Hmmm the Cariboo is the fly fishing place.
Any lake along the highway 24..Sheridan, bridge etc..Helena lake..@ lac la Hache. .Blue lake, chimney lake owen lk, fir lake..
Get the fishing book that lists all lakes and types of fish..
As for fly fishing..#1 fly up here..brian chans ruby eyed leech on #10
Size #10 shrimp..green
Chronomids what you call midges..Davie Mcphails patterns work..but size #16,#14....black with red ribbing white bead..hung under a small float..silver midge,
Steven
Ali
"It is a blessing of the wilderness life that it shows us how few things we need in order to be perfectly happy." - Horace Kephart
"Don't ever be afraid to try something!! Remember a lone amateur built the ark and a large group of professionals built the titanic..."
Purchase a book called The Gilly, by Alf Davy. More of an interior lake book, but great information, nevertheless.
I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.
First of all, you are talking about fly fishing so I will consider you are targeting trout mostly.
Right now it is bad time for trout since the temperature. It is too warm and they stay in deeper water in lakes, which means your might need down rigger to troll them. The best time for lake trout fishing would be April to early May or after later August. If you are not looking for the trophy size, the government stock the lakes several times. Check https://www.gofishbc.com/Stocked-Fish.aspx for the stock information.
During the summer time , the most popular fishing spices are bass and carp. You can find them in most water body around lower mainland. For example, there are carps in Como Lake and bass/carps in deer lake. As a odd year, we can expert Pink Salmon in Ferry Creek near Squeamish from later July/early August to September. Squeamish River is also popular for fly fishing pick salmon but usually September would be better since the water clearance.
You can find a lot of useful information on http://www.fishingwithrod.com/.
If you prefer to talk with people face by face, Steven in First Light Fishing and Tackle, where locate in Barnaby, is friendly and knowledgeable. You also can go to any other local fishing shops, Berry's Bait and Tackle/Pacific Anglers, if you go to Richmond/Vancouver. Most staffs work in those shops can help you as well.
BC has some of the BEST Fly Fishing in the world! Unfortunately for you, if you're not willing to travel 2-6 hours outside of Vancouver then your options are very limited. The Merritt, Logan Lake, Kamloops area is not that far from Vancouver and that is the area I would concentrate on. I see that you have an account created on FLYBC. That is a good start and we are having a get together in August at Tunkwa Lake, the Bomber hatch should be happening and I would recommend showing up and meeting some of the fine folks on that forum, I'll be there myself.
I had the opposite problem to you after moving to the UK and having to get used to fly fishing chalk streams. Never could get my head around only being allowed to cast upstream, dry fly only etc. Very challenging but I grew to love sight fishing over sketchy trout. Definitely improved my casting and presentation. Never tried the carp thing in the UK but was amazed at some of the gear those guys used (electric bait spreading mechanisms etc). It looked more like siege warfare than fishing to me but they were definitely committed.
If you have the basics and want to get out on a lake the first thing I would do is get on Craigslist and find a decent belly boat - it is a cheap way to get out on the water. Then follow the good advice here on forums, gear, books and locations. You could also try beach fishing now that the salmon are running. Very tide dependant and can be crowded on weekends though. Finally, I would get on the Pacific Angler's weekly email as it gives a sense of where the fishing is on in both fresh and salt water.
I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.
Seeing that your in the lower mainland .... have you picked which target species you want to go after .. I can suggest trying for some “searun cutttroat “ it’s been awhile since I’ve gone after them a lot of tributaries of the river hold them .... worth some research