Located in South Eastern British Columbia The Elk River and it's tributaries are home to a Wild and native Population of Westslope Cutthroat and Bull trout, The Elk River is renown for it's Dry Fly fishing. The Elk River flows through the sleepy ski Town of Fernie during the summer months, Fly fishers turn Fernie into a "trout town" while discovering the awesome beauty of the area and the amazing Dry Fly fishing the Elk River has to offer.

The Elk River
The Elk River is the most easterly river in British Columbia and forms at Elk lakes and flows for 110 miles before it flows into the Kootenay river . As it cuts through the Rocky Mountains, this mid sized freestone river picks up nutrients and more volume from countless tributaries and has carved a spectacular valley. What draws Anglers to the Elk River is non-stop Dry fly fishing for big, wild, native Westslope Cutthroat Trout along with the chance of catching a very large Bull trout.

Fly Fishing the Elk River
Due to the river's size, the Elk River is best suited to floating and has a classic make up of boulder strewn runs, deep pools, riffles and numerous side channels. An angler can expect to fish attractor dry flies while floating and while working the various types of structure while wading.

During one of the many prolific hatches coupled with our guide's vast knowledge of the Elk River, Anglers can count on plenty of head hunting...throughout the day.
Click here for the S.E. BC Hatch Chart

For Anglers wanting to tangle with Bull trout, prospecting deep pools and runs with weighted streamers is the norm , some of these char can get quite large and it is not uncommon to catch fish over 30 inches. Nymphing can be also  productive and is used as a last measure during non-hatch periods. 

Elk River Seasons
The Elk River re-opens each year in and around June 15th, which usually coincides with the Green Drake and Golden Stone fly hatch, we usually end our Season in Mid October. From start to finish any time can be the best time to experience the Elk River.

Trip Duration
Dave Brown Outfitters makes use of Private access, which allows us to float 8 separate stretches of The Elk River, coupled with the numerous Tributaries  a trip to The Elk river can be for a day or for a whole season! There is that much water. The normal trip duration is 5 days.

Options
There are many other waters in the area that we access from Fernie, including rivers and streams in S.W. Alberta, all Elk River options are with an hours drive.

Fishing with D.B.O.
As The first professional "Fly-fishing Only" guide Service operating on The Elk River, Dave Brown Outfitters (formerly The Elk River Angler) has been  conducting Guided Fly fishing trips on The Elk River since 1990. We employ ONLY Full Time Professional Guides on the river, as many of us spend our winters in Chile guiding at various lodges, these  experiences are passed along to all our staff. For us guiding is not away to keep busy after the Ski Season ends, it is our chosen profession, no one knows the river like we do, our level of service and our commitment to our clients is second to none.