School of Trout Hosted BC Creek Trip Information
Here’s everything you need to know as you prepare for our 2026 Hosted Trip to British Columbia this July.
The Fishing
This trip offers School of Trout alumni the chance to fish the St. Mary River and Bull River near Cranbrook, British Columbia with guides from the St. Mary Angler Fly Shop. Both of these freestone rivers offer exceptional dry fly fishing. They’re difficult to access on foot so we anticipate floating every day in comfortable rafts. (Depending on the river conditions, we may also have an opportunity to explore the lower end of the world-famous Elk River.) You should expect abundant fish — west slope cutthroat, rainbows, cuttbow hybrids and perhaps even a bull trout — as well as gorgeous scenery. While we can’t control the fishing, or the weather, our mid July dates should help us avoid the high water and ubiquitous mosquitoes of the early season, as well as the wildfires and smoke that can be an issue later in August and September.
Dates & Times
You should plan to arrive in Cranbrook, British Columbia on Saturday afternoon, July 11th and depart on Friday morning, July 17rd.
lOdging
We will stay in single-occupancy rooms at the St. Eugene Resort in Cranbrook, BC. The physical address is: 7777 Mission Road, Cranbrook, BC, V1C 7E5. The resort’s phone number is: 1.866.292.2020.
Travel
Attendees have two solid choices on travel. The first is to fly directly into Cranbrook via Vancouver or Calgary. The second is to fly into Kalispell, MT, rent a car and drive north 2.5 hours — crossing the border at the Port of Rooseville near Eureka, MT — to Cranbrook. At a minimum, you will need an up-to-date passport to enter Canada. Please click HERE to familiarize yourself with the requirements for entering Canada from the U.S.A. You are responsible for your travel to and from Cranbrook, BC, so make sure you have everything you need to cross the border into Canada, and to return to the U.S. at the end of the trip.
Check-In
When you arrive in Cranbrook on the 11th, please head to the St. Eugene resort. Check-in begins at 4 pm, and you should plan to visit the front desk and ask for your room assignment and your key. (Click HERE for a detailed map of the resort.) After you’ve unpacked and settled into your room, we’ll plan to meet at the entrance to the Courtyard, which is just east of the front steps of the Mission building, at 5:30 pm.
British Columbia Fishing license
You will need a valid BC fishing license. The St. Mary Angler Fly Shop would like to assist you with your fishing license and classified waters licenses. British Columbia has recently changed its licensing procedures and our old BC Angling Numbers no longer work. Kelly & Karen Laatsch, of the St. Mary Angler fly shop, have requested that each of our anglers call the fly shop with their credit card and their licensing info so that they can handle your licensing for our trip. You can reach Karen or Kelly at the following number: 800-667-2311
Clothing
It’s impossible to predict the exact weather or temperatures in British Columbia in July. We recommend that you pack for a wide variety of conditions, with the most likely conditions being cool mornings, warmish afternoons, and pleasant evenings. (Average highs for the middle of July are around 80 degrees, while average lows are in the low 50s.) That means everything from lightweight shirts and pants to a rain jacket and a fleece or puffy jacket. (Please don’t forget your rain jacket and your fleece!) We recommend that you consider clothing from reputable manufacturers like Orvis and Patagonia. Oh, and warm, high quality wool socks are a must for under your waders.
While we do not typically recommend wet wading until the water warms up later in the summer, we usually have a number of anglers who choose to wet wade — especially on hot, sunny days. If you’d like to wade wet, we recommend quick-drying synthetic pants rather than shorts. It also helps to have neoprene socks for wet wading.
If you have specific questions, or if you’d like our personal recommendations on appropriate clothing items, please drop us a note. Keep in mind that trout can be spooky, and that drab, neutral colors will help you blend in to the background and avoid frightening your quarry. (You might want to avoid wearing black or white — or bright colors such as red, yellow and orange — while you’re fishing.)
On the chance it might prove helpful, here is a basic clothing list.
A bathing suit for the pool and hot tubs at the St. Eugene Resort.
Several pairs of comfortable shorts.
Several short sleeved shirts.
Two medium-weight long sleeve shirts and two medium-weight pairs of pants.
Underwear for your stay.
Three pairs of heavyweight wool socks.
