“It’s been two years since we’ve opened our doors. During the pandemic, we decided to make a few upgrades to the lodge…anything to distract us from all the guiding we weren’t doing. The time passed, is all, and sure, we might’ve knocked down a wall or two that we wouldn’t have otherwise, but we’re not here to talk about the walls, we’re here to talk about the fish.”

-Lodge manager Scottie, as he welcomed his first guests after the shutdown

 

Captured by Quotes

A visitor shares a glimpse of the Cedar Lodge angling experience as it reopened in December of 2022

 

“It’s remote. Really remote.”

On all my river hikes I only saw one human footprint and it was from a deer hunter. A few hardy locals have probably fished the streams we fished while the country was closed during the pandemic, but who knows, there were lots of trout and no signs of any foot traffic. The rivers that Cedar Lodge access are remote…really remote.

 

On Sight Fishing 

I was certain the guides had X-Ray vision. Their ability to spot fish was nothing short of magic. One of the guides, Nick, let us in on the secret— “look for a smudge.” He wasn’t kidding. I started making out the grey-ish, oval-ish, blurry-ish movement, and it paid off. Once we’d spot a fish, I’d move into a casting position, which was determined by many factors—the wind, how spooky the fish was, currents that mess with a perfect dead drift, glare…the list goes on. Most casts were at around 25 to 40 feet. And let me tell you, most casts were rewarded. Think brown and rainbow trout averaging 21 inches, with many around 23–24 inches. We landed quite a few around five pounds. The two biggest were six pounds and six and a quarter.

 

 

 

On Walk Wading

We walked a lot, and on varying terrain. Sometimes along perfect-level grass banks, others across small cobble river rock, and others over washer-and-dryer-sized boulders. We wet waded everyday. Some streams were quite cold, but the knee-high neoprene socks took care of the chilly water. We did quite a few stream crossings, as many as 30 in one day, but never through any dangerous or deep sections. All the fishing excursions go upstream. This is because we fished mostly dry flies and the presentation is best from a downstream position. 

 

 

On Guides

One guide has been at Cedar since the 1990’s, another for 15 years, and so forth. They love their jobs. And beyond being great guides, the guys were just terrific people. They coached gently, and gave hardy handshakes when fish were landed. They could spot fish like I’ve never seen before, with a truly impeccable handle on the art of fly fishing. Scottie, the Lodge Manager, is the perfect man for that post, and I hope he stays for a long, long time and retires as an old man.

 

 

 

 

On Bugs

A few times we added a nymph, a dry dropper rig, and several times the fish came up and hit the dry anyway. With a size 18 parachute Adams, on a 4x tippet, one fish rose slowly, took the fly, zig-zagged around the pool, into the tail out, and then skedaddled through the rapids going downstream. We landed the five pounder 100 yards downstream.”

We used quite a variety, like hoppers and crickets, foam beetles, Madam X type flies and an all black humpy with a bright blue body. I had to go small once, as a large rainbow refused my larger attractor pattern. I put on a size 18 parachute Adams, on 4X tippet, and that did the trick. 

 

 

 

On Helicopters

To get around to the various river systems, we usually took a Squirrel helicopter, a top-of-the-line French helicopter that is perfect for river missions (and skiing). Low vibrations, low sound levels. It’s all about safety and reliability in this business, and the Squirrel helicopter is the best. It holds six passengers, plus the pilot, in forward-facing seats. The windows were in ample supply, giving everyone great views. But “great views” is an understatement. I remember when a friend of mine visiting Cedar years ago started to cry tears of joy on his first helicopter ride there. Anyways, here and there the pilot would twist and turn and ride thermals into and over jagged mountain ranges and peaks, high up in the snow and over glacier zones. Some might call whizzing through the Southern Alps like that a bit hair-raising, but there’s no need to worry—it’s all in a day’s work for these qualified pilots. 

 

 

On Food, Wine, and Golf

Along with being a total genius in the kitchen, the lodge chef, Chef Gordon, is an avid angler and an all-around great guy. I would put his creations right up there with the best food I’ve ever tried. Super local ingredients. Really tasty. One day, we visited beautiful wineries (many of which stock the lodge), a relaxing day spa, and even a 9-hole golf course, where Scottie put us to shame. Watching him golf was like watching the PGA.