The Columbia River rife with rainbows and river moths

If you can stand clouds of river moths crawling in your ears, eyes, nose and mouth without twitching, you are a true Columbia River fly fisherman.
In what is more than a typical summer, hot weather and high water made for perfect conditions for the river moths, as locals call the prolific hatch of caddis flies.
This year, the hatch seems more intense than normal but it has also translated into some excellent fishing in the stretch of water between Castlegar and the U.S. border.
For those of us who still wade, evening is the perfect time as huge trout come into the shallows to gorge themselves on the caddis buffet. As you cast, the moths insinuate themselves into every oriface, while you stand there stock still slowly twisting in line anticipating a take from one of Columbia's best fighting fish.



Derek cuts through the mass of caddis on the Columbia





And success . . . 

  Caddis patterns are most effective. Try John's river moth, Elk hair Caddis or any emerger pattern.
Double check knots, tippet and leader, I was broken off twice after raising two heavy trout.
The red band rainbow is a unique strain to the Columbia, they grow huge and are great fighters. If you do hook up, try to keep it in slack water because if a big fish blasts out into the current, better hope it forgot something cause chances are it won't be back.
One rainbow I was playing literally jumped over my head while I was getting ready to net it, so be patient, just when you think they're done, they'll go for another line-screaming run.
The evening has been the most productive time with fish rising and good action right into dark.
Derek landed some lunkers the other night including this beauty, that spent more time in the air then it did in the water.
Who knows how long it will last but I plan on being down there as often as I can, enduring river moths in pursuit of the Columbia River rainbow.
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A nice 22-inch rainbow on the Columbia, the white lights in the
background aren't stars but river moths caught in the flash.

 

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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