ‘chase’ boat was in a totally different league.  

To compliment the original Deneki portfolio, a lodge was acquired on the lower Dean around 2008.  This was subsequently named BC West and it afforded me my first opportunity to fish in BC on what is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious Steelhead rivers in British Colombia.   This trip was in mid-August and although the Dean does get a small fall run of Chinook, the target species was Steelhead, although by that stage in the season we also had the benefit of the Coho run (in the US they are called Silver Salmon or just Silvers).   My tally for that week was nine fish which seemed like a good result however what struck me most was the fact that the Coho I caught, mainly on the lower section of the Dean, were an equal in terms of strength and character to the Steelhead I caught on the upper section.

Naturally the fishing at a fishing lodge is the raison d'être behind a trip, and especially one that involves an 8hr time change to get to it.  But the location, the surroundings and environment is or should be of equal consideration when it comes to a trip of this nature.  My overall memories from 2008 had left me yearning to return to the Dean and so with a good team of likely candidates I contacted Jeff and managed to secure a slot over the last week of their season in early September. 

As one might expect, there have been a few changes over the last 18 years, the primary one being that Jeff and his wife Catherine had subsequently bought Kimsquit Bay Lodge.  They have run Kimsquit and BC West in parallel for a number of years but were now in the process of merging the two operations and associated permits with all activities being run from Kimsquit Bay Lodge for 2027 and beyond.   Both lodges are located on the lower Dean, however Kimsquit Bay, as the name suggests, looks out onto the Bay, the shoreline immediately in front of the lodge being 500m or so from the mouth of the Dean itself.  Much beyond that knowledge it was a case of wait and see what we would be met with on arrival, whilst at the same time keeping an eye on the various social media posts from the Dean which, as it happened was having one of its best Steelhead runs for a number of years.

The journey to the Dean is all part of then experience.  We flew via Vancouver to Smithers, our two groups staying in the Stork’s nest and Prestige Hudson Bay Lodge.   A delayed connection flight on the way out meant that my suitcase had not made it. This necessitated a thorough  investigation of the retail opportunities in Smithers which happily allowed me to obtain a passable amount of clothing and essential items.  This alongside loan gear from the lodge would hopefully tide me by until I was reconnected with my luggage, which did happen via the mid-week resupply flight to the lodge.   If you travel enough you will invariably experience luggage issues at some stage or other.   What is available to borrow at the lodge can make or break a trip.  To my eternal gratitude, on arrival, Jeff provided me with enough kit and clothing for a stay of a month or longer!!

The final leg of the journey necessitates a 45 min flight via a floatplane.  We were blessed with amazing weather for this journey and it is nothing other than spectacular, flying over or around snow covered peaks before descending into Kimsquit Bay.  With blue skies and the sun shining we banked around the final mountains, dropping down to land in  a plume of white spray on the glass-like emerald-green waters in front of the lodge. The full team were on hand to meet us and help with the unloading and a 2 min drive to the lodge itself.   Good weather can be a panacea to make up for various shortcomings in some locations, however at Kimsquit Bay Lodge it was a mere enhancement to what is already an incredible location.  Added to that were the new cabins which Jeff and his team had been tirelessly building.  Perched on a high bank with commanding views over the bay, the treeline very selectively thinned to provide views whist retaining the secluded feel, they are as comfortable and well-proportioned as you could wish for.  For a remote fishing lodge, no matter how well travelled you are, the cabins set an exceptionally high standard.

The fishing at Kimsquit on the Dean is split into two sections, below and above the gorge, sections of approximately equal length in terms of available fishing.  The lower Dean section is perhaps the most impressive stretch in terms of the mountainous backdrop with precipitous slopes rising near vertically from sea-level to over 2,300M.   It is almost impossible to refrain from continuously pulling out your camera and taking picture after picture, the clouds coming and going, shrouding and then unveiling the surrounding, whilst sunlight and shadows create a mesmeric ever-changing backdrop.  The river here is at its most powerful, having been channelled through the equally impressive gorge and then propelled out the lower end in a relatively continuous hard-running flow, all the way to where it meets the tidal bay.  I am sure the power of the Dean has had a significant contribution to the DNA of the fish that run it, but there is nothing like a punchy current to provide afterburners to any fish you hook!

The power of the lower Dean is complimented by the upper section which, whilst maintaining a powerful current, also offers a more intimate part of the river in terms of variety of runs and pools.  The river twists and turns, braiding in sections and then reconnecting as it flows through a more open part of the flood plain, the cliffs set just a bit further back from the river but nonetheless spectacular.  Unlike the lower section where a jet boat is used to access all the available water, on the upper section anglers use one of the numerous lodge ATV buggies to get around, navigating the old logging tracks that run loosely parallel to the river.  Strategically positioned rafts allow access to the other side of the river.  There is nothing that someone with a modicum of driving ability could not navigate, but the ATV adds just an additional element of fun and adventure to the whole experience, rather than being solely reliant on your guide as a taxi-driver.

