Why Throw 80 When All You Need is 40....aka Less is More

Theres very few things that feel as satisfying to a fly angler than picking 25 feet of line up off the water, snapping it back quickly to load up the rod and then double hauling 70 feet of tight looped heaven onto the water.  You feel pretty good and marvel at your self taught mastery of the fly cast.  That "ya my guide just saw me shoot that shit" feeling overwhelms you and you are enraptured by the sheer magnitude of your awesomeness and angling prowess.

Meanwhile 3 fish have fed inches off the bank within 40 feet of the boat  and your guide is building yet more callous on his hands as he tries to put the brakes on at 10,000 cfs with a downstream wind that aided in that 70 footer  you lorded over while screaming "fish feeding a 3 o clock 30 feet from the boat!" 

At this point you realize you can't pick up line quick enough to get at that fish unless your guide can somehow reverse the currents of the river, which he seemingly does.  It's your day and you see a chance so you figure what the fuck despite the fact you're not ready.   You pick up the remains of the fly line which is now a coiled loose mess on the water, make a hail mary load and send the tangled mess straight into the back of the boat where your patient and focussed fishing partner is about to lay that perfect 30 foot shot down tight to the bank to jaw snag that large trout doing pushups.

It's at this point you realize the guide's given up on you and your long bomb casts a long time ago and  is not actually guiding you into that fish.  It's also at this point that you notice both guide and companion looking at you with disgust as a tangle ala Charlotte's Web is wrapped around both of them and it's off to the other side of the river to unravel the results of your greatness.

We see this time and time again as guides and there's reasonable explanation for it.  One it feels good to shoot line quick and far and two it's nice to give your boat partner in the back some room to work.  In reality most of your work is going to get done within 40 feet, especially when your fishing from a drift boat.  Save that distance stuff for the salt and get down to the subtlety of a shorter length cast that will enable you to pick apart the structure on the bank or in myriad mid river seam collections.  In the end you will hook up with more fish.

Tim Rajeff has some great analogies and videos on this that I thought I would include below.  Some fodder for the upcoming season.   I encourage all of you to have a look and listen and join the growing population of trout anglers who are dropping their hyper fast action 5 weights for some mid flex, medium fast line managers that are more suitable for most fishing applications.  We will be carrying Echo Rods in the boat this year for the first time if you want to test them out.  They're  great rods with great engineering and make a lot of sense, especially for the price and the line matching.

The Dry Rod       Accuracy Casting PT. 1     Accuracy Casting PT. 2      Reach Cast From a Drift Boat

Look forward to rowing all of you this season.  Runoff is likely this year due to good snow pack in the East Kootenay so hold off on early bookings in the Elk Valley.  The Columbia will be on in June and early July as usual for the massive caddis hatch and is where we'll be early season.  Squidbeak Fly Co. is alive and well and had a very successful winter campaign in SE ASIA.  Lots of new flies to take for a swim.

EPHEMERA DANICA :)

AKA  THE GREEN DRAKE

MATT WAGNER,  DAVE FOWLER, GENEVIEVE HEADED HIGH A FEW DAYS AGO IN THE MIDST OF A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT WAS BEARING REASONABLE OVERNITE TEMPERATURES.  I WAS HOPING THE LOW WOULD GET THE GREEN DRAKES MOVING IN THIS BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FREESTONE A LITTLE EARLIER THAN USUAL DUE TO THE LOW PRESSURE AND THE WARMER OVERNITE TEMPS.

THAT WISH AND DIAGNOSTIC WASN'T EXACTLY SPOT ON AS WE ENDED UP WADING, WAITING AND NYMPHING AS THE BUGS LAYED BACK WAITING FOR ?.  CADDIS WERE BOUNCING AROUND BUT OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE  TO THE TROUT.  PERHAPS ANOTHER STREAM WITH LESS FOOD WOULD HAVE HAD THE TROUT EAGER TO CHASE THE BOUNCY CRITTERS BUT WHEN THERE'S DRAKES IN ABUNDANCE, THE FISH WILL WAIT.....AND THEY DID.

ANYONE WHO HAS HAD THE PLEASURE OF HANGING OUT ON A CLEAR AND COLD FREESTONE RIVER IN THE ROCKIES WHILE GREEN DRAKES TUMBLE DOWN RUNS WITH THEIR DARK WINGS FLUTTERING IN DESPERATION WILL UNDERSTAND THE DESIRE TO FIND THESE PRECIOUS BUGS.  THEY ARE STUNNING IN APPEARANCE; GENEVIEVE LIKES TO CALL THEM LITTLE FAIRIES, AND THEY REALLY DO BRING A SENSE OF MAGIC TO THE RIVER.

GREEN DRAKE WON THIS BAD BOY OVER

TROUT EAT THE SHIT OUT OF DRAKES.  LOVE THEM!!  LIKE JONNY LOVES MUSTARD OR ME CRAFT BEER AND RIPENED CHEESE.  THEY ARE THE T BONES OF THE THE TROUT WORLD AND THERE IS NO STOPPING A CUTTHROAT FROM FEEDING ON THESE BEAUTIES WITH IMPUNITY WHEN THE HATCH IS ON.

THE WINDOW OPENED AND STAYED AJAR FOR ABOUT 2 AND A HALF HOURS AND I WATCHED LARGE HAPPY CUTTS  CLEARING THE SURFACE TO GRAB THE DRAKES MID AIR AS THEY EMERGED FROM THE GRAVEL RIFFLES ABOVE THE DEEPER RUNS. 

IT WAS A LOVELY DAY FOR BOTH ANGLERS AND FISH.  SUCH A GENEROUS BUG.

HUNTING DRAKE HATCHES IS WHAT THE GOOD WALK AND WADE GUIDES ARE DOING NOW AND DEAN RICHARDS HAS BEEN TRACKING THEM FOR THE LAST LITTLE WITH GREAT SUCCESS.  SOME DRAINAGES ARE WARM ENOUGH TO GET DANICA MOVING DURING THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS WHILE OTHERS ARE SO COLD THAT WITHOUT THE PENETRATION OF THE SUN TO WARM THEIR WATERS, THE DUNS WON'T SHOW THEMSELVES AS THEIR PREFERRED HATCHING TEMPS ARE BETWEEN 50 AND 54 DEGREES.

