334 replies to this topic

[AllseeingEye]

This irks me to no end as it does many others who live close to the Cowichan River or especially those who fish or make their living guiding on the river, which is designated as a Canadian heritage ecosystem; its under tremendous pressure as it is for a variety of reasons including a shifting climate, fish stocks are falling dramatically in many sections of the system and all that sunscreen and tanning lotion from rafters is seriously degrading the river by killing off bug hatches etc. And I can't begin to count the number of plastic water bottles, beer cans etc we have pulled out of the Cowichan on our fishing trips.

 

IMO if they insist on continuing to permit rafting on the Cowichan it should not be allowed beyond a certain point on the upper reaches of the system.

 

https://www.timescol...injured-5524987

[AllseeingEye]

Gotta love it when a (very!) last minute plan comes together; we're going to hit the Nile Creek estuary Wednesday morning - in the very AM, aiming to have flies in the salt chuck by 5 bells, meaning rise n shine by 3am since we're starting out of Duncan.

 

I always especially look forward to fishing a spot I've never tried before which is odd in this case because we've driven by the area dozens of times and Nile Creek is not only immensely popular among the island's east coast fishing folk its also dead easy accessible, which becomes more important the older and creakier your body becomes. Going to use light gear just to amp up the fun-o-meter, in the 6-7 weight range for the rods, which will be awfully interesting if I can tempt a good size salmon to take a fly.

[Mike K.]

Have you ever fished the rivers feeding into the Alice and Victoria lake system?

[AllseeingEye]

Have you ever fished the rivers feeding into the Alice and Victoria lake system? 

 

I've fished in, around and all over the Squamish (Alice Lake) area, including the Cheakamus, Lillooet, Squamish and Elaho river systems, its actually one of my personal favorite regions on the coast to fish. We've had great luck on the Cheakamus and Lillooet Rivers especially. At Alice Lake we dropped in the belly boats and floated that system. TONS of fish in all of them. If you know what you're doing....

[Mike K.]

I didn’t know there was an Alice Lake there.

I mean Alice and Victoria lakes on the north Island

[AllseeingEye]

Heh....no I haven't: 'clearly' - I had no idea there was an Alice Lake on the island! Closest we've come to that area is making our way off the logging road mains through the forests of the Eve and Salmon Rivers respectively, which are in the high country north west of Sayward. As well as the Conuma River and its tributaries which are closer to Tahsis....

[Mike K.]

Ok, thanks ASE. I’m heading up that way and am compiling leads.

[AllseeingEye]

Leads for business, camping, or.....fishing? You'll get no fishing intel from me!

 

But I will say for anyone who cares or fishes in or around Campbell River that right now the main fish in the system from the confluence of the Quinsam/Campbell Rivers down to the estuary are sea-run cutthroat trout which we encountered and caught with much abundance yesterday directly below the Detwiler/Logging Rd bridge. 2022 is not anticipated to be a huge pink salmon year - very large runs generally alternate with lesser years with up to 75% fewer returning salmon - and 2022 definitely falls into the latter category; its a bit early for the pinks just now but two of us did manage to tie into a few early pinkies in a deep pool near the Hwy 19 bridge.

 

On our way back down island we also dropped lines at Nile Creek, the Oyster River - access to that sucker is available but you need to check your GPS and study your angling map books - and the Little Qualicum River. Water levels in all of the systems were uncharacteristically high for July but as well all know we've had no real heat and an abundance of rain. We couldn't recall the last time we've seen water levels so high at this time of year, but the good news is theoretically it means improved fishing as the fish don't have to school in salt chuck estuaries waiting for rivers to rise and cool down, and can more easily move into those fresh water systems.

[Mike K.]

Ok, very good ASE.

I was just curious if you knew of any cool spots up around those lakes.

I was at the Nitinaht over the weekend and it seemed quite low for so much rain. Or maybe I confused the water levels with where they’d be in May or June when I’d usually venture out that way.

[AllseeingEye]

Sorry Mike the closest lake to that area where we've fished is the Great Central Lake, beyond that on the island we mostly exclusively fish the rivers,,,,,

[Victoria Watcher]

Seattle Times, like most left media, never misses an opportunity to put a negative spin on any news.



Salmon runs shatter records as peak season shows no sign of slowing

Previous records of sockeye salmon have been shattered by this year's run, which is putting stress on processors and shippers trying to get the fish to market.

[Nparker]

I thought climate change, over-harvesting and fish farming had killed all the wild salmon. What happened?

[LJ]

My sister-in-law caught a 28 pound spring on Monday.

[Nparker]

Maybe the rising ocean levels are giving the salmon more room to swim. 🤣

[Mike K.]

The ultra low tides might have something to do with it.