Three Days and Three Rivers in Southwest Alberta
Words and Photos by George Sgouromitis

Note: For photo description, hover mouse pointer over a photo.

After what seemed an endless summer of yard work, house projects and honey-do’s, our outing dubbed the Crowsnest Pass Fly Fishing Expedition finally arrived. Held typically on the 3^rd weekend in August, it is a fine weekend of getting out to some of the most beautiful country Alberta has to offer. The funny thing is the Crowsnest River isn’t our destination. We concentrate on less pressured waters just a stone throw away.

The five main characters on this expedition plan, organize, pack and generally start convulsing over the trip in late June, which is just following another “annual” trip – going after king salmon out in the salt off the coast of Alaska.

The list of usual suspects is as follows: Leon, the steadfast, quite man who introduced me into throwing flies; his older brother, Tom, a smaller version of Leon with more years fishing Stauffer Creek than anyone I know; Gino, my nephew in-law, a no-holds-barred environmentalist and avid outdoorsman; and lastly my friend Chris, with whom I’ve have logged more hunting and fishing years than I can count, and who is never afraid of going the extra mile up a creek to find just one more hole before the bite stops.

Our pursuit of wild Cutthroat and Bull trout starts in Edmonton and ends five and a half hours later southwest in Kananaskis Country. The drive down from Edmonton to Calgary is mostly boring twinned, double lane, 110Km an hour highway, but slowly its becomes awe and wonder filled as we angle to the west, following the eastern slopes of Rockies south to the Oldman River Crossing, about 100km out of Calgary. After an expensive fill up at the last chance gas station at the Maycroft corner, we run the gravel into what locals call the “Gap.” It is an extremely tight and steep switch back cut thru the first real mountains we encounter. Carved out over the centuries by the Oldman River, the Gap is our access point into the hidden gems of K-Country

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Four wheel drive vehicles are recommended but trailers and motor homes can access this backcountry with a bit of caution and slow, careful driving. A disturbing trend is an increase number of campers that leave their undeniable mark on the wilderness and the riparian edge of the rivers. Each year seems to bring more and more telltale signs - unreclaimed fire pits, butchered trees near creek banks, quad trails across and thru gravel beds, garbage and just a general lack of responsible care for natural resources. If we’re not carefully stewards, this natural beauty will not be available for our children.

As we wind our way through the Gap, the northern views showcase foothills reminiscent of a large pod of humpback whales swimming in formation, all heading down for another mouthful of feed. The range is aptly named the “Whalebacks”.  At this point our recollection of home, careers, or responsibilities leave us and we are becoming one with the weekend.

Following the Oldman River thru the Gap, we cross a bridge that brings the freestone, Racehorse Creek into its flow. The Racehorse is a great creek, holding some nice size cutthroat and bull trout in the deeper holes. It moves from about 3 to 7 meters across and is easily waded in using hip waders or less.

Our destination this year was a group campground on the Oldman River, chosen for its strategic location between Dutch Creek and the Livingstone River. The Livingstone is home to big bulls that find shelter in its numerous logjams. Both creek and river are easily traversed and can be cast across as the water rarely exceeds 8 meters in width.

Heavy rains and higher flows put the fish down this year. Normal techniques on these waters require a sit and wait approach as a dry drifts along a seam. The cutthroats are so aggressive that you do not have to wait long to see them attacking dry flies of every make and size on the surface. Not this year though, attempts at dries produced very few fish. Nymphs below strike indicators were the ticket. The Green Drake Nymph was the pattern that scored the best this year. Next in line was a black caddis with some of the hackle stripped off.

Later in the afternoons, a few good-sized cuts were nailed on a Wulff’s Grizzly dry but not the numbers seen in previous summer with low flow levels. This year, a good day was about 10-15 cuts in the 12 –16” range and a few small bull trout. No one angler caught more than the other and all the good days was spread out quite evenly. All were pleased with the fishing.

It rained every night. As the rain pelted the nylon, I debated the virtues of a truck and trailer unit for the comfort. The days were cool and cloudy with some sunny breaks. This made for sporadic fishing a times. The past four years have been hot, sunny and perfect flow so we had no past experience to draw on with the conditions we faced this year. The common thing of note on the different rivers was the lack of anglers. The people out were more interested in four wheeling, quads and horseback riding than fly-fishing. As a result traffic and competition was near non-existent on the rivers and creeks.

The Dutch, the Livingstone and Racehorse all feed into the Oldman, which winds it way eastward towards the prairies. There are no towns near any of the headwaters on these mountain water systems.  Maycroft Gas Station and Corner is the first real spot from where travelers can see the Oldman from a major highway, about 40km east of us.  All three systems hold the occasional rainbow trout and mountain whitefish as well. With limited catch regulations for all species except the aggressive Bull trout, which maintains it’s zero possession limits due to over fishing in the past, these waters hold some of the freshest fish I have ever seen.  As the crow fly’s directly west over the Rockies into British Columbia, one finds the Elk River and the St. Catherine’s river drainages, which hold more and bigger fish but are also bigger waters.  BC fishing costs more for nonresidents, so check web pages for prices and seasons.  Coleman, a town located 34 Km south of the Gap connecter has hotels and a bar with a handful of outfitters that will bring you up into the Gap for a fish.  Coleman is on the TransCanada Highway that runs west to Crowsnest and the well-fished waters of the Crowsnest Pass.  Not recommended for the introvert or angler looking for solitude

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For the well connected and the better-financed angler, try a stay in the Kananaskis Lodge, just 50km north of the Oldman campground, and make day trips down to the three waters.  Along with a world-class golf course, spas, ski hill and great trail systems; “The Lodge” provides some of the best five star hospitality in the Rockies along with five star prices.

The area and the waters found here is some of the most picturesque and prolific found in Alberta. Peter Baayens, a good friend said, “It truly is a spiritual experience.” Peter Baayens introduced me to the area years ago. He has fished the Gap for over 25 years and only now a terminal illness has lessened the amount and length of his visits to the area today. I fish the Gap as much for him as I do myself. Each time out I quietly thank him for sharing this beautiful piece of country.

If you are lucky enough to come out to fish the Gap area, please leave it in the same or better shape than you found it. Keep your line wet and your fly’s dry.