THESE COLDER STREAMS WILL GIVE US DRAKE DUNS DURING AUGUST WHILE THE MID TO LOWER ELK WILL HAVE  LITTLE TO NONE LEFT WHICH MAKES FOR SOME EXCELLENT WALK AND WADE CONDITIONS FOR THE BLUE BIRD DAYS.  THEY ARE NOT SMALL BUGS, WEIGHING IN AS HEAVYWEIGHTS IN SIZES 8-14 WITH THICK BODIES AND LARGE WINGS.  OUR DRAKES TEND TO BE MORE GRAY IN COLOUR WITH PURPLE HUES THEY ARE NOT HOWEVER GRAY DRAKES WHICH ARE BURROWER NYMPHS THAT INHABIT SLOWER, SILTIER WATER.  GREEN DRAKES LOVE THE COBBLY BOTTOMED COLD ROCKY MOUNTAIN FREESTONES THAT WE HAVE HERE IN BC AND ALBERTA AND ARE DEFINITELY MY FAVOURITE HATCH IN THE EAST KOOTENAYS.  

THE HUNT FOR THE HATCH WILL CONTINUE AND WE'VE GOT QUITE A FEW OFF THE BEATEN PATH LITTLE GEMS DIALLED IN, IT'S GREAT TIME TO GET OUT THE BOOTS AND HIKE.

ROSEY CHEEK IN CLEAN CLEAR ROCKY MOUNTAIN WATER

Welcome Back.

It's been a pretty amazing start on the Elk this year after the June 15th opening.  Lots of bugs, big fish and good flows.  An early and steady runoff that began in April allowed fish to feed throughout most of the freshet and the beasts got... beastier (word???).  Most of my pets from last fall were still out in their lairs rounding out their waistlines and putting on some heft.  Really nice to see that they wintered so well.

Happy Ending

The flows on the Elk and surrounding East Kootenay and Alberta streams has been excellent if not perfect in some cases and we may run into some low water conditions by mid August if we don't continue to get the rains we've been getting....who knows for sure and only time will tell.  For now we have it good.....really good.

Golden Stoneflies, caddis, sallies and even some ants on the bright sunny days and the mayfly buffet of drakes, pmd's and bwo's on the cloudy low pressure/rain/stormy/shitty days.  Hard to keep them out of the net really and many of my regulars have felt it's some of the best days they've seen on the Elk.

A Nice Elk River Cuttie Resting in the Brodin Net

I got back to the Columbia which fished tough in late May and early June due to poor weather and heavy pushes of water from the dam.....like 50,000 cfs on the weekends.  Fish were looking a bit haggard but all is good since my return.  Healthy, hot and plentiful fish on top as the caddis drape the water like a brown mist.  It's my favourite fishery at this time of year and still remains limited on pressure.  Always amazes me how many times I'm one of a few or simply the only angler out there.  People really need to see it to understand how good it can be.  Could be one of the best rainbow tailwaters in the country.

Columbia River Redband Adiposing

The Slocan has also been good although still a bit high...pretty much there though...really a gorgeous stream with some incredibly beautiful assortment of water and fish.  About to go on a guiding marathon in Fernie and Alberta starting Thursday.  July still has a few openings as does August, particularly late August.   September pretty much full for the first half and then quite open.

Looking forward to an excellent season after such a great start

Looking Upstream on the Elk River

Bull Ride on the Kootenay With "Belafonte"

It was a pretty sweet October for us.  Lots of sunshine and warm temps made October on our rivers a more pleasant than usual place to be.   After replacing the prop engine for a new jet outboard we were set to attack the Kootenay River and it's abundance of resident and migrating bull trout.  It's a beautiful river that finally begins to clear up after a spring and summer of silty brown.  The predominating colour of the river is an almost turquoise blue tinted from glacial silt.  The contrasting evergreens and rocky banks makes for a gorgeous backdrop to this stellar late season fishery.

A lot of factors come together to make this fishery happen.  The clearing of the water, the massive runs of kokanee from Koocanusa Lake into the countless spawning tributaries of the Kootenay River and the spawning run of the Bull Trout themselves out of the massive cross boundary reservoir.

Jack Gets Some Love on the Skookumchuck Run

When the kokanee finish their spawn they, like their ancestral sockeye parents; die and load the Kootenay River with a massive source of protein.  The Bull Trout which have spent most of the summer making there way high into the Rocky Mountain streams seeking the coldest, cleanest water they can find.  Once they finish their business they begin their descent down river, back into the big reservoir.  Some remain in the river as year round residents switching their diets over to the abundant whitefish in the system.  The clearing of the water aids in the pursuit of these fish and although the big bulls have to work harder to catch the lively whitefish in that cold water, they have a lot of energy reserved from the gorging on kokanee.  This is what makes late September and October the prime months to fish this gem.

Spencer Schey With a Friend

The eager post spawn bulls are hungry and the flesh of the dead and part dead kokanee is the perfect meal for the tired bulls to capitalize on and build up there strength and weight for the upcoming winter months when the food gets more scarce.  As the fish gorge on the kokanee they regain their fighting weight and the stomachs of these beasts begin to sag from the buffet of rotting flesh.  

Once the kokanee are done and flushed out, the whitefish that reside in the river and who have also been feeding on the eggs etc. of the kokanee are in spawn mode and become the targets of these predacious giants.  Due to the variance of prey choices, the method of presentation varies and once you find the right combination of retrieve, colour and habitat, the fishing can really light up and some epic battles ensue.  30 + inch fish are not uncommon and are quite frequent.  Combine that with their big drooping guts and your dream of landing a 20 pound plus trout on a river can become a reality on this system.  It's truly one of the best trophy fly angling fisheries out there.  

Jonny Taking a Break from Slingshotting

The jet boat (Belafonte) was the right tool for the job and is a lot of fun to run up the river.  Had a great time with that system this year and look forward to doing it again next fall.  Now for some time on the Columbia.....

