British Columbia fly-fishing literature

"Jarmo Hurri" wrote in message
...

Cabin fever is starting to build up. To relieve the pressure, we want
to begin gathering information for a B.C. fishing trip.

There seem to be quite a few books on the topic. Since we have to
order the books on-line (can't browse first), I was wondering if you
guys would have any recommendations?

--
Jarmo Hurri

Spam countermeasures included. Use as email
address or apply rot13 to header email address.

It depends what your looking for. Are you looking for a how to, where to or
what to of Fly Fishing B.C. If you are looking for a where to probably this
news group is the best hands on but there are also some excellent web sites.
If you looking for a how to and where to with some great little stories then
'The Gilly' by Alfred Davy is a pretty interesting book. West Coast
Fisherman is another book put together by some BC boys. but I haven't read
it. I only mention it because Brain Chan has some stories in it and he
helped with 'The Gilly' as well as being splashed all over most of the
magazines in BC on the topic.

Let me know what exactly your looking for and I will try and help more.

Jeff H.

Jeff It depends what your looking for. Are you looking for a how to,
Jeff where to or what to of Fly Fishing B.C.

Basically all of them, and I'd even add *when to* into the
list. Basically the first things to decide are when we will take the
trip (time of year), and which areas of B.C. we will be
targeting. This depends on what species will be available at different
times. From what I've understood, this can be pretty damn difficult to
know, as it depends on the exact river (not only area), and also
varies from year to year. The how to - gear weights, lines, flies - is
perhaps the easiest, but still interesting.

Jeff If you are looking for a where to probably this news group is
Jeff the best hands on but there are also some excellent web sites.

This news groups is an excellent source of information, as your post
shows :-), but it would still be nice to try to gather as much
information as possible on ones own. Makes it a whole lot easier to
communicate in general, and especially to make specific questions.

Jeff If you looking for a how to and where to with some great little
Jeff stories then 'The Gilly' by Alfred Davy is a pretty interesting
Jeff book. West Coast Fisherman is another book put together by some
Jeff BC boys. but I haven't read it.

I was able to find 'The Gilly' on the web, but not in Amazon. Is West
Coast Fisherman a magazine or a book? (I could only find a magazine by
that name.)

--
Jarmo Hurri

Spam countermeasures included. Use as email
address or apply rot13 to header email address.

The Skeena river and it's tributaries will keep you fishing from early
Spring until late October...I have fished forty years up here...I never seem
to get bored...Steelhead and trout all winter then
Springs,Sockeye,Coho,Pinks,Chum...well it's never ending...The Skeena has
world class fishing without the crowds...a fly fisherman's dream...peace
gord p www.riversnorth.bc.ca

Rivers North wrote:
commercial snipped

The guy asked for literature recommendations not a friggin' commercial.

He KNOWS the fishing can be good, that's why he's traveling all the way
from Finland to fish there.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Hi Jarmo:



Although I live next door to BC (in Alberta) I do cross over to fish in BC
on a regular basis. Most of my fishing is for trout in small streams and
rivers in the East Kootenays, but I also get up to the Kamloops area upon
occasion to do some serious lake fishing. I know a bit about Vancouver
Island, but not much, and my knowledge of the lower mainland and coastal
fishing is pretty sparse. But, I can point you in some directions, and can
provide some suggestions from my library:



1. Shaw, J. 1999. Tying flies for trophy trout. Heritage House, Surrey, B.
C. ISBN 1-895811-37-6



I love this book. The author was a well-known, long time angler in the
Kamloops area. This book has the "old-timer's" knowledge. It has very basic
information on fly tying, but shows some very interesting patterns for the
trout lakes near Kamloops.



2. Davy, A. G. (complier). 1985. The "Gilly", A flyfisher's guide. Friesen
Printers, Altona, MB. ISBN 0-88925-638-1.



This is a compilation, or articles written by a number of well-known anglers
and authors. There is a lot of information specific to the interior of BC
concerning the various food items, casting and fishing techniques, and even
trolling. Most of the book deals with lake fishing, but there are a few
chapters on steelhead and salmon.



3. Pendlington, M. (Compiler). 1998. West coast Fly Fisher. Hancock House
Publishers, Surrey, BC. ISBN 0-88839-440-3.



Another compilation, but with some excellent color photos that "The Gilly"
lacks. The topics are more evenly distributed among lakes, steelhead,
sal****er, and sea-run cutts.



4. Bruhn, K. 1992. Best of BC Lake Fishing. Frank Amato Publications,
Portland, OR. ISBN 1-878175-28-9.



This book pretty much covers the lakes of BC in each of the fishing regions.
A very detailed and comprehensive survey of the lakes in BC.



