Suskeena Lodge
Smithers • British Columbia, Canada

Suskeena Lodge, on the Sustut River in Northern British Columbia is relatively unknown except among a core group of fanatics that fish BC every year prowling for giant steelhead.

The Sustut has the largest average steelhead of any river in the Skeena watershed. If you want to crack the magic 30 pound mark for steelhead you had better be focused on the Skeena tributaries. On that note, there are only a few rivers where it is even possible. On the Skeena these include the Babine River, Kispiox River or the Sustut River. If you want to increase your odds for 30 pound steelhead, be in a wilderness setting and fish gin clear water...the Sustut is your place.

Suskeena Lodge is 9 person lodge located on the Sustut River in the Skeena watershed in Northern British Columbia. Access to the Sustut is by private charter and there are no roads that take you here. It is a true wilderness steelhead fishery. The Sustut and Skeena have healthy runs of chinook, coho and sockeye salmon and steelhead. In early August the chinook fishing can be incredible. Steelhead, though, are their specialty.

The Sustut is, in our estimation, the finest tributary of the Skeena for trophy steelhead. Certainly when you combine the lodging, scenery, solitude and average size of the steelhead, it is hard to imagine a finer place to fish.

Suskeena Lodge is one of only two lodges on the fabulous Sustut, sharing the abundant pools with the well-known Steelhead Valhalla, located several miles downstream. Accommodations at Suskeena are for up to 9 fishermen, and very comfortable. The cabins are private & spacious [shared by 2 anglers] with comfortable beds & linens, and wood stove heat for heat. Each double occupancy cabin features a full bathroom with shower, toilet sink and vanity. The guides are excellent, experienced, and work hard to get anglers into fish. Food is simple, delicious and filling. More importantly, the fishing is 1st Class!

The Sustut River is a spot that is impossible to reach by road and requires a charter flight from Smithers on the first morning of the trip. This is part of the headwaters of the Skeena River drainage and runs pure and clear in all but the worst of weather. The river has been declared so rare and valuable by the Canadian Government that a special fishing license is necessary for all angling. The Sustut is a Class I river with a limited amount of rod days available each year.

One advantage of the Sustut over other steelhead fisheries (like the Babine, Bulkley, Kispiox, & Thompson) is the amount of time the river takes to clear and drop after a big storm; common in the fall in British Columbia. The Sustut claims to be the fastest dropping and quickest clearing of them all. The river can virtually be blown out one day and fishable the next.

Fishing on the Sustut is strictly catch-and-release and, with little outside pressure, anglers enjoy a rare opportunity to fish relatively untouched water every day of the week. Most often, anglers are rotated on 3 sections of river; upper, middle and lower. Days are long at Suskeena Lodge. Anglers will fish an average of 10 hours each day