"The Belafonte"on the Kootenay

Fall Outlook :)

It's been a busy summer so far and we've had a lot of smiling faces coming and going.  It's been a pretty epic summer for fishing here in the Elk Valley and somehow we've been able to get down river without grounding out....something I did not anticipate earlier in the year when water conditions were looking low.

Some brief but heavy rains kept the river up over the last few weeks and the cooler nights kept the water temps down enough to avoid closure on most of the rivers over here.  They did close the Michel and it was something I was happy to see as the river gets beaten up on a regular basis by anglers and the water is low with fish stacked to tight in the dwindling pools.

Some Elk River Meat

According the new Angling Management Plan being put forth, the Michel will become a separate class 2 waters with limited angler use days both for guided and non guided anglers.  I'm happy to see this happen as the creek definitely needs some special attention.  The Wigwam will also see new limitations placed on non guided anglers which will help control traffic on this classic stream.

September is a day away and some focus will be shifted to the West where we will be hitting the Slocan and Columbia Rivers as well as the Pend O'reille.  The Slocan will reopen on the first of the month after it's annual summer closure and usually fishes extremely well and the Columbia should be showing more of it's underwater features as the water has been lower this year.  Will keep you updated on how that goes.

Phil Dupuis Back in Slabtown BC

The Elk is still fishing incredibly well on most days although some of the heavier fronts have put some fish down. Had wet snow falling on my windshield a week ago Friday as I  pulled the boat out after a heavy push out of an upper Elk float.  Another front  yesterday saw only the strong survive but we were rewarded an epic hatch of BWO's, PMD's and few Drakes.  I hope that was a foreshadowing of what's to come in September here as I've seen lots of nymphs on the rocks but have not seen such a massive hatch of mayflies like that since earlier this season.   Ants have been the staple on the warmer days and the fish remain strong, fat and healthy.

A Team Effort Taekout

Our bull trout trips are filling up as we only have one jet boat to handle that fishery and dates are limited.  The bulls showed up in the lower Bull River this year along with the Kokanee in really big numbers according to some of the recent counts on the river.  The latter part of September remains open as do a few days in October.  This runs well into November if your willing to brave the cold.  We decided Fairmont Hot Springs resort is a good option for accommodation  due to it's proximity to the angling and warmth and comfort of the springs at a days end of fishing.  There are some good dining options within the resort and around the town itself.

We have lots of openings in September for the Elk and by all accounts and estimations the great fishing on the river will remain, if you have the time get on the line and plan a trip.  Clear water, small flies, light tippett and soft sipping heavy fish are a seasoned anglers dream....come live it.

The Elk River Valley From the Lens of Jeff Webb

Poo Brown....Beyond the Elk

We prayed for rain and we got it.  What we didn't pray for was 2 landslides in the Line Creek Canyon and we got that as a side salad to our wishes.  After an epic start to the season with Golden Stoneflies and Drakes generously feeding fish, the Elk suffered a set back when 2 natural slides came down the steep canyon and dirtied the river quite badly.  'Shit Brown" was the term used to describe the Elk to me as I'm currently enjoying the clean waters of the Columbia in the West Kootenay.

The fortunate part is that the slide is on Teck (mine) property and is blocking the access to their mine so remediation work is in full swing and the expect to have the road operational by early August.  That may not mean the end of the siltation but it will lilkey be greatly reduced.  Left on it's own it may take weeks if not months to clean up as it is holding water back and damming the river.   The diversion of the water will hopefully provide some relief from the silt but we won't know how things will turn out and will have to update as it progresses.

It will give the fish a break although crowds were not much of an issue and really we needed some rain to help fill the aquifers in the valley and cool down the temps.  These cutts have shown their ability to handle the muddiest and siltiest of conditions so I'm not too concerned about their situation as the population was extremely healthy this year.  The higher water temps present a great risk to the fish and that warming trend has been somewhat alleviated by the cool rains and we have cold nights in the forecast which should keep the Elk in the safe zone as far as temps.

So it's time to explore  as most of you have done over the years here and as those who have been here before know there is a lot more to this fishery than the Elk.  So hello Elk tribs, St. Mary's, Bull, Wigwam, Flathead, St. Mary's AB, Oldman, Waterton, Columbia etc..  I prefer guiding many of  these rivers myself as it's a bit more of a challenge and in some cases provides a completely different angling experience.

Water levels are good, bugs are good, fish are  good, Elk is poo.  Other than the poo factor it's game on.

Everything's Right and Ready

The hot weather and low snow pack has the Elk in prime shape right now.  The riffles are showing and Green Drakes and PMD's are rolling off with some regularity.  We had an unexpected low move in and drop a bit of moisture which encouraged a push of the big green mayflies.  The cutts; fat from three weeks of steady stonefly hatches, appreciated the change in diet and hammered the drakes with impunity.

The rocks on the riffles are still holding lots of drake nymphs but the numbers and size range of PMD's and BWO's indicates that it's going to be a good mayfly season on the Elk.

The tributaries are running clear and  in great shape.  The Bulls have already migrated high up into these drainages  and in some cases have begun to spawn.  Hatch periods are a little more concentrated  on the tribs but when time comes huge green drakes have been tumbling down the runs and getting hammered.

It hasn't been very crowded here despite the ideal conditions and we have a pretty slow week here in Fernie if anyone is interested in getting out there.  You won't be disappointed.

Temperatures Rising.

If you have keys and a car and were wondering how you could put them to good use; insert they keys into the ignition and drive immediately to the Kootenays.  Planes are also handy and sometimes quicker but if you can find the time I highly recommend coming here to fish the Elk, Columbia, Crowsnest, Oldman Rivers, etc, etc and so on.

