Kispiox River

The Kispiox comes down a long valley from the north and meets the Skeena at Kispiox village, a few kilometres above Hazelton. It is a smaller, more intimate river than the Bulkley or the Skeena: wadeable runs, gravel bars and logjams, with Kispiox Valley Road close by for most of its length. Its wild summer steelhead are heavy fish, and the river is known for some of the largest steelhead ever taken on a fly. Every steelhead goes back.

The steelhead come in from late August, and the best fishing is September and October, until the cold shuts it down in November. Read the Hazelton gauge: the river fishes well between about 20 and 60 m³/s, and over about 120 it is high and brown. The Kispiox colours fast after heavy rain and takes a few days to drop back, so watch the trend after a storm. Swing a sink-tip with a big, dark fly through the runs, or a waking fly when the water is clear and not too cold. Coho share the river in the fall, and Dolly Varden, rainbows and cutthroat follow the salmon.

It is Class II classified water with a Steelhead Stamp from September 1 to October 31, and unguided non-resident aliens may not fish it on Saturdays and Sundays in those months. No one may angle from a boat, and powered boats are not allowed. The river is closed January 1 to June 15. Chinook are closed, and DFO sets coho and pink openings by notice. Skeena steelhead returns swing from year to year, so check the in-season changes before you book. The Kispiox runs through Gitxsan territory. In May 2026 the Gitxsan First Nation announced a fishing ban across its territory. The province says provincial licences stay valid and asks anglers to get permission before crossing reserve land. Kispiox village is a Gitxsan community, and much of the lower valley is reserve or private land.