Trip Summary Detals

– I get to fish for rising trout in beautiful places like the Elk River in Fernie, British Columbia. This past August, I took a group of six ladies to fish the Elk River and its tributaries.This was my first time to Fernie and my first time catching westslope cutthroat. The Elk River has an estimated 5,000 fish per mile and the fish are aggressive towards a fly. Most of the cutties are somewhere from 12-20 inches and are very chunky, beautiful fish.

My group of ladies and I fished with the Elk River Guiding Company and they did a great job. The owners Paul and Ned run a solid operation and have a team of qualified and fun guides. They were all great with our group. August is prime time for dry fly fishing so we were happy we had locked in our dates almost a year in advance. Each day we enjoyed floating different sections of the Elk or wading one of its small tributaries. Our group casted green drakes, hoppers, and caddis on the edges of small pocket water and landed 15-19 inch cutties all day long on our favorite 5 weights. The Elk River is a popular place and though we did see other drift boats and anglers, it did not seem to affect the fishing. Overall I could not get over the quality of the fish in these waters. I was very impressed and just kept thinking that if I lived in Fernie – I would be out on the rivers every day.

To get to the fishing, part of the group chose to fly into Kalispell, Montana and drive 2 ½ hours to Fernie while the rest of my group flew into Calgary and had about a 3 hour drive to the lodge. Fernie is a charming ski town surrounded by the Canadian Rockies. There are a few options as far as accommodations go in this area. You can rent a cabin or condo, stay at a local hotel, or go for the all inclusive resort. There are local golf courses, mountain biking, and hiking for everyone to enjoy.

We picked Island Lake Lodge which is only 20 minutes from downtown Fernie. It is not the typical fishing lodge. It is not actually a fishing lodge at all. Island Lake Lodge is primarily a hiking and ski lodge tucked away up the mountain and gives you a wonderful feeling of remoteness. There are incredible views, wildlife, and very comfortable accommodations. For those who love to hike and trek, nothing could be better than Island Lake Lodge. Our lodge time was limited as we fished all day each day, but a few of us managed to take advantage of our surroundings by waking up early and hiking around the lake each morning. There are many hiking trails, including some through spectacular old growth cedar forest. The local lake has canoes and even trout fishing if time permits.

Island Lake Lodge accommodates up to 32 overnight guests and their restaurants are open to the public. The lodge amenities include their spa with yoga classes, massage, and hot tub. Next trip I will schedule a non-fishing day to take advantage of these things.

This is a great fishing destination for anyone who loves dry fly fishing plus it is a wonderful destination for couples or families. .