The low snow pack and rising temperature have the rivers dropping fast and in prime shape.  Hatches are as abundant as I've ever seen on the Elk River as stoneflies and mayflies are in symphonic ritual above the riverbed.   Been chucking a bunch of bugs to bring the cutts up from size 10 South Fork Chernobyls to smaller size 14 PMX's.  The variation of sizes and colours in the stones has us switching flies up a bit during the floats but a big Golden imitation with long legs seems to bring up the meatier specimens when twitched tight to the bank.  Another nice thing about the Elk right now is the lack of crowds.  Spent a day without seeing a single other angler on the Elko run and were blessed with some great dry fly fishing....super pleased with how the river is fishing

Last evening a few of us arrived in Nelson to check on our beloved Columbia River and as we approached the river we began noticing the clouds of brown hovering above pretty much every single tree.  As I put the newly trimmed boat into the Robson put in I knew good things were about to happen......

and they did!!!   That thug took a size 14 caddis off the top and bent Jonny's new Sage Method 6 weight over as it dug for the bottom.  Kevin, Jonny and myself kept the rods bent for most of our two hours of heaven before nightfall set in.  Couple of craft pints at the Lion's Head Pub was the perfect close to that wicked lil outing.

I managed to procure more rod days through some of the outfitters in the Elk Valley.  Also the good Dr. Dre McGaughey decided to put the hammer down and get back on the sticks now that his house in the Pass is completed so we have some openings again on the Elk.  Adam Richard and Colin Dunbar also have some time available so we have some of our best  waiting for the call.

The New Ride for the Columbia

Snow Pack

How much do we have and how will it affect the fishing is a common question when people are inquiring about a trip and it's a good question to ask.  There's a lot of prognosticating when it comes to this and I often shove my wading boot in my mouth when I make this prediction but here we go.

We have lower than normal snowpack in most drainages of the Kootenays which means we should have an amazing golden stonefly hatch on the Elk and some drake eating trout on the Slocan to feed.  That will be the big difference from the last several years when we were inundated with H20.

Here's a link to the data collected so far for this year.  (search for the Kootenay listings, East for Fernie/West for Nelson

Snow Pack

I'd prognasticate more later but for now I will guarantee myself some sleep.

Mighty tired,
gnite

Staring at the Vise

Well it's been a while since I've had a chance to unpack all my wicked shit that I've accumulated over the years; globetrotting and seasonal work forays have kept me away from a home base for awhile and I'm now settled back in Nelson BC for some time which gives me a chance to get around to those things I've been meaning to get to for a LOOOONG time.

Bookings for 2015 have been steady for both the East and West Kootenay and August is filling up quickly as usual but the 2nd half of July remains open on the Elk whereas the beginning and late June is filling up with Columbia and Slocan River dates....stoked to get my new Sea Ark Sled out there again!!  Equally stoked for drakes on some of the new tribs I found last year in the Elk Valley :) !!!

As I unpack and sort my tying materials out my head begins to explode with all the patterns I've mentally created over the summer and fall and with the addition of some new synthetics I'm stoked to venture in.  Problem is everytime I sit down I seem to be suffering from "tier's block".  So throughout the block I find myself browsing countless fly fishing videos from the site: http://venturingangler.com/  A ton of trailers in there for the IF4 coming up in 2015 and a lot of other entries from all over the world.  It's a pleasant distraction and an eye opener to just how much our digital age has broken into the natural world.  Everyone seems to be making movies these days and I think it's awesome except no new bugs have been tied!!!!

Here's one that was made by Joel Whalen that features myself, Spencer and a few others...we really like it, hope you do to:

Amongst the Kootenays  (click left for video)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

GET HERE....if you can

We got snow in the mountains and a dusting in the upper valley in the early part of September and it sloooowed things down.  That's been followed by a steady wave of high pressure and warm sunny days and the fishing is the best it's been all season.  If you're looking for a last chance to dance with some dries; ants, beetles, bwo's and hoppers will help you lace up the dance shoes.

Some shots:

Ya it is....On!

First of all I suck at blogging sometimes and maintaining river reports and I've been meaning to hammer out one for a month now.  So here's the deal, fishing is awesome right now and we are slaying some amazing fish on a variety of streams with 95% of that on top.  People are happy and beyond and the fish are making us look like stars out there.  You're only as good as your fishery allows you to be and I feel fully supported by the cast of rivers we dip our lines into.

Hatches in the tributaries have been solid since mid July and the Elk has been in recovery mode on mayflies but has been supplemented by caddis and terrestrial.  The mayflies are there in moderate numbers, but last years flood has cut into the population a fair bit.  That being said the PMD's have been moving most days and size 14 duns, spinners and emerges have been crushing it.

Some of the tribs are giving us abundant caddis, pmd and drake hatches and we've been railing 'meat' in tight fast freestone water...exciting times to say the least.

I could go on about all the awesomeness but I need rest has I'm on the river everyday and getting drunk on watching flies drift

 Below are some photos taken over the last few weeks, enjoy!!!  Keep yourself and the rivers wild ;)

Tying, Dying and Trying to go Angling

Well my usual foray into the woods to plant trees in the late winter/early spring on the BC coast is usually full of gruelling hard work in ridiculous terrain.  My efforts are rewarded by a good wage but it comes in one of the most difficult ways imaginable and at times can be quite soul sucking.  Currently the soul suck is on and to top things off I sliced my heel for 7 stitches loading a quad on my pick up and am now relegated to laying down with raised foot for the next 5 days....good time to tie, so out comes the vise and the assortment of synthetics and random dead animal parts.

Assorted Feather Carnage

Obviously the early tiers were hunters and gatherers, how else would one decide to use deer hair, pheasant tails and moose mains for bug imitations.  It's a bit strange to think of that these days as we are surrounded by an endless array of plastic shit in all shapes, sizes, colours and textures.  The petroleum industry has 'gifted' us with a multitude of new materials to create a pattern that we inevitably plan to stick deep into a fish's jaw.

The legacy of carnage that went into the original flies and further into the trout is really quite amazing.  Animals parts were apparently our 'plastic' of yesteryear; stretched intestines were used to make the leaders!!  How twisted is that?  Now I know I may be sounding a bit cynical here and really I should have no business doing so because this was another time, but think about being the inventor of the parachute hare's ear for instance.

