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St.Mary Angler: 2011 Season in Review

Overview

Any analysis of the fishing season always starts with a cursory review of the amount of snowfall we received the previous winter. After all, as snowfall melts into water and flows downstream, it becomes the lifeblood of our rivers, streams and lakes. Last winter we experienced the effects of the La Niña cycle and the snow pack can only be described as “huge”. According to the June 1 “Snow Survey and Water Supply Bulletin” issued by government, the snow pack in Kootenay Watershed was a whopping 407% of normal and over in the Columbia it was 136%. Now that is a lot of frozen water!

Tipically the snow starts to melt in the middle of April in our part of the world. However this year, the cool April and May led to a delay in the onset of snow melt by 3 to 4 weeks. This lead to a more prolonged freshet throughout our region and not nearly the level of flooding one would think we should have from such a huge snowpack. So we had a lot of water, but thankfully it took a long time to work its way into our streams and rivers.

Rainfall during the 2011 fishing season was a little above the long term average in May and June, and below from July to September. The daily temperatures were a little below the long term normal from May to July, and quite a bit above in August and September. So we experienced a cooler spring and warmer summer than is usual for South-eastern British Columbia.

On the whole, conditions on our rivers were very good in terms of fishability, floatability and having lots of cool, oxygenated water for the fish to thrive in. While water levels were higher in the spring, fishing was very good early on. The higher than normal water conditions persisted throughout the 2011 season and did not adversely effect fishing later on in the summer. In fact, all that water improved the conditions for fish and the fishing.

We started the spring fishing season guiding for the big rainbows on the Columbia River south of Castlegar B.C. in early April. We started the summer fishing season on the St.Mary and Elk rivers in late June. The season lasted into early October on the St.Mary and Elk rivers in the East Kootenays and until the end of October over on the Columbia River in the West Kootenays. So once again we were blessed with ample precipitation and good warm weather to undertake another passionate season of fly fishing in South-eastern British Columbia.

Rainfall (Millimetres at Station ‘Cranbrook A’):

Temperature (Celsius at Station ‘Cranbrook A’):

Spring time on the Columbia River in the West Kootenays

We started the 2011 season guiding clients for the big rainbow trout over on the Columbia River in the West Kootenay region of B.C. This is the 35 mile portion of the Mighty Columbia that stretches from the Canada-U.S. Border up to the city of Castlegar, B.C. We fly fish this stretch of big water from our 16 foot jet boat which we have customized to allow us to row as well. The jet allows us to move anglers quickly upriver and the customization allows us to float down and through the big eddies, rowing as needed to keep the angler in optimal fishing water.

This section of the Columbia is marked by long runs and big back eddies and can run in depth from a few feet to over two hundred. The River bottom is made up by an assortment of gravel and cobbles to huge boulders.

The Columbia River provided lots of excellent fishing days from early April to mid June. The weather conditions this spring were a little cooler than normal. The river flows started out at around 50,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) in early April. Flows topped out at over 135,000 CFS by the time we headed back to the East Kootenays to fish the St.Mary and Elk rivers in the late June.

The Columbia River produced very well this spring. We were fishing in typical fashion outfitting all three types of rod setups (streamer, nymph and dry) and using the one that best fit the conditions of the day.

The Columbia River is best described as an unpredictable fishery in terms of catch rates. That said, with good casting skills an angler can land 5-10 per day, but some days it can be many more. The nice thing is that the average size rainbow caught is as big as you will find in any trout stream in North America.

The bulk of the rainbows we caught in the spring were in the in the 18-22 inch slot with the odd big fish of 23+ thrown in. With the combination of big river conditions, and strong healthy fish, anglers were often into their backing once they managed to hook-up and the fight was on. The anglers were landing the bulk of the rainbows using our custom streamer patterns. However, we did get to land some of these rainbows on dries when the hatches dictated and they were feeding on the surface like pods of dolphins. The Columbia is a unique river fishing experience were everything is big – the hatches, the water and the fish!

Summer on the St.Mary, Elk, Bull and Skookumchuck Rivers of the East Kootenays

The big snow pack in combination with the cool spring meant we did not start guiding trips on the St.Mary and Elk until around July 15th. This was about 3 weeks behind when we normally hit the water. We did not see any great changes to river morphology even though we had a lot of runoff. It must have been because it came over a longer period of time – thankfully for those concerned about flooding.

