The Zorn family operates the lovely, 6-bedroom Pyna-Tee-Ah Lodge. Each two anglers share a well-appointed lodge room, each with a private bath. At Pyna-Tee-Ah you will enjoy home-cooked meals and friendly hospitality overlooking a beautiful view of Quesnel River. Gary Zorn runs a tight ship; he makes sure everything goes off without a hitch, from guiding at your shoulder all day to washing your dinner dishes at night. He and Peggy and daughter Melissa are all warm, competent hosts who bend over backwards to make sure your stay with them is memorable. A good measure of an operation is the condition of their equipment, and at Pyna-Tee-Ah you'll not see one thing out of order, or not meticulously maintained.

Pyna-Tee-Ah Lodge offers a unique opportunity to visit a number of blue ribbon fly fishing rivers in the Quesnel Lake watershed. Rivers such as the Mitchell, Horsefly, Quesnel, Cariboo and local smaller streams offer some of the largest trout found in British Columbia. These waters are home to wild, native trout ranging in size up to ten pounds. Trophy Dolly Varden also inhabit most of these rivers and can reach amazing proportions. A wonderful plus is the Quesnel River water literally in the lodge's backyard - if you don't get enough fishing during your guided day, no worries, a short stroll will put you on more water than you can cover!

The fisheries at Pyna-tee-ah are accessed by boat, jet-sled or automobile and seldom require more than an hours ride. The fisheries are so different and entirely unique from one another that anglers are encouraged to spend at least a week with the Zorns to sample all they have to offer. For still water fishing enthusiasts, there are no less than a dozen hidden and private lakes the lodge can access, all stuffed with trout. The lodge's overnight fly-out package to Mitchell Lake is a spectacular wilderness fishing experience. Only four anglers at a time are allowed into Mitchell, where they experience comfortable lodging, absolutely awesome views of mountains, hanging glaciers, and wildlife.

At Pyna-Tee-Ah Lodge fly-fishing is excellent throughout the season - dry flies from mid-June through August, and wet flies and egg patterns throughout the fall months give you non-stop action for big bows and voracious dollies. Drift fishing and wading are the best methods for fishing these rivers. For a relaxing change of pace this package also includes the option to visit an outstanding series of remote fly fishing lakes where the dry fly fishing is superb. With such a wide variety of opportunities you and your guide will pick the waters offering the best fly-fishing opportunities during your stay.

"About the fisheries and seasons at Pyna-Tee-Ah"

"The Mitchell River and Blue Lead in the fall are the biggest producing rivers for Dolly Varden, as well as big 'bows. The Quesnel River, Horsefly and Mitchell all have big rainbows and the Mitchell and Mathew have big rainbows and dollies too. All of our rivers eventually end up in the Quesnel River, which flows into the Fraser River. The Fraser River is one of the biggest salmon-producing rivers in the world. One of the reasons our trout get so big is because of the salmon. In the spring and summer the trout feed on the salmon fry and then in the fall they feed on the eggs and flesh. Of course, to go with that we also have excellent dry fly fishing.

The year starts off with the salmon fry coming down the rivers into Quesnel Lake. This spring fishing is May and June. Now we are into our spring fishing using fry patterns, flying ants, early May and Stone flies also. We take lots of big trout in the spring varying in size from 2 pounds to 15+ pounds or better (last spring we had 3 well over 15 pounds in the spring).

There is excellent dry fly fishing on the Quesnel River in the last half of June - mayfly and big stonefly hatches. Also good dry fly in the Wasco all season. After the opening of the rest of the rivers on July 1, they all offer good dry and wet fly angling. The end of July to end of August is excellent for both rainbow and king salmon. By August 18 the sockeye salmon are starting to show up on the rivers and the premier rainbow fishing starts. This runs right through until the end of November. September and October are some of the best months for big rainbows and dollies. Most of the rivers are accessed by jet boat or drift boat.

Middle Wasco Lake rainbows run anywhere from 1/2 pound to about 2 pounds and Upper Wasco lake rainbows run from 1/2 pound to 5 pounds. We fish the lakes plus the creeks running in and out. True, they are smaller fish, but there are lots of them, they are very scrappy and it really is fun! These are beautiful mountain lakes (there are 3 lakes in the Wasco chain) with streams coming into them. They are uncrowded - usually we are the only ones there. We always do a shore lunch here and folks really relax and enjoy it. Many returning guests request a day on Wasco Lakes or on Klinne Lake, the small mountain lake about a short distance from the main lodge. It's a really nice way for guests to relax and take a break from heavy river fishing, and landing those big guys. By the time the end of a week rolls around lots of guys are suffering from 'arm fatigue' and enjoy this bit of lighter fishing. It's also a great place if anyone is starting a young fly fisher son or daughter.

On the smaller streams, like Blue Lead, the rainbows will run about 2 to 10 pounds." - Gary Zorn - January, 2003

Species of Fish:  Wild Rainbow Trout and Bull Trout.

Lodging:  Integral lodge rooms, most with in-suite bathrooms.

Travel Arrangements:  Most anglers will fly to Vancouver, British Columbia and continue onto Williams Lake. Fly in to Williams Lake, the lodge's nearest major centre, which hosts a commercial airport with one to two flights daily to and from Vancouver by Jazz Air, an Air Canada affiliate (1-888-247-2262), or Pacific Coastal Airlines (800-663-2872). Round trip ground transport for the pleasant and scenic drive (approximately 75 miles) from Williams Lake can be arranged at no cost (driving transfers to/from Williams Lake are part of the package price) or if you prefer, you can rent a vehicle and drive yourself to Quesnel Lake.

You can also drive from Vancouver via the scenic Fraser Canyon on Trans Canada Highway No. 1 to Cache Creek, then north on Highway 97 to Williams Lake. Just south of Williams Lake at 150 Mile House turn east onto the secondary paved highway to Horsefly, BC. In Horsefly turn right at Clarke's Store, cross the Horsefly River, turn left in front of the blue roofed BC Forests building and follow the well-maintained gravel road for approximately 26 miles (42 km). Driving time from Vancouver is about 8 hours.

Length of Stay:  Sunday morning; through to the following Sunday afternoon.

Season:  June through September.

Occupancy:  Pyna-tee-ah Lodge can accommodate 12 anglers maximum.