September 2, 2017
Fernie RV Resort is in a perfect location. It sits next to the Elk River, but is only a block or two from a shopping center. We decided to fish the Elk today, although we don’t have a boat and don’t really know where to fish it. We drove down to the bridge, where there are four good pools. We caught three nice fish in the first pool. It is Labor Day weekend, so people came in to fish all the holes below us. Fernie is a busy place anyway, but it is really busy on Labor Day weekend.
We went back to camp, fixed a sandwich, then went behind the campground to explore the river. There is a great bike trail running along the river for a long way. Someone also said it runs through town. There are a lot of bikes and bike riders here. At 92 degrees, people were swimming in one big pool. That takes a hearty person, because it is very cold. Wading it to fish was cold. We found a spot that had four good pools and worked them hard for three or four hours. We caught enough to keep it interesting, but as Nate had said, it was a little slow, but any day you can fish a beautiful river is a good one.
We were tired from wading the strong currents and walking over big, round rocks. Back at camp, we did laundry in their excellent facility, took showers and looked at where we are going next – Crossover Campground in Montana, about a five-hour drive. We reread the letter a friend of Kelly’s, JC Hanks, had written. He has fished this area a lot and had some great recommendations. Sounds like it is right up our alley. It is very remote, probably no cell phone coverage and certainly no WIFI. Hopefully there are no fires and the fish are “bit’n”.
Paul and Leah and his staff at Elk River Guiding Company and Fly Shop have been very helpful. It’s a great shop.