Hikin’ (and Fishin’) the Kootenays Part II

This is the 2nd in a 2-part series on Kootenay's

I wouldn’t say fly-fishing has become my life’s obsession but I sure enjoy watching a 30cm cutthroat tricked into chomping on a hand-tied mayfly. Besides, fishing represents a nice change from a day spent three-putting greens. So in September I booked a guided float down the Bull River for my three golf buddies and me as part of our annual Fall pilgrimage to Kimberley.

Jeff and John are the amiable owners of Kimberley Flyfishing. We chatted like old pals on the hour drive from their office, near the Platzl in downtown Kimberley, to our drop point on a forestry road where the upper reaches of the Bull River nestle behind Fisher Peak, whose distinctive spire eclipses its mountain neighbours.

“I hope none of you guys are lawyers” Jeff deadpanned as he started to repel me over a cliff on the 60-meter drop to the Bull River below.

“I used to be,” I hollered, disappearing over the edge and into the abyss, hanging for dear life onto a frail rope looped around my wrist.

Our clamber down paled compared to Jeff and John’s descent. They somehow managed to get themselves, all the fishing gear, lunch for six and two pontoon boats down the treacherous embankment while we waited meekly below, feebly practicing our fly-casting technique.

Despite our lack of experience and innate athletic inability, we all landed our share of cutthroat and had a fantastic day serenely drifting with our amiable guides down this valley carved by glaciers retreating an ice age ago.

The thing about these guys is that, although you are paying them (handsomely) for a day of drift-boat fly-fishing, it’s like an outing with buddies you’ve known all your life… particularly when they insist we stop on the way home at the Bull River Inn for a cold pint served by Ed, the cherubic and acerbic owner. Ed’s cherry-blossom nose suggests that he has occasionally dipped into his own inventory.

The Kootenay’s rivers and streams are a treasure-trove of hungry fish, whiling away sunny afternoons in pristine waters while, thousands of meters above, snow-capped peaks gaze down, silent and magnificent.

All this beauty comes at a cost. As in “B.C.”: Bring Cash. A visiting fisherman (all us Alberta tourists) plying the Bull River must purchase both a non-resident basic license and a classified waters license. The latter is good for one day only and only in the stream identified in the license. If the Bull’s not biting, your license is no good for the Elk or Kootenay Rivers, which are within spitting distance and form part of the same drainage.

Did I mention that hiking is free?

Oh well, it’s just dough. The B.C. government needs the shekels to top up its treasury, having recently been obliged to return $1.6 billion to the Feds when the electorate tossed out the HST.

In a nutshell, the Kootenays offer a perfect combination of thrills and spills coupled with quiet rest and relaxation.

Don’t tell a soul. Everybody will want to come.

Gerry