Rushing water and running bulls








Almost everywhere in the East Kootenay region, bull trout are purposefully finning their way to the smallest of tributaries, sometimes within feet of the spot they emerged from a fertilized egg years earlier.

It is an annual act of procreation, the one time a year they stack up in deep pools, and wait for the perfect conditions and perfect time to have sex.

But unlike their ocean swimming salmon relatives or fresh water Kokanee, these denizens of large waters do not perish after the consummate act but rather return to their body of water to recover and train for next year's fun run.



A mid-size bull caught on a black
and red streamer and 6-wt. rod



This year I was joined by three friends and avid string tossers, as we headed out the first week in July with hopes of intercepting one or two of these monster bulls with a fly. Jake the younger had much to prove after disappointing results last year shut him out. His older cousin Derek was back and as confident as ever, and both Waterstreets were chomping eagerly at their Wintergreen Skoal to hit the river.

I invited an old friend of my own, Colin Munro, from the coast, a more diligent and cerebral fly-fisherman whom I could lag behind with and enjoy a days fishing and a cold beer, rather than try to keep up with the Waterstreet express.

 Unfortunately spring conditions were brutal, delaying run-off and causing rivers to swell to the point they were almost unfishable - almost.

We hit the same river at the same time last year but this cool season had it at least six feet up and the colour of strong coffee with a drop of cream. Nevertheless, after an hour of worrisome casting I hooked into and landed a smallish bull trout.

It was a relief to myself and three companions. With the first one landed and released we could now more confidently spot holding areas or attractive lies. But it was tough going. With high water and no visibility, identifying areas such as large boulders or small impressions was all but impossible. We passed weighted bunny streamers through seams and slack water, close to shore, through riffles and pools until at last I stuck another.



Jake crossing the river
in a relatively easy spot.



But this bull trout was a full grown, no-nonsense behemoth that tore me into the current and was zip-lining my backing as I chased it down the bank, over trees and under branches, frantically looking for slow water I could guide its nose into. After about a 100-yard dash, it flew  into the wild water and broke off. Great fun but the raging water coupled with the size of the bully was no match for my G-Loomis six-weight.



We investigated other waters on a flat stretch of valley that produced many trout for Derek and Jake, even Munro touched a couple on the flats but aside from one palpable hit, the flats proved futile ground for me.

On average the bulls on the flats seemed smaller than the upper river (probably because I didn't catch any) but nonetheless, the marathon fishers, Jake and Derek, seemed to land seven or eight each time they fished the plain while Colin and I managed only two or three a day on the upper section.

Perhaps our slight success was due to the leisurely pace of our endeavour; often distracted by a casual observation, a mayfly hatch, an eagle soaring overhead or a nice weathered log upon which we could rest our prodigious laurels.

But often excitement was just around the next bend.

Derek with one of the larger bulls of the trip

Crossing the river to explore more promising water was always an adventure. The murky conditions made the depths incalculable so at times we'd be swept away by a strong current and carried downstream until we'd find our footing, gagging for breath and spewing water, scary at times but safe and invigorating in the end.

A variety of streamer colours and sizes were effective from black and red to olive and grey, or black and purple. The weight was determined by the strength of the current. Lighter flies did better on slow water, while getting the fly down quick in rushing current was effective.

We knew water everywhere was high, and that the trip was a gamble but we were confident it would be one well worth taking. 
Aside from a mosquito-infested tent trailer whose effects we neutralized by a good meal and a few cold ones before bedtime -the trip paid off in the end. I think we landed and released 25 bull trout, a few cutties and the odd sucker.

All in all, had a great time and look forward to next year.

Thanks guys.

 

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Four seasons on the Columbia River

 

An April day spent on the Columbia River may seem like a full season of weather as the morning snow turned to rain, then a concerted hail storm followed by more precip and finally sunshine. Despite the frenetic weather the fishing was fine, as large rainbows gulped my stone nymphs and woolly buggers in a consistent frenzy.

The golden stones are emerging from beneath their rocks and in spite of the cooler than average weather, have morphed into their adult form - at least a few of them.The best pattern was a number 8-10 olive wooly bugger with an orange or gold head, however a recently tied golden stone picked up a few fish too.

Turn over a few embedded rocks
to find Golden stoneflies

Crawling nymphs along the bottom requires an intermediate to fast sink line. The take may be subtle so set the hook at any pause or light pull. Soon the warmer weather will arrive, I hope, and then top water action with salmon flies, cicadas and flying ants should be the patterns of choice.

