Fishing Report September 5

I’ve been reading the reports here on We Sport Fish, but I think It’s time to change things up with a different way of fly fishing. Now that the river has finally dropped it’s time to start swinging runs for the Columbia pigs. I’m talking spey casting for the big boys like the Redband Rainbow Trout.

The seams that hold the big rainbows are quite a ways out there, so thinking outside the box can help you get where you need to be. Typically I use a spey rod in the 14-16ft range with a 73-83ft head and heavy 12lb tippet for the vicious grabs so as not to be broken off by bigger fish that I seek.

Riffles and runs are where I like to play this game. I fished for a couple hours this morning with the sun shining and pulled in a few smaller fish in the 20-inch range. They were taken on a small classic Atlantic salmon fly called the Thunder and Lightning. As the nights get cooler the water will cool as well turning the big ones into eating machines who are not shy to take your fly, but you must get your fly in front of them.

When searching for the hefty trout this time of year thru to the spring think Steelhead flies rather than what you typically think of as trout food. Like I said at the start, spey casting is a different way to fish, and I look forward to sharing more in the future as the “big fish” season is now just getting started.

PS. I didn’t take any pics this trip, but the pic I sent in with this report was caught on the Columbia and is typical of what I fish for at this time of the year. Cheers! -Bruce.