Chasing down Ol' Hoss: A Bass Fishing Journal

Chasing down Ol' Hoss: A Bass Fishing Journal

Bass can often be found in areas teaming with warm weather and unique scenery

With high water and monsoon-like rains across Alberta and BC, trout fishing has been difficult this year. Wanting to still get-out and enjoy some sunny weather, we have managed to target a species that is still relatively unpursued in parts of BC: largemouth bass.

I know some folks associate bass fishing with an old Tennessee screen baseball cap, a jar of worms and a cooler of beer, but fly fishing for bass can be a totally unique excperience. Their behaviour is substantially different than trout in some ways, but eerily similar in others. During the heat of a 100 degree day, often times a bass won't drop down to deeper water like trout, but rather hunker down under a log in the shallows. They also don't generate nicknames like "Scarlett" or "Crimson Beauty", but rather generate nicknames like "big pig" or "old hoss". I love catching them nonetheless.

Tim with a fat bass just north of the border taken on a bottom-walked red blood leech to imitate the crayfish this pig was eating. Look at that gut!

During the heat of summer I have had my best luck catching bass in mornings and evenings. A green wooly bugger on an intermediate sink line fished near vegetation has been my most productive means of catching them. This is very much like trout fishing as the bass will eat leeches, damselfly nymphs, dragonfly nymphs and minnows in these locations. I have also had luck casting huge foam dry flies and stripping them on the surface, this can produce some extreme excitement and explosive takes!

Evenings are a great time to fish for bass during the heat of summer

I headed out on a July morning a couple of weeks back to get some fishing in before it reached the hot part of the day. I was quite intrigued to have a damselfy nymph swim onto my float-tube and undergo complete metamorphosis into a fully grown adult with wings. The process took a couple of hours and was incredible to watch.

Damselfly Nymph crawling out of its casing

Damselfly just about ready to fly away

 I could see bass shaking reeds and smashing damsels non-stop, much like out trout do during certain months of the year. I pitched a cast into the reeds, stripped back a green wooly bugger and BAM!!! "There we go!" I screamed. The fish hit like a freight train and bulldogged into cover HARD, bending my 6 weight like a wet noodle. Being alone, I brought in the solid 3 lb bass for this photo.

I normally wouldnt take holidays from work to pursue bass, but with hot beautiful weather and a nice lake to fish, who could ask for anything more?

Later on that day when the sun started to dip down, my uncle and I headed back down to the lake after a beer or 20 each. We saw non-stop rises from the pumpkinseeds (a type of sunfish). These can be great fun on small dry flies and nymphs. I cast my fly out into the water and the indicator dipped. What I had on wasnt fighting very hard, but it was a very familiar species with most anglers: a yellow perch, talk about a cool, totally different mixed-bag fishery. I started bringing the small perch in when all of a sudden the fish took a hard turn by a big upright stump and my rod was bent in half! HOLY SH*$ !!! This big largemouth bass had come out of nowhere and ATE the perch I was bringing in. Talk about bull trout-like behaviour!

I battled the fish hard and Uncle Paul screemed, "GRAB IT GRAB IT!!!" Having a couple drinks under my belt, I jumped into the lake, grabbed the big pig by the lip and jumped back onto the bank! Talk about a hog for this lake! It truly was Old Hoss and the biggest bass I have ver landed. I kept it and brought it back to camp, parading around the campfire with it like I had just won the BASSMASTER CLASSIC.

Andy (me) with "Ol' Hoss"

 Overall bass fishing can be a great change of scenery from trout on the fly, as well as a unique challenge. I highly recommend going out and giving it a try!

-Andy

July Long Quick Trip

Andy and I met up and headed out for the July Long Weekend.  We knew that pretty much every piece of flowing water in Alberta and BC was high, but decided to see if we could find a few little gems to explore.

Andy fishing in the high water

Our first stop was a small creek in Alberta that normally was about half the size that it was flowing at, but we had the itch to fish a creek so we put on the waders, laced up the boots, and strung up the rods.  Not too far up the creek, we got into a few small cutthroat trout.  They were nothing to write home about, but with the visibility in the creek, we were catching them right at the toes of our wading boots!  After struggling to get around in the very high and dirty water, and the other spots not yielding any fish, we took off to a slightly larger stream.

Loop Yellow 8'8" #4, with Loop Classic reel. Nice creek set-up.

