Alberta - BC Fly Fishing Canada
Feeling like I was now sort of in the “groove of things”, The pressure was off. I could now approach the rest of the trip with a more relaxed feeling. It could have probably ended at this point, and I would not have been too bitter about it….I could still feel that “sore-from-fighting-fish” feeling in my arms and shoulders. Kind of a nice feeling, considering the source of the problem. I had 2 other species of fish in mind though, and one day in Alberta left before Dan and I were to hit the road to British Columbia.
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Cutthroat fly patterns
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I was keen on visiting one of the grayling spots Dan and I had talked about. A quick visit to the local fly shop seemed to be a smart idea. Chironomids were on the menu, but this was not much of a surprise, considering that we would be
visiting a still water spot…in the mountains..in the west. We agreed that late afternoon/evening might be the best bet, might even get lucky and catch them at the surface with dries or emergers……So, with some time to spare, we decided to have another go at the bull trout on that magnificent lake we had fished the day before.
Not the same action as they day before, be we didnt come up empty handed either! Again, 5 or 6 wt. fly rods rigged with heavy sink tips and bunny strip flies were just the right medicine….
With a few more of these under our belts, it was off to fish for GRAYLING!
I figured that if I finished this day having just layed eyes on one of these amazing fish, all might be right in the world! When we pulled up at the lake, it was as smooth as glass with that clear bottle-green color. We set up the boats at the top of the hill and dragged them down to the water.
I was still finding it difficult to imagine water like this holding fish~just spectacular….but…we had yet to catch anything either. There were loads of midges and mosquitoes around~a good sign that the advice we had received might just be spot on. This fishing would involve the 3wts. and the boats~something I was looking forward to. I fished a rig a little heavier than the fly shop suggested, opting for a 9-1/2 leader tapered to 5X with a 30 pc. of 6X added to it. I used the little non-descript black midge pupa I picked up at the shop and tied one of my own #16 Sparkle Peasant Tail nymphs 
as a dropper off of that. Well, like before, Dan was into the first fish within 15-20 minutes! I rowed over quickly to have a look, what a beauty! These fish are stunning creatures, amazing to see in the flesh. I was eager to catch my own, my first, grayling. Well, within a few minutes, there was an abrupt tug on the line and I set up on a gorgeous GRAYLING!
Very cool indeed, and a very decent fight for a fish of this size. A 3wt or 4wt. that can handle some wind is a perfect choice for these fish, at least at the size we were catching them. The fish took the dropper too~my first grayling, and on a fly I tied! This Alberta thing is working out just fine! Now, I’d been interested in grayling for some time. In the course of doing some casual research years ago, I’d learned their Latin name thymallus arcticus. They earned this name because, apparently, they smell like thyme.
Well, back at the fly shop earlier that day, one of the guys helping me with the fly selection gave me a funny look when I told him we were going for grayling. You know those things stink eh? says he. I heard they smell like thyme… says I. Another funny look followed. The verdict~Alberta grayling smell like Ontario bass. For those of you who have yet to catch a bass, its not a nice smell, but not a bad one either. Well, after catching a fair number of them (and I honestly dont remember the number….maybe 4-5 each) we decided to pack it in. A few other fly fishers in float tubes and were closing in anyway. Mission accomplished, what a great experience!
Heading to BC! Dan picked me up at the Ritz Calgary (AKA Econo-Lodge Inn Suites) around 10:30am for the trek south west to BC. Our plan was to fish a small stream or two in the Crowsnest area of Alberta, only 45 minutes outside of our destination~Fernie BC. From there, depending on the fishing, we would be checking in sometime in the evening. This drive is among the most scenic I’ve had the pleasure to do. If I lived in Calgary, I’d get pretty friendly with this part of the world!
After paying a visit to Vic Bergmans shop (didnt see him there though) and stocking up on some local cutthroat patterns, we followed up on a tip Dan got on a small stream in the area that was fishing very well. Id say the tip was a good one. After about the longest, dusty…winding goat track of a road I’d ever been on, we came to a small stream. It looked very clear, very cold and VERY trouty We drove along the road a while looking for a good spot to try and settled on a small gorge area. With the 3wts. rigged, we set out under a bright sun to see what this stream had to offer. Dan started with a big foam bug, I started with a big stone fly nymph. A whopping 5 minutes into the fishing, I decided to add a split shot to leader just above the nymph to get it to the bottom of the deep pool I was fishing.
Two casts later, the line jolted. I set the hook on what I thought was the mother of all cutthroats! To my surprise, the fish was long, olive/grey…..like a washed-out looking brookie with a really bad attitude. Hey Dan, grab the camera~I think I got a bull!!! Sure enough, it was. WICKED!
As nice as it was, I was on a mission to see a west slope cutthroat. That would need to wait a whole 30-40 minutes more though. Dan decided to throw his giant foam bug in the swirling foam of the same pool, I began to fish the nymph in a spot nearby. Suddenly, Dan yelps, did you see that??!!! I looked over at Dan, his line dangling….an excited look on his face. Something had tried to kill his fly. When it took again, Dan set up on him~another chunky bull….on a dry!
This was great small stream fishing~two awesome fish within 15 minutes, on water neither of us had ever fished. This is what trout fishing SHOULD really be like. We began to cover water, Dan skating his dry over a likely spot, me fishing the nymph through a few times afterwards. Dan’s bug produced the first cuttie~ what a site. Not a big fish…perhaps about 9 long, but a defining moment just the same.
We saw, and fished some truly beautiful water, the odd larger pool producing up to 10 fish on dries before we moved on. Excellent fight on a 3wt. made that much better by the cutthroats willingness to take a fly on the surface. Dan might correct me on this one, but I dont remember any of the cutties being bigger than 10-11 long in this water, lots big enough though. If you ever see me staring off into space with a big smile on my face, there is a 50/50 chance that I’ll be thinking about this stream.
With the Elk river on the menu the following day, we quickly made our way into BC and settled in. The following day would spell disaster for my wading boots, and teach me new respect for wading fast currents. Its a miracle we had a car to drive to BC now that I think of it…..we would have stayed in Bellevue Alberta that night if el Toro had his way…
Alberta - BC Fly Fishing Part Three
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