EGG EATERS
On almost all of our local salmon rivers there are species that rely heavily on salmon eggs to supplement their fall/winter diets.
During October, November, December, January and February we are blessed with a rare opportunity to use salmon egg imitation to target these species.
Not only does this give us the perfect opportunity for some excellent fishing in a time of year that most fly rods are collecting dust but it is also an ideal training ground to learn good fundamental nymph technique. The exact same method you use for steelhead, trout and all five species of salmon any time we are imitated a food source that floats without movement downstream. The food sources that make up 80% of a trout/char's diet.
Our Streams and Why Eggs are Important
Our coastal streams are ironically not a very good habitat for fish. They do not have year round plentiful food sources and they are inherently prone to large water level fluctuation with the annual cycle of fall storms and heavy spring snow melt. This combination of cold, flood prone water is not good for your your classic trout stream food sources like mayflies, stoneflies and other aquatic insects essential to a healthy food chain were resident trout and bull trout are at the top.
The eggs and flesh of salmon are debatably the only reason many of these streams hold populations of resident char/trout as they make a relievedly barren environment a food rich ecosystem for 1-4 moths out of the year. Because of this even when eggs are not present in these systems the fish of our costal streams are hard wired to eat eggs and a well presented imitation salmon egg weather you do it with a spinning rod, float rod or fly rod is a very affective way to catch fish on any coast stream that gets a salmon run.
What You Will Need
Rods
When It comes to fly fishing egg patterns we recommend 4 - 6wt 9ft or longer single hand fly rods. Switch rods and Spey rods struggle to mend delicately enough to be the best tool for the job but in a pinch you can make them work.
The perfect rod for this fishery is actually also the perfect rod for another one of our favorite BC fisheries. If you love indicator lake fishing your 9.5ft - 10ft, 4wt - 6wt is also a perfect river nymphing rod. They key is having a longer rod with more more reach while keeping the rod weight light to absorb the shock of fast hook sets with light leaders on large fish.
Our Top Picks for the Perfect Nymphing Rod
Editors Pic: Matt is currently fishing 3 indicator rods. The smooth and cost effective Ovis Clear Water in a 5 foot 10ft for his guide rod, a Sage Sense for his euro setup and a Sage R8 - 4 Weight 10 ft when he is personal fishing.
Reels
Anything that holds line will work. From your 1923 Hardy Perfect to a high performance light weight Nautilus X you will be in the game. We do recommend something light as you will be holding it high off the water for most of day and a drag system is never a bad thing when you could encounter a steelhead or just an especially large char. (Did we mention the range of size in egg eaters is large an you never know what you might catch)
Editors Pick: Matt is currently fishing a Sage Spectrum LT on his everyday guide setup, a Sage Arbour XL on his euro setup and yes, a 1936 Hardy Perfect on his personal setup.
Fly Lines
Again you can get specific for this fishery or you can use your everyday general purpose floating line and still catch lots of fish. The key is not to use a line with a long delicate front taper as it will not turn over indicators well. You also do not want a crazy heavy line like a commando head for this setup as mending becomes a challenge.
Top Dedicated Indicator Line (They are also great for Lake Fishing)
- SA Amplitude Smooth Stillwater Indicator (It is a lake line but works great)
- Rio Gold (This line is a great do everything line)
Leader Setups For Nymphing
This is where things get interesting and taking some time to customize your leader will catch more fish.
The key concept is that the smaller diameter, denser leader material will drag less, drift better and be less likely to be seen by a warry fish. With this in mind Rio and Scientific Angler have built leaders that start out very thick to turn over the indicator but unlike a stand tapered leader that tapers down over the 9 ft length of the leader, the indicator leader tapers fast in the first 3 feet and then has a long "skinny" section. Though your standard 9 ft 4-5x leader will work if you are getting into indicator nymphing and don't want to build your own leaders the SA Indicator Leader and the Rio Indicator leaders are great options to fish.
If you want to go down the rabbit hole of customizing a leader you will get a better drift and ultimately it will be more cost effective. In a custom leader you can use fluorocarbon. It is denser and clearer than standard monofilament. You can also add sighters to give you visual ques to understanding your drift and tippet rings to make on-water alterations faster and more efficient.
There are many custom nymphing leader designs however they all incorporate a stiff but section and a fast transition to thin dense fluorocarbon. For most of our BC trout fisheries 4X or 5X is standard for this thin section. If you want a good nymphing leader design check out this video where Matt goes over the leader he uses.
- Rio Two Tone Indicator Tippet
The Presentation
These are the materials you need to build the custom leader in this video + having a leader board is darn useful when hands are cold.
When it comes to the actual egg imitation, at least when indicator fishing where you want a something that has the same relative density and drifting characteristics as a real salmon egg, beads are very effective. There are a hundred color options but here are 3 of our favorites.
- Glow Roe
- Hot Cherry Roe (Cherry Bomb)
Learn More
If you want to learn more about why and when we fish these different bead colors plus a deep dive on mending, hydrology and more advanced nymphing concepts we have a detailed course on this fishery with dates every late fall and winter. If you are interested in attending this course check it out here:
Pacific Angler Course - Fly Fishing Egg Patters
