Quesnel River

The Quesnel drains Quesnel Lake, the deepest lake in British Columbia, and runs about 100 km northwest from the bridge at Likely to the Fraser at the city of Quesnel. It is a big, lake-fed river with wild rainbow trout and bull trout, and it is the road home for one of the Fraser's large sockeye runs. In summer the rainbows take big dry flies. In fall the sockeye come up the river on their way to the Horsefly and the Mitchell, and the trout and bull trout turn to eggs and salmon. The top 20 km, from Likely past Quesnel Forks to Morehead Creek, is catch and release for all trout and char.

Below the lake the river is slow and forgiving. The Cariboo River adds a lot of water at Quesnel Forks, the river turns powerful farther down, and the lower river runs through Little Canyon and Big Canyon on its way to Quesnel. This is mostly boat water. Local guides fish it from drift boats and jet boats and wade where the banks allow. Summer starts with caddis in late June, then stoneflies in July, then hoppers and attractors on stout tippet. The sockeye pass Likely from mid-August, and fall is egg patterns, flesh flies and streamers. The lake steadies the river, so it rarely jumps with a storm. Read the Likely gauge for the upper river and the gauge near Quesnel, which also reads water temperature, for the lower river.

The sockeye run is big only one year in four. The dominant line came back in 2014, 2018 and 2022. 2026 was its next year, and the one after is 2030. In the off years the fall fishing is leaner, so check the run before you plan around it. The Quesnel stock is listed as endangered. The Mount Polley mine tailings dam failed in August 2014 and sent tailings into Quesnel Lake, just above the river, and monitoring of the lake and river continues under the mine's permit. Likely is a small gold-rush town with a store, a lodge, a motel and a provincial campground on the lake. Williams Lake is under two hours away.