DNA All the Way, Baby

It's all in the genes. Redheadedness. Pigheadedness. The sexual shenanigans of a Quagmire. So, too, with Columbia River rainbows: Despite the lipstick stripe and freshwater pedigree, these are landlocked steelhead, baby, and DNA don't lie. The biologists in Nelson will tell you that if you ask; the fish in the Columbia will show you that if you dare to take them on with light trout tackle.

"I'm not man enough for this river," client Ross half-joked earlier this month. "This fishing is incredible - unlike anything I've done before. There are so many big trout rising in so many different places, sometimes you just have to sit back and let your nerves calm." Ross' refrain is starting to sound familiar. It's called getting your butt kicked, loving every minute of it, and landing just enough steelhead-strain 'bows to book an extra day. Or week. We're starting to see more and more repeat clients, drawn back the same way S&M devotees enjoy the whip one moment and violent climax the next.

Despite what you read on the BS sites, you won't hook up a ton of Columbia trout. (Have you ever noticed that the BS sites don't include photos, just text like, "we hooked 50 yesterday and landed 48." Yeah, sure, and I met 50 gals at the bar last night and bagged 37.) Pics don't lie, baby, and we include 'em. The scuttlebutt is that you'll get lots of eats & grabs, hook far fewer toad redbands, and land a handful, if you're "man enough." But what a handful. Eighteen-inchers are yawners; 20-inchers are common; 23-inchers are landed on dries and swung pupae during the daily evening caddis blizzards. How thick are the caddis hatches? Well, I have a lady friend in Castlegar who lives on the river. She hates the "river moths." On warm summer evenings, they'll coat her TV screen to the extent that everything looks brown. Castlegar's bane is the fly-fisher's blessing.

I want to take this opportunity to formally welcome Bruce Kruk into the DBO guiding fold. Bruce hails from Trail and is one of those people whose TV gets swarmed by "moths" every summer evening. Bruce doesn't mind. He loves caddis, especially the pupal variety: Bruce is one of Canada's recognized authorities on "swinging" wets steelhead-style just beneath the surface on floating lines - a bomber technique on the Columbia. He's certified Spey-Everything and can Switch, Single and lasso fish with his hands if he needs to. This guy is the Real Deal. He runs a Yamaha jet and gives DBO a UFC lineup on the Mighty C - no other outfitter comes close, on either side of the border. Those who know me also know that I live and breathe dry flies (literally on the Columbia), so between Bruce and myself multi-boat parties get a powerful one-two punch and the option to fish anything from 14-foot Spey rods to 8' four-weights. As the insurance ad says, we've got you covered.

Once again, I'll let the photos do the talking. Oh, and did I mention that on our last outing we hooked 150 fish and landed 127 ... Chris