Shot some fish

Between Castlegar and the US border lies a unique stretch of the Columbia River that offers anglers a world-class rainbow trout fishery. This section of the river begins at the bottom of Keenleyside Dam and runs about 40 kilometres to Waneta, at the US border. The Columbia River is rich with history. It was a major fur trading route in the early 19th century prompting many major settlements along its shores. Later the Columbia was further developed by private and public sectors. Today the hydroelectric dams are responsible for 44% of total hydro generation in the US! Still, the Columbia represents the the largest river discharge from North America into the Pacific Ocean. Rod Zavaduk, from Castlegar Sports and Fly Shop, says that there is a lot of shoreline fishing available, and “most locals have their favourite back eddy or run come summer.” Fly fishing on the Columbia River is world-class, he says. “The Columbia has a reputation of being one of the premier rivers for fly fishing because of its hatches starting April/May and lasting into October. There are stones, mayflies, salmon fly, midges, chronomids, huge caddis in June and July, good terrestrial – cicada, ants, hopper, termites, and last the October Caddis. The big attraction to the Columbia is its dry fly fishing. An angler can dry fly starting in April right through to October. But the nymphing and swinging streamers will give more action April to June and Sept till November.” Zavaduk adds that since the river never freezes, people can fish all year long. “And the other attraction is the size of rainbows, averaging 3-5 lbs. with many hooked but never to be seen. Fish are healthy and hot. There are reports of 10-15 lb fish landed every season. Patterns mostly used are nymphs and streamers in the early season, ants and cicadas dry flies for April, May and June, caddis and mayflies in May, June, July, and August. Streamers and Nymphs are good from September, all through the winter. Zavaduk notes that, “there are just a few boat launch sites and with the big water volume and speed of the river it is recommended that your boat be at least a 14 foot with 20 hp motor or bigger.” Members at anglersatlas.com have posted countless tips and photos on the Columbia River page. Make sure to sign up and follow to get notifications whenever an update is posted to the page. RIVER ACCESS Beaver Creek Provincial Park is an excellent location to set up camp right along the river. There is a paved single wide boat launch. It is recommended that launching trailer-towed boats should only be attempted by vehicles equipped with four wheel drive. The shoreline is rocky and not recommended for boat mooring to shore. River access is excellent from both Trail and Castlegar, as well. There are several bridges with pullouts along the river and some of the best runs are right in town. Anglers are encouraged to use caution when fishing and/or boating on the Columbia River. Water levels can fluctuate drastically.

Was fishing on lower island lake beautiful sunny day in my favourite fish jersey and we were throwing jerk baits and poppers at 7 am and hooked into this 5 pounder.

Columbia River bow

Sunset casts.

Got a beauty rainbow in the Columbia below Castle gar.