460 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

The joys of living on the mainland.

[AllseeingEye]

Wow - can't believe I missed this DFO notice from last night; my texts have been blowing up over the last couple of hours as fishing buddies read this - for the first time I can recall certainly this late into October DFO has closed ALL salmon fishing on the Campbell River below the confluence of the Quinsam all the way down to the river estuary.

 

Who would believe that that system of all rivers on the west coast, this close to November, would be so low that fishing for all salmonid species is closed?

 

This fisheries notice is to advise fishers of a new salmon fishing closure in the Campbell River (Region 1). The Campbell River is experiencing low flows which are likely to decrease further. Low flows are impacting salmon migration and access to spawning areas as well as increasing pre-spawn mortality. The Quinsam hatchery is struggling to obtain Chinook brood stock because of the persisting conditions and it is unclear if egg-take targets will be achieved. In an effort to conserve salmon stocks returning to the Campbell River a decision has been made to take a precautionary in-season approach to recreational fisheries.

 

Campbell River (Region 1): Effective immediately, until further notice, no salmon fishing.

 

https://notices.dfo-...D=267444&ID=all

[max.bravo]

Anyone know if the salmon are running at Goldstream? Wanna show the kids some zombie fish this weekend.

[AllseeingEye]

There are a good number of fish in the system beginning as of a few days ago, which marks the beginning of the spawn. All that desperately needed rain was just the ticket needed to assist the salmon, mostly Chum at this point. According to the Goldstream Hatchery folks in spite of all the rain the river has actually risen only 3-4 inches which tells you just how badly parched the ecosystem was - most of the recent rains were absorbed by the ground.

 

Still the fish are apparently bigger than usual which indicates these a 5 year old mature salmon so the kids should be able to see some true "river monsters" .

[max.bravo]

Excellent, thanks for the info ASE

[AllseeingEye]

Excellent, thanks for the info ASE

 

So we went to Goldstream yesterday because the weather was perfect: strong recommendation to take the kids to the falls - there were lots of enormous chum fighting their way up and through that portion of the ecosystem. Take a good camera too!

[todd]

“B.C. diver shakes a leg with giant Pacific octopus, in 'mind-blowing' encounter”:

https://www.timescol...counter-6063211

[AllseeingEye]

Forgot to post last week, per DFO effective Nov 11 previous freshwater restrictions in most systems for Region 1 i.e. Vancouver Island, are lifted until further notice due to improved river conditions. The main exception is (non) retention of chum salmon on the Puntledge River as returns there remain very low:

 

https://www-ops2.pac...05ys9JLMKGMG980

[AllseeingEye]

For anyone so inclined as we slowly move out of winter spring salmon fishing and into, well..."Spring".....now is a great time to peruse Facebook marketplace if you are looking to p/u new fishing gear or just refresh older stuff with newer rods 'n reels and other accessories without paying retail prices. 

 

I'm stocking and beefing up exclusively my fly fishing arsenal and snagged a first rate, barely used 8wt 9.0' Reddginton fly rod and Reddington reel, + soft mesh net (hard to find most of the nets at retail outlets are those s**** models with the plastic twine which can damage fish), and several boxes of basically brand new hand tied flies for the ridiculous price of $250; the reel alone brand new is easily $375-400 and the rod close to $300.

 

Lots of great equipment deals to be had at the moment.

[Matt R.]

Fresh halibut season!

[Victoria Watcher]

Jack Knox: Herring only live in Craigflower Bridge memories

 

The herring — once so abundant that the Gorge appeared black with them — are largely gone.

 

https://www.timescol...emories-6708097

[AllseeingEye]

Jack Knox: Herring only live in Craigflower Bridge memories

 

The herring — once so abundant that the Gorge appeared black with them — are largely gone.

 

https://www.timescol...emories-6708097

 

 

Sadly this is no surprise; mix in equal parts human stupidity above all, a healthy dose of greed and ineptitude, and this is what you get ecologically....

[AllseeingEye]

Fresh halibut season!

 

Well I'll be standing somewhere in the middle of the Cowichan river this weekend doing my best - although I'm pretty certain there are no halibut in Sandy Pool or Skutz Falls, lol.

 

Oh BTW Mrs ASE enjoyed the market on SSI last summer so much she is dragging me over there again in a couple of weeks - given the issues with BCF have probably only got worse since then any advice re the ferries going or coming that I should be aware of Matt?

