Unemployed Flyfisher: Wardner/Fernie British Columbia

I spent my birthday with my wife and dogs in Wardner, British Columbia last weekend. I spent one day fishing the Elk River and one day fishing the Bull River. I've read for years about how great the fishing is in this part of Canada with it often being described as what Montana was 50 years ago and had wanted to check it out for some time.
This area is certainly beautiful and the fishing was good. However, the reality didn't live up to the hyperbole. The Elk was good fun and delivered up plenty of Cutthroat with a few being 17-18". However, I had four guide boats cover the water I was on, including one who anchored across the side channel I was on and ate lunch, putting off the vibe that he would wait all day with his clients to fish this water. I moved on as I had already taken 7 fish from the spot anyway. There are many spots I fish regularly in Montana that I never see a guide boat on, let alone 4, and certainly I've never had a guide be such a douche bag as to anchor on the water I was fishing. It was funny that when another guide floated by and asked this db how it was going he muttered, "Not good". I doesn't surprise me that a guide who would park on a wade angler would also be so poor at his job that I would be catching lots of fish while he couldn't get his clients on any....but I digress.

On Saturday I fished the Bull River. I was told it was a smaller river and gets much less traffic so thought it sounded good. The river is beautiful and freezing cold. It was smaller than the Elk but flowing at a steeper gradient and clearly colder. I hiked up a canyon and found some beautiful water. The Cutthroat were plentiful and willing to rise but unfortunately were not large. The largest fish were 15" or so.

All in all it was a good time but certainly it's no "Montana 50 years ago". Fifty years ago it didn't cost $100 in license fees to fish for two days.