A fishing day at Hoodoo

One of the beautiful parts of the Hoodoo Lodge program is that there is absolutely no outside pressure on the fisheries.

None. So whether you are swinging big streamers for kings on the lower river, popping Pink Pollywogs across the surface for hyper-aggressive mid-river silvers, drifting big leeches for upper river steelhead, or hammering crazy numbers of sea-run dolly varden on egg patterns, the fish are always fresh, and grabby.

There is no hurry to get to the water each day; the pace is relaxed, and built more around angler preference than the need to rush to secure a few hundred yards of stream. Typically, hot coffee is on at 6:00 a.m. and breakfast is served at 7:30 a.m. Anglers and their guides should be on the river for a full day of fishing by 8:30 a.m. Anglers will normally be back to the lodge by 6:00 p.m. in time for a hot shower and a cold one before dinner is served at 7:00 p.m. Of course, fishing and weather will to some degree affect this daily schedule and anglers are asked to remain flexible.

The king salmon (and chum and sockeye salmon) program is based around jet boat access, which includes the lower half of this small river. This extensive mileage is broken up into various beats, with anglers normally seeing new water on most days of their stay. The river is dense with great king-holding water, and its small size, coupled with the heavy run of fish make it the most amazing king fishery we have ever experienced.

The silver salmon fishing is also largely accessed via jet boats, as the fish tend to “stack” in the lower half of the river. Unlike the kings, though, which largely utilize the lower main-stem and two lower/mid-river tributaries for spawning, the silvers will run all the way up to the lake headwaters. For those interested, Rod will fly anglers up to the lake – an incredibly scenic flight – where the guides will inflate rafts, and begin rowing guests down the river. Typically the first thing anglers will notice are spawning kings and chums, behind which are stacked sea run dolly varden…it is not difficult to hook obscene numbers of these beautiful fish, most in the 12-20 inch range. Mixed in will also be the occasional nice rainbow trout and Arctic char, to keep things interesting! Then, particularly in the larger holes, the silvers will begin to show, and before you know it, they’re everywhere. This upper river float is really quite spectacular – gorgeous country, with water that has only been fished by a handful of anglers, ever. Guests have the option for either one or two overnights – there are two camps spread out in this pristine wilderness – before returning to the lodge for the remainder of their stay.

In October – steelhead season - the days are shorter, and normally cold. Anglers will arise early, and fish late, to take advantage of all available daylight. A normal steelhead week will find fishermen spreading their time between the Hoodoo River (typically floating the upper river for 2-3 days, as this is where the best steelhead water is), the David River (a walking river a short flight away, also with a camp in it’s midsection), and one or two other possible local fisheries that may be fished on a single day fly out basis, returning to the lodge each night. This steelhead fishery is still largely exploratory in nature, with a lot of completely untapped water to explore.

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