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#181 Maximus

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Posted 23 February 2020 - 06:12 PM

I am new. Just arrived three weeks ago. So everythings are new for me. But I love fishing and nature.
I would prefer salt water. But sometimes I would not give up fishing on the lake. I have not experience do fly fish, I think gear only.


Edited by Maximus, 23 February 2020 - 06:13 PM.


#182 AllseeingEye

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Posted 23 February 2020 - 07:04 PM

How "new" to salmon fishing are you? Have you fished for salmon at all, either here or for Atlantic salmon?

 

I get a sense you might not be too experienced; in that case, and especially since you don't know this area and appear to be leaning heavily toward the salt chuck and less so to fresh water, I would strongly suggest you look into booking a salmon charter. There are an abundant number of reputable charters locally and literally up and down the island. Victoria and Sooke have several very good charter and guide outfits which you can easily look up with a Google search.

 

Guided charters take all the guess work out of fishing, they supply all the gear, typically the food etc., if you're out on the water for the day; they know where and when to go for the best chance of bringing in a salmon. More critically they know the regulations - which are taken seriously in BC, violate them and you are subject potentially to heavy fines and even a court appearance if you really mess up. That said charters can be pricey so you need to budget accordingly for their services.

 

If you literally want to test the local waters without incurring the expense of a charter local fishermen spin cast right off the breakwater; again though this is not the optimal time of year for ocean-caught salmon.

 

Steel-head, which I mentioned earlier, are in season and are primarily a freshwater (river) fishing experience, and to increase your chances of catching one you really do need to know the local and island rivers since you can expect to be doing a lot of backwoods hiking in deep bush and rain forest to get to those spots on rivers like the Gordon River, where the fish are. Also if you are a novice or fairly inexperienced fisherman I wouldn't recommend starting with steel head since its a very technical style of fishing and in the event you do hook one its kind of like having a hand grenade on acid on your line. They are very aggressive and you do need to know what you're doing if you have any chance of landing it.

 

I'd do some online research on Vancouver Island guide outfits, especially in Victoria and lower island, and see if you can find one that you are comfortable with.



#183 AllseeingEye

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Posted 04 March 2020 - 10:23 AM

Seriously how really cool is Vancouver Island as an outdoors wilderness: for a guy who grew up and lived here all his life, save two stints living in Vancouver, I'm amazed in April my fishing gang is going to not one but two island river ecosystems I've not only never fished, but never actually heard of either. Namely the Conuma and the Leiner rivers, on the north west coast of the rock between Gold River and Tahsis. We're going to head in and camp for 2-3 nights. Absolutely stoked to fish an area I had to go look up on a map, lol.


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#184 Langford Rat

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Posted 04 March 2020 - 02:24 PM

Tight lines! Look forward to your report...


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#185 AllseeingEye

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Posted 04 March 2020 - 06:46 PM

Tight lines! Look forward to your report...

 

More than happy to oblige: its a damn nice looking river and if hit at the right time is loaded with all sorts of different fish species. Perfect for wading and fly and drift fishing, when the water is higher - 

Attached Images

  • Conuma II.jpg
  • Conuma R.jpg


#186 Mike K.

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Posted 05 March 2020 - 05:57 AM

Wow!

 

So, I think I'll be getting into the fishing thing myself. Always wanted to do it, and now it's time. 

 

ASE, where do I start? I think river fishing is going to be my thing.


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#187 lanforod

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Posted 05 March 2020 - 08:34 AM

You start by buying a license. :rtfm:


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#188 Mike K.

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Posted 05 March 2020 - 09:17 AM

Wouldn’t it make sense to buy that last?
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#189 AllseeingEye

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Posted 05 March 2020 - 06:58 PM

Always happy to help with bringing the newly converted over to the Dark Side Mike. If there is a Mrs K it'll be your responsibility to stick-handle that end of the equation whenever a planned fishing trip with the guys coincidentally collides with her birthday or an anniversary :).

