BC Fishing Guide Training Course

You’ll arrive at the charming Chilcotin Holidays Guest Ranch before midday. The ranch is located in the wilderness of Southwestern British Columbia, neighboring the stunning Big Creek Park and magnificent South Chilcotin Mountains. It’s a spectacular area with alpine meadows, lakes and mountain peaks, and a sanctuary for grizzly bear, bighorn sheep, and Wolverine.

After lunch, we’ll have a safety and survival skills briefing.

Today, we’ll practice a step-by-step set up for your fishing rod and discuss some of the practicalities of working with creel reports, angling guide reports and fishing equipment inventories.

After a hearty ranch-style dinner, we’ll settle in for the night at the student accommodation near the ranch.

The hard work continues as we get ready for some fly making. You’ll learn how to design and craft flies while doing some practical tasks. We’ll teach you the differences between floating and sinking lines as well as wet and dry flies.

We’ll discuss angling methods and explain how to obtain your own angling license. It may sometimes be a confusing process, so our expert guides will share their knowledge to make it as smooth as possible.

In the afternoon, we’ll prepare the equipment and load the boats into the truck. For the rest of the day, we’ll be fishing at local ponds while focusing on fly casting.  

Today you’ll learn some of the finer points of fly fishing, such as the different bugs that you can use and where to find them. We’ll discuss the most common and effective flies for all kinds of waterways and have some hands-on practice of fly tying techniques.

We’ll also cover other topics, such as spin casting, boat safety, and rowing techniques.     

In the afternoon, you’ll have a chance to put your new knowledge to the test while fishing at the local ponds, with the focus on fly tying.

You’ll fill in the daily fishing report after our dinner at the ranch.

Today starts off by preparing the equipment for the fishing expedition. We’ll decide upon the most suitable bait and gather it. Different types of fish prefer different treats and it varies between seasons and locations, so all these factors must be put into consideration when looking for bait. We’ll also discuss different angling techniques that will be put into practice later.

Our studies today are a combination of theory and practice of staying at the lakeside. Some of the things we’ll cover include safely building a campfire, cooking and smoking fish. Campers and guides will share their best recipes and reveal some tricks for preparing the tastiest meals!

After getting our equipment ready, you’ll be introduced to river angling as well as fishing regulations, rules, and safety. Practical tasks involve fly casting, tying wet and dry lines, retrieving the fly.

Our expert guides will also cover some of the daily movements and seasonal patterns of fish. It’s vital to study the behavior and life cycle of each fish species to ensure a successful catch.

You’ll have the entire afternoon to master your boat handling and rowing skills. Spend this time finding the best rowing method for you. Rowing can be a challenging exercise, but knowing some simple tricks will certainly make it easier!

Today is the perfect day to get the answers to all the remaining questions because you’ll have a one-on-one practice with one of our expert school instructors. Once again, you’ll be going over different fishing techniques and practicing fly tying.

We’ll continue reviewing food safety and handling. One of the focuses for today is proper disposal of fish remains during fishing trips in rural areas. As a guide, you’ll be responsible for looking after nature to make sure it stays as wonderful as it is. Hence, making sure you leave as small of a footprint as possible is an important task.

On the last day, you’ll update the lake and river records with the data from your daily fishing reports.

We’ll have a celebratory farewell lunch at the ranch and a memorable graduation ceremony for all the new fishing guides.

Pickup information

Transfers from Vancouver to the ranch and back are available for an additional charge of $500 CAD per person.

Practical information

You’ll receive a detailed list of what to bring before the start of the training.

Please note

Please mind your fitness level, as you must be able to hike through challenging terrain for up to 2 hours.

The itinerary might change according to the weather conditions.