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[Ambassador]

A group of us are going for an expedition in the Yota's up the Dempster to Tuktoyaktuk in a few weeks. Really looking forward to doing some fishing for Grayling, Char, Inconnu, Trout, Pike, etc along the way. Anyone have any experience up there around/North of Dawson City that they can share?

[GordJ]

We went to Inuvik last year but electrical problems in the trailer cut thr trip shorter than we wanted.
We found the hazardous road reports to be completely bogus. Not a pothole on the whole road but very dusty for us. The only stretch where fuel was an issue was the first section to Eagle Plains which is 370 km’s and the truck has a 300 km range with the trailer.
The Territorial campsites were good on both territories but the Yukon sites like Rock River were maintained a little better. There were bug huts at most of the sites so you can get together without being eaten alive. The commercial sites like Eagle Plains and Inuvik were not what we were looking for, reminded me of a drive in theatre.
I have worked from Atlin to Fernie and from Haida Gwai to Prince George and I have to say that I have never seen bugs like the Arctic. Hordes of mosquitoes, clouds of black flies and an infestation of no see ums every day and everywhere. I saw a tv show that claimed that the mosquito is the apex predator in the Arctic and a young caribou can lose up to 1/2 liter of blood a day.
We hit two brush fires and short road closures but the biggest issue on the highway was the dust. We had so much dust build up in the coupler that I could not do up the latch on the hitch when we got home. I had to use the pressure washer just to flush it out when the trailer went into the shop.
There is not much info on the fishing but the next time I’m going a little later in the season so that the char and coneys are moving around. The ferry slip at Tsiigehtchic is on my list for the next trip but I expect you to report back by then.
I got a nice gun case at Fort Macpherson tent factory and the young lady at the Inuvik interpretation Center goes to Trinity Western about 2 miles from my house in Langley.
The road to Tuk wasn’t open when we were there.

[Ambassador]

Aaahhh some great info here Gord! The hazardous roads thing you mentioned seems bang on from recent findings. The road and both ferries were closed most of last week according to http://www.dot.gov.nt.ca/Highways/Highway-Conditions, but we spoke to my buddies cousin in Inuvik who said that was incorrect and the road was actually open. We are planning to get to Tuk for the grand opening on the 6th of July - so I'd imagine (barring any bad weather) that the road will be the best it can be in the days leading up to that weekend.

Camping - thanks for the heads up. We would prefer to stay away from those drive-in theatre type ones (like Tunkwa :-p ). I really like the idea of those bug huts as that will be an issue for sure. We will have a pop-up one with us, plus some serious bug spray - but I'm sure whatever we do it wont be enough to fully stop those legendary savages. Poor Caribou! 1/2 liter of blood a day sounds absolutely horrible!

I do need a new case, so I'll have a rip into that tent factory and see what they have. Cheers!

[GordJ]

I forgot to mention that the NWT interpretive Center in Dawson City has a guidebook that is very helpful. Make sure you stop in there and pick one up. The municipal campground across the river in Dawson is awesome, don’t go to the “industrial” sites in town. There’s a car wash at the Petrocan when you get back to pavement. 

[Dogbreath]

Small dark and/or Brass coloured spinners plus big flashy Spoons.

[VAGAbond]

We went there years ago when the Dempster first opened as far as the Mackenzie River but not as far as Inuvik.  We were there about Labour Day weekend and had no trouble with bugs but it was freezing at night, quite hard, although the days were absolutely gorgeous.   One of my best trips ever.

The area from the Ogilvie Mountains north through as far as Eagle Plain is spectacular.  Ogilvie Mountains are something else.  We drove as far as the Arctic Circle one evening.   The red and yellow fall colours were on the 'trees' (about 2 inches tall willow and blueberry), the air was crystal clear and from the high ground on the north side of the mountains we estimated we could easily see 100 miles in each direction.

We had tremendous Grayling fishing in the Blackstone River where it flows alongside the highway north of the Tombstone campsite but it is a small stream and I suspect by now it will be seriously depleted or the fishing is probably restricted.   We did see some Grayling in the larger Ogilvie River but didn't have much luck.   Other than that we didn't find any fishing in spite of having a few casts at just about every culvert and stream.

Where we did have great fishing was at Aishihik Falls west of Whitehorse, an equal quantity of Rainbow and Grayling.  Aishihik Falls are the falls that used to be on the back of the Canadian $5 bill.

I always wanted to see the land farther north but never got back.

I once spent a summer at Cape Parry, about 100 miles east of Tuk.  Got out fishing one day on a lake and when we found the fish they could be caught on a bare hook they were feeding so voraciously.   About equal quantities of Lake Trout and Arctic Char.  I should digitize my old slide pictures.

[Hike_and_fish]

We went there years ago when the Dempster first opened as far as the Mackenzie River but not as far as Inuvik.  We were there about Labour Day weekend and had no trouble with bugs but it was freezing at night, quite hard, although the days were absolutely gorgeous.   One of my best trips ever.

The area from the Ogilvie Mountains north through as far as Eagle Plain is spectacular.  Ogilvie Mountains are something else.  We drove as far as the Arctic Circle one evening.   The red and yellow fall colours were on the 'trees' (about 2 inches tall willow and blueberry), the air was crystal clear and from the high ground on the north side of the mountains we estimated we could easily see 100 miles in each direction.

We had tremendous Grayling fishing in the Blackstone River where it flows alongside the highway north of the Tombstone campsite but it is a small stream and I suspect by now it will be seriously depleted or the fishing is probably restricted.   We did see some Grayling in the larger Ogilvie River but didn't have much luck.   Other than that we didn't find any fishing in spite of having a few casts at just about every culvert and stream.

Where we did have great fishing was at Aishihik Falls west of Whitehorse, an equal quantity of Rainbow and Grayling.  Aishihik Falls are the falls that used to be on the back of the Canadian $5 bill.

I always wanted to see the land farther north but never got back.

I once spent a summer at Cape Parry, about 100 miles east of Tuk.  Got out fishing one day on a lake and when we found the fish they could be caught on a bare hook they were feeding so voraciously.   About equal quantities of Lake Trout and Arctic Char.  I should digitize my old slide pictures.

I drove that hwy in 2011. The Labor day long weekend is the time to go. Everything turns yellow and almost a blood red in color. It's like you're on another planet. And yes, it is cold at night up there at that time.