About as good as it gets

What a way to end the trip - surely one of the best steelhead fishing days that anybody could hope to experience. We were taken miles up an old logging trail and then hiked up and down a seriously brutal river valley two times to access a bunch of different pools and runs. And the fishing was just epic - steelhead up to 20lbs were landed from the most stunning, wild stretch of river that I am guessing is hardly ever fished due to the sheer physical effort required to get in there. The last fish of the trip fell to Pete and this 16lb steelhead really took off down the river, with Pete and our guide Dustin in hot pursuit. At one point Dustin had to literally grab Pete as they waded across a deep bit of the river to maintain contact with the fish. Trying to keep in touch with the camera was somewhat interesting, but we got it nailed. What a stunning fish to finish this trip on.

British Columbia has totally blown me away, as indeed did the east coast of Canada. It was more than I could have wished for before we set off and I am returning home with a stack of photos that I am confident do some kind of justice to the place. You owe it to yourself to come out here sometime soon and check out the east coast sight fishing for Atlantic salmon, and of course, this epic steelhead fishing amongst some of the most extraordinary landscapes you can possibly imagine. Get in touch with Pete McLeod at Aardvark McLeod and talk to him about some far out fly fishing trips as soon as you can.

We have had all kinds of weather out here, from a couple of relatively warm days on the east coast to some seriously cold and wet days out here in BC, plus everything in between. Decent wet weather gear and breathable chest waders are totally invaluable for this fishing, in fact I would say that they are more important than the gear you choose to fish with. I am really pleased that my Hardy EWS waders and wading boots have coped admirably with the living hell that I have put them through, and my Greys GRXi wading jacket has been the star of the show through some rather "interesting" rain !!

Anyway, time to pack the gear up now and get ready for the long journey home, arriving back at Heathrow midday on Thursday. Can't wait to see my wife and two girls, plus of course I am getting rather excited about England v France on Saturday. Bring it on.......