Findlay Creek is a tributary creek flowing into Kootenay River. Recorded fish: Westslope cutthroat, bull trout, rainbow, cutthroat, dolly varden, kokanee.
The water
It flows into Kootenay River within the St. Mary River watershed (St. Mary River → Kootenay River). It runs stream order 6 (well down the network, toward river scale; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 81 km. Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout, Rainbow Trout, cutthroat, dolly varden, Kokanee, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (59 records). Named tributaries in the index: Doctor Creek, Lavington Creek, Middle Findlay Creek, Alton Creek, Granite Creek, Deer Creek, Frying Pan Creek, Periwinkle Creek, Clear Creek, Allen Creek, Valentine Creek.
The fishing
As a small stream, a tributary of Kootenay River, Findlay Creek fishes the way creeks of its size do: short drifts with a buoyant attractor dry over a light dropper, working the pocket water and the heads of pools. Match the fly box to the season and confirm against a current local report.
Conditions
- Navigability: driftable with caution: wide, low-gradient sections suit a float/raft, but rated rapids or canyon-confined reaches interrupt them; check the drift map (median channel width ~27.6 m, broad; median gradient ~0.97%, very gentle; peak mean-annual discharge ~11.777 m³/s, moderate flow; canyon-confined sections with ~198 m walls (DEM)).
Access & the rules
Access for Findlay Creek, meaning the roads in, put-ins and any walk-in or seasonal limits, is worth confirming locally before you commit a day. The drainage map shows how the water sits in its valley.
