The River Knacker

Seven back to back fishing days had me knackered. We averaged 15,000 steps each day over some tough terrain and were on our feet from morning to evening. Having slept well each night I wasn't overtly tired, but by the end of our trip I was weary. Our final day of fishing ended with a couple of pints, a burger and feeling spent. I think that's perfect.

In the four years that Fishing Tinder Guy (FTG) and I have fished together we've fished ten different streams in three different drainages. For some anglers there's comfort in the familiarity of a go-to piece of water. They know the lies, the hatches and the indiosyncracies of the water. It's still a challenge, but there's also a confidence in their ability to find and hook the fish. On the other hand, FTG and I are latebloomers to the East Kootenay stream scene and our approach has been to get out there and fish a lot of different water. We may get more fish if put down roots and really got to know a stream, but we dig exploring new water and putting in the sweat equity to earn our success. Someday we might find our nirvana, our go-to favourite stream, but I suspect that if we do the exploration bug won't go away.

I'll be honest, fishing was generally tough. There were no discernible hatches (although there was the occasional Yellow Sally or mayfly in the air) the water levels were high due to a good snowpack, water that we thought should hold fish, didn't, and a 14" fish was something to write home about. Other anglers we talked to said it was tough going for them too. And to top it off, the wildfire smoke blocked out much of our anticipated views of the Rocky Mountains. And the icing in the cake? I forgot my mayfly flybox at home. I mean, who does that? It's like forgetting your fork for the buffet, your pen for a final exam, or your tuxedo for your wedding. Fortunately, FTG collects flies like nerd a collects boogers, so I didn't go wanting, but I still felt like a numpty.

Cutthroat

I approached this water from downstream and had no sooner I said "Wood is good, foam is home" aloud than a fish rose in the foam line right on cue. First cast he took a parachute pattern, I stung him and he popped off. I thought I had missed my opportunity to hook him again and made a few more desultory casts. On one drift I shifted my gaze away from the fly, and couldn't see my fly when I looked back. Thinking it had sunk I raised my rod to lift the fly out of the water to cast again, and I'll be darned, a nice fish pulled back.

Can a flyfisherman have a signature move? I guess so and, if I had to pinpoint mine, I would say that it's approaching shoreside structure current breaks from downstream, casting directly upstream with gradually lengthening casts so as to not line the fish, and retrieving the slack line as the fly drifts back towards me.

OK, not really a signature move, per se, but I like the various elements of the approach.

It worked on this pretty fish, in this location

And it accounted for several fish hooked, and not all landed, here

And, in this shoreside current break

...this fish was waiting. I was intrigued by this fish's spotting. He was caught in a different stream that FTG and I dropped into on our final day and his spotting is quite unique compared to the others that we caught on the other stream over the previous week.

Funny thing about this spot...I hooked and landed the first fish above and after subsequent casts failed to interest anything else, I was wading back to shore with my fly hanging in the current and a fish grabbed it. Then as I was fumbling with my phone to take the photograph of the spot, with the fly dangling in the current below me, another fish grabbed the fly! I hooked more fish unintentionally than with intention. Perhaps there's a lesson there...

I thought there might be a fish or two tucked into the pocket in the centre of the image, but the current racing in front made a drag-free drift difficult, however with some fancy line work (and by fancy I mean a sloppy reach cast that morphed into a hard upstream mend) I was able to have the fly hang in the pocket for a handful of seconds. A fish slashed at the fly on several drifts. I could tell he wasn't big, but it became a challenge to see if I could keep hanging the fly long enough to hook him before he smartened up. Many casts, and 8 slashes later, I finally hooked and landed the little fish, We each get an A+ for persistence!

This spot accounted for the most and biggest cutthroat of the trip. It had everything going for it, including rising fish that betrayed their presence.

I got a couple nice ones and FTG got another. FTG picked up another an hour to two later on our way back upstream, but that one didn't struggle as strongly and looked suspiciously similar to some the ones caught earlier.

This nice fish hit a foam black ant pattern just below the white water at the head of the pool. It surprised me that he was in such fast flowing water but the water was deep and obviously water speed along the bottom substrate was much slower and suitable for holding.

We met of pair of anglers one day; a middle age guy and his 85 year old neighbour (actually ran into them twice on the river...and once more back in town!) We had a couple of nice visits both times on the river and I remarked to the senior angler that I hoped I was still wading rivers when I was his age. FTG and I might not be 85 years old (but we do qualify for a seniors discount at most restaurants!) and meeting the senior angler started a familiar conversation with us: we're grateful for our health and mobility and the ability to do what we love doing and we hope there are many more good years of wading left in these upper middle age bodies of ours.

Bull Trout

It was exciting to frequently see bull trout chase the trout we hooked. Usually they were unsuccessful except for one bull trout that managed to seize upon a trout I had hooked and grab it amidships, like it was eating a cob of corn. For a while I played both fish until the bull trout eventually let go and I landed a somewhat stunned cutthroat that was missing a few scales. He revived and swam off quickly.

I have caught a couple of bull trout in the Skagit River, but never in the East Kootenays, and landed this one quite unintentionally. I was drifting a large nymph that I tie (yellow dubbing, big black tungsten bead, size 6 hook) meant to imitate an October caddis nymph. I was gunning for cutthroat but this bull trout latched onto it instead. Interestingly, one of the bull trout I caught in the Skagit I also caught on the same pattern. Maybe the colour stands out? Maybe it's a big beefy fly worthy of a beefy fish? I dunno, but I take notice when the same fly catches the same species in two different river systems in different corners of the province.

One afternoon, walking upstream calling "Yo bear", we rounded a bend in the river and came across two young bull trout anglers and their dog, a retired bear hound.

"You guys see a bear?" they asked.

"No" FTG replied, "We don't want to!"

I guess when you are young and immortal and have a retired bear hound with you, "Yo bear" might not be part of your vocabulary. We had a good chat with the lads, learned a bit more about fishing for bulls, and I gave the dog some hearty scratches behind the ears.

Stuff I Find Interesting

It's a given that dry fly fishing for native, wild westslope cutthroat is the star of the show but I enjoy nearly as much paying attention to the natural environs that surround me where observation, curiosity and humility go hand in hand. Everything tells a story of a world much bigger than me.

Found these bones and skull on an exposed gravel bar and I liked the skull enough to pack it out. The branch stuck through the bone is a mystery though. Maybe another angler had a sense of humour? We were off the beaten path so I wonder if it was a happenstance during high water? Unlikely... Ah, the mysteries of wild places.

A large cavity in a tree with some feathers and pieces of egg shell inside. Given the size of the hole I suspect it was the nest of a pileated woodpecker

Came across this fresh blood splatter about 6 ft from the water's edge. FTG had seen a river otter nearby earlier so it seems likely a fish was killed here.

A very large bear track about a kilometre from camp on our first day. Given the size, I suspect grizzly, although the mud obscures the nail prints that, I understand, would confirm. Um yeah, a little disconcerting to have Yogi so close to camp:)