The larger stream did not produce any fish, and it was quite high and dirty as well. After some time, it started to rain, and in this case we figured it would mess up the water even more.  We took off and did a little more exploring into BC.  We managed to find a couple of streams that were tertiary tributaries to try. Normally these streams were about 1/3 the size, but at least the water clarity was a little better than everything else.  We set up the rods, and within minutes were into some quality cutthroats for the size of stream we were fishing.  We were excited to find some nice water, let alone get into some good sized cutts for the little creek.  Some trout were even rising for a small mayfly hatch, and over the next hour, we landed a few on #16 parachute adams dry flies!  It was pretty special to watch the fish take the naturals, then move up and slam the imitations.

Smaller cutthroat normally, but a real surprise for this miniature creek!  And a ton of fun!

Coming out of there satisfied, we decided to try some lake fishing the next day for rainbow trout and largemouth bass around Cranbrook.  I'll let Andy write a report on the Bass fishing since he has the pictures, but for now I will leave you with a few small creek trout pics.

Chunky trout caught by matching the hatch.

Awesome colours on these guys.

Andy trying to catch a larger one rising underneath an overhanging tree.

Success!

Money shot of a beautiful cutthroat trout to cap off a fun day of fishing!

Sturgeon Fishing Adventure

My wife and I recently traveled to Vancouver Island, and on the way back, we were lucky enough to spend a day with Sturgeon Slayers (www.SturgeonSlayers.com) to go after the prehistoric White Sturgeon!  We spent the day on a jet boat on the Fraser River with our guide for the day, Tony.  Tony's expertise on the river was evident, and it was a real treat to learn the history of the area as well as more info about the White Sturgeon.

I had always seen the fish on television fishing shows, but nothing could compare to the feeling of having one of those beasts on the end of your line!  Within minutes of moving to our first spot, we had some fish playing with our hooks, and the first Sturgeon of my life on the end of my line. The sheer power of even a "smaller" fish ("smaller" in Sturgeon terms seems less than 5 ft!).  My arms were a little sore, but it was well worth it to bring one of these river dinosaurs to hand for the first time!

We moved spots after the action slowed, and immediately got into a couple of more beautiful fish!  We were happy to just see one, but everything else after that was a bonus.

We stopped for a great lunch of bbq'ed steak and chicken...the Sturgeon Slayers boys really treat you to an unreal day on the water!  By lunch time, I believe our count was up to 6 Sturgeon landed. As we were eating apples, we got a hit, and a 6-7 ft Sturgeon exploded on the surface of the river.  This was the biggest one hooked of the day, and after taking us downstream a ways, it rolled on the line and popped the hook!  Oh well, you can't land every one!  We moved down to a couple more spots, and all of a sudden Tara was into a massive beast.  After a huge (approx. 50 minute) fight, big runs downstream, and some expert maneuvering from our guide Tony with the big jet boat, we had a 7'7" Sturgeon landed!

Needless to say after a fight like that, we were a tired but satisfied group.  After a short recovery, we decided to get the lines back in the water, and within minutes, we tagged into another huge Sturgeon!! The fight of this one was different as it didn't take the massive runs downstream, but it really dug for the bottom of the river.  And when it is you against one of the big boys, they call all the shots!  We managed to get this one to shore, and it was in the 6.5 ft range, I believe, and another beauty!

After two huge fish in a row, we were pretty beat, but still had a little bit of the day left. The lines were back in the water, and a few minutes before we were about to head in, the 9th and final Sturgeon of the day was caught and released. This one was about 5 feet, and a great way to cap off an amazing trip!

I would just like to thank Kevin and Tony from Sturgeon Slayers for one of the most memorable days of fishing my wife and I have ever had!  Their knowledge, professionalism, and excellent conservation work were on display for the entire trip.  If anyone is interested, there are several articles, websites,  and television programs showing the great work these people and groups are doing to manage and assess White Sturgeon populations in British Columbia!  Catch, Record, Release!

And if you are interested in a trip for these ancient fish, I can't recommend Sturgeon Slayers enough. http://www.SturgeonSlayers.com

A few days fishing...

So I've managed a few days with a few people over the last week.  I really like fishing for fishing's sake, but I enjoy it largely for the company I keep while on the water, and if I go alone I tend to fish for a few hours, but enjoy the drive and scenery as much as anything else.  I'm most likely to quite after a good fish or two, or fish an unknown creek, expecting nothing much in the way of results.

