Fernie fishing trip September 2005

By John E. Feldenzer

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This is a short story of our (John E. and John A. Feldenzer) September 2005 fishing trip once again in Fernie B.C. for "Westslope Cutts" and the much sought after "Bull Trout".  The first day with our guide, Ned Cooper, was a good productive "drift" trip; much the same as the last trip in 2004.  The second day on the Wigwam River (different area than 2004) turned out to be a beautiful walk-in but was not as productive as the year before; still I would class it as good.  The third day started out with a slight "drizzle" but all things considered, it was still good fishing for the "Cutts".  However,  as the morning progressed, it started to snow and snow and snow!  Ned Cooper. our guide, decided we needed to get to the take-out as soon as possible as it was below freezing and both John and I were starting to shake pretty bad.  (A breathable but waterproof coat is essential.)  It seemed like Ned rowed backward for hours as fast as he could in order to reach the take out.  The weather was horrific and will be a morning to remember!

The next morning it was still snowing as we started for the Fly Shop to meet again with our guide.  The drive to the shop revealed that the night's snow caused a lot of damage to the Fernie area and town.  Most of the power lines were down, along with many telephone poles and tree's.  The entire town was without power and the businesses were closed except for one small restaurant that was being powered by a portable generator.  (We later heard that this lasted for a couple more days.)

We decided all good things must come to an end at some point, and we decided that this was the point!  So, we packed up and headed for my home on the Kootenai River in Libby, MT  to finish up the vacation.  John and I fished from my drift boat for two days in the drizzling rain.  John A. did very well fishing for rainbows considering it was his first trip on the Kootenai River.  We finished up the trip by a walk into the Kootenai Falls.  John thought the "Falls" were pretty spectacular.  We also saw Big Horn sheep when we hiked up "Black Eagle Rock mountain trail".  My only regret is that I did not meet John A. Feldenzer 10-15 years earlier, as he has turned out to be a great person to fly fish with and a very special cousin.