Muchalat Lake
Fishing in and around Gold River in the fall is always fun no matter if fish are caught or not. However, camping can be a chilling experience.
A friend and I had planned to go up to Muchalat Lake for some fly-fishing and river scouting ever since the beginning of this past summer. With conflicting schedules throughout the summer a date was set for the last weekend of September as the time to go. Muchalat Lake is 19km up the Woss highway out of Gold River. The road is dirt with logging trucks and locals bouncing through potholes and dodging rocks that would leave a juicy hole in any vehicles under carriage. Once we set the date for our little fishing escape, other friends caught wind and decided to join us. In the end, seven of us made the journey.
Muchalat Lake is a recreation site with plenty of free camping spots along with a boat launch and trees to block campers from the wind if it picks up over the lake. The best think about the lake is no one is ever there.
After everyone arrived and the site was set for the weekend ahead, we all headed down to the dock for a little afternoon fishing. Coho jumped consistently throughout the afternoon and consistently didn’t touch any of our flies/lures. But, we already knew this was what would happen. Our goal was to target the trout following the Coho around looking for food scraps. Three of us decided to go for a walk to locate the Oktwanch River, which flows into the lake and provides a great place for anglers to fish from shore, fly or casting.
After a drive up the road for about a km or two, we located a place to drop down onto the shores of the lake and walk to the mouth of the river. Fresh bear and elk prints dotted the shoreline all the way to the river. Right where the Oktwantch meets the lake a massive ball of Coho salmon held in the current waiting to make the run upstream. If this wasn’t a good sign for fishing then what is? We headed back to camp for dinner and a couple of drinks, all the while talking about the river we would hit for some fishing in the morning.
As usual, I was way under prepared for camping. I have to say I’m the worst when it comes to bringing camping equipment. A tent, blanket, beer, some carbs and I’m good to go. Down side, its freezing cold around Gold River in the fall. Luckily, everybody else had all the good things for camping like coffee, egg, bacon, stoves and such.
Everyone woke around the same time the following morning and I took a walk down to lake, where I was met with a wall of freezing wind and fog burning off the water. After a touch of breakfast and a couple hot coffees everybody was ready to get over to the river mouth. Some drove while most walked. It’s only about a 10-minute walk from the campground to a place where one can drop down to the waters edge. The sun was at full steam now and it warmed up the day considerably.
Right away, Tom hooked into a Coho, which tore back and forth before getting off. Good sign though. Over the next couple of hours 4 or 5 nice looking Rainbow Trout were brought in and released making the morning a success.
Next up was a trip to the Muchalat river bridge, which is about a ten-minute drive back towards Gold River. Only two made this trip and the first site from atop the bridge was a school of huge Chinooks holding in the river. Adam and I continuously drifted our lines down over top of the Chinook hoping for trout hanging around the monsters. Adam landed two smaller rainbows and the day began to close with the sun dropping behind the hills.
The following morning was leaving day, but Adam and I decided to go for one more quest through the wilderness surrounding Muchalat Lake. At 7am we hopped in the car and drove about 5 km up the road towards Woss. We found a spot on the far side of the Oktwantch River where a person can access the river about 2km upstream before it runs into the lake. Icy cold logs provided make shift bridges to the banks of the river. Once out in the middle one can fly cast into any pool or rip. Wonderfully clear water exposed large schools of Coho and our hopes were high for trout fishing. After walking around and sharing the riverbank with a nice sized black bear, we decided to head back. It was Sunday and that means football to me, so a buddy’s house in Gold River was my destination for the next 24 hours.
Muchalat Lake is a must for any fisherman, camper or couch potato. Just make sure to pack good food and prepare for fridged temperatures once the sun drops.
By Greg Miller
nice one