West Kootenay Fly Fishing Club brings fly fishing film festival back to the Kootenays

 

The West Kootenay Fly Fishing Club is hosting its third annual showing of the International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4), but with a typical coronavirus twist.

Due to COVID-19, the IF4 will not be screened in a theatre, but will be shown in virtual form from the cozy confines of your den, couch, fly-tying table or wherever your laptop may take you.

“Covid-19 restrictions prevented the club from hosting a theatre-based event in the spring and since then the IF4 group came up with alternative viewing options that are flexible and allow safe viewing of the films in the comfort of your own home,” said a release from the WK Fly Fishing Club.

IF4 films are produced and directed by professional filmmakers from all over the globe, whose skills showcase the passion, lifestyle, and culture of fly-fishing in unique, fun and often provocative ways.

The films are between six and 16 minutes long, and among the films to be screened are “Particles and Droplets” by Gilbert Rowley, “Aurora Fontinalis” by Intents Media, “Iqaluk” by Hooké, “The Mend” by Broc Isabelle, “Nine Foot Rod” by Dana Lattery, and “Eye of the Guide” from KGB productions, a film that follows Calgary guide Paula Shearer in search of cutthroat and bull trout in Rocky Mountain streams.

In addition to the films, there will be fly fishing product giveaways and other promotions at the event. One lucky viewer will be selected to win the 2020 Grand Prize drawing consisting of thousands of dollars of fly-fishing gear provided by International Fly Fishing Film Festival sponsors.

Admission to the International Fly Fishing Film Festival is $20 and may be accessed by going to flyfilmfest.com.

More importantly, the West Kootenay Fly Fishing Club will donate all proceeds from the event to the Trail Salvation Army.

Virtual screenings of the 10 films are planned for Oct. 23, Nov. 20, and Dec. 11 in the West Kootenay.

Viewers can purchase tickets by logging onto the site and selecting Castlegar from 2020 Virtual Events Dates. Viewers must begin watching within 48 hours, and have seven days to view the films.

For more information and to watch film trailers visit flyfilmfest.com.

Northern pikeminnow; a growing concern on Kootenay Lake

There’s a growing concern from anglers that there may be another species contributing to the decline of the kokanee salmon in Kootenay Lake. 

The presence of northern pikeminnow is becoming more and more prevalent, particularly in the West Arm, and some anglers believe they are making an impact on the kokanee. 

Balfour resident Chuck Wood has been fishing the lake for 36 years, and has never seen more of the predator than he has this year. 

“The last two times I fly fished the arm there were huge schools of them coming up,” said Wood. “I caught 10 the first evening and nine the second and released one rainbow. I’m hoping to see the return of decent sized fish in the lake but so far the decision-makers haven’t had any success.” 

The BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development could not provide a biologist for an interview due to the ‘interregnum’ (upcoming provinical election), but did offer some data. 

According to FLNRO, “We have looked at pikeminnow diet in the west arm, and kokanee were not observed. Studies from other lakes show some kokanee in diet, but data from Kootenay Lake suggests strongly that bull trout and rainbow trout make up the majority of kokanee mortality via predation.” 

West Kootenay Fishing Report: Warm August/September weather means fishing heats up

Thanks to Kerry Reed for submitting the Kootenay Lake fishing report. And to Graham Cloutier and wesportfish.com for Columbia River and Area Lakes report. Contact Graham at chillbillycharters.com or call 250-304-4378.  Contact Reel Adventures Sportfishing at www.reeladventuresfishing.com or call 250-505-4963.

Kootenay Lake: During the month of August, the weather was scorching hot and the water temps were close to 20 degrees. That made a difference in the fishing for sure.

Our guides did a few trips very early in the morning to beat the heat and tried to be back at the dock before the temperature became too uncomfortable.

The morning trips managed to hook a few fish each day, but seemed like the rainbows headed for cover, but the bull trout were still fairly aggressive. Most trips saw a few bull trout with the odd rainbow mixed in.

With September’s arrival, the mornings were cooler, the water temp gradually dropping and the fish started to show some life again.

Everyday, we are starting to hit the water consistently again and getting better and better results.

We’ve had some decent days on the lake lately. Seems like the mornings have been better for bull trout, and the afternoons have been better for rainbows.

Looking forward to some cooler weather and expecting the fishing to pick up. October and November are usually the beginning of our prime fishing. So, stay tuned for some prime fall reports.

Columbia River: Columbia River guide Graham Cloutier from Chillbilly Charters had a good month on the water, and says it’s been particularly exceptional targeting walleye.

During the heat of August and early September, the best time for fishing was in the evening or early morning, but anglers had success targeting trout in cool riffles and runs, and walleye in deeper water during the day.

For fly fishers, drifting or trolling a streamer on a full sink line picked up both walleye and rainbow. When fishing a run, the rainbows would hit the fly on the drift, but if you let it run out and sink into the back-eddy, then start a slow retrieve, it was a walleye almost every other cast.

Great areas for walleye fishing are the Robson Reach and the Hugh Keenleyside Dam north of Castlegar and the Waneta Dam south of Trail.

Area Lakes: Local lakes and reservoirs like the Arrow, Pend d’Oreille, Rosebud, Cottonwood, Nancy Greene, Champion and Loon Lakes are also fishing well.

Some stillwater may have been a little slow in the heat of August, but lakes like Rosebud have been producing very well in September. Dangling chironomids just off the bottom is a popular method for fly fishers, but mayfly hatches have been abundant and trout were hitting nymphs just subsurface, and dry flies for consistent top-water action.

The Pend d’Oreille has been producing a lot of bass. Look for areas with structure and cast a swim bait or a jighead with worm or, for fly fishers, a sink line or sink tip with attractor pattern.

What are they biting on?

On Kootenay Lake, the most success for the bull trout was on the Lemon Lime flasher followed by the green pistachio hoochie or the spatter back. Best depths as of early September have been 80–121 feet.

For the rainbows, the best success came on the Gibbs Delta Croc spoons, although bucktail flies should take off pretty soon as the water temperature drops and more fish start heading towards the surface to feed.

On the Columbia, fly fishers have had good success fishing attractor patterns for rainbow and walleye, particularly streamers or olive/copper/brown beadhead woolly buggers and bulldog patterns. Also, large dry-fly patterns like the October caddis or hopper patterns will coax big bows to the surface.

Spincasting lures like the Len Thompson dimpled series to the slack water has resulted in many nice rainbows for Cloutier, whose go-to rig for walleye is a three-ounce bottom bouncer and a worm harness.

A slow troll using a weight and wedding ring or Mack’s spinner tipped with worm is also a local favourite.

For shore-bound walleye anglers, bottom-bouncing or casting jigheads and soft plastics like Mister Twisters have been good producers.

Find the right colour combination and/or lure and it will be a memorable day on the water.