The Columbia River in the West Kootenay area of British Columbia is heavily damned which has had significant long-lasting effects of species in the area. The tailwater ecosystem on the Columbia River below Hugh Keenleyside dam near Robson, BC is home to spectacular fishing for a healthy population of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Thousands annually come to the greater Castlegar area to target these sport fish which has contributed a lot to the local economy, however rapidly changing flow rates from dam management has given anglers headaches for years trying to understand where the fish are in constantly shifting conditions. This report is part of a joint project with Brady Ward to look at a range of factors which affect the feeding habits of the Columbia River Rainbow Trout to determine the best conditions to target large numbers of fish during the fall season. I focused on looking at the flow rates within the area and other factors affected by flow rate to understand more about the prime conditions to catch Rainbow Trout in the Columbia River. The goal was to create a set of conditions that produced more Rainbow Trout for the benefit of anglers in the Castlegar area to have a higher success rate on the water. Through the use of fly-fishing, Brady and myself caught a total of 7 Rainbow Trout over the 5 sampling days in the fall and winter season. Upon analyzing the data, I found that during lower flow rates larger Rainbow Trout were caught during these later months of the year. There also was no direct link with the increased catch rates of Rainbow Trout and certain ranges of flow rates. Little definitive claims can be made about the data due to more data needing to be collected to understand trends and truly understand the effects of rapidly changing flow rates on the feeding habits of Rainbow Trout on the Columbia River.
