Canada 2026

I haven't been back to Vanderhoof or anywhere in Canada for almost 5 years. We finally had a good excuse to go because we had a wedding to attend to. There isn't much better than a July in Vanderhoof so the whole family took an extra week or more to be around town before the wedding.

The Trip

Because it has been so long since I've been there I got a reminder of how beautiful Banff and Jasper National Parks are. Driving through the mountains I realized again that this specific stretch of peaks, valleys, rivers and glaciers are the most beautiful I have seen. Not to mention everything I saw was only from the road because I never even stopped and got out of the truck. Because of the wet summer there were so many waterfalls all over the place. Tucked between peaks or falling down the cliff-sides there were simply waterfalls everywhere. The rivers are all such a rich blue/green color and every new angle of the jagged peaks or valleys amazed me for the 3 hours driving through the parks.

We stayed with Gerald and Maurine while we were up there and throughout the whole trip Emelia loved seeing and feeding the horses, running around on the property and just enjoying the open spaces and fresh air. It was fun being back in vanderhoof and we enjoyed being there. Had poutine a few times, went to BP's, had probably 10 screamers/slurpees and bought 100 dollars worth of candy and snacks to have back at home. It was great seeing all the green fields and we saw so much wildlife, a few coyotes, black bears and a load of deer, including easily 25 nice bucks. Also there were bunnies everywhere this time. Also saw a moose and even a mountain goat in Mt Robson.

Allie and I got to go with Charlee horse back riding too. Got to ride through trails in the bush as well as through some hay fields. I got to show off a little and gallop past Allie through one of the fields and it was a lot of fun, galloping on a horse is such an adrenaline pumping thing and genuinely a lot of fun and we enjoyed riding for a half hour or so.

Fishing A large part of why I love where I come from and love being in this part of the world is for the phenomenal fishing opportunities. There are so many lakes and rivers and so few people that there are so many honey holes that are simply not pressured at all. We fished 2 spots that were absolutely awesome.

Kuzkwa River

After years of dad talking about how awesome this river is to fish we finally made the trek out there. It was a whole experience getting out there, we drove past the fort, down the logging roads about 50k, unloaded and drove the 4 wheelers another 30 minutes then bushwhacked for the final bit on foot just to get access to the river.

All the effort getting in here was completely worth it. When you first break through the thick forest and see the river you instantly know its going to be a great spot, deep enough to hold big fish but shallow enough to wade and have good presentation at all times, rocky bottom, big pools but some fast water. I knew it was going to be a good day. Dad casted one before we even dropped our gear and caught one on the first cast... Bridger followed it up quickly and hauled in like 6 in a row in a matter of a few minutes.

Usually this river is a very reliable place for fly fishing so I brought my fly rod, I caught one on a dry right away but then the rain and clouds came in which made it hard to cast and there was too much surface action that nothing was being seen. All 4 of us switched to some kind of spinner, spoon or rooster tail and we absolutely slayed them. It rained on and off on us all day but we still had a lot of success, we caught a pile of rainbow trout, and a new species for me called pikeminnow. Also had some suckers in there that we tried to get rid of as many as we could. I think most of the river is rainbows but we were close to a big marshy hole that carried a lot of those suckers and pikeminnows. I caught a really nice rainbow and a 2 pound pike minnow as well as about 20 other fish. It was non stop action all day.

Camsell Lake

The more I fish around North America the more I realize that Camsell lake might be one of the best places to fish in the entire world. We fished with a couple boats at a few different times of the day and caught literally over a hundred fish. It didn't matter what you threw out, we trolled with willowleafs and trout killers or just a willowleaf and a worm. We spun from the shore and did well like that too.

These fish have zero pressure in this specific part of the lake and we just kill it. There were many times where we would have 2 or 3 lines bringing in fish at the same time. Lots of these rainbows were pretty good size too, caught a couple pounders and I think 2 over 15 inches. The girls caught plenty as well. I was the boat driver for one of the boats one of the days and that was a lot of fun too, getting to see everyone bringing in fish left and right. Such a fun time on a beautiful and world class level fishing lake.

Its a great lake to fish and we had a chance to camp here as well for a few days. So good to be out in the open air and hang around the fire, eat good food and catch fish. It was a little cold but we still had a great time all together camping. Thats a Wrap

It was a good trip, saw some old friends, met some new cool people. Good to see family and visit church one last time in Vanderhoof. The wedding went really well and was lots of fun. The drive up and down was long but also got to spend some time with my new truck and see some beautiful things along the way. Got to go around the ol stomping grounds and hit some memorable things and places. And especially stoked to spend time outside and catch a hundred fish.