2009 Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships - Fernie B.C.

7th Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships & Conservation Symposium
by Todd Oishi

The small, picturesque, Rocky Mountain town of Fernie, British Columbia and Fly Fishing Canada hosted the 7th Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships (NFFC) and Conservation Symposium, and a free fly fishing school for kids during the third week of September 2009. Fly fishers from all across Canada gathered in Fernie to participate in this year’s competition. The breath-taking scenery within the Elk Valley, along with the Elk River’s reputation as being one of North America’s premier dry fly fisheries, helped set the scene for this year’s events.

As this year’s NFFC was held in British Columbia, the competitors had to abide by the province’s strictly enforced “single-fly-only” angling regulation. This rule modification increased the degree of difficulty for this year’s competition - in comparison to previous ones that were held in provinces where the use of multiple flies (droppers) are permitted and were allowed for those competitions.

The five, three-hour-long sessions of the NFFC were held on three sections of the Elk River and on two opposing banks of Summit Lake. The species of fish that were eligible for scoring points were: West-slope Cutthroat Trout; Rainbow Trout; Brook Trout; and Rocky Mountain Whitefish. Bull Trout were excluded from the competition due to their status as a “species of special concern”. Although 20cm was set as the minimum length for the scoring of points, the average size of the fish that were caught and released was well over 30cm.

The venues:
The Elk River is an exceptionally beautiful freestone river that snakes and carves its way through one of the most rugged and yet stunning landscapes in all of North America. Although the Elk is most famous for its spectacular dry fly fishing for the remarkably beautiful West-slope Cutthroat Trout, the competitors were equally as enthused about having an opportunity to target its Rocky Mountain Whitefish.

Whitefish were included in Fernie’s competition, as they are somewhat representative and quite similar in nature to grayling, which are also considered an eligible species in most U.K. and European-based competitions. Being notorious bottom feeders, whitefish can be quite difficult to catch at times, and are even more difficult to keep on a barbless hook. These two characteristic would ultimately challenge and help to hone the nymphing skills of the competitors, while increasing their overall knowledge and respect for these magnificent silvery-sided beauties.

The more densely populated stretches of the Elk River and any obvious “honey-holes” were excluded from the river-beat selection process. This decision was made based upon the premise that all of the river beats should be equally challenging and as consistent in fish numbers as physically possible. Fishing under adverse conditions such as these, mentally and physically prepares the competitors for the conditions that they should expect to encounter if they were competing at the international level. After all… the vast majority of fly fishers already know how to catch fish in the easy water and “sweet spots”, but it is the challenging and more technical water that truly challenges and tests their angling skills, while identifying their strengths and revealing their weaknesses…

The Elk’s width and its gentle gradient makes it very wadable - for the most part - while its power and speed within the narrower and steeper stretches makes wading quite treacherous and next to impossible. Several competitors (present company included) swam across the river several times during their sessions, in order to access the stretches of water that were considered to be impossible to reach and to cover with a conventional fly rod. Taking these extreme measures paid-off in the end for me and the other competitors that were foolish enough to brave these waters, as it allowed us to successfully target the fish that had experienced the least amount of angling pressure and were still somewhat interested in chasing a properly presented fly.

The Elk River fished fairly well for the duration of the competition, with the conditions during morning sessions providing the greatest challenges due to a lack of insect activity, which generally peaked later on in the day - during the afternoon sessions. As a result, the competitors that were highly-skilled at Euro-nymphing techniques and streamer-fishing seemed to fare best during the morning sessions, while the fishing conditions during the afternoon sessions was better suited for dries and emergers.

Summit Lake was fished from its banks rather than from boats, which is a common practice at national and international fly fishing championships where access to boats is often very limited or not a reasonable option. Summit was used for unofficial and official practice sessions prior to the NFFC, which made the fishing during the competition sessions extremely challenging and rather difficult at times. The range in the size of Summit’s trout (my largest was 54cm long) and the variety of species (rainbow, cutthroat and brook trout) not only tested the competitor’s ability to identify the most effective techniques and patterns, but also their choice of tackle.

