Date: Thursday July 18, 2019
Source: Jim Bailey, WSF Editor
Target Species: Rainbow trout, walleye
Location: Trail
Weather: Scattered clouds
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius
Unsettled weather made fishing a little more challenging than expected last week, but on Thursday the fishing gods flicked on the switch. Local anglers and visitors did very well both spin-casting and fly fishing on the Columbia River.
The weather was in the mid 20s, launching a great hatch that coaxed the large rainbows to the surface. Dave Pasin and his fishing partner landed 13 rainbows on the dry fly between 5:00 and 9:30 p.m. fishing from his boat between Trail and the Waneta border. Their go-to fly was a CDC caddis and a stimulator pattern. The biggest rainbow caught was a 27-inch monster which was released to fight another day.
Steve, a fly fisher from Kelowna, also had good luck fishing the Columbia at Rock Island from the shore. Steve was on the water between 3:00 and 7:00 p.m., and in that time landed four nice rainbows and lost a few on a mayfly nymph and caddis emerger pattern. Steve’s fishing partner, Colin Munro, also landed a couple rainbows and one walleye.
July fishing has been challenging on some days with unseasonal weather making for unpredictable results. Sunshine is in the forecast, and with the sum we will get the heat and the hatches we’ve been waiting for.