The sections fished over the season vary.  In June when the Kings first arrive the fishing is primarily confined to the lower section of the Dean with the Steelhead following towards the end of June/early July.  As soon as levels drop and the gorge becomes passable, then the lower and upper sections are fished concurrently.  From mid-August the Coho arrive, filling up the lower Dean with the best fishing for Steelhead typically migrating to the upper section.  Although not a regular occurrence, there is a small autumn run of large Chinook and there was a sighting of something porpoise sized at the mouth of the Dean which had everyone double-checking their nylon and knots!

The final part of the equation is of course the weather.  The coastal mountain ranges that make the surroundings of the rivers in BC so spectacular also are home to what can be pretty extreme weather, and when it rains…it really pours!  The effect can be torrents of water cascading into the respective river watershed’s, which will turn the rivers a milky coffee colour very quickly, in a great many cases making them unfishable for a number of days.  On our arrival the weather could not have been more idyllic.  Maybe too sunny to be perfect fishing weather but glorious all the same.  That more or less persisted until the evening of our third fishing day when the heavens opened.  The Dean is however a river which flushes clean in a relatively quick time period allowing fishing to return to normal without much delay.  Although fishing conditions were interesting on our 4^th day, as well as being very wet, by the 5^th, although the Dean was still high and quite heavily coloured it was eminently fishable and we were all back in business and catching fish.  This is a fabulous attribute of the Dean as to be trapped at a remote lodge and lose a significant part of the fishing week is an undeniably galling experience.

So much has been written about the fishing and fish on the Dean, whether they be big fish or powerful fish that to provide a blow by blow account of fish caught and lost would be superfluous.  We all saw, caught and witnessed enough Steelhead and Silvers over the week to keep each fish caught memorable but with enough action to feel that you always had a chance of a fish in every pool or run we fished.  The dramatic surroundings, the power of the river, the very affable guides, the bears, the eagles and the adventure fishing new and interesting sections of water all add to the fantastic composite experience. The over-whelming memory that I took away on my first trip and again on this is the backdrop.  Having to look up and up until your neck hurts, to view the top of the mountains, distant or close, is so spectacular you have to witness it to really appreciate it.

The Dean is best covered with a 13-15ft spey rod, depending on your preference.  We did not see a huge amount of surface activity from the Steelhead over our week which would have warranted serious attention with dry flies.   For the best chance of success you have to fish to the conditions rather than attempt to mould your preferred fishing style around the conditions. We were not a team of battle-hardened steelheaders with a very singular objectives so catching a fish, Steelhead or Coho, by the best means possible was our primary goal.   The bulk of the fishing over our week was therefore with intruder style flies using fast sinking tips on skaggit / scandi lines.

The final part of this report covers not the Dean but the Kimsquit River.   The mouth of the Kimsquit is situated a 10 min boat ride from the lodge, at the end of the Dean Channel.  For a number of years, a logjam near the mouth of the river had made the Kimsquit all but impassable. This has now cleared.  The Kimsquit does not have a run of Steelhead, but it does have an early run of King Salmon alongside all the other Pacific Salmon.   Silver salmon start to arrive from around mid-August.  Much smaller than the Dean it is nonetheless spectacular in its own right.  The Dean is a superbly wild and remote river.  Other than via helicopter access along the river is limited to a few select forestry tracks, a mere scuff of human activity amidst a very pristine environment.  The Kimsquit however has zero access other than by boat.  It is truly wild and everyday we had multiple sightings of bears, not the slightest bit concerned by us and very happily enjoying the run of silvers, chum and pinks as much as were trying to catch them.

Our team of three fished there on our first day and we all had plenty of action with good-sized Coho as well as Chum.  It was however the following day when things took a significant upturn.  One of the runs, which the previous day was devoid of fish now had hundreds of Coho in it.  To say Alex, Tom and Ian came back with grins from ear to ear would be an understatement.  These Coho were not packed up in a dead-water slew but happily sitting in the current and whether fished with the same spey rods as we used on the Dean or with a single, it was classic swung fly fishing.  They ranged from about 6-20lbs, fought tenaciously, leaped and provided outstanding sport and enjoyment.   What’s more they continued to provide excellent sport for all for the rest of the week irrespective of the change in water height and colour following the rain .  The Kimsquit was the icing on an already very tasty and beautifully presented cake!

The overall lodge experience has to be 100% complimentary to the fishing.  I have touched on the new guest cabins and the dedication of Jeff and his team to building from the ground up a quite exceptional establishment.  Our week was the final fishing week the camp was open although in my mind there was no reason why they could not have fished longer.  Anglers, guides and lodge staff; we pretty much all flew out on our final day, leaving Jeff to his own for another full month, building, improving, repairing.  His capacity, imagination and fortitude lies at the heart of a really incredible establishment, backed up by his wife Catherine who I suspect is a lot better at the paperwork than Jeff.  Together they have created something truly special in one of the most spectacular environments I have had the good fortune to fish and to stay.  This is a bucket list trip!!!