[Matt R.]

Same as it ever was. The Skeena is mostly immune to the problems and cancellations other routes have. The new summer schedule is going to be a disaster, however.

[AllseeingEye]

Awesome day fishing the Cowichan River today - a bright sunny late winter day wading in that river reminds you why this island and this coast are special places.

 

We tied into some lunker brown trout and a nice rainbow today ranging along some of our favorite spots to fish, namely from Skutz falls back down the trail head east to Sandy Pool. For those looking for steelhead - the unicorns of the Vancouver island fishing world - "now* is the time to be out there on this river, up to about the end of April.

 

When going for the elusive steelies fly fish with traditional steely flies as well as intruders and Stone flies. All are effective. Single hand, switch and spey rods are all used with generally equal effectiveness. If you're actually heading out onto the river as opposed to wading it like our group try drift fishing with floats and pink worms, bead eggs and spin and glows. If using spin gear cast with spoons and maybe steely jigs.

 

Steelhead are the 'gold standard' but I do also very much enjoy going for brown trout, they're strong fish, fight like hell and can tip the scales at ten+ pounds locally; in other parts of the world these trout can get much bigger.The Cowichan supports a good brownie population. Generally in terms of flies I would suggest streamers in the early spring, moving to dry flies and various patterns as the season progresses. Streamers BTW are also the flies of choice for bagging cutthroat trout, as are dry flies and nymphs.

 

I'm a huge fan of spey rods and spey casting in general, its just a personal preference. The spey cast is a roll cast that includes a change of direction. It allows the angler to make long casts, sometimes very long casts, without a lot of room for a back cast. IOW in areas along the river where there is thick brush, vegetation or a very close treeline. The casting technique can be used with very long double-handed rods as well as more traditional single-handed fly rods (which is my preference).

 

The primary advantage of a traditional spey set up is that the angler is able to make long casts without having to strip in lots of line before re-casting. This makes it easier to keep your line in the water for longer, which results in your flies spending more time in front of the fish rather than the birds

 

For folks who might want to get out and explore the Cowichan river ecosystem - and who wouldn't! - but aren't necessarily into fishing there is the Cowichan River footpath, a stunning ¬ 20 kilometer riverside path that can take seven hours or so to complete if you're adventurous and want to do the whole thing. Otherwise just do part of this amazing trail and save the rest for another day.

 

Its considered easy -> moderate in terms of the physical effort required to walk. The path was constructed in the 1960's by the local Fish & Game association and while the main trail is well marked several older secondary routes do still exist, and these are not sign-posted or maintained. 

 

In the meantime tight lines anglers!

[Sparky]

Wow ASE you paint quite the picture. Gorgeous day.

[AllseeingEye]

It was a little chilly first thing Sparky - we were out there on the river, fully kitted up and fishing, by about 8am. Fortunately there was no wind. Rain is never an issue for us but as you know out on any body of water wind is problematic.

 

Although we've known each other since the mid-80's this group has been fishing/camping together seriously for about fifteen years, from our mid 40's to now with an average age of 61, so we're not as nimble and agile as we used to be. It also requires a bit more coaxing to rouse ourselves out of bed at 5am on a weekend morning. That was never a problem ten years ago no matter how late we'd been up the night before or how much mood altering substances had been drunk, smoked or eaten. Today lets just say on fishing trips these days if the collective decision is to sleep in past 5:30am then there is not much opposition....

 

By late morning today it was much warmer, the four of us happily spread out apart along the river for about a 150 meter distance, fish were biting and we were thankful to be enjoying a great day outdoors doing something we all love, and above all very grateful we are enjoying it while still above the ground rather than below it .

[Mike K.]

Post of the month right there, ASE, thank you.

[AllseeingEye]

Thanks - do I win a prize, Mike?!

[Mike K.]

See? Nature finds a way.

Just off the coast of northern Vancouver Island, the ocean waters have turned a vibrant shade of turquoise as herring spawn in an area where they've never been recorded before.

…

The spawn is happening off the coast of Port McNeill and Hyde Creek, an area where Department of Fisheries and Oceans biologist Jaclyn Cleary says a herring spawn has never been recorded.

"It doesn't mean that there has never been a spawn there before," she said, adding that DFO's records date back to 1950.

…

"I've never seen adult herring in these amounts before in this area."

- https://www.cbc.ca/n...neill-1.6795626