You've realized the local lake is spitting out an enormous number of spotted winged mayflies on the local lake.  The trout are up feeding on them with amazing fever so you lightly swat one of the mayflies and bring it back to the farmhouse where you take a seat at your tying bench.  It's not a problem to put this one together because in the last few months you have shot, butchered and tanned the hide of a deer to create the tail of the fly.  The chickens in the coop out back have shed a few feathers for you and fortunately enough the cow had a calf and you slaughtered it for a quick meal and now have an endless supply of highly visible white hair to make your posts with.  The snare you placed in the back 40 managed to snag and strangle a bunny to supply you with rabbit stew and excellent body material for your fly.

Then came the industrial 'revolution' and with that the petroleum bi-product megalution.  Plastic changed how we live, from how we store food to how we deal with massive non-biodegrading landfills.  Without plastic the oceans would look a lot cleaner but without plastic's first cousin foam, we wouldn't have a Chubby Chernobyl or  Fat Alberts....nor would we enjoy hi vis orange/pink posts.  With the ugly comes some good and I often battle with the pluses and the minuses of the petroleum industry and it's products, but I am definitely greatful to have a multitude of tying materials in a plethora of flashy colours.  Nature has a way of creating some amazing colours, especially those created by the feather bearers but I'd rather see those colours stay on their wings and bodies and prefer using the synthetics when I'm looking for colour....except when it comes to peacock.

Peacock

The colour spectrum within a peacock herl is vast....from turquoise to brown to iridescent green and it's found it's way into so many patterns and can simply not be replicated by any synthetic material.  Thankfully it's readily available in Southeast Asia and is easy to raise so we don't infringe on it's survival as a species as some other birds such as the jungle cock were threatened due to the value of it's feathers.

A lot of tiers have a preference to using natural products; the traditionalists who like delicate presentations with bamboo rods often fit into this group.  The newer generation of fly anglers don't seem to mind throwing a combination of anything as long as it brings fish to the hooks and I'm an advocate of that.  Hats off to those who developed the traditional patterns but as more materials are discovered the more diverse fly patterns become and I'm all for a multitude of fly boxes filled with an endless amount of patterns...it's brought the fly fisherman to the craft stores.

The Perfect Blend of Old and New
PMX by Doug Swisher

Spring has been limping in on the coast and hasn't really shown it's head in the Kootenays.  Some of the lakes are open but the mountains are still holding a fair bit of snow.  The snow pack itself is a little bit less than where it was last year and we're all hoping for a moderate release.  We're having our boats worked on down in Idaho Falls so some angling there and back is in order and we're  seriously looking forward to throwing some line in Montana were spring seems to be a little further ahead.  Will keep you posted on how that goes; in the meantime I'm wrapping bugs booking some trips and watching Bubba Watson fend off some kid who was bold enough to wear a green shirt on day 4 at Augusta!!!

Diaper Clams

I got back from Thailand with my guts wrought with cholera…that's right cholera.  That hideous parasite that hooks itself into your intestines and multiplies causing a purging of your body fluids.  Basically drains you to the point of complete dehydration and leaves you bound to the proximity of a bathroom for days.

I first went to visit Bali two years ago and was quite charmed by some of the places I visited particularly Ubud and the many little villages along the Bukit Peninsula's surf breaks.  Pretty amazing little island with some really lovely people.  Flash forward 2 years and the veneer is rapidly peeling.  Swimming in the ocean now includes wrapping your bare flesh in plastic, not just in the popular beach ghetto of Kuta but almost everywhere we went.  I was snorkelling in the waters of Blue Lagoon near Padang Bai and I was a bit put off when I first entered the water as I saw quite a bit of suspended plastic throughout the water column.  But there was coral and quite a few colourful fish around so I got over it and began my ocean viewing.

Nature has a way of making colour that no petroleum bi-product could replicate.  The iridescence and brightness of these fish are truly magical, they are a testament to the perfection of nature.  Has I lost myself in the visual paradise I slowed down over a part of the coral bed where the it was a bit deeper and recognized the curved shaped lips of a giant clam.

Old Curly Lips

Ive always loved the shape of these overgrown scallops, they almost look like they're smiling at you when you stare at them for a while.  I felt a strong urge to get closer to my recent discovery so I took a deep breath and dove down towards the coral bed.  As I approached it began to occur to me that the "clam" was not as well formed as I thought and when I came within three feet of it I then realized my great discovery.  There stuck amongst the coral lying there peacefully with ridged leg wraps, was nothing other than a sick old bag of poo.  That's right, the shitsack, a diaper!!!

You may wonder how I perceived a diaper as being a giant clam and hopefully the coral reef your diving or snorkelling on  isn't concealing these non biodegradable discards but I was initially fooled.  After that first one, I began spotting a few more and by the end of the session, Diaper spottings outnumbered giant clam sightings 4 to 0.  BUMMER!!   HAH!

Really not funny at all and quite sad in the overall picture for this little tropical paradise.   It's not news to anyone that the ocean is full of plastic but in parts of Bali you are really swimming in it and it really takes away the pleasure of floating in a tropical paradise.  The problem stems around excessive tourism with excessive development and a complete disregard by the folks with the $$$ which includes the Indo government to back an infrastructure program that deals with the trash.  The locals love plastic too so that really doesn't help.  In fact most SE Asian countries are purveyors of 'fine' plastics.  They have a bag for everything in every shape.  I bought a couple of bubble teas (I have a weakness for them) and they handed me a bag specifically designed to carry two large plastic cups....like a double bagger.  This is when you realize that education is paramount if people are to change their habits and we in the Western world really do make an effort to reduce or use of plastic bags.  That being said we also consume a grossly disproportionate amount of energy and over our indulgent lives we amass an empire of wicked shit that includes thousands of plastic and metal parts that break down and get tossed....somewhere.

Your probably wondering why the *$@! I'm going on about this.  This blog is supposedly dedicated to the pursuit of trout and other finned creatures yet the last two blog entries have gone into depth on the life of cockroaches and sea garbage.  What the hell is wrong with me!!!  These non-sequetor entries need to stop.....Shit!

