Kelly Laatsch

Fly Fisher, Fly Tier, Guide

Kelly Laatsch has been fly-fishing and tying flies for over 45 years and guiding professionally for over 25. He grew up in Alberta, learning the art of fly-fishing on the Bow, Crowsnest, Oldman and Castle rivers. Kelly and his wife Karen own the St. Mary Angler Fly Shop in Cranbrook, British Columbia. They guide the famous cutthroat waters of the East Kootenay’s on the Elk, St.Mary and Bull rivers. They also guide for the large rainbows, spring and fall, on the Upper Columbia River out of Rossland, B.C.

Kelly has fished many of the major trout streams in western Canada and the U.S. These include the San Juan River in New Mexico, the Madison, Bitterroot and Missouri rivers in Montana, Washington’s Olympic Peninsula rivers, and Utah’s Green and Provo rivers to name a few.

His Lake fishing experience is even more extensive. From the quality fishing lakes of the Kootenays and the Kamloops-Kelowna region of B.C, to the high desert lakes of New Mexico, Arizona and Washington State, he has fished many of them.

Kelly has been a guest speaker at the O’Loughlin Sportsman Shows for the past 23 years. His seminars on fly tying, river fishing techniques and chironomid lake fishing have won him rave reviews from both the show organizers and attendees.

Each winter and spring, Kelly is a regular on the fly club speaking circuit. His
presentations on S.E. British Columbia rivers, including the Elk, St. Mary and Upper Columbia, are very well received.

Every year he hosts groups of anglers to exotic locations in search of bonefish, trevally and permit. Destinations include Mexico, Belize, Bahamas and Christmas Island. His excellent technical and communication skills, along with his passion for the sport of fly fishing have made him a recognizable and well liked guest speaker.

If you are interested in booking Kelly for a speaking engagement please email stmaryangler@gmail.com, call 1-800-667-2311 or visit his website.