 

Lots to consider, including first and foremost whether your preference is salt vs fresh water; sounds like the latter. Ok, river fishing vs lake? Or both?

 

What species of fish are you aiming for - salmon, trout, or steelhead (the Holy Grail of west coast fish, basically a sea going variety of rainbow trout that acts like a salmon and re-enters freshwater environments from the marine in order to spawn. Confused? Good! Having one of these babies hit your fly or lure is an experience you won't forget....). Or do they all sound good?

 

Fly fishing is a very technical type of fishing that literally takes years to become really good at. When starting out its more frustration than anything and its highly likely you'll catch more riverside shrubs and tree branches than fish. Anyone who fly fishes and remembers their formative years knows what I am talking about. 

 

Probably easiest for you to start off with spin or bait casting. Not only is it a more intuitive and less technical style of fishing but the gear tends to be more affordable especially as your skill level improves. As you get better at fly fishing for example you can (and will be inclined to...trust me!) easily drop $1000 on a high end reel and $600-1000 on a rod. For a good intermediate 'rod and reel' of the spin cast variety you can get into that game for $400 all in, or less.

 

Other considerations boil down to how seriously you want to get into the sport, i.e. just casually cast off a shore - or a certain breakwater we're all familiar with on VV - or do you want to get into the waders and boots thing which our group does? Just for price point examples my last pair of waders were $350, my boots over $300 - but you can get into the sport with an entry level combination of the two from Canadian Tire for $100....

 

Alternatively there is belly boating which we also do (imagine an over sized inner tube with webbing you literally sit down in and flippers on your feet that fit through the harness and which you use to propel yourself around a lake or river). What about drift fishing, where you typically hire a guide to row you down the best spots of a river in a guide boat - the Cowichan for example - and all you have to do is focus on is casting and retrieving and hopefully catching fish?

 

Before that awful fire that clobbered the business I would have recommended you speak to the fine folks at Island Outfitters who are excellent at providing sound advice for novice up to the expert level. Until they get back on their feet there are lots of online resources you can review to get up to speed, not to mention a boatload (pun intended) of YouTube videos that illustrate everything from how to tie a lure or fly, to the various styles of fishing - all filmed here in BC and many here on VI.

 

Also feel free to fire away with questions I'm sure between Langford Rat and me and few others we can steer you in a generally good direction. Also with some notice I'm always happy to meet over a beer Mike.

 

Here is but one example of an instructional "how to" video using a bait casting rod and reel setup. You'll need patience as its long (17 minutes) - but you'll get a rough idea of how many different fishing possibilities and styles and setups are available, maybe most critically notice how technical his set is: this is a long long way from a wooden pole and a worm on a hook but its typical of things you need to consider if you are going to get into serious river fishing, and be successful at it:

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=R8jUoyCiNZ4



#190 Mike K.

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Posted 05 March 2020 - 07:53 PM

Jeepers. Maybe I should just stick to McFilets?

Thank you for the video and the offer to answer questions. I’d like to explore this a little further, for sure.
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#191 AllseeingEye

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Posted 05 March 2020 - 08:57 PM

Jeepers. Maybe I should just stick to McFilets?

Thank you for the video and the offer to answer questions. I’d like to explore this a little further, for sure.

 

Nah, its all good. Everyone had to start at the beginning at some point. Here is just a portion of my gear, barely scratches the surface of what I actually have. To start you just need one of everything :)

Attached Images

  • Fish Gear 2.jpg
  • Fish gear 3.jpg
  • Fish gear 4.jpg
  • Fish Gear.jpg
  • Reels.jpg

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#192 Mike K.

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Posted 05 March 2020 - 09:22 PM

No matter what one does, you need to accessorize.
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#193 Lorenzo

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Posted 05 March 2020 - 10:21 PM

 

Alternatively there is belly boating which we also do (imagine an over sized inner tube with webbing you literally sit down in and flippers on your feet that fit through the harness and which you use to propel yourself around a lake or river). What about drift fishing, where you typically hire a guide to row you down the best spots of a river in a guide boat - the Cowichan for example - and all you have to do is focus on is casting and retrieving and hopefully catching fish?

