Fly Fishing in Fernie by Wayne Osborne
The rivers opened on June 15 after being closed since April 1 to protect the spawning season for wild Westslope Cutthroat Trout, for which the Elk Valley is famous. July is the month that fly anglers from all over the globe start to descend on Fernie to enjoy a truly unique and incredible dry fly fishery. The rivers streams and lakes around Fernie provide fly fishing opportunities that are simply as good as it gets.
The two big questions are “Where do I fish and what should I use?" The answers are simple and remains the same every year "the river and your eyes" because the rivers are loaded with Trout whichever section of river you fish. Just look for good Trout water, you'll never have to move too far to find that in the Elk. Then look for bugs, or signs that show where they have been.
To give you some basic clues, at this time of year the bigger Stone Flies hatch leaving tell tale signs such as shucks on the rocks of the river bank. Also, the rivers at this time of year are normally higher, fast flowing and can be off colour, so bigger stone fly patterns or general good floating flies such as Chernobyl and Willies Ants are a pretty safe bet.
Keep an eye out for Mayfly hatches as well - big Green Drakes with Pale Evening Duns late in the day. Even if you don't observe any hatches a well positioned and presented general mayfly pattern eg. Royal Wulff, Parachute Adams and the like usually raise some good Cutthroat. Rule of thumb is bigger flies early in the season getting smaller as the season progresses down to size 16-18 in the pools late season. The exception to that rule is grasshoppers which Trout rarely refuse.
A tackle tip when fishing big dry flies is to use a leader with a thicker base section to help turn them over, I recommend Salmon/Steelhead tapered leaders in this situation.
There are some good general guidelines for the more experienced angler. But one fact that never ceases to amaze me is how locals are unaware of what they have at their doorstep, and unlike the declining fisheries elsewhere Fernie gets better every year.
Licensing for local anglers (BC residents) is only about $53 per year which includes classified waters as well. All other Canadian and International visitors will require a BC license plus a classified waters license at $21 per day.
