The Field Journal
Rivers & Lakes · Tributary Creek

Sawyer Creek

A creek in the St. Mary River watershed, a tributary of St. Mary River, holding Westslope Cutthroat and Burbot in provincial fish-inventory records.

Sawyer Creek is a tributary creek flowing into St. Mary River. Recorded fish: Westslope cutthroat, burbot.

The water

It flows into St. Mary River within the St. Mary River watershed (St. Mary River → Kootenay River). It runs stream order 4 (mid-range in the network; the scale runs from 1 for a headwater trickle to 6+ for a river) and roughly 7 km. Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Burbot, recorded here in provincial fish-inventory data (1 record).

The fishing

As a small stream, a tributary of St. Mary River, Sawyer 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.

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Tributary Creek
St. Mary River watershed
straighten
Stream order 4
~7 km
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Westslope Cutthroat and Burbot
1 record
footprint
Wade / Technical

Conditions

  • Navigability: wade / technical: steep gradient, pocket water (median channel width ~6.1 m, moderate width; median gradient ~9.15%, very steep; peak mean-annual discharge ~0.507 m³/s, very low flow).

Access & the rules

Access for Sawyer 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.

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Before you fish

Confirm the current BC freshwater fishing regulations (Region 4 – Kootenay) before you go This water is part of the St. Mary River system.. Official synopsis: gov.bc.ca fishing regulations.