I went fishing with my friend Mykola on Thursday last week after my final exam, and we had a good time at a local lake.  I was there a few days earlier, and landed some big fish, so I took him out and was happy when he caught a couple nice trout.  He told me that the first trout of the day was actually his largest to date, and having started fly fishing only last year, I thought the 3.5 or 4 pound rainbow was a great start to the day!  He was quite happy, and I think a highlight, though understated at the time, was that he tied the flies he was using to get into the trout.

Mykola with a nice trout

I also got out this weekend with Trev. I'm off to Europe for two months this summer for (mostly) university, so this would likely be the only time we'll get out together before I leave.  We originally wanted to head to the Crow, but water conditions blew out the day before we left, so that got nixed...  To top it off, we left my place at 4:30 am, but then got a flat just south of Edmonton before 5 am.

Bad omens. 

So I changed the flat, but we had to turn around and switch cars (I guess it could have been worse, we could have been halfway to Red Deer, then need to wait around, hoping they could patch the tire).  Anyway, late start, crappy water at our preferred destination, so we ended up doing some exploring and driving for no fish.

Day 2, we went to a small lake we hadn't fished since we were in high school.  The plan was to check out some small lakes that should have been icing out, and the first one we checked was 50% free, so we hit it.  It didn't take long for Trev to get into a fat (FAT!) 16"er.  These fish live well on a steady diet of shrimp and minnows, so there is no denying that they grow fast.  These trout that are 16"es were stocked last year at 8"es.  That is some good growth.  We ended out the day with around 10 or so trout, all in that same size class (there was at least a partial winterkill last year, so we don't know if there will be any larger ones right now.  By fall they should be quite a bit larger!).

The fishing was good, and I had plans to fish with Andy on Monday.  The fishing was fun the day before with Trevor, so we decided to meet at the same lake the next morning around 10.  We had a bit slower of a day.  The wind was up and from the east (never a good sign around here), and the remaining ice was shoved into the corner we'd fished the day before.

So we went to the east end as it was ice free, and had a go.  Andy had a take first cast, but didn't connect, then we fished without any action for about an hour.  Then Andy got a fish, lost another, and missed an aggressive take, all within 20 minutes.  This was pretty close to what we knew the lake to be: there are a fair number of fish, but they cruise, and the lake is pretty featureless, so you either move all over the place, or wait for a school to come by.  Anyway, these trout were those same fat-ass 16"ers.

No complaints from us.

We moved down to the windy side of the lake later in the afternoon.  Our favourite part of the day was actually watching the ice melt away from 50% coverage to nothing over the course of a few hours.  This opened up some decent water, too!  I got lucky and landed a fat rainbow, and we took a throat sample; crammed full of shrimp and a lone minnow (neither of which was all that surprising).  But one of the shrimp was over an inch long.  Seriously large gammarus, so I tied a few in the right colour (had some biggies, but not in the right olive colour) when I got home (a couple for both myself and Andy) so we'll be prepared for next time.

Andy Tchir photo

The weather has hit the shitter for now.  Barely above freezing, and not looking good for the next day or two.  Hope everyone is staying warm and having some fun on the water.

Nick

Ah, spring, and a little bit of a fishing trip

Well, last week threw us for a loop. We had a mild week, followed by some more cold and snow on the weekend, followed by a couple warm days, then a cold 'un today. Well, today was so-so I guess.

It was -2˚C when I left the apartment this morning at 11 o'clock, and it stayed between that and 0˚C for my 40 minutes drive out of the city. I My plan was to say, "to hell with studying this afternoon," and drive to 3 or 4 lakes nearby that may or may not be iced-off enough to wet a line from shore. Of course, I do this drive with a bit of fishing gear in the back of the truck.

Luck was good to me, and the first lake I stopped at had open water to the bank, and no other fishermen at it! That last part is important because there was only about 10m of bank available to cast from, and while I'm not opposed to sharing the wealth in this limited opportunity time-period, I won't complain about some solitude, either.

