The Citizen is pleased to introduce the new weekly column on the fly covering where to, what to and how to of fly fishing in the Central Interior.
Brian Smith is a freelance author who lives in Prince George with his wife Lois. They have four adult children, who all share his passion for fly fishing and the great outdoors. Brian is an award-winning fly tier and contributor to the sport. He is currently president of the Polar Coachman Flyfishers of Prince George. His articles, essays and fly patterns have appeared in the top fly fishing magazines and books in North America.
His first book, Fly Fishing BC's Interior, is a top-selling local book destined to become a classic, one of the few written about the vast and varied fly fishing opportunities of the Central Interior and North Cariboo.
We fish because we love the feeling of a quiet tranquil lake, the pull of rushing water on our waders in a river, the beauty of water creatures in their environment and always the company of good friends that we fish with.
I am primarily a trout fisherman, choosing small lakes and rivers over large ones, quiet spots over noisy ones, and often smaller fish over bigger. I head west for salmon and steelhead a few times per year, but I am not obsessed by huge fish.
My passion is the dry fly, and I have fished for over 60 years, the last 45 exclusively with a fly rod.
When I began to fly fish at age 19, I was a novelty in the sport among my peers. The art was young, imitative fly patterns were in a fledgling stage, impressions were gaudy and abstract and tying materials were natural furs, feathers and tinsels.
It was practiced secretly by "old guys." Information and knowledge were developed over long periods of time, and it was more difficult to share.
Fly fishing is much different today. In sport clubs are active in most cities, the Internet shares information in seconds, and the world stage is our playpen. New materials have entered the market, displacing the old ways for some, but the art continue to remains traditional to many.
The Central Interior is blessed with all of the ingredients that comprise a trout fisher's world: lots of clean water, abundant warm sunny days to grow plants for the insects that devour them, which in turn nurture our fish to provide some of the best trout fishing on earth. We have remote places and spots not-so-secluded, lakes and rivers with fly, walk, or drive-in access, also many that will never see an angler.
Much of our fish stocks are wild and native, their water never seeing a live trout truck pulling up to their banks to unload the year's planting. We'll take you to these places in our columns; you'll want to buy a local Backroad Mapbook or Angler's Atlas to find your way among the stories. We'll also discuss times, tackle and equipment you will need to make the most of the sport.
Fly fishing is not for everyone - we pick our passions carefully, and that is what makes them our own. Fly fishing can be consuming if you wish to take it seriously.
Once you begin, you are hooked, and after you are hooked you can become a fly tier, rod builder, closet entomologist and photographer and perhaps one day an author of fly fishing... the world can be your oyster. Enjoy!