SO let's talk angling already!!!!  Snowpacks are about average despite a real lack of snow lately, that's mainly due to the quick start we had this year.  I'm done prognosticating what's the best time to come to fish the Fernie area so snow pack or not I'm steering people away from booking there until the third week of July and suggesting the Columbia or Southwestern Alberta.  We have a few new ideas on how to make things work in both destinations.

I'm currently shopping for a jon boat with a jet engine (or not) and will be using that to navigate the huge water in the Columbia.  It will give us the ability to get back up on runs that are producing well. It will also allow us to hit both sides of the river as well as getting a little further downstream into the Genelle braids and beyond.  Will also be checking out the Pend O'reille River for it's smallmouth bass fishery; apparently there's some 4 to 5 pound fish swimming around in there and it would be nice to get back to my fishing roots by stalking bass....except this time around with a fly rod.

A Healthy Smallmouth Hanging Down Low

For the Fernie and SW Alberta region we'll be looking at more remote waters to fish and are going to spend the first few weeks of the season doing some recon on some of those waters which includes some new floats on some different rivers.  Will keep you posted on how that goes after mid June, we've look forward to introducing you to some new waters aside from the Elk which will still remain a large part of our program but I think a lot of you who have been coming to the Elk Valley will be more than willing to check out something new and productive.

Looks like we're getting some new launches put in on the Elk and we're pushing for some more along the mid-runs on the river to spread out some traffic a little bit as well as some others on the upper floats.  We also have had some reno's on the existing launches so it won't seem like a work of fine geometry to back the trailers in and out of the river.

Looking forward to a good season and some angling on the coast in the next few months.

Compassion For the Cockroach and Other Matters From the Heart

La Cocuracha

The word cockroach comes from the Spanish word from the caption above.  The word translates to english as crazy bug.  It's a highly effective species dating back to the dinosaur era over 200 million years ago and it lives in just about every part of the world preferring warmer climates such as the tropics.  Since I'm on a roll I'll throw down a few more facts about this leviathan of insects. The cockroach can squeeze into a crack as thin as a quarter and enjoys the sensation of being touched….therefore enjoys being petted.  The cockroach breathes oxygen through tiny holes called spiracles and check this out….they can go for 40 minute swims.  Yes that's right 40 minute free dives!!  Nice.  Now you may see where this is going.  After spending the last six weeks in Northern Thailand with my fly tying crew,  I have encountered a number of these terrestrials in a number of locations throughout my journey.  They are actually quite a shiny and colour co-ordinated bug with twitchy legs and huge antennae.   If you were to tie a pattern to replicate the bug a size 2 would be about the average.

As I watch one work a crumb on the floor while waiting for  my meal, I have started to  think how much different we'd feel if these beasts of the insect world inhabited the banks of our favourite streams.   There's no way a trout could resist a meal of this size, especially crawling along the bottom.  I started envisioning a size 2 cockroach caught in a bank seam after falling from it's perch.  The violent splash from the attack of the trout would be heart stopping,  like that of a cicada strike.  It would take a big fish to ingest a bug of that size and I started wondering if I would welcome a cockroach migration on the river large enough to cover my boat.  In that situation I probably would invite the critters on board and bask in the glory of a new abundant protein source for the trout of the river and  I would imagine there have been trout somewhere not too far away that have had the pleasure of dining on the prehistoric critters as they do inhabit many of our urban areas.  

For now though I'm hoping that once this lil' bastard finishes downing the crumb that he doesn't have plans on joining me footside once my meal arrives.

Some New Additions to the Menu

Attractors are a key part of the arsenal of any fly fisherman and guides especially love foam terrestrial patterns because they are easily fished from the boat.  Some of the key things to look for in a pattern is a fly that will land upright or recover from a reversed landing with a slight twitch.  I've been working with the tying team here on foam patterns and after many years of resistance, the tiers are embracing the foam and are re producing some great patterns all of which have this upright quality.  It's enjoyable working with the Thai's.  My command of the Thai language is abysmal and they speak little to no english but most of the tiers have been at this for over 10 years so we can communicate easily enough through visuals.  They spend most of the instruction days laughing at me for reasons I'm not to sure of but I'm a big fan of laughter so I suck it up and roll with it and join in with the laughter as I add my two cents of fragmented Thai phrases.  It's going well and I'm stoked on the new patterns I will be adding to the catalogue this year.

I'm done here in a few weeks and will be going back to the Kootenays to take care of some biz there before heading to South America in the new year to get some angling time in.  Really looking forward to chasing the Browns of the Andes and Patagonia's.

After last year's flood on the Elk, the fishery took a hit and the fish never really got settled until the fall, which at that time I was entrenched in the pursuit of trophy rainbows on the Columbia.  Spencer, Blair and Jonny were on the Elk regularly and had some epic days in October on the Elk.  Blue Winged Olives were in abundance and although the days are shorter, the peak activity of feeding makes for a full day of hookups.  Over in the West on the Columbia it was  nothing shy of jaw dropping on the days when it really turned on.  Hooking up with healthy, fat rainbows in the 20 to 25 inch range is a river anglers dream.  Lots of nymphing but big ugly shit was also getting good reviews from the brutes of the 'jurassic'.  

Fall Rainbow on the Columbia

Next year we are strongly recommending our loyal customers to pick this period to book trips on both Rivers.  Nelson at this time of year is about a three and a half hour drive as RV traffic which slows hwy 3 has vanished.  Spending a few days on each river is a nice way to close out the season and the angling pressure on both streams in October is pretty much non existent.  Big dries and blue wings on the Elk and a bit of everything on the Columbia at this time will bring up the gems of the river who dig into the prime lies with aggressive posturing to ensure their fat reserves are plentiful for the winter.