5. Raymond, S. 1994. Kamloops, An Angler's Study of the Kamloops Trout.
Frank Amato Publications, Portland, OR. ISBN 1-878175-73-4.



Beautiful book, well written with good color photos. Specific to the
Kamloops area, but pretty much will have a lot of the information you need.



6. Ambrosi, J. 2001. Fishing the Canadian Rockies. Assiniboine Productions,
Blairmore, AB. ISBN 0-968867-0-7.



More of an atlas of trout waters specific to the eastern portion of BC and
western portion of Alberta. Includes streams and alpine lakes. An excellent
book for this area.



There are also a number of backcountry map books that are available, and
helpful if you want to fins your way to lakes off the beaten path.



Hope this helps



Tim Lysyk

timlysyk at telus dot net

Hi Tim!

Tim Although I live next door to BC (in Alberta) I do cross over to
Tim fish in BC on a regular basis. Most of my fishing is for trout in
Tim small streams and rivers in the East Kootenays, but I also get up
Tim to the Kamloops area upon occasion to do some serious lake
Tim fishing.

Now as it happens, my favorite type of fishing is trout fishing in
small rivers / streams (not stillwater). So we're trying to get a
combination of salmon and trout fishing into the program, and I have a
a couple of questions about that. I know, I'm now getting into the
details prematurely (before reading the books), but these are very
profound questions that might be really easy for you to answer.

In short: how well do the prime times for trout and salmon / steelhead
coincide?

First, in the spring you have the spring steelhead run in some rivers
(until May). Chinook are also starting their run at this time. From
what I've understood before (and flyguy's follow-up in this thread
strengthened the impression), trout fishing in the area is very good
in the spring. If this is correct, then it would be possible to
combine excellent trout fishing with steelhead and chinook fishing -
and also possibly catch sea-run cutthroat - if we were to make the
trip in May. Does this sound reasonable?

I also think I heard from someone that floods may be a real problem
and danger in the spring. Is this true?

Second, starting from August-September, there are all kinds of
anadromous fish entering the water systems. But how good is trout
fishing at that time of the year?

Thanks for those literature pointers. I guess it's again one of those
winters when I'll end up testing how much tension my credit card can
endure. Seems to be some sort of substitute for feeling the rod
bending.

--
Jarmo Hurri

Spam countermeasures included. Use as email
address or apply rot13 to header email address.

Hi Jarmo:

while there a few a few rivers that feature decent trout fishing along with
good or even great salmon fishing. There aren't many. Up in the Skeena area,
the upper babine and the Stellako have good trout fishing and would be close
enough to offer you a chance to do some trout fishing in early fall.

I've never been to the Skeena but some rivers have steelhead in spring
(April/May) and Large chinook at about the same time. The kalum and the
Kitimat are the most likely.

After about mid May until well into july there is limited angling on most
coastal rivers as the sun melts off the hillsides.

It should be possible to coordinate a trip of 4 weeks or so that would give
you a shot at coho and steelhead in the Skeena watershed.

Down south it wouldn't likely be possible - excepting the Stamp river on
Vancouver Island. The Cowichan also on the Island has good trout fishing
(including some large browns) throughout the year and the salmon runs make
for good fishing with egg patterns. The Cowie also has large runs of coho,
chum and chinook. There is lots of good angling for sea run cutts on the
island and you can catch pink, chum and coho all in there season right off
the beach at several locations from Cambell river to Parksville. These are
not wild places though - lots of houses and lots of fishermen.

The Harrison River you and I fished for an hour or two last December can
have good fishing for coastal cutts in September and into october - by then
that river starts to fill up with all 5 species of salmon. The Skagit river
(above the US border) also has good fishing for rainbow from about 30 to 45
cm and some large char ( 2 to 3 kilos) into October.

"Jarmo Hurri" wrote in message
...

Hi Tim!

Tim Although I live next door to BC (in Alberta) I do cross over to
Tim fish in BC on a regular basis. Most of my fishing is for trout in
Tim small streams and rivers in the East Kootenays, but I also get up
Tim to the Kamloops area upon occasion to do some serious lake
Tim fishing.

Now as it happens, my favorite type of fishing is trout fishing in
small rivers / streams (not stillwater). So we're trying to get a
combination of salmon and trout fishing into the program, and I have a
a couple of questions about that. I know, I'm now getting into the
details prematurely (before reading the books), but these are very
profound questions that might be really easy for you to answer.

