Where: Esplanade Avenue, downtown Trail, BC Canada
Coordinates: 49.09565, -117.70566
When: Summer
Access: Easy
Main Species: Rainbow trout
For anglers visiting Trail in the spring and summer, accessing the fine fishing on the Columbia River does not get any easier than this.
The Esplanade is a scenic promenade overlooking the Columbia River in downtown Trail, and it is a very popular spot for events and photographers alike. It runs for nearly 2 kilometres from the main bridge on Victoria Street to the new Columbia River Skywalk pedestrian suspension bridge.
The Esplanade walkway is lined with pots overflowing with flowers and a wide variety of plants and deciduous trees -all part of the City of Trail sponsored Communities in Bloom program where communities across Canada compete to promote “people, plants and pride”.
The Skywalk is the longest suspension bridge in British Columbia. Anglers often walk below the bridge to try their luck casting from shore. Anglers usually set up in the early morning with three-way rigs or spincast lures to entice the waiting trout.
A local favourite fishing hole is at the Canada Flag that is painted on the retaining wall of the esplanade. The flag is near the Skywalk at the point where the Columbia turns east. Spincasters have good luck fishing dry flies with a bobber -particularly in the warm evenings when rainbows feed ecstatically on the rich evening hatches.
A select few stay up above and spincast from the Esplanade walkway in what becomes a two-person effort. Both anglers will throw out a bobber and fly. When one of the anglers hooks up they will play the trout to a waiting net lying in the water and tied to a long rope stretching up to the anglers above.
Once the angler with the fish-on guides the trout over to the waiting net, the other pulls fervently to trap the trout in the net and pull it up the 30 feet or so to the top of the promenade. Tag-team fishing is a art form. It’s fun for the anglers, and quite the show for the numerous pedestrian-spectators out for an evening stroll.
About our fishing hole sponsor
The Colander Restaurant. A trip to Trail and area just isn’t complete without a visit to The Colander for some great home style Italian cuisine -it’s a Trail Tradition! The Colander was chosen by Beautiful BC magazine as one of the top 24 restaurants to dine in BC, and the #1 Italian Restaurant in the East and West Kootenays. After a great day of fishing the Columbia their famous ‘Colander Special’ really hits the spot and is the perfect way to end the day.