For early season (early June to mid July) we will be in the Nelson BC area on the Columbia.  We will also be adding the Kettle River as an alternate float after June 15th for some variance from the surging mass of water in the Columbia drainage.  Caddis and ant hatches will be the staple diet for the rainbows and dry fly fishing at this time is as good as it gets on the Columbia.  Due to the current trend of late runoff in Fernie, we feel it's best to offer the prime angling possibilities available in the region and the Columbia is definitely where it's at.  The fishing there is better than those of us who fish it have ever seen.  There are very few anglers on this river which is remarkable considering it's current yield….may not last forever.  We will be adding a jet boat to the fleet in order to cover the water more effectively although the drift boats will still have their place at certain times.

I will be following a current issue that has potential to harm our beloved Elk River.  As many of you know the coal mines of TECK have been releasing an alarmingly high amount of Selenium into the water over the last few years.  They have put a water management plan in place in order to reverse the trend and are trying some new technology that could have some positive results which would ensure the health of the system.  But like any company they are profit drive and because they feed a lot of mouths in the valley, they are well supported often at the expense of the environment.  We are committed to seeing that there promised efforts are being met and I will keep you updated on this as much as I can.  The fish and this river have given us so much joy and love over the years it's time we gave something back.   Pray for the river, burn some incense, offer a chicken….whatever it takes.  Let's save the finest cutthroat fishery on the planet from the demise of over industrialization.

Sabaa dii friends….hope your winter is a prosperous one.

Ending the Drought

Its been a long time since the last entry and I apologize for a lack of river update but I really haven't known what to write.  The Elk and surrounding drainages got hammered by a heavy rainstorm and a flood that eclipsed any recordable events in the area.  The sudden surge in the water ravaged banks, ripped apart forests, ate some roads and rail lines and flooded some houses in the Fernie area.  Nowhere near as bad as what Calgary witnessed but certainly an impressive rally of rain from above.

I finished planting trees a few days after the flood and since then have been doing a lot of fishing and guiding.  After your guiding drainage gets flooded, as a guide your put on the spot to find new spots and Spencer, Jonny and myself were hard at work looking for tribs that recovered quickly enough to hold feeding fish.

William Shawler on an Early Season Elk Trib

We found some in both BC and Alberta and began our guide season in waters that are now dried up.  Was nice to find some new spots and we were both amazed at the damage the high water did to almost all of our water.

All is Not Dead in the Fording With Michael Poulin

Couldn't help but think we lost some fish with that as well and I'm sure we did but after walking miles of forest where the bank had been breached I saw nothing dead.  What did happen was the creation of many new spots.  Gravel got pushed, forests were dropped and a shit ton of top soil was tossed into the river which made the Elk the colour of poo....that's right, poo!  And it's been that way for most of the summer as thousands of pounds of silt moved it's way down river, too light to settle.  Heavy rain storms have hit throughout the summer and the Elk has turned muddy several times and has been slloooow to clear.

It's been a tough season for sure, and nymphing has found it's way into the daily program on the Elk and I'm actually using various patterns and rigs on a regular basis.  The lulls in action on the dry fly have been excruciating to say the least so dredging for meat has been an amiable solution.  And some of the pigs we've been scooping off the bottom are impressive to say the least; the fish have been making a good living on the bottom.  Lately the dry fly has been good and the indicators have been bobbing around in my boat bag instead of on the river which is damn refreshing

Kevin Lamey With a Healthy Lodgepole Cutt

The Elk Valley's human population has long been dependent on income derived from the coal mines in the Rockies.  To say it's harmonious is a stretch.  All you need to do is look at google earth and see the mountain clearing that's been done and you know there has to be some ramifications to that.  There is no way that much industrial process can be healthy for an ecosystem.  I do have great faith in Mother Earth's ability to morph and adapt in miraculous ways and the Elk system has long sustained the runoff of the mines.  The latest issue surrounding the health of our river has been the levels of selenium that have increased to levels considered toxic.  The government put an order on TECK that restricts them from opening other mines until they can reverse the trend of Se release into the watershed.  They have responded quickly with a Selenium treatment plant and only time will tell if this an effective way of handling the leaching.

More From the Fording

Our fishery is certainly not what it used to be and I don't believe it's the mine that is causing it.  I do feel the mine is in the process of wiping out the ecosystem if they continue there practices unabaded so I welcome the ordinance of the government and TECK's quick response.  I'm not applauding TECK either; truth is they've known about this for years and haven't done jack shit about it until there future expansions were threatened.  The company makes me sick at best but I realize they have their place here and we need to work together to sort this out.  The high water years of the last three summers have been the cause of the declining fisheries.  Our tributaries and neighbouring watersheds which are headwatered by pure water runoff and springs are also not producing as they used to.  Hatches are down due to scouring, not Selenium as far as I can tell.

Yes!  That's an Elk River Cutthroat Compliments of Dennis Poulin

The Fording River; which hosts three mines in it's drainage, was quoted as being dead in Drake Magazine but it still puked Golden Stoneflies in huge numbers for weeks. The Golden Stonefly being at the top of the aquatic invertebrate food chain is an indicator species.  I guided the system and hooked some nice healthy trout in there and I believe the system will recharge if spring runoff can just backoff for the next few years

Overall the Elk fishery is still an amazing destination.  The cutts that have endured the runoff beatings and are fat and healthy.  I caught fish of all sizes this year and noticed that more fish were willing to come to the top as the water cleared; which didn't happen until mid-August.  The fishing has remained good since then for dry flies as terrestrials and some mayfly hatches have the trout looking up which is a relief for those of us who honour the world of dry fly

The Nite Mayor of Kansas City, Dick Adler

Feathers and Fly Forecasting

I'm currently in Vancouver waiting on my new truck to arrive.  After years of debating as to whether or not I should dump that F350, it recently blew a few more injectors  It ended up at the Ford service center and after throwing up in my mouth when I heard the repair estimate,  I decided to trade it in for a fraction of what it cost and move into something new.  The sales guys at the Ford dealership were super keen on the sale (almost to a fault) but pleasant to deal with.  But car salesmen are similar to real estate agents I've met over the years.  They tell you every thing you want to hear in order to get you into one of their vehicles/homes and crank out their  commissions.  Everyone needs to make a living but I just don't think I could ever pour the sauce on that thick when it comes to selling shit.  I always find that if I put the energy into the businesses I have in a positive and directive manner, results bounce back almost instaneously.  Since selling me the truck and getting the down payment I haven't heard shit from anybody there as to where the $%# my truck is and it's approaching two weeks.  Not a peep, no offers for a loaner...nothing!!! Not impressed and I'm gunna let the cheese balls know it when it finally does arrive.  The fake smile is uglier than the frown.

