The end of May and first couple of weeks in June are my favorite time of the year for fly fishing the Kamloops Lakes. Every day fly fishing is a great day but at this time of the year the rainbow trout are feasting on the largest menu that they will see all season.

- chironomids and bloodworms are abundant and vary in size & colour and all through the water column, the fish are gorging on them
(hint: I was recently talking with local fly fishing celebrity, Mo Bradley, as he was tying some larger chironomids at his post at Surplus Herby's... he said that in the early spring, it's the small chironomids that emerge but as the season progresses through to September, the chironomids get larger, peaking out as "bombers". As the season starts to wind down, so does the size of the emerging chironomids)

- staples like leeches and scuds (also known as freshwater shrimp) are reproducing, making themselves vulnerable to fish

- the mayfly hatch starts... watch for rolling fish on the edge of the weed beds as the fish rise and slurp the delicate pupa as it is preparing to emerge

- damsel and dragonfly larva are on the move from the deeper water to the warmer shallows where they will attach themselves to reeds and rushes, turn to pupa and then emerge as adults... it's the larva stage that gets the fish excited and then later, they thrash around in the weeds to knock the pupa free and feed on them too

- caddis larva and pupa are on the move getting into position for emerging later in June and July

Yes, it is a wonderful buffet for the fish and the best opportunity for you as a fly fisherman to take advantage of their aggressive feeding behavior.

See ya on the lakes!