At the conclusion of the competition, a grand total of 453 fish (of eligible size) were caught and released. The fishing was challenging, to say the least, with some competitors wrongfully assuming and proclaiming that their river beats were “completely void of fish”. Two competitors that shared one particular river beat actually gave-up and stopped fishing long before the time in their session had expired. But during the fifth and final session of the competition, John Nishi and Aaron Laing fished that very same beat, and both managed to catch fish, which placed them 2nd and 3rd (respectively) in their session - even though this particular beat had failed to produce a single fish until they unravelled its mystery. Several other competitors also managed to score fish in other supposedly "fishless beats”, which in its own is a great testimony to their angling skills and perseverance...

A special thanks to the individuals who made this event possible:
Kevin McIsaac and his organizing committee, as well as volunteers from Fly Fishing Canada did a great job organizing and running this year’s events. Gord Silverthorne of Kootenay Fly Shop volunteered his expertise and time to select and mark the river-beats for the competition. Local guide, Rebecca Clarke, from Elk River Fly Shop donated her time to help with the Kids Fly Fishing School (see the full details in this issue). Individuals from several provinces and territories stepped forward and unselfishly volunteered their time to serve as sector judges and controllers for the competition. The cooperation, hospitality and individual acts of kindness that were displayed by the volunteers, local politicians, merchants, guides and the residents of Fernie and Sparwood made everyone feel extremely welcome and at home during their visit and time spent in the Elk Valley.

Conservation Symposium:
The guest speakers at the conservation symposium educated the audience about the concerns over habitat destruction, as a result of mining, and the steps that the provincial government and local mining companies have been taking in order to reduce their impact on the environment and its fish. A local biologist gave a highly informative presentation on his research and the current status of the bull trout populations that inhabit the Elk River and its tributaries. He also spoke about the problems that have arisen as a result of the introduction of brook trout (a non-native species) into the cutthroat and bull trout’s natural environment.

Closing Ceremony and Awards Banquet:
The awards banquet, live auction and closing ceremonies were held at the scenic, Fernie Alpine Resort. During the awards ceremonies; John Nishi, of Millarville, Alberta, was crowned as the Individual Gold Medalist and awarded the Doug Austin Memorial Trophy for being the “Top Rod” of the 2009 NFFC. Ryan Suffron, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, finished second and was awarded the Individual Silver Medal. Todd Oishi, of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, finished in third place and was awarded the Individual Bronze Medal.

In the team category: Team Cormorants finished first place, and its members were awarded the Team Gold Medals as well as the Bob Jones Memorial Cup for being the top team of the NFFC. Team Double Hauls finished in second place overall and its members were presented with the Team Silver Medals. Team Trout Wrestlers, which was comprised of four rookies and one seasoned competitor, finished in third place and humbly accepted with Team Bronze Medals.

A live auction was held later in the evening, which with help of several generous sponsors and some friendly-spirited bidding, raised some much needed funds for FFC’s youth fly fishing programs and its ongoing conservation projects. The evening concluded with everyone saying their fond farewells and discussing their plans and preparations for next year’s NFFC, which will be held in Roblin (the Parklands), Manitoba from May 23rd to May 29th, 2010.


Individual Results:
Individual Gold Medal: John Nishi - Millarville, Alberta
Individual Silver Medal: Ryan Suffron - Winnipeg, Manitoba
Individual Bronze Medal: Todd Oishi - Maple Ridge, British Columbia

Team Results:
Team Gold Medal: Team Cormorants
Todd Oishi
Terence Courtoreille
John Nishi
Rob Stroud
Chris Pfohl
Mac Stark (captain)

Team Silver Medal: Team Double Hauls
Ryan Suffron
Byron Shepherd
Sorin Comsa
Matt Majors
Jason Doucette

Bronze Team Medal: Trout Wrestlers
Clayton Hobbs
Steve Harris
Marius Dumitru
Matthew Sparrow
Ron Courtoreille