The May 1997 issue of Fly Fisherman ran the story "British Columbia: The Last Frontier." A part of that feature was a short article on the Elk River by author Erik Poole. In the years following publication of the article, traffic on the river exploded, and local anglers saw "their" river become a popular destination for visiting American fly fishers.

Local businesses have thrived on the river's popularity and have become ardent protectors of the native West Slope cutthroat and bull trout fishery. Fish populations have remained steady and stricter regulations imposed as a result of the popularity have increased the average size of Elk River cutthroat trout.

The trout, however, are now harder to catch, and locals complain that too many outsiders prevent a quality angling experience. Did the article ruin or preserve the Elk River for future generations? Erik Poole and Dave Brown have differing views on the subject. Read what they have to say (below) and then add your comments to the Western Canada Bulletin Board.

Erik Poole's Letter
The British Columbia rivers special published in the May 1997 issue of Fly Fisherman and on the Virtual Flyshop website (now www.flyfisherman.com) must have enjoyed wide circulation. It certainly made the Elk River in southeastern British Columbia internationally famous. Billed as "British Columbia: The Last Frontier," the story unfortunately misrepresented the fishery and caused unprecedented angler congestion on the Elk River.

I understand Fly Fisherman's desire at the time to find alternatives to whirling disease-infested rivers in Montana for its American readers. However, that decision and similar editorial choices could ultimately jeopardize the access of its American readers to Canadian waters, though I believe that the editors could easily prevent this from happening.

David Lambroughton contributed the introductory article that surveyed many rivers in British Columbia, including the Elk. David Engerbretson described the Blackwater River rainbow trout fishery in northcentral B.C., and I wrote the draft article describing how the Elk River West Slope cutthroat and bull trout fishery had dramatically recovered under enlightened provincial management.

Unfortunately, the Fly Fisherman story immediately attracted hordes of anglers to the river, which is located just north of Montana. In the summer of 1997, float traffic on the medium-size Elk River jumped to as high as 30 boats daily from previous highs of 6 boats a day understandably angered many locals, so much so that some resident anglers have called for reducing tourist-angling pressure and others have simply stopped fishing the river. A former outfitter returned for a holiday on the river a year after the magazine article appeared and was astounded by the number of hook-scarred and disfigured West Slope cutthroat trout. Fistfights are occasionally reported, and last summer a number of out-of-province vehicles and boats were vandalized in broad daylight.

All hands point to market leader Fly Fisherman as the primary instigator of angling trips made by new visitors, and no wonder: The British Columbia river feature sketched a compelling portrait of a great fishery. Unfortunately, the layout and juxtaposition of photographs clearly misrepresented the fishery. Insetting 5- or 6-pound Chilko River rainbow trout into a scenic photo of the Elk River cradled in the Rocky Mountains must have piqued reader interest. However, few readers would have realized that the Elk and the upper Chilko rivers are a 14-hour drive from each other or that Elk River cutthroat trout average a pound or less.

I suppose that deleting material I wrote about open-pit coal mines, logging, ranching, and municipal waste treatment and their effects on the Elk River fishery was necessary in order to stay true to the "Last Frontier" wilderness billing accorded the province. That billing continues on the Virtual Flyshop website with not the slightest indication in text or photos of crowding.

Publishing where-to-go and how-to-catch-lots-of-fish articles can have benefits. Such articles introduce fly fishers to rewarding experiences, stimulate the guiding and hospitality industries, and ultimately generate political support for an all-too-often under-appreciated resource or an innovative angling management regime.

But as the recent history of the Elk River illustrates, such articles and their Internet counterparts might also generate so much angling pressure that both the fish resource and the angling experience suffer. The resulting congestion can rob traditional users of their experience, causing anglers from one region or nation to pit themselves against those from other regions or nations.

British Columbia's southern trout streams are managed under an open-access tradition. The publicity surrounding the Elk River sparked a gold rush in guiding licenses and the provincial government chose not to limit the guiding effort. According to many observers, the river crawls with guides from Montana operating illegally in Canada, in addition to numerous licensed guides from British Columbia and Alberta.

