Kimberley Area Question

[pyke88]

Spending a week in the Fernie / Kimberley area in an RV in early September. How busy does the Elk get during the week? Is it is a must fish? Would get turned off if too many others on the river at the same time (too used to Central Albertan solitude).

Anyone spent any time fishing the St. Mary's river near Kimberley and any feeder creeks?

Any other suggestions? Appreciate any feedback.
Rico

[Oh2fish]

The Elk is a must fish. I have never found it busy during the week. You'll likely see a few drift boats but they will be quite sporadic. Explore and have fun. Stop in at one of the local fly shops for wading access points. The cutthroat are eager and hefty, and I've had some very large Bulls too.

I've fished the St Mary's too. Fish are plentiful but much smaller than the fat fish in the Elk. Access is much more limited due to private lands. I have gone from the tall highway bridge between Cranbrook and Kimberly. It's very steep getting down/up and is a long way.

Have fun and don't pass up the opportunity.

[Unclerj]

You can access the St Mary from Riverside Campground in Kimberley. Don't forget to buy the BC Money Grab Pass Day License.

There are also tour companies that do floats in both Kimberley and Cranbrook.

[BeardedOnion]

That area for the most part is all restricted. You first need your BC license, you then on top of that require a day pass for the river or trib you want to fish at 20-40 bucks per day (depending on which body of water you want to fish). And they only allow so many days a year to be fished on any given stretch. So usually you have to book upwards of months ahead to fish your selected days. And I know parts of the elk require you to have a guide with you as well. Had a good chat with the guy at Elk River fly shop in Fernie about all this. Not trying to discourage you at all haha its a beautiful and rewarding area to fish but just giving you a heads up that there are a lot of different regs in BC so make sure you do your research first.

[Exploits]

The only way to fish it now is to float it from just below the lake and take out at Wycliffe. Good pools everywhere. There are access roads from the pavement heading to the lake. The land owners there are *****#oles. One guy was going to send the hounds after me until he saw me grab my bear spray lol.
You still have to pay big time to fish there, so I go elsewhere now. Lots of fish in the river, just a matter of how much BS your willing to deal with.