In 1977, my parents, Alice and Ken Belford arrived at Damdochax Lake searching for a different way of life, establishing an approach to living and working in wilderness we still follow now.  Originally, they bought the guide outfitting certificate for the area with the intent to homestead and run hunting trips, but after a couple years of doing so, we stumbled upon Steelhead. From an impromptu, exploratory fishing trip one afternoon to the headwaters of the Damdochax River, decades of world class Steelheading unfolded.
Originally, we knew nothing about Steelhead – how they lived, when they migrated, or when they spawned. Over time, we learned through trial and error. We watched, listened, fished, guided, and experimented. Today, the Damdochax is one of the world’s most distinctive fly-fishing destinations for Steelhead. It is certainly among the most unique, since we know the heart and soul of the river, having lived in the isolated Damdochax valley, and fished its waters for 45+ years.
Hannah grew up in the backwoods of Northern B.C. When she was just three years old, her family moved into the wilderness where they homesteaded, developing a family run fly-fishing operation that is now recognised as a world class destination for Steelhead. Growing up as she did, perhaps it’s no wonder that she landed her first Steelhead aged five. She has guided Steelhead and Rainbow on her home waters for nearly two decades, and in that time has tailed thousands of Steelhead. As well as running a wilderness lodge and series of river camps full-time, Hannah also created, manages, and maintains a website for women anglers, which offers advice and shares angling adventures with novice and more seasoned fly fishers alike.
Hannah’s passion for Steelheading has changed from single handed to double handed fly-fishing and her mastery has rightly placed her in the upper echelons of the sport. She has fished and guided for Steelhead all over the world from Argentine Patagonia and the mighty Santa Cruz (with the only known strain of Atlantic Steelhead), through Oregon’s blue ribbon rivers to the most famous watersheds of British Columbia.
Her accomplishments with a rod led her to be recruited by Rise Rods for whom she designed some of the world’s finest Spey rods. In her “spare time” Hannah actively fishes many of the Pacific Northwest’s most pristine rive rs, guiding on a select few in Northern B.C. – Nick Zoll, Sales UK Office, Nervous Waters.