To better understand the increase in pressure on the Elk River, consider these statistics. The number of reported guided angler days increased by 1,700 percent, to 1,458 in 2000 from 81 in 1994. These legally guided anglers probably account for less than 10 percent of the total angling effort. Guided anglers now catch more fish. The number of cutthroat trout caught and released by guided anglers has increased over 4,000 percent to 27,408 from 1,458 during the same time period.

Local residents are feeling invaded. If they live in forest-industry towns, they might also feel that they are being stomped on by the punitive 20 to 35 percent tariffs imposed on our softwood lumber exports by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

As you are likely aware, recovering runs of late summer steelhead on the Skeena River system have contributed to experience-destroying levels of congestion. Many local anglers are pleading for measures that would drastically reduce the access of American and other visiting anglers to Skeena River tributaries, undoubtedly some of the finest steelhead angling in the world.

Many British Columbia anglers do not agree with placing extraordinary limitations on visiting fly fishers. But provincial politics is tough. BCers only have to look at the dismal quality of angling that American fly fishers have grown accustomed to on highly congested U.S. tailwater fisheries, and wonder if the race to overdeveloped mediocrity will become the norm here in British Columbia. BCers only have to look at Alaskans who don't hesitate to harvest our salmon and lightly dismiss Canadian conservation concerns.

If they are aware of the experience on Ontario's Grand River, they know that a hyperbole-filled, where-to-go article published in Fly Fisherman a few years ago contributed to a similar surge in popularity and congestion.

Some thoughtful and experienced fly anglers believe that angling magazines should avoid stampeding easily accessible waters by not publicizing them or by omitting the detailed information guides that have become popular in recent years. An inspiring, informative, and accurate where-to-go piece does not need to replace the joy of one's own journey of discovery or the hiring of a local outfitter.

In principle there is nothing wrong with enjoying fishing in crowds of dozens or hundreds of anglers. In-river salmon anglers frequently do. Nevertheless, it is not clear that Americans should use their demographic weight to impose their own value systems on Canadian anglers and in the process unwittingly expropriate experiences that will never be compensated for.

There is always a danger that if Fly Fisherman were to stop publishing embellished where-to-go articles, other magazines might simply fill the void and steal market share. But this would only happen if Fly Fisherman was an ordinary magazine operating on the competitive fringe. Over the years, the magazine has become a market leader through insightful articles, penetrating analysis, tight editing, and stunning visuals--some of the best fly-fishing photo journalism in the business. Fly Fisherman magazine's audited circulation is nearly twice that of the leading competitor. The magazine surely enjoys sufficient market share and power to effect the necessary editorial policy changes without losing readers or advertisers.

Ideally, British Columbia and other jurisdictions need to better manage and sometimes reduce all angling effort regardless of origin. In the meantime, it is unfortunate to think that a fine publication like Fly Fisherman might ultimately contribute to a situation where American fly fishers are less welcome in British Columbia and other Canadian provinces. It is clearly in the magazine's interest to avoid overselling easy-to-reach, open-access Canadian sport fisheries.

Dave Brown Responds
For the last ten years, I have witnessed the gains the Elk River has made in angling popularity and feel that much of it is for the better for the resources, local businesses, and the fly-fishing community as a whole. Mr. Poole seems to feel that the Elk River experience is now lost because of an article (to which he helped contribute) on the Elk River. In the process he has attempted to draw the readership of Fly Fisherman into the very confusing realm of good-old-boy B.C. politics, where a minority of local anglers and outfitters feel that they should be able to roll back the clock to the days before "The Movie" and introduce measures that would deter anglers from outside the province from accessing these resources.

So how has the Elk River changed since the article? I do agree with Mr. Poole that it is definitely a busier river than what it was ten years ago and that it still remains the best West Slope cutthroat trout fishery in North America. The fishery is now enjoyed by anglers from around the world.

