Jim Crawford British Columbia Report

British Columbia Update:
St. Mary River and Elk River
by TIA Reporter Jim Crawford

It was late coming but good fishing finally arrived in the east Kootenay section of the Canadian Rockies about three weeks behind schedule. Due to a heavy but welcome snowpack and an extended runoff, rivers were high until August this year. Fellow writer, Mel-Lynda Andersen and I were originally scheduled to fish with guides Kelly Laatsch and John Kendal of St. Mary Angler Fly Shop (www.stmaryangler.com) in Kimberley, B.C. in mid-July, but we put it off until August and couldn’t have hit it any better. The excellent fishing we experienced will continue into October, and probably well into November if the weather holds.

St. Mary River – Aug. 9th
The St. Mary River is one of the prettiest in all of Canada. It’s not very long, and its entire length is fishable. We launched the drift boat into what I would consider "perfect" water conditions about 2:30 for the short five-mile drift down through the canyon or middle section of the river. The weather was excellent and warm enough to wade in just shorts and boots, and because it was mid-day and no hatches were evident, guide and close friend, John Kendal suggested attractor patterns. He rigged Mel with one of his own special ties, a size 8, rubber-legged hopper. I had cleverly noticed stonefly husks clinging to rocks where we put in, so I turned down John’s offering and put on a traditional size 8, Royal Stimulator.

"To lose this true native trout species to the more aggressive rainbows would be sad."

Mel broke the ice on her first cast, a beautiful 15-inch Westslope cutthroat that lazily lifted from the bottom of a long run and sucked in her fly as we floated by. Cutthroat are the predominant fish in the St. Mary, though rainbows are moving up from the Kootenay River and slowly invading their territory. Nothing wrong with rainbows…they are better fighters and grow larger than cutts, but to lose this true native trout species to the more aggressive rainbows would be sad. After a strong, deep-water scrap, Mel’s grin told the story of how this day would go as her fish was quietly relocated a couple hundred feet downstream.

If the ways of the fishing gods were fair and equitable, I would hook up next, right? Nope. Mel took the next three fish, all cutts about the same size as the first one. My fly was totally shunned. In all the years we have fished together, I can’t recall that Mel has ever really outcaught me…but on this day I was getting slaughtered. I finally bit my lip and asked John for one of his rubber-legged creations, and with straight eyebrows I settled in to even the score. My first fish was a feisty rainbow that threw the hook on its first jump. We knew it was a rainbow because cutthroat never jump. At the same time, Mel hooked her fifth fish (and you can bet I was counting!), a heavy male cutty that because of its bright color and wicked teeth, John said had only recently spawned. At 17 inches it would be the biggest fish of the day.

"*I had lost John’s fly and didn’t want to walk over and beg another one...*"

We drifted on, and while fishing was not fast and furious, it was consistent… But more notably I was slowly catching up to Mel. As we pulled up on one of the hundreds of long gravel bars that split the river, I hopped out and ran to the deep water side while John casually walked Mel along the shallows. The run I was fishing emptied into a deep pool that pushed back under a steep bluff. I cast across the current to a foam line created where fast water ran along the softer water, mended upstream and then twitched the hopper as John had showed us. Cutts aren’t usually too splashy with their takes, but the one that took my fly came over the top and annihilated it on the way down. I broke off on the setup but I can say with complete certainty that it was much larger than Mel’s big fish. Honest…it was! I looked over to see if they had been watching, but Mel-Lynda was fighting another nice fish of her own.

My problem now became one of pride. I had lost John’s fly and didn’t want to walk over and beg another one, so I had to think through what was going on. Fish were starting to rise to a late afternoon Baetis mayfly hatch, and small caddis were in the air as well. I decided to try an Adams. With the large hopper I had used 4x tippet, and after several refusals on the size 14 Adams I switched to 5x Mirage fluorocarbon. The smaller diameter material made the difference, and I landed three nice cutts to Mel’s two over on her side of the gravel bar before we moved on down stream.

"If the ways of the fishing gods were fair and equitable, I would hook up next, right?"

By the time we reached the takeout spot, the count between Mel and I was even. I had stayed with the Adams and John had Mel-Lynda use several different flies, including Irresistables, Royal Wulffs, and Adams, all in sizes 12 and 14, and all of which were successful for her. While waiting for John’s wife Jodi to bring the rig, I handed John my 8 ft. 3 wt. rod and watched him land five fish from one run. Technique was simple: keep offering a high-floating pattern and eventually a cutthroat will rise to it. The little show John put on was amazing, but it also concerned me. Cutthroats are so trusting it’s truly a wonder they haven’t been wiped out here as they have elsewhere. Over 90 percent of the cutthroats native to waters in the Northwest states, B.C. and Alberta have disappeared. Only a strong no-kill fisheries management program and support from local guides is keeping the stocks in B.C. healthy for now.

As we packed up, John told us that fishing would be excellent well into late fall and that we just had to come back, but by then he is in hunting mode, so we shall see. Over dinner that night at Chef Bernard’s in Kimberley with John and Jodi (served by their daughter, Amber) we talked about our trip for the next day…the Elk River below Fernie. It was hard to imagine it would be any better than what we had just experienced, but it would prove to be.

