Hiway16 Magazine... about people and places in north-central British Columbia, Canada

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Fishing Rainbows In the Alley

by Debi Smith (Osborne)

Rainbow Alley is a small but world famous strip of water that connects Nilkitwa Lake to Babine Lake. about 75 km NE of Smithers. Approximately 1 mile long, it is a thoroughfare for "Provincially significant" salmon populations that migrate annually from the Babine River to either Nilkitwa Lake, Rainbow Alley or Babine Lake. Many end up at either the Fulton or Pinkut River spawning channels.

Accordng to Colin Harrison, manager of the Fulton River Spawning Channels, one to two million sockeye migrate into the Rainbow Alley / Babine Lake area annually. Smaller numbers of coho, chinook and pink salmon also spawn in the same waters.

The view of French Peak to the south, from Rainbow Alley

But it's primarily the rainbow trout that it is revered for, some reaching 10 pounds with dark reddish-orange flesh that melts in your mouth, when cooked. As you look down through the clear, crisp water you can actually watch the fish, a good selection of rainbow, burbot, char, sockeye, steelhead, pink, and coho wriggling their way past. So why doesn't this angler's paradise turn into wall-to-wall boats?

Rainbow Alley- the connector between Babine and Nilkitwa Lakes

In 1996, the Alley became "protected".

In 1999, the area became a Class A Provincial Park, although there is not a camp or rest area within the 110 km boundary. The good news? Fishing is still permitted - but only with a fly and only in posted areas. This alone cuts traffic by an estimated 75%.






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