References and Editorial
Articles by Jeff Bright
Jeff Bright resides in California's Bay area and is an avid Steelhead Fly Fisher. Jeff has fished many of the top Steelhead rivers in BC, Alaska and Russia and is a contributing writer to many of the top Fly Fishing magazines.
Beyond the Mist - Fall Steelhead Flyfishing in the Lower Skeena Valley
After an hour-long, kidney-jarring drive, the pickup grinds to a stop and the three of us pile out into the damp morning. From this wide spot on a rutted logging road we look down into the forested canyon below. We can’t see the river but in our imagination it’s there, gliding green and inviting over a boulder-strewn bottom, murmuring a song we all know and love. It’s hiding a treasure that has compelled one of us to traverse half the globe, another to jet 5,000 miles and the other to make his life here. Behind us is a week of difficult fishing – rain-soaked, grind-it-out, difficult fishing. Ahead of us are two of the most memorable days a steelhead flyfisher could ask for.
Download Article (PDF 4.7M).
 Fire & Ice - Early Winter Steelhead Flyfishing in the Lower Skeena Valley
Early November in the Lower Skeena Valley is a special time. The sun arcs low in the sky, air temperatures are brisk and hoarfrost decorates the landscape. Each morning greets a sparkling wonderland. The bustle of late summer and autumn is over, and all but a few dark Coho remain from the vast salmon runs. Along the rivers, moose appear on the gravel bars, and wolf tracks dent the sand at the water's edge. But the bears are gone, headed upland, larded with salmon for a long winter's slumber. It's a time of rest for like along the river and those who visit will find a contemplative stillness unique to this shifting season.
Download Article (PDF 3.4M).
 Fly Fishing the Steelhead Superhighway
On the tackle room wall at Nicholas Dean Lodge in Terrance, British Columbia, hangs a photograph. In the photo, a large fish lies on river cobbles, dwarfing an 8-weight rod handle and matching reel. At first glace, by comparing all elements in the frame, you see the fish is easily 30 pounds, maybe more. From a distance, by the thick "shoulders" and general shape of the fish, you might assume it to be a Chinook...
Download Article (PDF 3.4M).
 Spring Steelhead in the Lower Skeena Valley
I'm standing in a wilderness river in British Columbia's fabled Skeena Valley. The cold current is pushing hard against my legs, rain is dripping from my nose and I'm speycasting a fly the size of a small bird to fish with proportion and temperament of alligators. I haven't had a strike all day, but I'm in seventh heaven...
Download Article (PDF 2M).
|