Three pairs of lightweight wool or synthetic socks.
Three comfortable synthetic fishing shirts or fishing hoodies. (Most anglers prefer hoodies on sunny days.)
Two pairs of synthetic fishing pants. (Quick-dry if you might want to wade wet.)
A pair of light fleece pants or long johns to wear under your waders on cool days.
One medium-weight fleece jacket or pull-over.
A high quality rain jacket. (Make sure you bring a rain jacket that’s designed to be worn over waders.)
A fishing hat.
Sandals.
Comfortable, water-resistant shoes.
Fishing Gear
Ideally, you should arrive with:
A 9’, 5 weight medium or medium-fast action fly rod (3 or 4 piece) with a matching reel and weight forward or double taper floating fly line. You might also want to bring a 9’ 4 weight medium or medium-fast action rod with a matching reel and line, and a 9’ 6 weight medium or medium-fast action rod with a matching reel and line.
Three 7.5’ 3X leaders
Three 9’ 4X leaders
Three 9’ 5X leaders
One spool of tippet material in the following sizes: 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X
Nippers
Forceps
Zinger
Magnifiers or reading glasses (if necessary)
A fly fishing vest or sling pack
Waders
Neoprene wading socks (for those who might want to wade wet if the conditions allow.)
Wading boots (NO STUDS OR SPIKES ARE ALLOWED IN THE RAFTS!!! FELT OR RUBBER SOLES ONLY.)
Polarized sunglasses
Fly boxes & flies
Floatant
Dessicant
Fly drying tube or patch
Gear bag or pack
There has been an awful lot written about fly rods, reels and lines over the years. Because fly rod preferences are so personal, it’s not always easy to suggest a particular rod or even a particular manufacturer to our students. In general, we ask that you bring medium to medium-fast action rods, with reels that balance the rods and weight forward or double taper floating lines. We do not recommend fast action rods.
Reputable rod manufacturers include Orvis, Winston, Montana Brothers, Sage, Redington, G.Loomis, Scott, Hardy, St. Croix, McFarland and T&T. Reputable reel manufactures include Nautilus, Abel, Ross, Orvis, Bauer, Hardy, Galvan and Hatch. Reputable line manufacturers include Scientific Anglers, RIO, Cortland, Airflo and Orvis. Reputable leader and tippet manufacturers include TroutHunter, RIO, Orvis, Scientific Anglers and Umpqua.
If you’d like to discuss your tackle choices in detail, please drop us a note and we’ll schedule a phone call.
Flies
If you already have a selection of trout flies, you should bring them with you.
The most important July hatches in southeastern BC are typically golden stones, western green drakes, caddis and PMDs. In addition to ‘matching the hatch,’ you’ll likely fish attractor patterns on a regular basis.
In addition to whatever flies you bring or purchase in Canada, our guides from the St. Mary Angler Fly Shop will supply flies for us to use.
We’ll typically fish dry flies in BC, and most of those flies will be large enough to see easily.
What Else To Bring
Waterproof camera or smart phone
Insulated water bottle
Toiletry kit - toothbrush & toothpaste, shampoo, etc.
Sunscreen
Bug repellent
Personal medical supplies, prescriptions, N-95 or KN-95 masks, hand sanitizer, etc. (If you think you might need specific eye drops, lip balm, pain relievers, antacids, vitamins, etc., please bring them with you.)
Ear plugs or noise-cancelling headphones (If you’re a light sleeper, it’s better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.)
Reading glasses (if necessary)
Snacks - If you have favorite snacks that you absolutely can’t do without, please bring a supply with you.
A buff or neck gaiter to protect your neck and face from the sun.
Daily Schedule
You should anticipate full days on the hosted trip, with breakfast starting at 7:00 am, and everyone leaving for the river by 8:15 am or so. Lunch will be on the water, and dinner will typically be an hour or so after we return from the river.
Packing A Day Bag
You’re welcome to bring a small waterproof bag on the trip. If you do, you might consider packing the following for your time on the water.
Extra clothes in case you take an unexpected swim
Sunscreen
Insect repellent
Toilet paper
A cleaning cloth for eye glasses and sun glasses
Any personal snacks you decide to bring
Food & Drink
We anticipate taking our meals as a group. We’ll have breakfast at the St. Eugene Resort each day and we’ll eat dinner together every evening — some evenings at the resort and some evenings at local restaurants in Cranbrook or Kimberly.