Right of way we were seeing good stonefly hatches on the Elk and Green Drake hatches on the St.Mary. It was also apparent early that the Wild Westslope Cutthroats had wintered well as they looked bright and strong.

By Late July the conditions were rounding into form. The big Green Drake hatches on the St.Mary were providing some real excitement. On one trip out the cutthroat were aggressively feeding on Drakes on the surface. We knew if we could “match the hatch” and float the fly in front of the cutthroat's nose with no drag, we were in business. The Green Drake hatch lasted two hours and each angler landed about 10 fish in a single pocket of the St.Mary. On that day both anglers caught about 20 cuts each with the fish running on average about 14 inches and the biggest a beauty of 18. By early August we were floating the Bull and Skookumchuck rivers, in addition to the St.Mary and Elk.

By mid August all the rivers were in their summer groove with optimal flows and structure, accompanied by excellent water clarity. The weather was warmer than normal as the daily highs were about 4.5°F warmer than the long term average – so we had lots of hot days with clear skies. The anglers were catching cutthroats in the 13 – 15 inch average slot with some nice big cuts over 18 inches turning up on both the St.Mary and Elk Rivers. Catch rates were good with anglers landing 10-30 fish per day depending on their abilities, and the grasshoppers were everywhere.

The rivers continued to fish well in September. We had lots of water in the rivers which provided optimal conditions and a daily maximum temperature that was 6.8°F warmer than the long term average – so the weather remained very nice. We were finding the fish were very active throughout the day right into early evening which provided a lot of opportunity to anglers. The average size cut landed was around 14 inches and they were healthy and chunky. Again the catch rates were good and fish over 18 were showing up. We were seeing hatches of Pale Morning Dunns, Mayflies, October Caddis and Blue Winged Olives to go along with all the grasshoppers lining the banks. The conditions on the St.Mary, Elk and Bull rivers in the fall were really fantastic this year.

Fall fishing for big rainbows on the Columbia River

After things wrapped up on the St.Mary, Elk and Bull Rivers in later September, we went back over to the stretch of the Columbia River just above the Canada/U.S. border to chase the big fall rainbows. The weather held up nicely and was near perfect for fall fly fishing. The temperature was a comfortable 20°C (68°F) with clear skies and lots of sunshine in the first part of October. The water conditions on the Columbia River were still a little high for this time of year, as was the case all season. The water clarity remained very good.

The average size of the rainbows being landed in the fall was 18-22 inches with bigger trout over 24 inches being landed on occasion. In addition to the all the rainbows landed, we were excited when a nice 19 inch brown trout was landed and released on one trip. On the last trip of the season a robust 25 inch rainbow was landed after quite a fight. We ran our last float on the Columbia in mid-October and simultaneously wrapped up the 2011 season.

So there you go, another year of fishing with the St.Mary Angler in the books. 2011 provided us with a lot of great fishing in a variety of locations in South-eastern British Columbia. It was great to start the year over on the stretch of the Columbia River downstream of Castlegar, B.C. as the upstream dam pretty well guarantees good spring flows for fishing. Once summer came, we were back floating the St.Mary, Elk, Bull and Skookumchuck rivers in pursuit of the hungry Wild Westslope Cutthroats. After fall slowed things on the St.Mary and Elk, we finished off the year chasing the big rainbows back on the Columbia.

We were fortunate to have good weather during the season, after a slow start, and had no forest fires or significant other natural hazard to hamper our access to the fish. We had a wonderful year of fishing and greatly enjoyed and appreciated your patronage. We hope to see you next year and will be attending tradeshows in the New Year.

We would like to wish you a healthy and safe winter. Don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-667-2311 to talk about the rivers you wish to fish, next year’s available days, or to book a float trip in 2012.

Take care,

Kelly & Karen

Kelly and Karen Laatsch, St.Mary Angler

PS To find out which tradeshows we will be attending go click for dates, locations and contact us for will call tickets if you will be attending.

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This page was last updated on January 10, 2012

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