If you have limited time and want to maximize your opportunities, a guided trip is the most productive way to fish. If you are not an experienced steelheader, your first trip to the Skeena should be with a guide. It's a long way to go to not catch fish.
On the Morice, Kispiox, Copper, and Bulkley you can arrange your own accommodations and hire a guide or buy a guide/accommodations package. Lodges on the Sustut and Babine rivers are remote fly-in/boat-in wilderness lodges offering opportunities to fish with little competition from other anglers. At these lodges, you fish on named steelhead pools with proven track records, and at night you have a crackling fire at the lodge, a fine meal, and a warm bed. The guides show you exactly where the steelhead lie and how best to present your fly.
Rates at these wilderness lodges range from $5,000 to $7,000 (CDN) per week, not including tips or airfare to Smithers. Many of the best weeks in late September and early October are perpetually booked, but there are often openings early in the season (good surface fishing but sometimes limited numbers of fish) or in late October (can be cold but the catching is usually very reliable).
Doing it Yourself
While spending a week at a remote wilderness lodge is a convenient and efficient way to fish, not everyone can afford it. Some experienced steelheaders who can afford it prefer to be unpampered and take satisfaction in finding steelhead themselves. Another advantage of doing it yourself is that you are not locked into one river. If you book yourself into a lodge and there is a week of hard rain before you arrive, a good chunk of your trip may be fruitless because guides are licensed for only one river. If you stay flexible, you can move to alternate watersheds and almost always find steelhead.
The best rivers for do-it-yourselfers are the Kispiox, Bulkley, Zymoetz (Copper), and Morice rivers due to their proximity to pavement and adjacent logging roads. Getting appropriate maps is the first step to planning this kind of adventure.
The British Columbia Ministry of Forests produces recreational maps that do not show topography, but do show all roads (from pavement down to logging roads and 4X4 trails), campgrounds, and recreational sites on public land. The maps are $2.95 (CDN) available for purchase by phone at (250) 952-4460. Ask for Bulkley/Cassiar Forest District, the Morice Forest District, or Kispiox Forest District maps. Another option is the Central B.C. Backroad Mapbook by Russell Mussio (ISBN:1894556062), available at amazon.com for $15.95 or from the publisher at (604) 520-5630.
Classified Waters
The most popular Skeena steelhead rivers are classified, which means you need a general angling license ($53 CND for eight-day nonresident); a steelhead tag, also known as a conservation surcharge ($64); and a daily permit specifically for the water you intend to fish that day. Class II waters (Bulkley, Morice, Kispiox) cost $21 per day and Class I waters (Babine, Sustut) cost $43 per day. The Zymoetz is a Class II river below Limonite Creek and a Class I river upstream. The Skeena itself is classified in some areas and unclassified in other areas.
Don't buy your classified water permits too far in advance, because your plans may change based on water conditions and a permit is good only for a specific river on a specific day. Consult the regulations booklet and ask for advice at Oscar's Sporting Goods in Smithers before you fish, because regulations are always subject to change.
While visiting the area, be considerate of fellow anglers. Try to fish unoccupied water, but if you must share a run, never begin fishing a pool downstream of another angler. Always start at the top of the run and move steadily downstream, allowing room for other anglers follow you down the pool.
Tackle
A 7- or 8-weight, 9 1/2- or 10-foot single-handed rod or an 8- to 10-weight, 12- to 15-foot two-handed rod are your best choices for this fishing. Many anglers find it more comfortable to fish the whole day with a two-handed rod. A longer rod gives you greater line control, and if you can Spey cast, your fly spends more time in the water and less time in the bushes behind you. Always bring a spare rod or two. A simple, sturdy reel that can hold your line plus 200 yards of backing is sufficient.
Your fly lines are your most important tackle considerations when planning a steelhead trip. Bring a floating line for surface presentations and a variety of sinking-tip lines or interchangeable tips to reach the bottom in different depths and currents. Shooting heads with 20- to 24-foot sinking-tips weighing from 150 to 400 grains or with labeled sink rates of 3 to 8 inches per second should cover most situations.
Steelhead inhale just about anything if the mood strikes them, so most common steelhead patterns work here. If you are fishing deep, then large flies on #2-6 hooks should be in your box. Krystal Buggers, General Practioners (black and orange), Green-butt Skunks, Silver Hiltons, Freight Trains, Popsicles, black marabou or rabbit string leeches, and a variety of Spey flies are popular choices.
On the surface, #4-10 Greased Liners, Waller Wakers, Bubbleheads, Bombers, Royal Wulffs, or riffle-hitched wets like the Blue Charm or Signal Light will take fish. These fish are not leader shy. Use tapered leaders with 8- to 12-pound-test tippets for surface fishing and 2- to 3-foot untapered leaders of 15-pound-test Maxima for fishing deep.
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