The fly business has been my biggest struggle lately.  This is the production time of year for my tiers and Getting grizzly hackle (feathers) from Whiting Farms has been nothing short of insane.  That feather hair extension fad still has it's effect on the supply of those and I've been scrounging around trying to get my hands on feathers for the last week or so and the outlook is grim.  Whiting has been doing their best to keep me in the game and they are so far behind on orders now that they have opted to handle all their incoming calls via voice messaging.  They tell me it's about 6 months to a year away from being caught up and I'm looking forward to ending the scavanger  hunt and getting my hands on good hackle again.

The fact is NO ONE raises a better feather bird than Whiting.  My fly tier in Chiang Mai insists on them and she's likely going to be disappointed when she receives the next shipment that will include Howard Hackle and Metz.  They are both good quality hackles but the bronze grade and up of the Whiting birds are pieces of art.  These are the feathers that wrap those tincy lil 18's and 20's.  

Cree Saddle From Whiting

After getting all this stuff then comes the arduous and expensive task of shipping the feathers and hides across borders with the proper documentation which is now required and often times the proper documentation for foreign customs is in the form of currency--extra fees/bribary.  Everyone needs to survive and the struggle to get ahead over there is large compared to here in North America so I do empathize with their situation.... but it still sucks.

Then there's the whole point of sale thing with the fly shops.  Every shop owner wants a quality fly at the cheapest possible price which is understandable but shit is getting expensive out there.  Fly shop owners need to carry a lot of  inventory.  Think about it for a second and you understand why fly prices are what they are.  In order to fill the 400 + slots in the average fly shops bins you need a shit ton of flies to do so.  So the start up cost to fill the bins is often in the 10's of thousands of dollars.  Then as slots empty out you need to fill them up again; you can't have your bins run dry, empty slots look bad. So the fly shop is constantly carrying an expensive inventory---an almost neutral position.  At seasons end, a lot of shops start dropping prices to close to cost to empty the bins but is this really worth it.  I've often wondered this myself.  I mean I can sell them off for a small profit but if I just need to replace them again for the following season at a potentially higher price, then in the end I'm losing money.  It's a tricky one to play and in a shops inaugural years it's key to sell enough flies to cover that bin stocking inventory.  That's why a lot of these shops go down quickly and close their doors within the first year or so even though they appeared at one time to be busy.  

The average cost per dozen  for a quality fly is anywhere from $10 to $20 per dozen for a fly shop.  Due to increased costs of shipping materials, purchasing of materials (hackles and hooks primarily) and labour costs, I am anticipating retail prices to go up even more than they have this year.  I keep hearing from the fly shops that orders from Raineys, Montana Fly Company and Idelwylde  are going up rapidly in price.  This may cause the seperation of bins in shops in order to keep prices low on the basic patterns while getting fair markup on a more detailed pattern.  For example, a parachute adams costs about $10/dozen whereas a really cool intricate pattern like Morrish's Fluttering Stone by Idelwylde comes in close to $20.  And why shouldn't it!  That pattern is a bitch to tie. 

Morrish's Fluttering Salmonfly

 I spoke with Ken Morrish (designer of the fly) the other day and his comment was the Phillipine tiers must hate him for that type of detail.  I bought that fly for one of our freestones here that has a good cranefly hatch on it in the fall and I was looking for a skittery, leggy creature that would bring up some bigger fish.  I remember tying that thing on and thinking FUCK!!  if this thing goes to work I only have two and if we lose them I'm gonna have to tie some up as the fly shop I bought them from is 400 km's away.

Sure enough twitching and moving that super sized 8 creature around brought the meat up and of course the patterns were lost so I had to contend with tying that thing and it took me 45 minutes to complete the fly.  I have since modified it to something that is much easier  and as effective, but hats off to Idelwylde for putting that thing into production.  It looks good and works really well.

Montana Fly Company and Idelwylde are kicking ass out there.  They have the most talented pool of guides and fly designers out there and have a hip and contemporary marketing program that is compatible with the new generation of fly fisherman.  I respect what these guys have done and I use my patterns along with theirs to fill out my shop bins.

So this might be something we see in the future, split bins to make ends meet on the retail end of things. To make it work you have to be kicking out some volume or marking your product up enough to cover your inventory cost which means a minimum of 100% markup.  So if you notice your local shop has jacked it's rate on flies, don't think they're getting greedy, they're just responding to the rising costs in the industry.

Columbia River Rainbow Release

Been doing a fair bit of tying myself and have some new foam patterns to chuck around this year as well as some pretty awesome stonefly nymphs and streamers.  Been booking quite a few trips lately which is always nice.  Mix of late July and August.  I'm highly recommending late June and early July on the Columbia River near Nelson this year as that fishery may be the best it's ever been.  There are some HUGE rainbows in there.  Ken Colson (bull trout guru) has moved to the West Kootenays and has been putting some time in with the lines and reported hitting a fish he guesses to be about 10 pounds.  He measured it about 28 inches and said it was full bodied which seems to be the case for most fish in that river.  The size range in that river has been good an we're catching some absolute pigs in there along with a lot of 12' and 14's as well.  Sign that there's a good juvenille population moving up the ranks.  The fish get big hear fast so I'm confident we have some good years ahead of us on that monster of a river.

Without the vehicle I've found myself spending time around the abode tying and keeping myself in the game reading fly fishing forums and watching trailers etc. for the Fly Fishing Film Tour.  I also purchased a streaming video called Only the River Knows which is a wacky film documenting a couple of young Swedes taking on the trout of New Zealand.  Not a lot of fishing footage in the flick but what is there is quality and I enjoyed watching it. Give it a shot, Here's the link:

http://www.onlytheriverknows.com

I've spent $10 on worse things, that's for sure.