Eventually another fellow did show up, with a float tube (I wouldn't be so brave with the barely-thawed lake), and we chatted a bit. I guess the fishing was a bit slow the day before. It was today too, but I did manage two large trout, which sure helped cure my freezing fingers! (My rod guides were freezing all day)



For this type of early, ice-off spring fishing, there are a few points to remember. Firstly, the water is cooooold! Like a degree or two above freezing. The trout are not overly active, so don't move your flies too quickly. Secondly, use year-round food items as your staple flies. My fish came on scuds and leeches today, with a few other patterns being ignored. Thirdly, be persistent. I fished for nearly an hour between each take (I had a third fish, but he sliced me off). The point? Don't expect miracles in the early season, simply be happy that getting out is an option, and remember that our best fishing is yet to come!



At this time of year, be nice. Open water is limited, and unless it is totally unreasonable to do so (like the time we already had 5 people fishing in 15m of open shore, and another guy showed up...), invite others to fish close by, and share a fly or tip.

Oh yeah, dress warm.

Nick

Ice-off Escapade

A typical early-season stillwater rainbow trout

                                          
  I was cleaning out my room and found this old, short article I was meaning to use 7 or so years ago on our website. It's short and fairly abstract so either I was reading too much Bob Scammell at the time or I was in hippyville BC. Please forgive the puns.

With finesse and grace I released the winter demons through a rythmic back and forth motion. Unravelling a cast on an early season spring creek? Nope. Ploppin' indicator rigs on a local trout pond? You bet! Early season trips to places like the Bow and Stauffer are great, but nothing is more special to me than trying out the first few feet of open water on our trout ponds. There is no need to search for motivation, all it takes is an obsession and about 10 months of Alberta winter for you to know what I am talking about.

Winter may be a beautiful to some, but to a fly fishing nut winter gets old fairly quickly and causes many to dip into the liquor cabinet, medicine cabinet, or even the ice fishing section at the store

A condition prescribed by most doctors as the shack nasties is naturally being cured by some Muiracle....oops I mean miracle. After months of near insanity there comes a common symptom, which has some fool filling a box with #26 dry flies that will never grace the end of a line. But luckily there is light on the horizon to save this fishing fool from craziness. Too bad the light on the horizon is a 6 am sunrise shining straight into my eyes while I chug a mug/bucket of coffee trying to wake myself up for fishing and/or showing up to an iced up pond: good thing Kingsalmon is driving today. Once I have finally woken up, it will hit me: I am about to cast my fly rod on still, open water for the first time this year.

Goofing around with a little perch a few years ago at first ice-off

Tight lines,

-Andy aka Dr Shoal

Oh, the midwinter thaw-before-freeze-up blues

Andy and I have been talking a lot about this next fishing season. I suppose technically we’ve each caught our first trout of the season, that trip we did about a month ago on the Bow, but we both know that the season doesn’t start in earnest until maybe April at the soonest. The foothill streams open then –legally, but maybe not practically– and we can go out fishing from home, on streams, in about a couple hours drive.

It doesn’t matter much, really. Fishing is just fishing, and we just go when we can.

Sometimes we get lucky and local lakes ice-off around mid-late April, giving us the chance to head out 3 or 4 times a week, chasing hungry trout that go anywhere from 10 inches to 10 pounds, depending on which lakes are open, and our general luck.

For the last several seasons a bulk of our stillwater fishing has been on a series of private ponds. These had several undeniable benefits. First, they were only a couple minutes from town, so the driving time was negligible. Second, they were totally fishable from shore, so a quick trip was easy, and even a full-day outing was just enjoyable, with no boat really needed. Third, the fish were large. 22” average large. Last, the membership was cheap like borshch. Around a hundred bucks for a full season.

But then the lake with the 22” average size winterkilled, but the other ponds had smaller, but still good fish. Maybe 17” as an average. Then I also moved to downtown Edmonton because of a convenience to get to university and back, so now the short drive is more like an hour. And I can get to public lakes in maybe 35-minutes. There have been some other changes, too, aesthetic ones, and the experience may have just moved on for me.

Andy and I have been talking about fishing the public lakes as often as possible this year. I know that some of our lakes/ponds are simply mediocre fisheries designed to yield 5-fish limits of cookie cutter 7” trout, but a few select lakes, like the one I fished last fall, have large trout. We’ve neglected the lakes that have always treated us well, but want to go back this year.

Also planned is a backpacking trip for goldens. I don’t know about Andy, but I’ve been tying shrimp and chironomids like mad just dreaming of this trip. In case the flies are a bust, we’re also planning a couple day-hikes to cutty lakes, were I know the flies will work, because the fish are just so willing.

