Autumn Fishing Report

I’ve fished the Columbia River hundreds of times in the past three years and yet still find myself adjusting not only to the seasonal changes, but even weekly rhythms offered by changing temperature and overcast, creek discharge, and water levels from Keenleyside Dam (which you can track by location and compare water flow and levels -search for Birchbank).

Having the luxury of access to the river and fishing several days in a row can yield a frustrating but rewarding challenge as the fish never seem to follow a predictable routine. Whether a novice or serious angler, this means constantly changing gear to find what the fish are willing to take a chance on.

This summer saw noticeably fewer fly hatches, while black ants were productive, and hoppers remained active all the way until late October. When tired of practicing fly fishing, I tend to use a 7 foot medium action rod with a basic 2500 series reel as I still feel I’m learning and don’t want to get spoiled on nice equipment. I tend to use spinners and find success with a size 3 blue fox bell spinner in chrome, blue, or orange, and a variety of ¼ ounce rooster tails including white, red, black and yellow, and rainbow. I’ve had less luck with spoons and crocodiles but still managed to land trout on everything from brass with red or orange stripes, to white with a red stripe. Heck, I’ve tied old lures I’ve found at the river and caught fish, so it might be confidence and raw intensity that entices fish to strike more than anything.

As effects of this year’s El Niño produce a humid and wet autumn, fishing in the rain at 3 degrees Celsius has become a bit of a drag. However, the water is more predictable in autumn and winter than in spring, when water levels often rise above 6 meters, and the river becomes almost unfishable due to the chaotic flow, turbidity, and rampant surface debris.

With temperatures lingering above freezing that means no ice on the guides and no need for gloves. Meanwhile, the fish are still rising to the surface, although spending more of their feeding time on the bottom.

Adjusting to this, I target where I think the fish are and don’t worry about jumpers. I have mostly given up on my standard lures and spinners, and instead am focusing on using twitch / micro jigs from local Sore Lip Jigs and targeting the bottom with sculpin, scud, leech, and wounded fish patterns. I’ll cast out and wait a few seconds for the jig to drop, then retrieve in different patterns, twitching the rod up every 1-4 seconds and then giving the reel one full turn. Fish tend to bite on the drop, and it’s a nice change of action to take one twitch jigging compared to retrieving a lure.

I will also frequent Valley Firearms and Canadian Tire for my bottom fishing gear, including three way swivels with 30-50 grams of weight tied a foot or two down on one swivel, and roe bags, shrimp, or other bait the stores carry. I’ve found I lose less gear if I tie the bait line a few inches shorter than the weight line, and even use a weaker knot or line for the weights. That way, if the weights get snagged, I can still recover my swivel and hook which are usually floating higher and without getting tangled.

All that said, after seeing a dozen fish rise while ignoring my jigs and roe bags for a couple hours, I tossed a rainbow-coloured rooster tail the other day and hit a nice rainbow on the first cast. It really goes to show that every day requires adjustment to find what the fish will take, as the setup which produced striking fish one day may not work the next.

When it drops below zero, my neighbour suggests grabbing some presto-logs and a bit of wood to get a fire going at one of the many firepits that line the more popular fishing areas like at Birchbank park. And then when the lakes freeze, there’s plenty of ice fishing to be had in the area.