Fall Salmon Fly Fishing: A Beginner’s Guide

If you are anything like me, the buzz of the alarm clock at 4 a.m. isn’t usually a welcome sound. Unless it’s a fishing day!

Fall on Vancouver Island is a special time of year, when the giants of the deep return to their natal rivers and streams to spawn. For a fly fisher, it is one of only a handful of opportunities to connect with these great fish.

Early one September morning, I picked up my friends Jon and Mike and headed out of town for a day of beach/river fishing for Chinook salmon. We made our usual stop at Tim Horton’s, and then we were on our way. The orange glow of the city lights faded behind us as we headed toward our destination.

As it was low tide, we decided to start at the estuary and fish the saltwater section of the river first. We put on our waders and boots, tied on our flies, and started the 1-km walk across the beach toward the mouth of the river. As a rule, I bring binoculars along for these trips, as they enable you to spot schools of fish from a distance. As the sky started to lighten, I scanned back and forth on the beach and soon saw the familiar “nervous water” caused by schooling salmon moving in shallow water.

Gord Macdonald

We positioned ourselves along the river and waited until we saw fish moving towards us. Jon was using a blue/white Clouser minnow, Mike tried a green/white Clouser, and I had a pink Popsicle steelhead fly on. On the first swing past the fish, Jon got a solid hit! His fish turned and headed straight back for the saltwater, and we watched as Jon ran down the beach following the silver tor pedo. The battle lasted several minutes and then Jon was able to bring the smaller Chinook in for a quick picture and release. Jon had another hit on his next cast, so at that point I decided to switch flies to something with blue in it. I did, and first cast I hooked a nice Chinook. It too went right back out to the saltwater. After several screaming runs into my backing, I was able to bring it to shore. It was a nice 15-lb Chinook. Jon hooked one more fish, which we never ended up seeing as the hook popped out. By this time the tide had come in so we packed up and headed for the freshwater portion of the river.

We arrived at the next spot, donned our gear and walked a short trail through the fern-laden forest. We climbed down a bank and slowly edged our way across a shallow section of the river to a nice gravel bar between two larger pools. We could see the splashing of larger fish jockeying for position in the river. I heard Mike giggling as he tied on his fly. We each chose a spot near the lower pool and watched the water. There was a decent-sized school of fish holding in the tail out. Mike was closest, so he cast first. Seconds later, I heard “Fish on!” I started stripping my line in to get out of the way and WHAM!! I had one on too. Mike and I spent the next five minutes playing leapfrog trying hard not to get our lines tangled. During that time Mike’s fish decided to head for a logjam and subsequently got off. My fish took a run upstream so I followed, and  as able to bring him into shallow water, tail him, and quickly twist the fly out of his mouth. I gently lifted him up for a quick picture, then send him on his way. He was about 20 lbs, a great start to the day!

Mike’s turn was next. A few casts later and he was into a nice one. The fish ran upstream, then downstream, then up again. I was laughing as I followed to get some pictures. After several minutes,Mike was able to bring the fish close to shore. We spent the next few hours catching and releasing numerous salmon, the largest being in the 25-lb range.

Mike Ciccotelli

Fly Fishing Beach Strategies

Some things to consider when fishing from the beach are run timings, tides, and wind.

Run timings—We are lucky in most river systems, as the run timings tend to overlap starting in late August through to early December. The river we fished in the story above has pink and Chinook salmon arriving in late August to late September, coho from mid-September to late October, and chum from late September to early November.

Tides—When fishing an estuary, it’s good to be there at a low tide and fish the river mouth back toward the beach as the tide comes in. Some systems also can produce well with a high tide at first light, usually when the fish are first arriving at the river mouth. They tend to move in and out of the river numerous times before committing to their up-stream migration. Also, when fishing in the river itself, the hours following each high tide tend to bring more fish into the system. Often one particular spot will produce for a while, then slow down, and then pick up again as the next wave of fish push upstream.

Wind—This is a fairly obvious one, more concerning for the fly fisher. For beach/estuary fishing, I have found a light wind best, as no wind at all can create a very spooky environment for the fish and cause them to be less willing to bite.

Fall Fly Fishing Setups

For larger fish, I always use at least an 8-wt fly rod and floating line with various poly sink tips. Some prefer an intermediate or full sink line, but I find it gets hung up on the bottom more often. Leader material is 6 to 8 ft of 25-lb monofilament line. This heavier gear allows you to bring the fish in quickly so as not to tire them beyond the point of recovery. I make loop-to-loop connections from fly line to sinking tip, and also from sink tip to leader. This allows for quicker changes.

Fall Fly Fishing Flies

I always carry a good selection of streamers, steelhead flies, and even trout flies. It’s also wise to have weighted and unweighted versions of each, as there are few things as frustrating as not being able to get down to the fish.

Some popular choices include the following:

• Clouser minnow in chartreuse/white and blue/white.
• Pink/Purple Popsicle
• Black Egg Sucking Leech
• Pink Barbell
• Gold or Blue Rolled Muddler
• Purple Seal Bugger
• California Neil (in chartreuse or blue)

Fall Fly Fishing Tactics

Don’t stand in the water when you are casting. You can usually cast across most smaller rivers, and walking in only spooks the school and pushes the fish further away.

Cast slightly upstream of your target to give your fly time to get down close to the bottom.

Change fly colour/pattern often if you are not getting any response. It makes more difference than you would think. Make sure your presentation is deep enough. You want to be in the bottom 2 ft of the water column.

Safety & Tips

• Always be careful crossing streams and rivers.
• Wear a waist belt on your waders.
• Be bear aware. We have a high population of black bears on the island, so it’s a good idea to fish with a partner and carry bear spray.
• If you plan on releasing the fish, keep it in the water (don’t drag it up on the rocks).

This article appeared in Island Fisherman magazine. Never miss another issue—subscribe today!

Mike Ciccotelli’s first Chinook on the fly