 

 

Had a belly boat and really liked it. Nice relaxing way to ply the local lakes. Perfect for dragging a wet fly on a sink tip line.The novelty wore off as I got older. I'd paddle to where I was going, and inevitably have to turn around and return to shore to take care of "business."


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#194 AllseeingEye

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Posted 05 March 2020 - 11:09 PM

I admittedly enjoy it more in the Interior in summer when the water is warmer; there are great fishing lakes in the Merritt area, particularly Tunkwa and Corbett Lakes - outstanding trout fishing and both ideal for belly boating. On the island I do prefer wading simply because I have more control over the "warmth factor" and because we have such outstanding river fishing on the island especially if you are willing to put in the work to find those special access points off the beaten track. 



#195 AllseeingEye

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Posted 06 March 2020 - 09:11 PM

Wow!

 

So, I think I'll be getting into the fishing thing myself. Always wanted to do it, and now it's time. 

 

ASE, where do I start? I think river fishing is going to be my thing.

 

Here you go Mike an online resource just for you. Don't let the domain name put you off (yes a "noob" means a rookie/newbie), as there is a ton of good novice-new fisherman information here:

 

http://fishingnoob.com/

 

If you pursue the hobby and get hooked (I make no apology for the pun), and if you're very lucky as I have been on two occasions, you get to meet BC's very own April Vokey, essentially the female Wayne Gretzky of fly fishing.

 

And yes - we'll just get this out of the way and state the bleeding obvious, to quote John Cleese - she's HOT. Very hot. Also very nice. More importantly and most pertinently however she's also one of the best fly fishing person's/people? you'll encounter anywhere. She has a massive cult following for her YouTube videos, particularly those chronicling her BC steel-head adventures. 

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=Q07QuIrSj_8


Edited by AllseeingEye, 06 March 2020 - 09:11 PM.

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#196 AllseeingEye

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 03:01 PM

Here is another great online resource Mike, with intros to the various types of fishing available in BC including examples of various lake, salt water and river fishing expeditions, trip ideas and adventures over virtually every possible terrain in the province, including Squamish one of my personal favorite fishing areas:

 

https://fishingbc.co...tO-adJIbL_HZ3wM


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#197 Mike K.

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 05:24 PM

Hasn’t fishing been cancelled yet?
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#198 AllseeingEye

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Posted 16 March 2020 - 06:22 PM

Hasn’t fishing been cancelled yet?

 

Never....!


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#199 AllseeingEye

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Posted 20 March 2020 - 01:00 PM

Feck...I spoke too soon: just noticed all campgrounds in the province are closed until the end of next month. There goes the April camping-fishing trip. Guess i'll be rescheduling some vacation time.



#200 Sparky

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Posted 21 March 2020 - 05:38 AM

First of all thank you ASE for your years of respectful posting and your keen insights into the art of fishing.

 

In light of the doom and gloom of this medical mess that we are in the middle of, it's threads like these that give us hope. We want to assume that we are going to come out the other side of this chaos with a greater respect for our health, loved ones, and life in general.

 

Fishing is all about hope.

 

I have fished since I was a smooth skinned boy. It started with sunfish at Swan and Beaver Lakes. Then it was trout and bass at Elk. Graduating to the ocean began with cod off the rocks at Gordon's Beach in Sooke.

 

Standing by the ocean hour after hour at 13 years changed my life. Gazing over the ever changing waterscape all by myself did something inside me that allowed me to dream.

 

And dream I did.....then came the boats.

 

I saw a sign in a marina once that said..."you live on an island...you're gonna need a boat."

 

I have some wonderful fishing stories that I would like to share with you all while I am self isolating in my garage. I would like to distract myself from this seemingly endless and life changing situation that we find ourselves in.

 

While I gather my thoughts and prepare to share some of my rather odd and peculiar fishing experiences...is there any one else out there that has something to share?


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