A river drift with Kelly and Karen from St. Mary Angler
Every summer, anglers from around the globe find their way to the southeast corner of British Columbia in pursuit of one of the province’s most prolific dry-fly fisheries. Just outside the quaint city of Cranbrook, BC flows the St. Mary River, where Kelly Laatsch and his wife Karen own St. Mary Angler Fly Shop.
By his own admittance, Kelly spent too many years wearing a suit and tie before he decided it was time for a change. As the old adage “with change comes happiness” rang true for Kelly, it was not long before he was guiding anglers full-time.
“We can run our business on the premise that we are dry-fly specialists”, Kelly evokes a level of certainty when he describes the fact that Westslope Cutthroat will often dodge other sub-surface insects to attack a dry fly.
“People travel the world, they come to this river to see the beautiful nature, the Rockies, we are so lucky to have it in our backyard; It’s one of a kind.”
