At the north end of Tatlayoko Lake, within sight of Niut Mountain, the Homathko slides out of the Chilcotin and disappears into a long, wind-roughed lake. Somewhere past the far end it drops through the Coast Mountains, between icefields and the foot of Mount Waddington, and comes out at the head of Bute Inlet as a salmon river with big cutthroat in it. No road joins the two ends. Most anglers only ever see one of them.
Understand the shape before you choose. The upper river comes down its valley beside the Tatlayoko road and fills the lake. Below the lake it enters canyon after canyon on its way to the sea, with no trails or roads. Below the big tributary at Mosley Creek it opens into a coastal valley and an estuary you reach only by water or air. So there are two rivers you can fish, and a wild middle that keeps them apart.
The upper river is the place to start. You can drive to it, camp by the lake and walk the banks for wild trout and char. Rainbows and
Dolly Varden are plentiful in this country, and the river holds wild
bull trout as well. It fishes best after the snowmelt, in the long light of late summer.
The canyon country below Tatlayoko Lake is for looking at. The water is too rough to raft or kayak, and the valley is thick with devil’s club and grizzly bears.
The lower river is the reward for anyone who makes the effort. A boat or floatplane from Campbell River puts you at the head of Bute Inlet, where a logging camp sits on the delta and old logging roads lead up the valley. Large cutthroat and bull trout share the lower river with the autumn salmon and a run of
steelhead.
The whole river closes from 1 April to 30 June.
The river still keeps its questions: how far up from the inlet the cutthroat go, and what lives in the side creeks that come down off the icefields along the way.
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.
How to fish it
On the upper river, a 5-weight is enough. In summer, fish an Elk Hair Caddis or a small Stimulator along the edges and seams. If nothing comes up, change to a weighted sculpin or leech streamer and swing it slowly through the deeper runs, where the bull trout lie.
On the lower river, bring a 6- or 7-weight with a sink-tip. Find chum or coho on the spawning gravel and dead-drift a single egg pattern below them. When the fish ignore it, change to a flesh fly and roll it down the same seam. Cutthroat often sit tight to wood and the cut banks of side channels, so put the fly close to cover.
Access and safety
For the upper river, follow Highway 20 west from Williams Lake to Tatla Lake, then turn south on the Tatlayoko Lake road for about 35 km. A recreation site at the northeast end of the lake has camping under Douglas fir and a boat launch. It sits within Tsilhqot’in and Xeni Gwet’in title lands, so follow the conditions posted there. Wind on Tatlayoko Lake can raise dangerous waves quickly; keep a small boat near shore. The protected area has no trails and no drinking water, and campfires are not allowed.
For the lower river, the head of Bute Inlet has no moorage and wide, shallow mud flats, so time your landing to the tide. Homalco reserves sit at the river mouth; don’t cross reserve land without permission. Grizzlies are common along the main river and at the estuary, and you need to be self-sufficient here.
Regulations
The Homathko, with the creeks the regulations list under it, is closed to fishing from 1 April to 30 June on every reach. Outside those dates the rules list no other closure for the river; check in-season changes before you go. Region 5 requires a single barbless hook in all streams, and a basic licence lets you fish one artificial fly on a line. Bull trout (Dolly Varden) caught in streams must be released from 1 August to 31 October, and all steelhead must be released. You need a Steelhead Conservation Surcharge Stamp to fish for steelhead. For the lower river near the inlet, check the regulations for which region’s rules apply. Tidal water at the mouth is outside the freshwater rules, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets the salmon rules.