Halloween Comes Early to Columbia

For all intents and purposes, it's October in the West Kootenays. Pumpkins are in the bins at Creston. Shrubs sport salmon-colored leaves along the rivers. October Caddis fill the sky at sunset.

Octobers - otherwise known as Fall Caddis - are the caddisfly equivalent of Salmonflies. That is, huge, orange-bellied and hard to miss when they're in the air. Oh, and the big rainbows love them. When the female Octobers start dragging their behinds on the water to egg-lay, the trout take notice. Big time.

Aussies Simon and Peter discovered this firsthand the other evening. The final hour of fishing can only be described as frantic. The father-son duo lost as many big 'uns as they landed, but the ones they landed were hefty and strong.

Okay, now back to the future... It's still September, after all, and that means hoppers. Lots of them. Simon and Peter hooked some beauties on hoppers, too. Smaller Spotted Caddis are still around. In fact, the only bug missing from the Fall mix are Olives, and we'll start seeing them now that cooler weather and drizzle have arrived. Midges are about late-evenings, but why fish size 20s when you can fish Hi-vis size 8s?

Trust me. The Columbia is on fire. As in orange. We're still booking trips. Calling all Pumpkinheads... Chris