Fishing Report April

April is one of my favourite months for fly fishing on the Columbia River. The weather was unseasonably cool with rain, wind and snow in the first half, and a feeling that spring had no intention of showing up; yet the fishing was fantastic.

Insects begin to emerge in earnest as the weather and water temperatures gradually warm, and you see bigger rainbows moving into runs and riffles to feed. I made it out on the river 10 or 12 times in April and landed over 20 fish.

On most days I would head to a favourite location or an untried run and bring along the 6-wt Loomis with a sink line and an 8-wt Sage that can launch the dry line.

Large golden and giant stonefly nymphs make their way to shore to hatch into the adult form and then mate. When stoneflies emerge, they are not the most graceful flyers, and after mating you can see them tumble through the air and crash on the water to lay their eggs. Sadly, vulnerable to cruising trout, but incredibly productive for the fly fisher with a good adult salmonfly pattern.

I celebrated the first 20C day, on April 21 I believe, by heading out to one of the many runs on the Casino side of the river. I landed three rainbows nymphing with float line, strike indicator and golden stonefly nymph pattern, another on a woolly bugger, and an 18-inch rainbow on an adult salmonfly pattern on the surface.

In late April, I was compelled to head towards the Waneta border and try the long run and riffle just before the makeshift boat launch. I cast the nymph into the tailout with no luck, thinking this had to be the best holding water on the river for rainbow trout.

I switched it up and tied on a muddler minnow and no sooner had I cast the sink line into the run, when a respectable 16-inch Eastern brook trout slammed it. A few casts later a 21-inch rainbow took the same fly.

Eastern Brook trout are non-native species to the river, and likely entered the Columbia from the Pend d’Oreille River or Beaver Creek where they are abundant. It is becoming a familiar theme with several invasive fish in the system including walleye, bass, lake trout, northern pike, carp, and others. Anglers are encouraged to harvest these invasives, and as many know, the limits are generous, 16 for walleye, and unlimited for northern pike. They also make for great table fare.

April also heralds the spring freshet. The river began to rise on May 1 and is currently a bit muddy from run off, but should clear in a few days. Freshet will see the river come up significantly for the next couple months bringing its share of challenges.

But as I sat on the shore watching the mergansers and Canadian geese paddle over the water with young in tow, a flying black ant landed on my shoulder . . .

A sure sign that the dry-fly fishing on the Columbia River is only going to get better.