Basic information on Westslope cutthroat trout fishing.
Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii Lewisi) is freshwater fish from salmonid family, it’s native area of occurence is the state of Montana (USA) and British Columbia (Canada). The main distinguishing feature from rainbow trout is the orange stripes under the jaws, hence the name cutthroat. Lives abundantly in lakes and rivers. The main component of its food is insects and zooplankton. Its average length is around 30 cm, but rarely you can reach individuals measuring up to 50 cm.
Thanks to the zone of the so-called „Classified Waters“ and fishing with a single barbless hook the „Cutthroat“ trout maintans a strong native population in the area. „Classified Waters“ means that a BC fishing license extension must be purchased to fish in that area. However, special rules and limited numbers of permits apply to some rivers. In the ‚East Kootenay‘ area of British Columbia, this trout is a popular target for anglers, for its willingness to take a very well presented dry fly from the surface.
For successful trout fishing is required: fly fishing rod 4 - 5 AFTMA, 8 - 9 feet with medium action. Reel with very sensitive brake with closed bearing and quality floating line. The most effective fly fishing technique here is fishing with a dry fly. Midges and Caddis hatch from spring to autumn. Mayfly imitations can be succesful in June and July. Stonefly is a favourite food for trout.
Once the first signs of grasshoppers appear, generally on early August, tying an imitation on the end of your tippet is your best bet. Nymph with an indicator is a less used, but still productive fly fishing technique. Personally, I only use an indicator on lakes and fishing old fashion short and long nymphing technique on rivers. I would not recommend the 10 m fishing method known as French nymph or Tenkara here. Fans of streamer fishing will not be disappointed by aggressive trout protecting their territory.
Some fishing spots are easily accessible by a car, such as Elk River and Michell Creek. The opposite are the Wigvam and Bull Rivers, where service and logging roads are often unpaved and narrow, requiring a 4x4 vehicle. Traffic on these roads has its own rules. Radio transmitter tuned to a given frequency is used to avoid oncoming vehicles. The movement on these rivers is very demanding and requieres physical fitness.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that the Westslope cutthroat is a beautiful fish, but one that faces fishing pressure, predators and water pollution from mining activities. Rivers in BC are not artificially stocked, so anyone who would like to have fishing experience in the Rocky Mountain should treat these beautiful creatures with respect.
