Quesnel Lake, the largest freshwater fjord in the world, and its meandering tributaries come into their own during the fall season. A bounty of Sockeye salmon make their way upstream to spawn in the numerous creeks and rivers that empty into the lake, with large numbers of rainbow trout and char in close pursuit. Both rainbow trout and bull trout wait patiently behind the spawning salmon, capitalizing on the eggs that tumble down the river’s gravel bottom.

“The Cariboo region has an abundance of different types of fisheries, I realized pretty quickly that this is a world-class trout fishery” says renowned snowboarder and passionate angler Eric Jackson. Though he has made his living being a fearless rider, his love for fishing began at a young age and has never since diminished. Doug Mooring of Cariboo Rivers Wilderness and Fishing Adventures and Skeed Barowsky of Northern Lights Lodge show Eric the diversity of Quesnel Lake and its vast beauty. Rivers that are rich in braided channels strewn in log jams, the small tributaries that feed Quesnel Lake and even a few Grizzly bears in search of spawning salmon; Eric compares this experience to nothing short of being in Alaska.

“Fishing’s part of it, but it is the wilderness, the whole experience. We have so much to offer in this country”