Discovering a real gem in Northern British Columbia
Every so often, I am absolutely floored by a new property I’ve come across and decided to check out. I just got back from such an experience in Northern British Columbia, where I visited the Northern Lights Lodge, in the Cariboo Mountain range watershed. A big part of what got me on a 5-hour plane ride west and then another hour north was the lodge’s heavy emphasis on dry fly fishing in their pitch to get me out to visit them. Another huge plus was that each angler gets their own room at the lodge, while sharing a bathroom with another angler. Not having to listen to a friend snoring all night was hugely appealing and I went out to BC with few if any real expectations.
As soon as I walked into the lodge, I liked the place. It’s the kind of old trout lodge you hope to find but rarely do when you walk into a new property for the first time. Old School is a term all too frequently used in this day and age but it’s so beautifully appropriate for the Northern Lights Lodge. The Great Room at the lodge is a wonderfully warm environment that wears its history like a badge of honor. Fishing and hunting trophies adorn the walls and the large stone fireplace is fronted by plush leather couches. As an angler you just can’t help but be at home and comfortable here.
Northern Lights Lodge were the Horsefly and Mitchell rivers, both of which are stunningly beautiful, and full of eager rainbows that greedily smashed my dry fly throughout the day. When you think of remote trout rivers, the Horsefly and Mitchell are exactly what you hope to find. Rugged, raw, and largely untouched, these rivers delivered powerful vistas and rich angling memories that I won’t soon forget. The quality of the fishing matched the lodge environment and the two principal rivers fished from.
Northern Lights Lodge is an absolute home run of a flyfishing lodge and I can’t wait to go back in the fall of 2023. So glad I found this place!!
