Early in summer, in a granite gorge just east of Hope,
steelhead lie below a waterfall and wait for the snowmelt to ease. When it does, the summer fish climb over into the clear green river above, and the winter fish stay behind. The Stó:lō name for the river means roughly a stingy place, after a pool near its mouth where the fish were hard to catch.
The gorge cuts the river in two. Above it, the Coquihalla comes down from the summit beside the highway, steep and bouldery, pool to chute to pool. Below it, the valley opens and the river runs out past the edge of Hope into the Fraser. The gorge itself, where the old railway tunnels cross, is closed to fishing all year, and the two halves take turns: the upper river is open from 1 July to 31 October and closed from 1 November to 30 June, the lower river is open from 1 November to 31 March and closed from 1 April to 31 October.
The upper river is the one with the reputation, small fly water for summer steelhead and for
Dolly Varden, the one fish that has always made it up the canyon on its own. Start in the few kilometres between the tunnels and Peers Creek, where the gorge has just let go of the river and the pools are deep, and walk upstream a pool at a time. Late summer, with the water low and warm, is when a steelhead might come up for a fly near the surface. Farther up, past Dewdney Creek, a forest road follows the river toward the summit and the water gets smaller and quicker.
The lower river is the surprise: a winter steelhead stream on the edge of town. It runs past the campground on Kawkawa Lake Road and down to a gravel bar at the mouth, and its fish are the ones that never climb the falls. Fish it a few days after a winter rain, when it has dropped and begun to clear.
Below the gravel bar the Coquihalla runs into the Fraser, and every summer fish in the gorge came up that big river first.
Fish in this water
Each fish is rated by its strongest evidence. A rating says how sure we are a fish is here, not how many there are, whether it is worth fishing for or whether you may keep it.
Confirmed
Recorded on this water in the last 15 years, or named for it by a fishery agency, its fishing rules or a fishing publication.
Likely
Older records here, recent stocking, a local guide or fly shop, a guide listing, or recent records on connected water nearby.
Water and habitat
The Coquihalla drops hard for most of its length, through a deep, narrow valley it shares with the highway, the old railway grade and a pipeline. Much of the bank is armoured to protect them, so the river can’t wander, and the holding water is where bedrock or a big boulder makes it: the plunge pool below a chute, a slot along a granite wall, the slower tail before the next drop. Fish sit there because it is the only place out of the push. Above the gorge the water runs clear green in summer, and the fish see you coming. Below the gorge the gradient eases and the river spreads over gravel toward Hope, and the softer seams beside those gravel runs are where a winter fish rests.
When to fish it
The upper river opens in July, often still high and cold with snowmelt, and early summer is hard going. August and September are the heart of it: the pools have settled, the water is clear, and a summer fish may take near the top. October cools the water and the fish sit deeper. The lower river below the gorge is November-to-March water and depends on rain; a heavy autumn or winter storm will colour it, and the drop and clear afterwards is the time to be there.
How to fish it
On the upper river, come at each pool from below and keep low on the clear water. Start at the tail with short casts on a floating line and swing one fly, a small, sparse wet fly, across the current so it comes round slowly through the slot where the water deepens. Take a step down after each swing until you’ve covered the pool, then walk on rather than flogging it. In late summer, change to a waking dry fly over the same water; summer steelhead will leave the bottom for one. If they won’t, go back to the wet fly a size smaller and darker. For Dolly Varden, change to a weighted sculpin or fry pattern and work it slowly along the floor of the deep plunge pools. Below the gorge in winter, use a sink-tip to get a heavier, darker fly down in the cold water, swing it slower, and fish the inside seams.
Access and safety
The highway follows the river for most of its length, and pull-offs and forest roads such as the Dewdney Creek road drop toward it; the old rail grade sits well above the water on the west slope in places, so find a safe way down before you commit to it. The tunnels sit in a provincial park east of town with a small parking lot that fills on weekends; they are open seasonally and closed in winter, and the November 2021 flood ran right through them, with repairs going on since. In Hope there is a private campground beside the river on Kawkawa Lake Road, behind a flood berm, and parking near the mouth off Wardle Street, where the gravel-bar launch needs four-wheel drive. The river is fast and cold everywhere and swimming in the gorge is prohibited: wade only where you can see the bottom, never above a chute, and expect bears.
Regulations
The river has three sets of rules, split at the railway tunnels in the gorge, and every stream in Region 2 requires a single barbless hook all year.
From the northern entrance of the uppermost railway tunnel up to the summit, there is no fishing from 1 November to 30 June, and from 1 July to 31 October it is fly fishing only, with a bait ban.
Through the Othello Tunnels, from the northern entrance of the uppermost railway tunnel to the southern entrance of the lowermost tunnel, about 700 m, there is no fishing at any time.
From the southern entrance of the lowermost railway tunnel down to the Fraser, there is no fishing from 1 April to 31 October. From 1 November to 31 March, trout and char, including steelhead, are catch and release, with a bait ban.
On both open stretches, wild trout, wild char and all wild steelhead must be released; check the regulations for the region’s limits on hatchery fish. Fishing for steelhead anywhere in BC needs a Conservation Surcharge Stamp on your basic licence. Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets the salmon rules. Check in-season changes before you go.