Border crossing

British Columbia s Elk River offers fine fishing in a spectacular setting

There s something in the water just over the border in Canada.

The Elk River looks similar to, say, the North Fork of the Flathead, with braided channels and long runs of gravel bars to fish. The scenery is comparable, with tall peaks nearby.

But something s happened in the water: The fish are bigger.

While you may be content to catch 8- to 16-inch cutthroat trout on dry flies on our rivers in Northwest Montana (not that there s anything wrong with that), the Elk River offers a cutthroat trout fishery where the fish are hefty and put up a sporting fight on a fly line.

The Elk River s cutthroat trout are heavy and thick from being raised on the abundant aquatic insect life in the river. The fishery is also doing well because it s been catch and release on most sections of the river for the past 10 years.

The Elk River is about a two-hour drive from Whitefish, depending on how much time it takes you to cross the international border at Roosville. The river runs through the resort town of Fernie, British Columbia, a friendly little burg known for its small-town charm and hospitality.

After a rainy spring, the river is just now dropping and clearing, and the fish are taking dry flies such as golden stoneflies, drakes, pale morning duns and caddis.

Temperature is crucial on this river, as we noticed on a recent trip.

As the morning began to heat up, we watched huge stoneflies drift down out of the nearby cottonwood trees. The two-inch flies fluttered to the water, lit briefly and dropped their eggs, then began their slow ascent back into the trees. Over and over we watched this happen, and we tried to imitate this with some success with our artificial offerings.

When the sky clouded up, things shut down. The flies stopped their activity and the fish stopped hitting the surface. That s when you turn to streamers and nymphs.

When the water temperature on the Elk hits that magical 55 degrees, the fish start looking toward the surface to feed. It s like fishing bankers hours, says Dave Brown, owner of the Elk River Angler fly shop in Fernie.

Brown, whose shop was the first on the Elk River to offer guided fishing, says the river has become more popular with two major user groups: Flathead Valley anglers and Calgary, Alberta, anglers.

THERE S more to the river than just fishing.

The British Columbia Rockies are a sight to behold, and it s almost like floating through Glacier National Park with gigantic peaks to stare at.

Wildlife is abundant. While wading a riffle at the tail end of a large island, I could hear what sounded like large rocks being tossed along the bottom of the river.

I turned to see an 800-pound bull moose swimming toward me in the heavy current. His long legs wedged into rocks and helped him gain his footing as he made his way directly toward me. I abandoned my fishing hole for him, ran back upstream and grabbed my camera.

Meanwhile, my friend John Hollensteiner fished a back channel of the river, where the water was a bit more clear than the murky water of the main river.

He reported back to me that he d had good

success using a large foam attractor pattern before he snapped the fly on one fish.

The Elk River gets its name for good reason. Wading through the sandy bars it s common to see elk tracks dotting the dark sand. Come evening, when the sun has set on Mount Hosmer, a large rock face that towers over Fernie, elk graze nonchalantly in the fields.

There are many different options to fish on the Elk River. With Canada s Highway 3 running right through Fernie and along the Elk River, you can pick and choose your length of float. A solid day of fishing can be accomplished by floating from a put-in about 15 miles northeast of Fernie down to the Dogwood River Access in Fernie.

A shorter float, and one that has good river structure for fishing, is from the put-in at the small town of Hosmer down to Dogwood. Be sure to ask local directions, as the put-ins are not clearly marked.

Fishing is not cheap for the nonresident. American anglers will pay $41 (U.S.) for a day pass, an increase of $21.50 this year.

It s all catch and release, and you must use single, barbless hooks. There s also the border crossing to contend with. On your return to the United States, be prepared to present two forms of identification, including a valid driver s license and a birth certificate.

There is a cost to a quality fishery like the Elk River, and the nonresident anglers, such as those from the Flathead Valley, have likely contributed to it.

In his years of guiding on the Elk River, Brown has seen the fish get smarter. Thirteen years ago all you needed was a Stimulator, a Royal Wulff and a size 18 humpy, Brown says. With increased angling pressure comes sophistication.

On the Net: www.elkangler.com