Fishing pressure is up everywhere. No matter where you go, there are more anglers out there enjoying this wonderful sport, and it was a matter of time before rivers like the Elk became known in fly-fishing circles. The recent popularity of the Elk River has had a positive impact on the management strategy that the forward-thinking biologists in the East Kootenays introduced in 1998 and that now regulate the Elk River. The result of these new regulations has had a positive impact on the local fisheries, where other guides and I now see an increase in overall size of the cutthroats, as well as an overall increase in the trout population.

I have also reviewed my Angling Guide Reports for the past several seasons. This data is collected by angling guides and submitted to the B.C. government every year. By my indication, catch rates remain the same for guided clients as they did 10 years ago. The difference now is that the fish have become more selective. The classic example is that a #10 Royal Wulff is not going to cut it during the Green Drake hatch like it did on the Elk 10 years ago, or on the Henry's Fork 20 years ago, for that matter.

The number of outfitters has also increased but like any business, the good ones last and the not-so-good ones fade away. Even in this river's short angling history, we are beginning to see this cycle. So it is safe to say that even with the influx of angling guides in the region, a small minority are doing the bulk of the guided trips in the area, which indicates that the educated angling public are doing their research before booking their trips. The same pattern holds true for guiding activity in my home province of Alberta, and in Montana as well, as I've learned through conversing with fellow outfitters south of the border in that state.

As far as I am concerned, the 30 boats a day that the Elk River now sees through the summer months is a small drop in the bucket. When you consider that there are six different stretches to float and spread that out, you have an average of five boats per float. With the average float about 10 miles, that still leaves plenty of water for everyone.

Mr. Poole has indicated that 1,458 rod days have been recorded on the Elk River during the 2000 season. This equates to 729 guided trips, which works out to an average of 8 trips a day over a 90-day season. This is a not a lot of guided trips when comparing these numbers with other popular trout streams in the Rocky Mountain West.

The popularity the Elk River has received has also taken some of the heat off rivers elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain West. For example, I see groups of anglers do a circuit, spending a few days on the Elk after fishing Montana's Missouri or Alberta's Bow River. Responsible outfitters are also doing their part by communicating with each other to see where the trips are going and spreading their own guides out to different rivers in the area, and there are lots of these.

One Sunday three years ago, John Geirach, A. K. Best, and I were floating the most popular float on the river (Hosmer to Fernie). I wanted to show these two experienced Colorado anglers how crowded and busy the river had gotten. We had pulled into a spot that is now called A. K.'s Flats and watched the boats go by, all six of them! We then proceeded to hook fish out on the foam lines of this flat on A. K.'s PMD patterns. Not bad for a busy day on the Elk River.

The city of Fernie has also witnessed an increase in summer tourist traffic. The result is more money into the local economy, which indirectly helps all the local residents. More tourist taxes collected means better infrastructure for the local population and business is up for all tourist-related businesses, including restaurants, hotels, auto repair and bike shops, hiking supply stores, and rafting companies.

In speaking with other outfitters and fly shop owners in B.C., Alberta, and Ontario, since September 11 more American anglers than ever before are looking toward Canada as a friendly, safe, foreign destination with countless unexploited angling opportunities. Canada offers the romance of traveling to a foreign country in an area that is similar to the United States while remaining relatively close to home.- Mr. Poole's almost anti-American attitude is not the positive feeling that we Canadians want to project to our American neighbors.

Despite the growing pains this area has undergone over the last few seasons, the Elk River experience is still a positive one. Thanks to the increase in pressure, native West Slope cutthroat and bull trout are now more protected on this system then they were before the 1995 flood. The local economy also has revenue coming in during the summer months instead of only during the ski season.

These positive changes are directly tied to the popularity of the Elk River and the area as a whole. I believe that a lot of business owners including myself owe Fly Fisherman thanks for publishing the article. Contrary to what Mr. Poole may think, the pluses of drawing attention to an area are far more greater than doing nothing at all.