A week of fly fishing in Fernie BC
Published on August 17th, 2011 by Rodney
If you enjoy fishing, then you probably find August to be a tough month in British Columbia. It is tough not because of a lack of fish, but because there are too many options to choose from. Salmon are returning to all the rivers, lake fishing is still reasonably good, but what we really enjoy doing is travelling to the interior part of this province for some excellent fly fishing in trout streams.
After our success last August, we decided to visit Fernie once again and experience the fly fishery that the Elk River system offers. Those who fish in British Columbia are very fortunate because there are not too many places around the world where you can access a world class fishery without paying much. It is a world class fly fishery for a few simple reasons – Its breathtaking setting, the lack of angling pressure and of course, the amount of fish!
For the third time, we are calling the Red Tree Lodge our home away from home during our visit. Situated in the heart of Fernie, it allows us to travel to all our fishing spots without much effort. What we really like about the Red Tree Lodge is its large shared kitchen. There is nothing better than being able to cook up a fine meal for yourself after a long fishing day. Red Tree Lodge also caters out-of-town fly fishermen who want to do a guided trip on the drift boat in its summer packages.
The fishing this year was a bit more challenging than last year. Just like everywhere else in BC, this was partly due to the higher river level. On our first day, we found it hard to make a fish rise for our dry fly, but nymphing certainly worked well. We visited some of our old spots where they were productive last year. Many spots have changed slightly, but it did not stop our fishing partners Carlo and Shane pulling fish out from there.
Our main target species was westslope cutthroat trout, which is unique to this part of the province. They are generally 12 to 16 inches long, but every now and then a 20 incher would make an appearance.
Mountain whitefish seemed to be in good abundance this year. Although they look similar to a carp or other minnow species, they are in fact salmonids. Quite often we would come across some slots where a school of whitefish congregated and they definitely would not let a nymph pattern passing by. On the 2wt rod, these deep divers can put up a pretty good fight.
The weather was fantastic for the most part, except the odd thunderstorms that would make us take a detour. The summer weather in the East Kootenay can be rather unpredictable. While fishing under the sun and catching plenty of fish on our third day, a dark storm rolled and was unnoticed until the first drop of rain came. Within minutes, hail and lightings were also coming down so we had to run back to the car for refuge.
One of the highlights during the trip was our drift down the Elk River. Drifting is a pretty common way of access this river system as it maximizes your fishing time by taking you from one run to another on the boat. This year, we brought our Outcast Power Drifters, which are one-man inflatable boats designed for this purpose. Both Nina and I were excited but also anxious, as we had never drifted before. We were assured by our companion Carlo, who is experienced in boating on moving waters.
After some hesitation, we finally did our drift on the fourth day. The experience was indeed very refreshing. While the entire ride was mostly smooth, there were a few little funny episodes caused by the lack of coordinations in my arms. That being said, we made it in one piece. The boat was surprisingly stable and comfortable throughout the ride. Rafting from one run to another between fishing sessions is actually a very refreshing change, I can definitely see myself doing that again.
On our fifth day, we also visited the Kootenay Trout Hatchery. This trip was not entirely for pleasure, but we were on assignment for the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC. One of the tasks that we had to complete was to produce a couple of video features for the society on some of their projects in this region, which will be available for viewing later on this month.
I had never been to the Kootenay Trout Hatchery and was glad that we did it. This little gem is more than just a hatchery, but a tourist attraction. Prior to entering the hatchery, you’re greeting by a pond of large rainbow and brook trout, which can be fed. The visitor centre has a display of aquariums that house freshwater fish species from British Columbia, as well as a tour of the hatchery operation. The hatchery also has a “learn to fish” pond filled with trout, which is open to visitors anytime for fishing.
After our visit to the hatchery, we decided to do as much fishing as possible since it was our last evening. Fishing in the evening hours can be hot. The hatches are peaking, the water is shaded, trout become fearless and aggressively take flies on the surface. We walked to some of the spots where we had luck catching them on nymphs and they were definitely active. Every few minutes, a fish would sip down a Mayfly or other insects as they landed on the water. We ended our final day by experiencing the best dry fly fishing that we’ve had all year. On our way back to the lodge in the dark, both deer and elk had come out to play.
Overall, this has been another memorable trip with good friends and fish. This was our third visit to Fernie and it certainly will not be the last. We will be releasing several video features on this trip in two weeks from now, so please stay tuned for those!