Fly Fishing: The Ultimate Freshwater Fishing Experience

I love bass fishing.  It's my absolute favourite type of fishing and has been since I hooked my first largemouth in a California pond when I was five years old.  It's hard to top the excitement of seeing a bass inhale a lure in plain sight, or tackle a topwater lure with such abandon that it hurls itself several feet out of the water on the strike.  

While this is just plain fun, I have to admit that the greatest form of freshwater fishing is no doubt fly-fishing in a river.  There is nothing else that compares to the getting-back-to-nature feel that you get by stalking trout on a clear stream on a single action reel and rod controlled entirely by your arm strength and co-ordination.  None of the forgiveness that comes with a spinning rod, none of the fancy mechanics of a baitcasting reel.  A fly-rod is all you.  Fly-fishing a river is as close to hunting as you can get without having to wear camo and sit in a tree all day.

This brightly-marked rainbow trout fell for a black ant pattern.

Ever seen A River Runs Through It?  Ever read the book?   There's nothing else that so accurately captures the spirit of fly-fishing a river than the fishing passages/scenes of that novel/movie.  Man versus fish, fish with the home field advantage.  The home field constantly changing, the river always moving.  To properly fly-fish a river you must understand how the water moves and how the fish relate to this constantly moving water.  Failure to do so can be embarrassing, success can lead to an angler gaining confidence on any moving water anywhere.   

President Herbert Hoover once noted that "All men are equal before fish."  No place is this more true than on a riverbank.  Stream trout have humbled many anglers, myself included.  Nothing can be more frustrating than making cast after cast towards a trophy trout locked into a seam in the river only to have your fly pass through unmolested at each flailing attempt.  However, there are few greater rewards than having that same trout finally snap up the 10th fly you've tied on like it was the first one it has ever seen, followed by a hefty bend in the rod, a peeling of line, and the high-pitched screaming of a fly reel under duress. 

This beautiful cut-bow (hybrid rainbow/cutthroat trout) fell for a foam hopper pattern.

We in Western Canada are fortunate to have a plethora of outstanding trout streams at our rod-tips.  Names such as the Bow, Elk, Thompson, Morice, Skeena, Kispiox, Peace, Saskatchewan, Stamp, Dean, Vedder, and Columbia can put flutters in the hearts of a hard-core fly-fisherperson and cause sweaty palms and sleepless nights in anticipation of the trophy fishing these bodies of water have to offer.  However there are many underrated rivers also worth checking out in B.C. and Alberta and any river is worth stopping and taking a few casts of a dry fly in a prime-looking run, or busting out the sinking line and letting it meander through a deep pool. 

Spending some time on these trophy rivers of Western Canada will not only allow you to have a real-life River Runs Through It experience but will also help you to witness the true beauty and develop a newfound respect for the abundant nature our neck of the woods has to offer. 

Just a warning:  Make sure to keep a copy of your Fishing Regulations on hand as many of the rivers in Western Canada are strictly regulated, some even requiring you to have a special permit to fish them.  It also pays to get in with the employees at your local fly shop as they can help you with patterns, techniques, and even where to fish.