I’ve also neglected a few of these over the years. The reality is, I live far away from them. Maybe a 5 hour drive to the trail head, and I just haven’t had the chance to go in a long time. I sort of miss them. These are often lakes I fished in my teenage years, and they are quite special to me. I need to see how they’ve held up. At least I don’t see fishing reports online about them.

Toss in the inevitable summer brown trout fishing, some sight fishing in early spring with an old friend of mine, a return trip for Dane (hopefully) in fall to tackle some spring creek browns, and this is shaping up to be one hell of a season.

I hope everyone else is having a good winter’s tying and planning.

Nick

A few days after New Years

Andy and I had plans for several days. It wasn't last minute, as it so often is in winter. No, I was busy, he was busy, hell, who isn't around Christmas and new years?

Anyway, we went to the Bow River, right in Calgary. The forecast: +7 but windy. Reality? Maybe +4 but calm. I'll take the trade off.

We always like going on these winter trips. We really don't expect much, so it really just means that winter fly fishing in Alberta is a 3-hour BS session, followed by a few hours of fishing and hopefully a few fish, and then the BS is resumed on the drive home. It really is a lot of fun, especially when we get into some trout.

This trip fit the bill. We left Edmonton early; at about 6 AM it was windy as hell here, but we had the faith. We got to Calgary, and the weather was cold, but calm and sunny, and it was promising. Anyway, we dawdled a bit getting our stuff in order, but we hot the water around 9:30 AM, with all the hopes and dreams of a complete geenie.


I think I broke the ice first, with a nice 16 or 17" brown; certainly not the largest we cold hope for on this river, but a good catch for January 4! A few minutes later, Andy got a nice rainbow of similar size, and on a nymph as well (I got mine on a #16 PTN, and Andy on a small Copper John). So far so good.

A while later, I got a nice white-dog of the same size, and we started laughing. Three fish, three species, and all the ones you could expect on the Bow. Sure, other fish are there, but you don't bank on them.

Sure as ever, next cast I got a 6 or 7lb pike of all things, still on the small nymphs! Yikes! I was lucky. I got it on the side of the mouth, so it didn't shred the tippet and leave me fly-less.

We had a nice lunch, laughing all the way to the bank about the fun we were having, even though we couldn't feel our feet, and the hands were cold as hell. After lunch, we put some T-8 sink tips I have on, and fished little spring creek buggers. Boom, I got a sweet brown on the third or fourth cast, then I cast out, but my hands were stinging. I let the line just sit there, and put my gloves back on. I picked up the rod, and lo and behold, I had a fish. Nothing less than a 4 or 5lb sucker. So that was four species for me, and five overall!

Let's get on with it. I got one more sucker of the same size (on a more aggressively fished fly this time) and finally my own nice rainbow! Andy got another 'bow or two, I don't really remember, and it really doesn't matter much anyway.

"Thank god I didn't get skunked!" Andy yelled. "I was worried you'd stop fishing with me!" (The last couple times we were out, he'd had a tough go, but he made up for it).

We made the usual plans for the coming year: lake bows in spring, brown trout, and some summer fishing for cutts and rainbows in mountain streams. It should be a good one.

Nick

A Couple of Cold Trips

After a few weeks of working hard, there was an opportunity for Andy, Nick, and myself to get out fly fishing. At first we debated whether to fish the Bow River in Calgary or the Red Deer River closer to where we all live. With the possibility of catching walleye, pike, rocky mountain whitefish, AND brown trout...the decision was easy. Also, with the price of fuel so high, it was also more economical lol. The Red Deer River was the choice.

We started the day fly fishing for rockies, and Nick and I were doing well for some exceptionally large whites! Andy (the self proclaimed "whitefish king"), however, was having a tough time hooking up. After a few hours of landing some large whites, we decided to switch to streamers and try our luck with walleye and pike, with the possibility of a brown trout striking.

Andy was having some shoulder issues, so he chose to use spin gear while Nick and I stuck with the fly on this day. A few minutes in, and I hooked up on a decent little pike, which Andy graciously released for me in the ice cold water!

Nick managed to find a school of walleye and was into quite a few after that as well. The weather started to cool off more, and the wind started to howl, so we took off to Dickson Trout Pond to end the day. Dickson wasn't so kind, and must have been turning over as the water was dirtier than a rotting salmon on Labour Day. We got skunked on Dickson, but it was a great day to get out and wet a line.

