Popular YouTube fisherman responds to runaway campfire at lake near Kamloops

It was a wet, rainy morning when Rob Bruno went with a fishing buddy to launch boat on Ernest Lake near Kamloops on June 7, but despite the damp weather, a wildfire was flaring up in the woods across the lake.

“We get to the launch and directly across the water we see huge flames,” he said. “There was a truck at the launch with a couple of kids who told us their dads were across the lake trying to put the fire out.”

The fishermen hopped into their boat and went over to help douse the flames. Bruno used his watch to send his wife a satellite text to report the fire to BC Wildfire Service, then the two fisherman and two campers worked together to keep the fire activity down until help arrived.

“All we had was a couple of four-litre water jugs, filling them and passing them up and grabbing sticks and trying to poke the coals out,” Bruno said. “We fought it until it was down to a smoulder.”

The two campers, who Bruno believes were from the coast, took off to go home while Bruno and his fishing buddy fished and kept watch on the smouldering fire, even pulling in a good sized trout in the meantime.

It wasn’t long until a crew from the BC Wildfire Service hiked in with gear and doused the fire completely.

“The crew hiked around the lake carrying tools, hoses, pumps and chainsaws through wet ground, their feet were wet the whole time, they were quite amazing,” he said. “We’d expected them to boat over and would’ve picked them up.”

Once the fire was out, Bruno packed the boat to the brim with the wildfire fighters and their equipment and brought them safely to the boat launch.

“I was at the right place and the right time and happy to have helped out,” he said. “

Born and raised in Kamloops, Bruno started fly fishing three decades ago and is out on lakes in the area flyfishing more than 100 days per year.

Through his website, FlyGuys.net, Bruno along with fellow experts provide anglers with information on stillwater fly fishing on lakes in Kamloops and the BC Interior, including fly tying patterns, detailed lake reports, and the timing and patterns of hatching insects.

His custom tied trout flies are available through his online store, with the patterns based on years of testing them out on BC Interior Lakes.

Bruno and his team are also behind the YouTube Channel BCFlyguys that has almost 13,000 subscribers. The YouTube Day Tripping series has the experts fishing in real time, showcasing the gear and techniques they use.  

BCFlyguys are found on numerous social media platforms, including Facebook.

“The style of fishing we teach, the fishing patterns, are all applicable for lakes right through the Interior of BC and down to the western coastline in the states,” Bruno said. “We have many followers and customers that come to Kamloops, it has turned into promoting the area, which is great.”

“It’s all a lot of fun, the fishing and interacting with other anglers. If it wasn’t I’d stop, but it’s my passion.”

While it isn’t clear who started the fire at Ernest Lake on June 7, Bruno said he is grateful for the swift work of the Kamloops wildfire fighters and hopeful the incident will be a reminder for people to ensure their campfires are out.

“The fellows that were there said a couple of people the day before had a little fire there to have some lunch, and we found a metal hotdog stick in the middle of the embers,” he said. “My hope is if you’re out there enjoying our beautiful backyard and decide to light a fire, please make sure it’s legal to do so and that it’s completely out before you leave.

“We have beautiful resources to protect.”