Frontier Farwest Lodge

Frontier Far West Lodge is would like to invite you to join us for a 6 day Spey Casting/ Steelhead Fly Fishing School.

Professional Spey casting/Steelheading instruction & fully guided Steelhead fishing during one of the best weeks for early fall run steelhead on the Bulkley and Morice Rivers in British Columbia. Our school’s one on one and group instruction will benefit both novice and experienced casters. Beginners are welcome!

What is Spey Casting? – This magnificent  form of fly-fishing originated in Scotland on the River Spey over a 150 years ago. Wide Rivers, strong winds and limited room for back casts (due to stream side vegetation) were likely the biggest evolutionary factors involved in the development of Spey Casting. The ability to make a wide directional changes, effectively fish both sides of the river and achieve the distance you desire with less effort are only a few of the reasons you should consider learn to cast and fish a double handed rods. Being able to adapt a true understanding of the equipment and techniques necessary to effectively cover more water in virtually every possible fishing situation, will undoubtedly have catch  more steelhead, and having a lot more fun in the process!

Your instructors include Derek Botchford and Mike VanWormer are veteran steelhead guides and accredited two handed casting instructors with years of formal instruction under their belts. Maximum student/ instructor ratio is 3:1. Steelhead Fishing will take place on the Bulkley and Morice Rivers with help and instruction of our expert guide staff.

Course Outline  (6 day fully instructional program)

In order to maintain an optimal learning environment, the instructor/student ratio will be no more than 1:3 with a maximum of eight students enrolled in the program. Both groups and individuals are welcome. You are welcome to bring your personal equipment though we will have a variety of rods, reels and line available to you here at the lodge regardless

During your 6 days with us you will learn all of the most useful Spey casts including the Basic Roll Cast , Single Spey Cast, Double Spey, Snap “T” or "C"Spey cast, Snake Roll Two Hand Over Head Cast,  and Switch casts. Students will be taught to perform each of the various casts off of both shoulders which will allow you to adapt to a variety of practical fishing situations regardless of which side of the river you are casting from.

One of the most important aspects of this course  will learning  be the difference between traditional Spey Casting and more modern Skagit Style Casting. Which can be confusing to most new casters.

In addition, students learn all of the other necessary elements to successful
Speyfishing for Steelhead such as:

• Correct Rod and Reel selection for your fishing application.
• How to determine the correct, lines, tips, leaders, and tippets and flies style for virtually every type of steelhead fishing conditions.
• Learning to understand the differences between each of the various types of fly lines and their applications, including Scandinavian lines, Shooting heads, Skagit lines and their cheaters, Wind cutters, Accelerators, traditional long belly lines, Double tapers etc, and how to select the lines most suitable to your fishing application.
• Students will also learn how to understand grain weights vs length of lines and shooting heads/sink tips and how to properly match these lines to their rods.
• Proper preparation of leaders and tippets, and how to build your own sinking tips.
• How to read Steelhead water
• Standard tackle checklists for both summer and winter run steelhead fishing.
• Understanding the differences between the different styles of flies, such as Spey Flies, Dee Flies, Dry flies, and Waking flies, as well as when to use them.
• How steelhead see color and how to choose your flies accordingly 
• Students will also learn the lifecycle, rearing habits, oceanic migratory patterns and other factors that make the steelhead the magnificent creatures they are.

School Itinerary/curriculum

August 16 – Arrival: meet and greet at the airport and short trip to the lodge. Guest will be able to settle in, relax and enjoy gourmet meal, followed by an introductory presentation Casting and overview of what the week entails. Students will also have time to prepare their equipment for the following day’s instruction

August 17 – AM: following a hearty full menu breakfast the will spend the morning in the classroom (lodge) learning the basic fundamentals of 2 handed casting. Following a  brief mid morning break and lunch, the group will move to the river for an on stream demonstration that outlines all of the casting fundamentals learned in the classroom, and begin learning to adequately perform each of the necessary Speycasts. Following a great day on the water, guest will retreat to the lodge for appetizers, cocktails, a good BS session, and a gourmet meal.

August 18-19 - Following Breakfast and a couple hours of classroom instruction on various casting/steelheading techniques, Guests will wader up and move to the river to learn more casting techniques.

August 20-22 - Immediately following breakfast guests will wader up and spend a couple of hours  in the morning honing their casting skills, before being placed in real steelhead fishing situations, to apply what they have learned through out  the week.

August 23 - Departure: Following Breakfast Guests will be transported the Airport in time for an 8:30 am Departure on Hawk Airlines to Vancouver
This is a tremendous opportunity for those new to Spey casting or the expert angler with a desire for professional instruction, to learn something new while spending time on the legendary Bulkley River. The emphasis of this week is not catching fish(though one can expect plenty of opportunities. The week is designed to make you a better Spey caster and most importantly a better angler, in preparation for your next big Steelheading adventure.

The cost of the 6 day/ 7 night school is $3,5000.00cad , which includes instruction, lodging , meals and guided fishing ( 2 anglers per guide ) . Additional expenses include Airfare ($495.00 round trip from Van to Smithers) angling license( $94.30), alcohol gratuities.
Space is for these programs are limited, so we recommend placing your reservation ASAP to avoid disappointment.