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Angling guides getting their permits

Fishing season is in full swing and angling guides are getting their registrations for permits in for Classified Waters
29321cranbrookdailyCutthroattrout
East Kootenay cutthroat trout.

Arne Petryshen

Fishing season is in full swing and angling guides are getting their registrations for permits in for Classified Waters. Those special designation rivers and lakes opened on June 15.  “Right now it’s very busy, we’re handling many applications for angling guides and assistant guides,” Barry Comin, FrontCounter BC Manager, said, adding that it seems unusually busy this year. “It seems everybody left it late to start applying.”

Comin explained that FrontCounter BC handles permits for angling guides, rather than requests from members of the general public. It is a branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

There are around 40 fishing guides registered in this region.

“Each one of them would have anywhere from three to ten assistant guides associated with them,” Comin said. “For example, one has 20.”

At the time last week they were still processing the late applications.

Comin said a big change for the guides is the application and payment is done online now.

“But substantially the regulations around it haven’t changed,” he said. “For FrontCounter, it’s new to us to see this. It used to be managed through Purpose and Acquisitions Bureau. It was given to be managed by FrontCounter about a year and a half ago. It was new to us.”

Comin said he was surprised at the volume of guides in this area.

“It’s surprising to me that there is such a vibrant business going on out there,” he said. “I’ve seen them out there fishing, but I’ve never ran the numbers in my head.”