Elk River – Aug. 10th
The Elk River drift was to be a "formal" guided trip. Because we are close friends, I can fish with the crew from St. Mary Angler pretty well any time I want, but August is, after all, their time to make a living. Owner Kelly Laatsch had squeezed us into the schedule so it was only right to pay full price for a day on the river. Mel and I split the US $320. cost and it was well worth it. Even as writers we usually insist on paying the going rates, by the way, including food and accommodations… That way we ensure completely unbiased reporting.

John wanted to fish the nine-mile stretch of the lower Elk from Morrisey Road to Elko, just above where the river joins the east arm of Koocanusa Lake. Big cutthroat and bull trout move up into this section from the lake each spring to spend the summer in the river, and fly fishers have taken cutts over 22 inches and bulls over 12 pounds here. There are also some big whitefish in the Elk, and while fly fishers usually shun anything other than the prized trout, I can attest that hard-pulling whitefish have saved the day on more than one trip.

The weather pattern in the heart of the Rockies where the Elk runs is far different from the Columbia River Valley where the St. Mary is located. It was breezy and cooler here, and while we were again in shorts and wading boots, we also opted for warmer upper body clothing. It’s also a good idea to have rain gear aboard as well. We got on the water about 10, and as she had done the day before, Mel-Lynda started us off with a feisty cutt about 14 inches. She was using another of John’s rubber-legged hoppers, but this one had two sets of legs…white, and brown speckled. I started with my own hopper, a yellow, foam bodied creation with deer hair head and overwing (similar to a Muddler), with a brown, palmered hackle around the body. Both patterns were successful right from the start as were several others like Adams, Irresistables, Stimulators, and later that afternoon, Green Drakes.

St. Mary River - photos courtesy of St. Mary Angler Fly Shop

Floating the Elk is a special treat. Much of the river has undercut banks and pockets along the shoreline, which makes for excellent ‘target’ casting. But don’t worry…even moderate casters can do very well. John keeps the boat at the perfect angle to the bank, and about 30 feet out. I didn’t count, but between us Mel and I must have taken more than two dozen cutts this way, and missed equally as many. At first John would point out exactly where to cast and then how to mend upstream or down, depending on the water flow, so the fly would stay drag-free for the few seconds it took Mr. Cutthroat to decide if it was edible. After a half-hour or so, we got the hang of it and learned to look downstream for the next spot to target. The big hopper patterns always seemed to bring out the biggest fish.

We also spent a lot of time wade-fishing along the myriad of braided channels and gravel bars that are the Elk’s trademark. I won’t say it’s a pretty river. In fact, compared to the Mary, it’s downright ugly, with mile after mile of scarred banks, bare gravel bars, logs, and hundreds of uprooted whole trees that were left after huge floods in 1996. An unusually heavy snowpack and warm spring rains that year caused a heavy runoff that almost ruined the fishery. Special no-kill restrictions were put in place to try and bring it back, and the efforts were so successful that today the Elk hosts one of the finest river fisheries anywhere. It’s one of the wonders of Nature that all the chaos and destruction created wonderful fish habitat, and that’s what makes this river so special. The scoured gravel river bottom is home to zillions of mayflies, caddis and stoneflies, and the trees and other debris created wonderful pocketwater and back eddies that are sanctuary to juvenile cutthroat. One tends to overlook the ugliness when every cast has the potential for a big trout.

About one in the afternoon we stopped on one of the long gravel bars and while Mel and I fished under a warm, bright sun, John set up a first class lunch spread on his portable table and chairs that included a tablecloth, cutlery, assorted meats, cheeses, breads and veggies…and wine. It was indeed a nice break, and all part of the St. Mary Angler’s program. Great food makes even a dull day of fishing bright, though we sure weren’t having a bad day.

*"John had it covered and gave us patterns that he ties which matched the hatch perfectly."*

Back on the water a half-hour later, it began to rain. I discovered I had only brought one rain jacket, so being the gentleman that I am, it went to Mel-Lynda while I donned a black plastic garbage bag…which worked just fine. Had it been pouring, I’m not sure I’d have been so generous. In any event, the rain brought out a heavy hatch of large, Western green drake mayflies. Of course, John had it covered and gave us patterns that he ties which matched the hatch perfectly, and Mel-Lynda and I went fish for fish for about the next hour.

When the hatch was over we drifted lazily along in quiet contemplation through sunshine and rainsqualls, wind and calm, stopping periodically to fish from gravel bars or rip-rap, or just watching the beautiful high mountain scenery slip by beyond the scars of the river valley. This was not a day for male pride or counting how many fish were being caught. As we drifted, John told us how the fishery in the east Kootenays is being rebuilt and his satisfaction at having an active part in it so his own kids and future generations will experience the same pleasures we were. And as I reeled in my line at the take out spot and gave John back his fly, I had a good feeling about what was going on here. For now, everything seems to be under control, and if it’s left to caring individuals like John Kendal and Kelly Laatsch and their gang, I see a solid future for Westslope cutthroats in eastern British Columbia.

TIA Reporter: Jim Crawford
Flathead Lake, Montana