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
Orvis Clearwater 510-4 $329.00
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 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)
List 3
Leader Setup
This is where things get interesting and taking some time to customize your leader will catch more fish.
The key is a concept that the smaller diameter and the denser the material of your leader will result in less drag and a better drift. With this in mind Rio and sage 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 of the leader to a narrow diameter that have less drag. Though your standard 9 ft 4-5x leader will work if you are getting into indicator fishing 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 whole of customizing a leader that has denser fluorocarbon materials, perfect taper and built in sighters to let you see the drag more effectively check out this video.
(INSERT VIDEO LINK)
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.
List the Products
Indicators
Beads
Balanced Euro Eggs
Course Focus