Telegraph Creek

Drove to Watson Lake and stayed in a motel. Took a day trip to Telegraph Creek. The Stikine River carved a narrow canyon that is worth seeing. At the confluence of the Stikine and Tanzilla Rivers is a natural basalt image of a bird with outstretched wings, an eagle. At that place, I watched as two eagles flew along the cliffs, caught a warm updraft, and circled higher and higher until they were almost out of sight.

The land belongs to the First Nation people, the Tahltan. They catch salmon with gill nets for a commercial fishery and have special rules for sports fishermen.

wildflower, photo

Photo taken on Ruby Mountain, near Atlin, B.C.

Fishing Equipment

I didn't know what fishing equipment I would need, but wanted to catch rainbows, grayling, Dolly Varden, pike and salmon. For the two of us, I took six fly rods (1-3 wt., 1-4 wt., 2-5 wt., 2-7 wt.) plus 2 salmon rods, 2 steelhead/pike rods, 2 lake rods and several spinning rods.

To carry all these rods, I built a special rack for the floor of the 4Runner. Made from plywood and 2x4s, it allows several 3" plastic sleeves (irrigation pipes) to hold all these rods. It keeps them available, prevents breakage and hides them from theft.

Dease River and French Creek

Camped several nights at French Creek Recreation Site, about Milepost 415. This small campsite is designed for canoers paddling the Dease River. It's a primitive site. We really like it. One night no one else was there. The other two nights, only one other party was there. Beware, there are lots of mosquitoes in a land where lots of mosquitoes are commonplace.

Caught large grayling, to 16" at the campground. Hiked down to the confluence with French Creek and caught bull trout.

Darkness. Dark, at last. Around 10 p.m. in my tent, in the trees, in the rain and clouds, it was so dark, I used my flashlight to read.

bison, photo

Little Rancheria River

From Atlin, drove back to Alaska Highway. I stopped to check out the Tagish River where it comes out of Tagish Lake near Highway 8 near Jake's Corner. The Marina was flooded out and is now being rebuilt. It was very hot (over 30 degrees) and the fish were reportedly 30 meters down. Under the right conditions, this would be a good fishery. Little Atlin Lake looks like it will be good after road construction stops.

Continued south on AK Hwy through Teslin, stayed at a noisy campground, near the Rancheria River. Fished the Little Rancheria near the bridge and caught grayling. Tried to find main stem by following logging roads to the north, but never did.

The two of us had burgers for lunch with water for $50 at Junction 37 and headed south on the Cassiar Highway. The weather was hot and dry. One local said, "All of the south Yukon is burning."

Atlin

From Whitehorse, drove to Atlin, the "Little Switzerland" of World Was II fame. Stayed at the Art Center with Gernot. Gernot apparently has some international fame as an artist, photographer and teacher. He is an outdoor enthusiast and at 74 is in better shape than most people (me). His school was based upon "living on the edge" whereby students had alpine experiences that influenced the way they see and create art. He personally built all the lodging including a guest house with two one-bedroom apartments. The view is stunning and panoramic. He has a large jet boat for excursions and a wealth of knowledge about the area; he provides charters.

I fished the stream between MacDonald Lake and Little MacDonald Lake and caught lots of small grayling. Also fished Surprise Lake where it drains into the creek and caught larger grayling. Reportedly Palmer Lake holds pike