The Dean River — A Once-in-a-Lifetime Pilgrimage
If fly fishing had a soul, its heart might just beat on the Dean River. Few rivers stir the imagination of anglers like this one. The Dean is one of British Columbia’s most hallowed, beautiful, and productive summer steelhead rivers.
Honestly, I never thought I’d set foot on it. Getting a spot at Lower Dean Lodge always seemed reserved for old-guard legends or someone lucky enough to inherit a rod spot from a wealthy uncle. But, through some unbelievable good fortune, I scored an invite this summer to fish the Dean with my old pal Mike Moore from FarBank Enterprises.
I could hardly believe it. For weeks leading up to the trip it all felt like a dream. But when the plane touched down in Vancouver on August 11th, reality kicked in. I met up with Mike at the Fairmont Airport Hotel and was introduced to our new partner-in-crime, Grant Houx, owner of St. Peter's Fly Shop in Fort Collins, Colorado. All three of us had chased plenty of steelhead before, but none of us had ever been to the Dean. We were buzzing with anticipation, having devoured every book and every campfire tale about this river.
As if that wasn’t enough, we discovered we’d be traveling with none other than Tom McGuane himself — on his 41st consecutive pilgrimage to the Dean! To share the river with him was unreal. Tom is the ultimate O.G. of the Defective Gene Club, and he kept us in stitches the whole week.
From Vancouver we boarded a Pacific Coastal flight to Bella Coola under rare, cloudless skies. The hour-long flight over jagged peaks and glaciers was jaw-dropping. — From there, our heli pilot Bo whisked us into the Dean valley and dropped us right at Lower Dean Lodge. A ride I'll never forget!!
At the lodge we were welcomed by Mandy, who runs one of the most beautiful and comfortable wilderness eco-lodges I’ve ever seen. Everything — the lodge, the food, the staff, the guides — was world class.
No time wasted. After a quick bite we grabbed rods and hit the river swinging flies.
The Dean is divided into three beats, with three guides rotating anglers through different sections each day. The ride itself was an adventure — long wooden Dean River dories powered by 40-horse two-strokes bouncing through whitewater and riffles. Just running that river makes your pulse race.
Fishing was classic Dean. We started with T-14 tips and a mix of weighted and unweighted flies. Day one was a little slow, but by day two we found our rhythm and it was game on. We caught plenty on tips, but also managed to bring a few to hand on dries — one of the Dean’s hallmarks. A few anglers in camp were die-hard dry-fly purists and did extremely well.
For five straight days we fished hard, 10-hour marathons on this mythical river. Between the three of us we averaged just over ten landed steelhead per day, with many more hooked. Most fish were bright hens in the 26–28" range, but we saw plenty of 32–36" slabs too. The fish of the week was a 37" buck landed by our new friend Jerry. On top of that, we tangled with a handful of bonus chinooks — a couple of them chrome-bright and mean.
For me, this was almost certainly a once-in-a-lifetime trip. And that’s okay. I’m beyond grateful to have experienced this legendary river, this lodge, and this crew of friends — old and new.
Enjoy the photos below.
Dean River Gear List
Rods
Reels
Lines/Heads/Tips
Flies
The flight from Vancouver to Bella Coola on a clear day is just amazing!
Busy day at the Bella Coola Airport
The Heli ride into the Lower Dean Lodge is epic! Bella Coola River seen below.
Beautiful mountain vistas, one after another.
The Lower Dean Lodge - Main Lodge building. A modern day marvel.
Mike Moore with an average Dean River hen.
Water conditions vary frequently, so an assortment of flies and tips are nice. We did a lot of work with the T-14 tip and stinger style flies.
Dean River Dorys ready to roll.
Running the river in these boats in exciting.
Once in a while you get surprised by a Chinook.
Grant Houx with a beautiful Dean River Dry Fly fish!
36' Buck ready for release.
Took a little muddler on the surface.
What a setting!
Mike with a lively Steelhead on the line.
Great day with THE MAN!
What a fish! What a moment. Tom and Teal showing off some serious chrome. 36" Hen.
"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles."
~ Tim Cahill
👉 Do you want me to make this shorter and punchier (like a blog post with lots of energy), or keep the long-form storytelling style (more like a magazine feature)?
Fantastic!! I live in Seattle Washington. I was not going to spend the $80.00 dollars on the book. Now I certainly will. Thank you 😊
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