Stories by Scott

When I learned that our eight days of fishing in late July in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia should coincide with the peak of the Western Green Drake hatch I anticipated our trip even more. The Western Green Drake is the largest mayfly in western Canada and, during a hatch when the duns are floating downstream trying to get airborne, the trout go a little wild. Kinda like when the popcorn shrimp is brought out at a Golden Corral buffet.  I don't normally set goals for a fishing trip, but this time I had two: fish a Green Drake hatch, and catch fish on my nymphing rod. I'm relatively new to the contact nymphing technique and had yet to catch a fish on this rod using that technique. And I don't think I've ever fished a proper mayfly hatch, never mind the storied Green Drake. The trip started off with first day jitters. The night before, as I lay in bed, I thought I forgot to pack my spools of tippet.  I mean, that's impossible as I have a packing list th...

 Well, it was a crapshoot; but a well reasoned crapshoot. When my fishing partner and I made plans to fish some streams in the East Kootenay region during the second week of July, we knew that it can be a little early in the season for good fishing due to high water. But we reasoned that with the lower than average snowpack, the forecasted warmer than average spring, and with the spectre of summer wildfires and hoot owl stream closures potentially limiting opportunities later in the summer, taking a trip in early-mid July was a good gamble.  Turns out we're pretty good crapshooters.  Water clarity was very good, the streams were wadeable, and the fish were agreeable.What more can you ask?  While eating dinner in camp on our day of arrival, a flying ant landed on the table. We might not be the sharpest knives in the toolshed, but it was clear to both of us what fly we'd be tying on first in the morning! A black Chubby Chernobyl became one of our go-to flies over the w...

With the rain and cooler temps during the month of June, the Little Campbell (Tatalu) River was running strong during early summer.  But we knew it was only a matter of time before the river eventually de-watered in a 1-2 km reach centred around 200 Street, in the Brookswood-Fernridge area of South Langley, and salmon fry stranded in disconnected pools would require salvaging. The first extended heat wave of summer, beginning the first week of July, really kicked the de-watering into high gear. On Friday, July 12 the river was still connected and flowing. Two days later, a section of it was dry and there was already salmon fry mortality in one of the disconnected pools. The organization that I volunteer with, A Rocha Canada, quickly mobilized a salvage response with DFO and on Monday morning July 15 we were on the river with nets and DFO's water tank trailer. Fish were seined and dip netted from pools, placed in buckets with battery powered aerators, and the buckets carried to the ...

 For the past number of years I've dreamed of beach fishing the Mexican Baja Peninsula. Here on BC's west coast, beach fishing generally involves waders and sturdy footwear but the idea of fishing in shorts and barefeet for blitzing roosterfish on the Baja has captured my imagination for some time. Last week my wife and I visited Cabo San Lucas, our first trip to the Baja, and I booked two days of guided surf fishing with Wesley Brough, aka cabosurfcaster on social media. Normally I don't book guided trips but two days of guided fishing would give me a good introduction to the gear, tactics and locations that I could then apply on my own future trips. Wes is a native of Cabo and knows these waters. He's been guiding for 20 yrs and his social media and website are bursting with big fish. In fact, he holds the all tackle world record for pacific white snook.  I was thrilled to spend two days with him but less thrilled at the hours he keeps. Wes likes the early morning bit...

 In September, 2022, I had the privilege to join the hunting party of my son and his two buddies and fish the upper Elk River for a week while they tried to fill their tags in the the surrounding mountains. This year the Mount Bingay wildfire in the Elk Valley prompted a change of plans. The boys switched their hunting trip to the Flathead River valley and I was invited to join them again. Maybe it was my pleasant disposition or conversation skills that earned the invite, but I suspect it was that I washed dishes, cooked many of the meals, and my wife sent along a bag of chocolate chip cookies! The Flathead River has a unique place among BC rivers. With the headwaters in the mountains below Sparwood, the North Fork of the Flathead flows south, roughly paralleling, and just a few miles west of, the Alberta border before entering Montana. The BC Flathead watershed has no permanent human settlement and supports an incredible abundance and diversity of wildlife.  In the USA, the F...