Fall 2025

Fall is here!

With the temperature dropping and the rain falling, now is a great time to get out there in search of salmon and trout. Freshwater Coho retention has opened here in Campbell River and trout fishing is picking up as the salmon start to spawn in earnest. 

Spinners, spoons, plugs, and soft beads are the go to offerings for Coho this time of year. Vibrax spinners in sizes 2 to 5 in blue, chartreuse, purple, and pink can be very effective at eliciting aggressive strikes from staging fish. For spooky fish in low water, small soft beads can be deadly as salmon will be consuming them for reasons unknown. Natural colors have always worked best for me, however clown and purple beads are known producers as well. Transparent floats and small hooks will add to the effectiveness by keeping the presentation as natural as possible. Similarly, big cutthroat will be in the river systems feasting on eggs before spawning in the spring. Similar tactics work for these feisty fish as well, check out the full feature in the next issue of Island Fisherman!

Lake fishing is also picking up this time of year with the biggest fish being caught in late summer into fall. Predictably, large plugs imitating trout, kokanee, and crayfish are the go to patterns for local anglers in the know. Check out the selection currently in stock here. Trolling near drop offs, points, creek mouths, and weed beds can produce some substantial fish in the double digit weight class! In the interior of B.C. and Washington State, anglers are keying in on big Gerrard rainbows feasting on spawned out Kokanee as they get washed out of the rivers and creeks. Walking Dead was designed to replicate this key food source for trophy size trout and is the perfect plug to fish this time of year.

Tight lines!

Damien