A day with Pierce Clegg on the Babine River

images: 1) Pierce hooked up late season on the Babine. 2) Landing the steelie, as you can see in the images there is a ton of snow on the banks, so landing can be tricky. 3) Dusky steelhead. 4) Pierce releases the fish back to the deke 5) Late day light in the BC wilderness

BC Adventures

The roar of a boar grizzly punched hard into the ink black night. The haunting sound echoed down the river corridor...my watch said 3:12 am...sure glad I had the fabric of my ultra-light tent between us and them. To hear a grizzly bear growl is one thing, to hear them roar 50 yards away will make the hairs on the back of your neck just fall out. And that was just the first night.

Had the pleasure to set up a four day three night river trip on a trib of the Skeena River in north central BC. The trip was made up of Larry Falk, Gary Flagel, Kispa and myself. The name of the river you ask? Sorry, no can do. I'll just say the trip was full of adventure: mild white water, eagles, ravens, steelies, trout, bull trout, salmon, grizzlies, black bears, great camps, friends and the pure feeling of wilderness. Good fishing was interrupted only by the scenery and wildlife. Kispa proved to be a great bear dog in camp as well as on the river. She informed us a number of times of creatures that were working up or down the river bank, just off our camps. One night a griz growled to let us know it was there, Kispa responded and we could hear the bear charge away up river. We even heard the bear bump into one of the rafts. Just another night in the bush eh?Enjoy the images from this wicked trip.

Kipiox Steelhead-the Kis is a trib of the Skeena

image: Male Kispiox Steelhead from the 06 season. This fish hammered my fly late in the day. photo credit: will blanchard (self timer)

20 days and counting...BC wilderness and steelhead

image: Kispiox tuckered out at Root Pond near Dolores Colorado. photo: will blanchard

Welcome to the blog. This will be a place for friends, family and those who are interested in checking out my adventures, photography, guide service and other random goings-on.

As of right now my focus is on the rest of the guide season and gearing up for British Columbia. I'll be finishing up the main push of my 15th guide season on the 22nd of September. I'll be back to guiding in early December. The 23rd of September will be a day full of packing and snugging up loose ends for the business. As for now, the 24th will be the day we depart for Hazelton BC. My self and Kispa (my 9 month old black lab) will load up in my over-packed 04 Dodge Ram 2500 pick-up and head north for another fall adventure in the wilds of north-central BC.

Check list will include: 12 fly rods, 6 reels, fly lines, flies, fly tying supplies, passport, dog papers, shot gun, ammo, shot gun papers, camp gear, blankets, gloves, hats, Simms waders, clothing, cooler, grub, extra fuel, chainsaw, GPS, cameras, tripods, computer, dry boxes and dry bags, raft, frame, repair, pumps, bike, down jacket, guide jacket, fleece, fleece and more fleece, socks, boots, two-four (the way Canadians say 24 pack of beer) of Ska brew for my buddy Todd Stockner...you get the point.
Stay tuned for more...

Cheers,

Will Blanchard