I went fishing on the Skagit River near Hope, British Columbia. The fishing was good for rainbow trout.
I stayed eight nights at the Silver Tip campground. The Skagit runs from the mountains into Ross Lake Reservoir which straddles the Canadian-US border. The Silver Skagit Road runs from Hope through the Skagit Valley Provincial Park for about 46 km.
The first few days were rainy and cool. There was lots of water coming down and made fording the river difficult. Most of the fishing was with nymphs. There were some rises in the afternoon. Caddis and a tan mayfly were fluttering around. Most flies seemed to work. Hares Ear was my most effective fly.
To get there, you need to drive about 34 kilometers on a dirt and gravel road. From the campground you can fish up or downstream. There is a trail at the north end of the campground which will get you part way to the upper river. From there you need to bushwhack through the brush and find the logjam. I walked across the logjam, but some can wade across the river there. the upper river feels very wild, and indeed, I was fishing a pool, came around a bend, stuck my head around a logjam and saw two cougars standing on a sand spit looking in the water. They moved away when I shouted.
An angler told me the trout are descendants of steelhead that became landlocked when Ross Lake was dammed.
