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 ;)