In short: how well do the prime times for trout and salmon / steelhead
coincide?

First, in the spring you have the spring steelhead run in some rivers
(until May). Chinook are also starting their run at this time. From
what I've understood before (and flyguy's follow-up in this thread
strengthened the impression), trout fishing in the area is very good
in the spring. If this is correct, then it would be possible to
combine excellent trout fishing with steelhead and chinook fishing -
and also possibly catch sea-run cutthroat - if we were to make the
trip in May. Does this sound reasonable?

I also think I heard from someone that floods may be a real problem
and danger in the spring. Is this true?

Second, starting from August-September, there are all kinds of
anadromous fish entering the water systems. But how good is trout
fishing at that time of the year?

Thanks for those literature pointers. I guess it's again one of those
winters when I'll end up testing how much tension my credit card can
endure. Seems to be some sort of substitute for feeling the rod
bending.

--
Jarmo Hurri

Spam countermeasures included. Use as email
address or apply rot13 to header email address.

Hi Ralph!

Ralph while there a few a few rivers that feature decent trout
Ralph fishing along with good or even great salmon fishing. There
Ralph aren't many.

I'm thinking that maybe we could do a week of salmon fishing, then a
week of trout fishing etc. (As long as the budget and the wife can
take it.) So it doesn't have to be the same river, but with the huge
distances inside B.C., I think I better add that it should be in the
same ballpark. Say withing 300 miles of each other.

Heck, on the other hand, one turn-and-return flight (or train trip)
inside B.C. might also be possible, so perhaps the different fishing
spots could even be separated by long distances. But I'm not sure
about that.

The main question is - and I'm afraid that this sounds like a really
stupid question to you B.C. people - what is the quality of trout
fishing at different times of year, assuming that you can go to the
best trout rivers? I mean, if we come there in August or September,
will we be able to find first class trout fishing somewhere? Maybe the
trout are on a vacation or something, right? :-) But I guess that
since rainbow trout spawn in the spring, there at least isn't a closed
season or anything like that. But they might be in the lakes, and not
in the rivers or streams. So that's at least one theoretical
possibility, since we're not really into stillwater fishing.

Ralph After about mid May until well into july there is limited
Ralph angling on most coastal rivers as the sun melts off the
Ralph hillsides.

That's what I was afraid of. I guess this would then direct the
timetable towards the autumn.

Ralph It should be possible to coordinate a trip of 4 weeks or so
Ralph that would give you a shot at coho and steelhead in the Skeena
Ralph watershed.

Coho and steelhead... I've got a hole in my knowledge base here. Would
that be in the autumn then? I thought the steelhead run starts in
January? Or do you have a fall/late summer steelhead run as well?

Ralph Down south it wouldn't likely be possible - excepting the Stamp
Ralph river on Vancouver Island. ... These are not wild places though
Ralph - lots of houses and lots of fishermen.

And less bears - or if not less, then at least a smaller probability
of being eaten! Anyway, I guess we wouldn't want to jam ourselves into
heavily crowded places on *this* trip.

We also talked about that other island further up north when I was
there... Can't remember the name now.

Ralph The Harrison River you and I fished for an hour or two last
Ralph December can have good fishing for coastal cutts in September
Ralph and into october - by then that river starts to fill up with
Ralph all 5 species of salmon. The Skagit river (above the US border)
Ralph also has good fishing for rainbow from about 30 to 45 cm and
Ralph some large char (2 to 3 kilos) into October.

Sounds pretty damn good to me! We've already ordered a couple of books
on fly-fishing in the area, so after we've read them we'll be ready to
discuss some specifics.

And Ralph, as you know, nothing beats local knowledge, so thanks!

--
Jarmo Hurri

Spam countermeasures included. Use as email
address or apply rot13 to header email address.

The 'other' Islands are the Queen Charlottes. The rivers, beaches and the
ocean are known for great salmon fishing. As well the lakes, rivers and
beaches have cutthroat and char. It's popular "do it yourself' place as
there is good road access on the 2 main Islands plus motels & hotels. I
think late summer into Fall are the best times for a fly angler working the
beaches and the streams but of course you need to do your own research. The
major rivers if memory serves are the Yakoun, the Tlell, the Deena and the
Copper.

The famous inland Steelhead runs of the Skeena watershed like the Kispiox,
Babine, Bulkely and Zoemoetz (aka Copper) time in the fall - they are true
summer run fish - usually best in October runs actually enter the Bulkley by
late August. Coho also time in late summer into fall. The closer to the
coast you go the later the coho run - so rivers from Terrace and west should
have good fishing in mid Sept into October.

