Winter Fly Fishing on the Columbia
By: Jim Bailey
Winter officially arrived on Dec. 21, and for most anglers that means putting away the rods and reels, undertaking gear maintenance like fixing the numerous leaks in your waders, cleaning or changing lines, and restocking your fly or tackle box.
But you can’t ignore it. There’s a river running through your backyard that is loaded with rainbow trout . . . all year long.
The temperature is not that bad near Trail, B.C. and hovers around freezing most of the time during the colder winter months.
Donning the neoprenes and wading into runs and riffles is not unheard of, in fact it is sheer elation to be casting flies while the snow falls around you.
I would recommend that you have some familiarity with the river before you try winter fly fishing so you know what to expect, and where to expect it.
I have favourite spots, one a huge back eddy that provides perfect holding water for rainbows at the end of the riffle and run.
Rainbows generally look up when feeding, so will hold near the bottom a bit sluggish from the cold but feeding opportunistically.
Getting your fly down to where the trout are is key. The key to that is understanding the flow of the river, the depth trout are holding, the weight of your rod, the fly line on your reel, and the weight of your fly.
First, I use a six-weight rod, and a reel with #4-6 sink line depending on the water and the weight of your fly, also a relatively short leader (4-6 feet), and a fly that attracts big rainbows.
In winter, rainbows will target bottom dwellers like nymphs, leeches, minnows, crayfish, sculpins, shrimp etc.
For fly patterns big and enticing imitations like streamers, muddler minnows, sculpin and crayfish and the reliable bead-head woolly bugger in various iterations work well.
On the Columbia, I look for runs with a moderate flow so you can stand in it relatively comfortably up to your thigh, and the current won’t carry you away if you slip and fall, at least not too far.
Depending on the water, I cast my line about 90-degrees into the run and let it carry the fly to about 60 degrees as it sinks and swings, bringing the fly into the zone.
Let it settle, then begin the retrieve, using a noticeable twitch or palpable pull on the line to give the fly action and have it skate near or along the bottom, and flutter tantalizingly at every pause.
Sometimes the takes from the rainbow are barely perceptible, at others, it’s like the trout grabbed your fly and took off like it had a hook in its mouth.
Those are the best.
If you’re a fly angler or someone who wants to take up fly fishing, check out Valley Firearms on Bay Ave. in downtown Trail.
They should have all you are looking for, and even more for traditional anglers. For more info go to shop.vfirearms.com.
