Fortress Lake

[gonefishin]

A buddy and I are going to be heading to Fortress at the end of July. Just wondering if anyone has been there and can provide some feedback... i.e- how was it and what flies to bring?

Thanks.

[Reeves1]

Going to hike via the trail head @ Sunwapta Falls ?
If so, it's a flat hike all the way. May be an interesting xing of the Atha B and/or Chaba (sp? ...gave all my maps away).
If you allow lots of time, you can follow each little creek/stream that flows into the Atha B and fish where the water mixes. Great places for big Bulls ! Some very good RBs as well.

Take Bear spray. Always good to have some "seasoning"

If you have very strong backs, take a decent 4 man raft....on the way out put in at the jct of the Atha B and Chaba and float right out to the hwy about 5-8km north of Sunwapta Falls Bungalows. River makes a bend right close, by a parking lot. (been there, done that)

Cannot give any advice on sissy fly fishing

[sneer]

July is about the worse month for crossing the Chaba...by the second week of June to about the second week in August, it's high...like over the waist high...which isn't the greatest feeling when the Columbia Icefields are only a few miles away!

[Big Bull]

gonefishin, you are in for some super brook trout fishing! Hopefully, you are going in by chopper or float plane and staying at the fishing camp. Otherwise, like sneer said, the Chaba crossing will be very high and wide. I've always done well fishing close to shore trolling shrimp patterns and spratleys. Try ripping your fly line, the brookies can't resist. Most of my fishing there has been on the western half of the lake around Chisel Creek, Washout Creek, and the outlet into the Wood River. At the bases of the avalanche paths at the south west corner of the lake have been good too. Post some pictures here when you get back. It is definitely the best brook trout fishing in western Canada.

[gonefishin]

Thanks for the info guys. I will post pics when I get back.

[boatman]

Humped in there 2 years ago from Sunwapta Falls. Did it the first week of July. It was a tough slug with all that weight and the Chaba was a scary crossing! Athabaska has a pretty good foot bridge to cross so no problem there.

Fishing is really at West end of lake so you either paddle 2.5 miles every day down the lake to fish or hike it and camp down by the creek so you don't have to paddle every day. By the time you get there you just want to drop so the inclination is to camp at the first site you hit! One positive thing was that at the first camp there is a fire ring, Axe, wood and out house. That was bonus for us when we arrived as we didn't know it was so well equipped. I don't know about the other camps never checked them out.

We caught and released a few. Lost more than we caught. Never found the perfect fly. Tried leeches, scuds, muddlers, damsels, Docs. Close to bottom was best. Lost plenty of flies on logs. There are some bigguns in there fish and logs.

That said anyone know if you can get in there with a helicopter or plane? Wouldn't mid taking a blow up boat and doing the Athabaska drift afterwards.

[Big Bull]

Boatman, you can access the lodge by float plane out of Hinton, but I don't know if they would do a charter to the lake for non guest. Also, a flight out of Golden could still be possible, and Icefield Helicopter Tours used to fly their guests in from Nordegg. I have flown in by helicopter a couple of times from Jasper on "parks" projects, and we used to stay at the BC Parks frame tent right beside the fishing lodge, and they used to rent us boats and motors for a $100/day! We did paddle canoes down the Chaba and Athabasca to highway 93 once. It was a nice float that took 2 or 3 hours, and only got sketchy where the Athabasca and Sunwapta Rivers converged. Yes, the east end of the lake is just choked full of logs just because of it's east west orientation.
Check out their website http://www.fortresslake.com/

[boatman]

BigBull thanks for info. I haven't been able to locate anyone that will fly in unless you stay at the lodge. I guess who ever flies in needs a special permit/park pass to do so. If anyone knows a service that flies in that would be great.

[Mountain Guy]

FYI , plan on your own boat set-up as the Lodge will not rent to you if your not staying there.

[boatman]

Big Bull you wouldn't happen to have a number for who ever flies in to Fortress would you? I was thinking of calling and seeing if they would fly us in.

[McLeod]

I am fairly certain that the only people allowed to fly into and land in or near the lake are guests of the resort.

[fishpro]

Boatman, unforunately you won't be able to find anyone to fly you in. The lodge owners have the only flight permits for the park, therefore the only way you are allowed to fly in is if you book with them and stay at the lodge. No one is allowed to fly in otherwise.

[Big Bull]

Boatman, I don't know of anyone that would fly you in there, but call Mt. Robson Provincial Park headquarters and ask for Hugo or Wayne, and they would be able to give you info on whether it is even legal, and who would be able to do it. Fortress Lake is in Hamber Provincial Park, which is managed by the Mt. Robson office. These guys are the managers and they fly in there every year for an "inspection", and they know the regulations. It has been 10 years since the last time that I have been in there, and at that time, there were private planes coming and going. I think these guys fly for the lodge
http://www.airjasper.com/

[boatman]

Heard some rumblings that the swinging bridge that crosses the Athabaska may be out. Anyone know if there is any truth to that rumour?

That would make for one tough crossing without it!

Is there a "Best Place" to cross the river if the bridge is out?

thx

[Big Bull]

Boatman, I just golfed with the person in charge of maintaining all of the trails in the park, and he didn't mention it. I did phone him and left a message, so I should have a reply for you soon. When are you going? On the trail condition web page it didn't mention the bridge, but says that the Chaba crossing is very high. The water levels seemed to have peaked last week, and with cooler weather and less rain, the Athabasca has been dropping. Where did you hear about the suspension bridge? The trail condition web addy is:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/tcond/cond_e.asp?oPark=100244

[Big Bull]

Jim just called me back, and he is not aware of any problems with that bridge.
Some of my friends are wardens in that district, so I will check with them, also, but I think you got bad information. They have replaced 2 suspension bridges in the park this season, and there are bridges out in other parts of the park, so maybe this is where the confusion is. However, the Chaba crossing is very wide, and I wouldn't want to do it at it's peak. When you get to the crossing point, there should be a tree with sneakers hanging in it for people to use! We used to mountain bike from Sunwapta Falls to the suspension bridge(15 km), then stash the bikes and walk the remaining 10km.

[rms]

When is the best month or weeks to fish Fortress Lake for quantity of brook trout?

and

When it the best month or weeks for catch the biggest brook trout?

Thanks,

RMS

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by fishpro

Boatman, unforunately you won't be able to find anyone to fly you in. The lodge owners have the only flight permits for the park, therefore the only way you are allowed to fly in is if you book with them and stay at the lodge. No one is allowed to fly in otherwise.

I inquired about a helicopter out of Hinton 2 years ago, to take me to Fortress and pick me up a week later.
He quoted 1600 to drop me and 1600 to pick me up. Maybe they apply for a permit to fly the park otherwise I don't think he would have quoted me a price.