Just to be clear, despite what people say in the West Kootenay region, salmon flies are a type of stonefly known as pteronarcys californica - They are not a cicada - you know the black-blue bugs on the wall of the mall- those are cicada NOT salmon fly.Go to the entomology page at fly-fish-bc.com for more info.

The fishing is pretty good this time of year as large trout move into the mouths of creeks or slack water to spawn. Predatory trout will feed on eggs and insects targeting the seasonal bounty indiscriminately.
Be sure to release the spawners which are generally darker and often the males may even have a kype showing.

Photo tips: For great photo tips check out flytowater.com, a humorous and helpful Blog by a fellow fly fisher and superlative shutterbug - check out his recent tips on photography and how to fish and hold a beer in your waders at the same time - brilliant.
And for what it's worth, I'll throw in my own tips for solo photography.
Due to a bizarre schedule, I go fishing solo the majority of the time so I've had to learn how to take fly fishing photos of myself casting, catching fish, grip and grins etc.
It can be challenging but what I've found is that predicting the spot and shot and preparing the camera goes a long way to getting promising results.

1. Sun at your back.

Unless your going for a halo effect, be sure the sun is behind the camera thus illuminating the subject which is obviously yourself when alone.

2. The majority of outdoor magazines want to see your face for some reason, so be sure to tilt your hat back or take it off, and lose the sunglasses.

3. Set up your camera on a tripod pointed in position, sun at back, shooting a pleasing background (not the highway or house on the shore).

4. Set 12 sec. timer on camera and then in manual focus, focus on a spot where you will be releasing fish with the sun in your face and a beautiful backdrop. I focus on a log or rock then be sure to stand right there for the photo depending whether a shallow depth of field is the impression looked for or a deep one.

5. Now catch a fish.

6. Once hooked up you can "casually" reach over and click the camera while rushing to the spot as you play the fish. Make sure you have a good rod bend when the shutter clicks.

7. When you land the fish, keep it in net or handle it gingerly. Press the shutter button, rush to the spot, hold the slippery, squirming fish in a gentle but pleasing manner and wait for the click.

It's a bit of a gong show and looks somewhat ridiculous but I've had good results in my desperate attempts to get something published.

Self portrait with slow shutter speed
 to get waterfall effect

 "...My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things—trout as well as eternal salvation—come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy." - Norman McLean "A River Runs Through It."

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Fly fish BC goes in pursuit of Kootenay Rainbows

Perfect conditions on Kootenay Lake

The mighty Gerrard Rainbow is the largest species of rainbow trout in the world, with leviathons occasionally topping 30 pounds. So it was with excitement and a great deal of anticipation that I hit the water of Kootenay Lake Wednesday, a fortunate guest of father and son team, Rudy and Dave.



Dave ties on one of his hand-tied flies



We climbed aboard their comfortable 22-foot Trophy trawler (which is for sale by the way) fairly bright and fairly early but not too early, as local informants indicated the bite would not kick in until about 10 a.m.

Rudy is a retired doctor and his son Dave, a school teacher, who have lived on the lake off-and-on for the past 40 years. So their combined experience and a ton of fish landed over the years made this a promising venture.



Fly fish BC lands mighty
Gerrard on Kootenay Lake



Still, the first three hours on the water vetted nary a nibble. The "Bill Normans" and Rudy's personal favourite, the "Silver King" seemed to have lost their expected magic for winter trawling at an excruciatingly slow pace. 

At 11:30 Dave decided to change it up and replaced one impotent lure with a hand-tied-polar-bear hair fly, lovely creations, that seemed somehow indignant at being passed over by the more unwieldy and ineffectual plugs. 

As if to say, "I told you so" the fly was not in the water for more than five minutes when the rod bucked and line screamed. 

I fought and landed a beautiful eight-pound rainbow, shiny and thick - a harbinger of more good things to come. 

Rudy's 20-lb rainbow from Kootenay Lk.


Soon we had all three rods pulling hair, and again, just minutes after the first fish, another one was on.
I grabbed the  pulsing rod as line tore off the reel for what seemed like minutes. I passed it off to Rudy who played the massive rainbow like a pro, patient but intent on  keeping the line tight and the hook set. Dave netted the 20-pound trout, with wild exclamations and hardy congratulations all around.

In the next three hours we released five more Gerrards ranging from two to six pounds. It was a rare day for a lake that can be unforgivingly slow at times.

Perhaps it was the alignment of the stars, perfect conditions, good flies, experience and expertise, or a combination of the lot - I find on days when I catch more fish than expected, I don't question it, I just thank the fish gods and the men who made it so.

Thanks guys for a great day.

For more fishing adventures go to fly-fish-bc.com

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