We’ll have lunch on-stream every day.
Our guides should have drinks available throughout the day. If you have a particular snack that you simply can’t do without, please bring a personal supply with you. We recommend that you bring your own personal water bottle with you on the trip, and that you fill your water bottle before we leave the resort and bring it with you on the river every day.
We will make sure that beer and wine are available with dinner. All other alcoholic drinks are your responsibility.
Connectivity
Mobile phone service and internet access in rural areas are typically less-than-stellar. Please keep that in mind as you plan for the trip. You should also make sure that your wireless plan will work for you while you’re in Canada.
Tipping
We ask that you leave a generous gratuity for the guides who float us down the rivers. Since you’ll likely have different guides on different days, you’ll want to bring cash with you each day and tip your guide each day when they drop you off at the resort. I’d recommend a minimum of $50 US, per angler, per day. You’re certainly welcome to tip more than that if you feel that the guide and the experience warrants it.
To make life a little simpler, the School of Trout will handle the gratuities for all our meals and then, after the trip is over, contact you and let you know what your total comes to. Which means that you won’t need to bring cash to tip at breakfast or dinner. Typically, the total to cover all your meals on the trip will fall in the $100 to $200 per person range.
Weather
It’s impossible to predict the weather in BC. We could see hot and sunny, or cold and stormy, or almost anything in between. The average high temps for mid-July are approximately 80 degrees, and the average lows are 53 degrees, but there are never any guarantees when it comes to the weather. Be sure to pack for a wide variety of conditions, and to have appropriate clothing for differing temperatures. Please don’t skimp on your clothing!
Physical Activity
We’ll be floating and wading, but we don’t anticipate anything too strenuous.
Relevant Personal Information
Please let us know if you have any physical conditions or special dietary requirements that we should be aware of before the trip starts.
Trip Insurance
We are not insurance experts, and we do not recommend any specific plan or service, but trip insurance could potentially help you in the event of a problem or last-minute cancellation. From our perspective, trip insurance makes a ton of sense and we strongly suggest that you purchase it. (You can learn more here and here.)
Covid-19
As always, we recommend that everyone be fully vaccinated.
Media & Photographers
There’s a good chance that we will be taking photos or shooting video on occasion. If you’d prefer not to be photographed, that’s no problem at all. Just let us know ahead of time.
Early arrivals or late departures
If you’d like to arrive at the St. Eugene Resort early, or stay on after our trip wraps up, please let us know. We’re happy to help coordinate your bookings so you don’t have to change rooms.
Golf
The St. Eugene Resort boasts an excellent 18 hole golf course. If you want to bring your clubs and skip a day of fishing in the middle of the trip, you’re welcome to do so — and we will pick up the cost of your golfing excursion. But we need to know that that’s your preference — and we would need to know as soon as possible to make the necessary arrangements.
You’re also welcome to arrive early, or stay on after the trip wraps up, to enjoy the local golfing. There are a number of excellent golf courses within easy driving range.
Pre-Trip practice
Please practice your casting before you arrive in British Columbia! If you’d like to avail yourselves of the John Juracek casting videos on the School of Trout website, click here and enter the password: SOT23
Deposit
A 50% deposit is required to secure your spot on our 2026 trip to British Columbia. If you plan to join us, please make your check for $3475.00 out to the “School of Trout, LLC” and mail it at your earliest convenience to School of Trout, 178 Wolf Creek Ranch Road, Bigfork, MT 59911.
Cancellation Policy
We require half of the cost of the trip as a deposit when an angler is accepted. Until that deposit is received, your attendance is neither confirmed nor guaranteed. The remainder is due on or before May 15th. All payments, including deposits, are nonrefundable unless the School of Trout is able to secure a replacement to fill your spot. If a replacement is found, SOT will offer a full refund, less a 10% cancellation fee. While we will work to find a replacement in the event of a cancellation, we can not guarantee that we will be able to do so. As a result, we recommend that everyone who joins the School of Trout for a trip purchases trip insurance that covers their costs in the event of a cancellation or another problem.
