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Flowing out of the Purcell
Mountains this beautiful river delights the Flyfisher for it's entire length similar to the Elk River, The St. Mary has a lake at the top
end that acts as very similar to a reservoir above a Tailwater River complete
with very stable flows and minimal spring scouring during run-off it is
a very scenic River to Float, to the west The Purcell Mountains is the
backdrop and as you float east you are always looking up at The Steeples,
which is the backside of the Rocky Mountain Range. Along the way you float
under Hodo's which over the course of time the river has eroded and formed.
The St. Mary River is home to a very good population of Westslope
Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, CuttBows, Bull Trout and the occasional
Eastern Brook Trout for the Last several seasons we have been introducing
our Clients to this remarkable fishery, and we cannot say enough about
it. Like The Elk, The St. Mary is a Dry fly fisher's paradise although
the average size of the Trout is smaller than on The Elk, it makes up
for it in numbers.
Fly Fishing The St. Mary River
During
the past few seasons we have been focusing our attention on the 2 bottom
stretches of this river, we have found the fish to be larger and the river
is more fertile, as it has had a chance to warm up and pick-up some great
little tributaries along the way. Like Drift boat fishing any where to
the key on this river is to get the longest drag free drift possible,
which can be easily obtained by casting 45degrees downstream of the boat.
Like the Elk, this is classic Western style dry fly fishing at it finest,
during none hatch periods we are using attractor type patterns when the
hatches do start we re-rig and use more hatch specific imitations, and
the hatches are strong, During the month of July Golden Stones, Green
Drakes, Caddis and P.M.D.'s are present, August brings out Hoppers, Flavs
(Little Western Green Drakes), Yellow and Lime Sallies and the occasional
P.M.D., Blue Wing Olives, October Caddis and Red Quills make an appearance
as August turns into September. Streamer fishing can also be very productive
and very thrilling especially when a monster Bull Trout eats your Clouser!
The St. Mary River is definitely a "must do" and we do
offer this trip on a single day or multi-River Package. Click
here for the S.E. BC Hatch Chart
Lodging
The St. Mary river is an hour
away from Fernie Alpine Resort and our Flyshop therefore it is very easy
to combine a day on The St. Mary River with other rivers in are area
and return to the resort each night. For Clients that are interested
in Fishing the St. Mary River and other rivers in that area we have a variety
of accommodations available ranging from Riverside cabins to a 5 Star
Hotel.
Contact us for details
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