About 1-2 weeks later, the forecast was calling for one nice day before the weather turned sour on us. Andy and I had the day off, so decided to try and rekindle the good fishing on the Red Deer that we had with Nick. I used my 10'7" 6 wt Loop Opti Switch rod all day for whites and walleye, and Andy used his 11" Amundson Wind Warrior 6 wt switch rod. It was comfortable to swing the switches all day, and it meant less false casting in the cold weather. We didn't have as much time to fish this day, but in the few hours we managed some more whites. After we were done with the whites, it was back to the walleye fishing to cap off the day.

Andy started by losing a massive pike on a black crystal bugger. Our luck got better though, and we managed to catch a few nice walleye to end the day. There were no brown trout caught on either trip, but it is always nice to have the chance to hook into a large brownie while fishing for other types of fish!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. It's a time of year to be with family and friends, maybe enjoy a great meal or two and reflect on the things in life we appreciate the most. Normally we don't say grace and thankyou until our thanksgiving supper, which usually happens on a Sunday, but this year I said my thanks on the Saturday night. The North Saskatchewan River is basically the only flowing water in the Edmonton area which is worth fishing and sometimes it can be exceptional and produce truly amazing fish.

It is a relatively healthy ecosystem. Mayflies, caddisflies, and a host of other insect hatches occur. There are many species in the river as well. Walleye, Northern Pike, Goldeye, Sauger, and Sturgeon being the most popular target species. This year we had exceptional dry fly fishing in August and September for the goldeye and mooneye. Things slowed down a bit on the surface after the backswimmers and water boatmen blanketed the bottom of the river. That's when it became gear chucking time.

Friday of the Thanksgiving long weekend my dad and I headed to the river and had some great fishing. On just his second cast he claimed to have a nice walleye on. When it came up, I couldn't believe my eyes. He did have a big fish, but it wasn't a walleye. It was a close relative to the walleye known as the Sauger. These things look very neat. They have mottled sizes and are usually more dark brown in colour with no white tip on their fin. Sometimes they remind me of small rock fish from the ocean! Typically the sauger I'm used to catching are in the 1lb-1.5lb range. This thing was a beast! It was by far the biggest sauger I have ever seen. According to our measurements it was just under 5lb! A truly great catch and not too far off the Alberta record of 6lb 12oz.

The next evening we went fishing after a hard days work and sighting in rifles on the farm. I slammed into a really good fish on my second cast. I landed a really good walleye about 5 years ago in the river and after landing a large walleye, you know how they feel versus a smaller one. The hit feels like a tap on your lure and when you set the hook, it's like setting into a thumping log. My rod was bent to the handle and at times it felt like I was bringing in a tree off of the bottom. You MUST have your drag set right when playing a big fish like this. If it's too tight, the barbless jig might simply pull out of its mouth or your line could even break. If it's too loose, the fish could shake the hook or it could simply just slip out of the fish's mouth.
After a couple a minutes of bulldogging on the bottom, we finally got a glimpse of it. I knew it would be big, but didn't anticipate it would be this big! I quickly subdued it when I could finally reach out and grab it and dad grabbed the camera. Finally after losing a fish or two like this over the last few years, I brought one in! It was my biggest walleye since 2006. The fish was a touch over 32" with an 18" girth. A solid 12lb + beast. I am not sure I got the girth measurement in the right spot because if you examine the picture closely, the fish appears to have either a sucker or a goldeye in it's stomach! What a fish!

I gently released it and she went back down into her lair. I was shaking with excitement and celebrated with some cold ones in the garage and some George Jones with my dad. Now that is something to be thankful for and it was truly my best thanksgiving weekend to date!

-Andy

Stranded: In BC

 I normally wouldn't make the treck out to BC on a regular 2-day weekend but it was the end of September and the weatherman said 30 degrees celsius...So I left! Besides that, a group of friends were going to be out there already and back from Montana with a cooler full of Miller High Life and Coors. I ripped out to Fernie right after work on Friday, hoping to make it out in time to have a few cold ones and set up camp with them. The following day we had some really good fishing for cutthroat trout in the nice weather, including a pleasant surprise of a stellar blue wing olive hatch and some beautiful fish on dry flies!

