BC Sportfishing

Ask anyone who has ever fished the Lower Mainland’s best kept secret the Upper Pitt River and they will tell you stories of abundant beautiful scenery and spectacular fly fishing. There are only two ways of gaining access to this Jewel that flows it’s glacial waters into the North end of Pitt lake, one is by Helicopter, and if you happen to have a Kings ransom tucked in your fly vest that would be the first choice of travel. The other option is....

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by boat, there is a fully paved boat launch at the South end of the lake at Grants Narrows and it will cost $10.00 Cdn. to launch and park there. The trip to the North end of the lake will take approximately 30-45 minutes, depending on water conditions. Along the way you will pass many beautiful cabins and a huge waterfall, but be warned, Pitt lake is not a lake for small unstable crafts as this lake is known to blow up in the afternoon leaving an unsuspecting boater with a long ride home in 3-4 foot waves. If a propeller driven boat is to be used you may want to consider taking a mountain bicycle with you and moore your boat at the North end of the lake then proceed North by bicycle along the well maintained logging road on the east side of the river but keep an eye open for black bears and deer. This method will allow you to fish the many access points along the river. I personally find the best way to fish the Upper Pitt River is by jet boat.

The Upper Pitt River can be difficult to navigate it’s braided shallow water ways and is not a place for a novice jet boat operator, but jet boats will provide you with the maximum river access in the least amount of time, which equals the greatest fishing time.
Many anglers prefer to fish for the bountiful variety of salmon or steelhead that migrate to the Pitt River but I’m especially fond of targeting the Dolly Varden and Bull Trout as these fish readily take most sculpin imitation flies.

The fly patterns that I recommend are large weighted intruder patterns in Black, Green and dark blue like these and I have found that Olive sculpin patterns like this one to be exceptional latter in the season. These fish enter the Pitt River system as early as March and the fishing will only get better into the end of May.
The gear is quite simple, any good quality 9ft. 8-weight fly rod coupled with a large arbor disc drag fly reel with plenty of 20lb. Backing will get you started. A good choice of fly line would be the Rio Versa-tip system; this line is quite versatile and can be used in all types of different water conditions. Many of these big Bulls will tip the scales at an impressive double digit figures so don’t find yourself under gunned in the leader department, I personally use 10-12 lb. Leader to make sure these big bulls come to hand quickly.
In conclusion, this special river is only 20 Miles from the metropolis of Vancouver and is a fly fishers dream that should not be over looked on you list of rivers to fish.

Additional Tips:
· As there is no cell phone coverage on the Upper Pitt, make sure to arrange a contact plan with someone at home in case of emergency.
· Weather can change within an hour on the Upper Pitt, so dress with inclement weather conditions in mind.
· If accessing the river by Jet boat ALWAYS wear a PFD (Personal Floatation Device) and leave the booze at home.