Some rivers on Vancouver Island have later arriving summer steelhead. These
are usually smaller fish similar to Atlantic Salmon Grilse. The Stamp has by
far the largest run plus a large run of coho and Chinook making for some
challenging fishing in the last half of September through October with the
steelhead fishing staying good until the winter runs show in late November.
Access on the Stamp can be a problem particularly if the river is high
following rain and then a boat is necessary.

The "world Class" trout rivers in BC a

The Elk (Southeast BC), westslope cutthroat and char mid summer into fall
The Columbia below Castlegar (Southeast BC), large Rainbows great dry fly
fishing
the Thompson from Savona down to Martel (South Central BC) rainbows ( some
over 4lbs) early summer into fall. The Thompson has a late fall run of very
large steelhead usually fished below Martel to Spences Bridge.
The Horsefly (central BC) - mid Summer - challenging rainbows to 4lbs or so
The Chilco (Central BC) in the few miles below Chilco Lake - 'bows to
several pounds plus char mid summer into Sept.
The Blackwater - Central BC - fish a minute pan sized 'bows plus large char
The Stellako (North Central) - rainbows to about 4lbs - said to be very
challenging
The Upper Babine - early summer is best -

No doubt there are others.


"Jarmo Hurri" wrote in message
...

Hi Ralph!

Ralph while there a few a few rivers that feature decent trout
Ralph fishing along with good or even great salmon fishing. There
Ralph aren't many.

I'm thinking that maybe we could do a week of salmon fishing, then a
week of trout fishing etc. (As long as the budget and the wife can
take it.) So it doesn't have to be the same river, but with the huge
distances inside B.C., I think I better add that it should be in the
same ballpark. Say withing 300 miles of each other.

Heck, on the other hand, one turn-and-return flight (or train trip)
inside B.C. might also be possible, so perhaps the different fishing
spots could even be separated by long distances. But I'm not sure
about that.

The main question is - and I'm afraid that this sounds like a really
stupid question to you B.C. people - what is the quality of trout
fishing at different times of year, assuming that you can go to the
best trout rivers? I mean, if we come there in August or September,
will we be able to find first class trout fishing somewhere? Maybe the
trout are on a vacation or something, right? :-) But I guess that
since rainbow trout spawn in the spring, there at least isn't a closed
season or anything like that. But they might be in the lakes, and not
in the rivers or streams. So that's at least one theoretical
possibility, since we're not really into stillwater fishing.

Ralph After about mid May until well into july there is limited
Ralph angling on most coastal rivers as the sun melts off the
Ralph hillsides.

That's what I was afraid of. I guess this would then direct the
timetable towards the autumn.

Ralph It should be possible to coordinate a trip of 4 weeks or so
Ralph that would give you a shot at coho and steelhead in the Skeena
Ralph watershed.

Coho and steelhead... I've got a hole in my knowledge base here. Would
that be in the autumn then? I thought the steelhead run starts in
January? Or do you have a fall/late summer steelhead run as well?

Ralph Down south it wouldn't likely be possible - excepting the Stamp
Ralph river on Vancouver Island. ... These are not wild places though
Ralph - lots of houses and lots of fishermen.

And less bears - or if not less, then at least a smaller probability
of being eaten! Anyway, I guess we wouldn't want to jam ourselves into
heavily crowded places on *this* trip.

We also talked about that other island further up north when I was
there... Can't remember the name now.

Ralph The Harrison River you and I fished for an hour or two last
Ralph December can have good fishing for coastal cutts in September
Ralph and into october - by then that river starts to fill up with
Ralph all 5 species of salmon. The Skagit river (above the US border)
Ralph also has good fishing for rainbow from about 30 to 45 cm and
Ralph some large char (2 to 3 kilos) into October.

Sounds pretty damn good to me! We've already ordered a couple of books
on fly-fishing in the area, so after we've read them we'll be ready to
discuss some specifics.

And Ralph, as you know, nothing beats local knowledge, so thanks!

--
Jarmo Hurri

Spam countermeasures included. Use as email
address or apply rot13 to header email address.

Jeff West Coast Fisherman is another book put together by some BC
Jeff boys. but I haven't read it.

Ahh, I first thought that it was a magazine, but I found it:

http://www.sportfishingbc.com/articl...fly_fisher.htm

Seems to be highly recommended, thanks. And I see that Barnes and
Noble has both books, this one and also 'The Gilly' (although 'The
Gilly' only as used).

Thanks, keep them coming!

--
Jarmo Hurri

Spam countermeasures included. Use as email
address or apply rot13 to header email address.