The following Sunday I had planned on doing some fishing for half a day and then ripping home in preparation for work the following Monday. I went to start my car....no response. "You gotta be kidding" I thought to myself. Luckily my friends were there to take me into town to get towed because we were camped where there was no cell phone reception for miles. To make a long story short, the part was going to take 3 days to come in (new fuel pump) and I was stuck with barely and camping gear.

I set-up my tent at the campground near where I was getting my car fixed a couple a miles outside of Sparwood. With no vehicle, no stove, no cooler to store food and a leaky air mattress, I looked at my last can of beans and went into survival mode. As luck would have it, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and winds were gusting like mad with an obvious rain/cold front rolling in. "How am I going to maintain my sanity out here when my tent is blowing around in these winds and it's pouring rain?" I asked myself. The first day I hiked into town to get some food and a few supplies from the bargain shop. All I had for a backpack was a kokanee beer cooler bag so I definitely looked like I lived in a tent. Even though it was a long walk, I decided I would buy a fishing license for the next two days for something to do and keep me sane. Turns out it was a pretty good choice. That night I barely slept. Cold winds kept threatening to blow my tent down as the rain pounded away. The next morning I loaded up my bag, threw on my wading boots and 2 jackets, loaded my life on my back and trecked to town for breakfast. Note: chewing tobacco first thing in the morning helps kill your appetite if you have to walk a few kilometers on an empty stomach to get breakfast!

I ate as much as I could at the A&W and headed out when the rain lightened up. I made it down to the river hoping the rain didn't dirty the river up too much. The water looked slightly higher, but not off colour. I was excited. I did what any hobo would do and hid under the bridge while the rain came pounding down. Threw out a nymph and hooked into a nice trout, first drift! The cutthroat appeared to be a fat 17" fish, typical of the Elk River. All of a sudden this fish took a huge run off my reel and felt like a 10lb fish. Under the bridge I could see, much like a shark, a massive bull trout had this big cutthroat by the head! This really got my adrenaline going! I brought in the cutthroat when Mr. Bull Trout dissappeared back into his lair and decided to change my set-up from using a small fly to throwing a streamer. I threw on a big fly my buddy Jake tied for me that works awesome for bull trout. If anything was going to get this leviathan to hit, this 6" + beauty was the fly. I threw it into the run and felt a few taps and saw a chase while I stripped it in quickly. I decided to just drift the fly through and let it swing. Sure enough, on the swing, the bull trout hit! Well, not THE bulltrout but a bully anyways! It was about a 20" fish or so and a nice surprise. I never caught that big bully but had a great day and was able to do some hiking up river when the rain let-up.

That day I fished hard and kept count of the number of fish I caught. 3 bull trout, 24 cutthroats and 23 rocky mountain whitefish was the total for the day. Normally I don't keep track of numbers, but being by myself I decided to try for a 50 fish day. Overall, it was an amazing day and took my mind off of things back at my tent. As I hiked off the river through some thick bush towards the highway I stumbled over an elk carcass. Being by myself I was scared sh*&less especially after seeing blood spots on some leaves in the area. I put in over 20 km of walking for food and fishing that day, but it was worth it.

The next day I tried to catch the big bull trout again, but came up with a smaller one on the swung streamer. Still a beauty fish of about 5lb. These fish are truly remarkable and hard line pullers. To end the day I decided to try a dry fly to catch my last fish of the trip on. I went to a spot that barely flows and looks merely a shallow bath tub of foam. All I could see was a slight sipping motion from a cutthroat trout's mouth under the foam...a fish most people would walk or drift right past. I hitched on a #18 mayfly onto some 3.5lb tippet due to the size of the mayflies hatching and the calmness of the water. All I could see was the calftail post on my parachute mayfly sticking out of the foam. All of a sudden this little burble came under my fly or at least where I thought my fly was. I waited a half second, lifted my rod and BAM! This was a good fish, too good for the light tippet and he was ripping me into the current! Oh no! I played it just right and brought it to net . It turned out to be the biggest cutthroat of the trip. A 20" beauty on a dry fly! What a way to cap off the day. Actually, a 20" trout on a dry fly AND a beer before the long treck back to my tent, that's a great end to the day!

So the car repair cost me $1000 and I developed a reputation as "a hobo fisherman living in a tent outside of town", but I made the most of my stay. it was truly great fishing and I made it home alive! Plus the lady at the bargain store gave me free body wash so I could "wash-up". The only thing better than that big cutthroat trout was finally having a shower and changing my clothes!

Tight lines-

Andy Tchir