Grizzly Creek Lodge
Watson Lake, Yukon
Family-run fly-in lodge on Toobally Lakes in the remote southeast Yukon, specializing in lake trout, northern pike and Arctic grayling.
Overview
Grizzly Creek Lodge is a single-property, family-operated fly-in fishing lodge located on Lower Toobally Lake in the southeast corner of Yukon Territory. The lodge is owned and run by David and Reggie O'Farrell, who worked as guides and managers for the property's previous owners, the Skanse family, before purchasing it in 2011.
The operation consists of a main lodge building on Lower Toobally Lake plus guest cabins, with a related camp on Upper Toobally Lake connected by the Smith River, giving access to a large stretch of connected water without additional fly-out costs. The lodge caps groups at a small number of guests per week (around six), and it is described as the only fishing lodge operating in this part of southeast Yukon.
David, Reggie, and their son James run the day-to-day fishing operation, guiding personally rather than through outside staff, and the lodge markets itself around long personal experience on the Toobally Lakes system and a longstanding catch-and-release program.
Highlights
The Fishing
Fishing centers on three species: lake trout, northern pike, and Arctic grayling, with whitefish also present in the Smith River. The lakes are deep with extensive shoals and channels, and both trolling and fly fishing are used for lake trout and pike, while grayling are targeted with lighter fly gear and small spinners in the Smith River and its side channels. The operation emphasizes trophy-class fish and high numbers, with guests regularly landing 40 to 50 fish or more in a day and northern pike over 40 inches caught on a regular basis.
Fishing is guided at roughly a two-anglers-per-guide ratio for standard weeks, boats are 16-foot Lund-style craft, and the lodge also runs limited one-on-one guided fly fishing weeks for anglers who want a dedicated guide each. A long-running catch-and-release program has been in place for more than 30 years.
Accommodations
Guests stay in handcrafted log guest cabins built on-site by the O'Farrell family, each with electricity, wood heat, and private bath facilities, along with a separate shower house at the main lodge. The main lodge building houses the kitchen and common living area, and offers three home-cooked meals a day; a Starlink satellite internet connection is available at the main lodge for guests who want it.
Fish Species
What They Offer
Amenities available at one or more of this outfitter's properties.
Boats includedGetting There
Access to Grizzly Creek Lodge is by floatplane only, departing from the small town of Watson Lake, Yukon, roughly a 45-minute flight to the lodge on Lower Toobally Lake about 90 air miles northeast of town. There are no roads into the area, and guests describe the flight in as passing over largely uninhabited boreal forest and small unnamed lakes.
Access:
Air service:
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