460 replies to this topic

[AllseeingEye]

A few general observations, comments and updates after a great 48 hours on the Somass River.....

 

First in general....mannnnnnnnnn, this island is one spectacular place. As if I needed reminding. We were running ahead of schedule so decided to park at Cathedral Grove to actually walk much of the extensive trail system set up to provide access to some of the island's most impressive trees. It was busy but not overwhelmingly so. There aren't enough "wow" adjectives in the English language to do this special place justice. If getting in touch with nature is your thing and you haven't experienced the "grove" from anything but a moving car do yourself a favor and do so.

 

Pt Alberni hardly changes at all whether you were there last week or ten years ago. As it was a stat holiday we were pleasantly surprised at the number of good restaurants that were open after 5pm. Whenever possible we like to support local eateries and won't patonize  "chain" restaurants unless there is no other option. As we were hungry, having already checked in to our motel we drove around for a bit before settling on this place and were we every glad we did: https://barebonesfishhouse.ca/

 

Can't say enough good things about "Bare Bones". The halibut was out of this world good and we wound up being seated next to something of a local PA and north island commercial halibut legend and his wife. "Barry" invented a method for prepping and storing fresh caught halibut that he eventually patented on the BC coast. Needless to say the proceeds have given him and "Isabella" his Mexican wife a very nice lifestyle indeed, including having multiple properties on the island and in Puerto Vallarta, where they reside half of each year. Who says fishing can't be lucrative. Great people with whom we swapped many tall fishing tales.

 

Our table shared a huge helping of Fried Cauliflower bites as an appy. If you go here do try them, they were amazing. I had the crispy halibut "hand held". i.e. a huge piece crispy local halibut in 'secret' home made batter served on a brioche bun with super tasty home made tartar sauce, coleslaw and pickles. Dinner was beyond delicious. I think my main was $23 + grat, which was a steal IMO.

 

The town was pretty quiet but everyone we met was unfailingly helpful and polite. Especially the young lady working at the BC Cannabis outlet

 

Now on to the fishing: the Somass is not an easy river relative to many others on VI to access good fishing spots. Its characterized was a lot of private property ownership with large expansive private properties directly abutting the river meaning you only have a few options for direct access if you aren't drifting the entire system, i.e. chartering a local guide or taking your own float or boat down the river. The source of the Somass is Sproat Lake; it then joins up with the Stamp River at the confluence of the two systems south of the Sproat river bridge. On a personal note the Stamp is one of my very favorite rivers on the island, both to camp on and especially to fish....

 

The usual on-foot direct access point is via the Somass River park about 15 minutes north/west of town. We've been there a few times and you can easily find it using Google Maps. Note that wi-fi access even that close to town can be spotty I'm guessing due to the general terrain. As a backup especially if you don't know the area very well make sure you have a hard copy map of the river as well as local roads on hand. There is a well marked sign for the Somass River Park - but only if you know which side road to turn off on to beforehand, therefore you can easily whizz by it in your vehicle and never come close to seeing the sign.

 

To our disappointment it was immediately obvious all that recent warm weather is causing a lot of snow melt in the alpine spaces as the river was as high or higher than we can recall.

 

At the park there is a rough boat launch that was cut out of the river bank many years ago specifically for launching rubber tubes and small drift boats for the local guiding and general recreational fishing community. It was dead quiet there today, not a surprise the day after a stat holiday. Normally you would gear up and wade the river at this point to more than half way across to a well known and long established gravel bank located roughly mid river; it is ideal because the bank sits squarely in the path of the confluence of the two (Stamp and Somass) rivers, which is a prime spot to find fish. That was simply not happening today; the water was far too deep to wade any farther than about ten meters off the boat launch point so we needed to fall back on plan B.

 

Although sockeye season opened May 1 naturally the fish aren't aware of that and it was fairly obvious relatively quickly that at the moment there are few sockeye in the system. A fact I was able to confirm with a fisheries staff member manning a nearby counting station just a hundred meters or so down the river. He confirmed they've seen few sockeye to date and expectations now are the bulk of the fish won't move into the system for another two weeks or more....

 

No problem it was on to the aforementioned plan B: we simply changed up our gear and tossed in a bunch of "metal" from the shore either side of the boat launch point; 'metal' is the snobby fly fisherman term for those deemed too timid to attempt fly fishing and who just use a basic spin cast rod and reel setup with a metal lure; of course when you're after sea run cutthroat trout instead of salmon there is nothing wrong with using small spoons and 'metal' options like Panther Martin's, Mepps, and Blue Fox lures - sufficiently augmented as appropriate of course with a variety of options such as yarn, imitation (salmon) egg loops or any one of the multiple artificial egg lure configurations you could use.

 

Within a few minutes all of us were getting strikes - clearly our timing was good and the bite was on - which made the entire endeavour and effort more than worthwhile. I eventually tied in to a lovely 5-6 pound "cutty" which made the day for me.

 

All in all as always it was a great day for fishing but if you're dead set on bagging a sockeye on this river I would suggest waiting at least another 1-2 weeks.

Edited by AllseeingEye, 23 May 2023 - 09:58 PM.

[Mike K.]

Good to hear, ASE!

[Stephen James]

wow thank you that was great ASE!

[Sparky]

Yes nice writing skills. I felt like I was along for the ride.

[AllseeingEye]

Yes nice writing skills. I felt like I was along for the ride.

 

Yer welcome any time Sparky....

[AllseeingEye]

Some very good news from the BCG re salmonid enhancement and environmental protection and sustainability:

 

https://news.gov.bc.... iconic species.

[AllseeingEye]

Well dang....here is an interesting fish story. Was out with a pal this evening fishing Durrance Lake out off Willis Pt Rd. The lake is stocked 2x annually with various trout species as well as some bass. Rainbow trout are most prevalent with the odd cutthroat trout and a decent population of small mouth bass.

 

Tonight while enjoying a nice evening my buddy reels in....a juvenile ~ 2 pound......coho salmon. We just stood there with our mouths hanging open. I had to look at the fish for about 5 minutes before realizing "holy s*** this is a salmon!" The only thing I can think of is the lake is part of the Tod Creek watershed and the creek naturally eventually flows into Tod Inlet.

 

My guess is that somehow this fish was possibly originally born close to where the creek enters the inlet, or it actually entered the system from the inlet itself and managed to get all the way up to the lake, probably as a yearling or even when it was still a fry. Either way that's not something you see every day in a local fresh water lake.

[Mike K.]

ASE, please tell us there’s a photo. That’s wild!

[AllseeingEye]

Yes there are a couple of pics, its definitely a juvenile coho. I'll post them when I receive them later....

[Mike K.]

Great! Thanks, ASE.

[AllseeingEye]

Awesome news; two thumbs way up for the Nature Trust of BC and all the other conservation, public and private and FN orgs involved in this critically important initiative. The Cowichan river ecosystem and estuary is a special place and is designated as a Canadian heritage river. At the very least, given all we have done to degrade our natural environment over the last 100+ years, humans owe it this effort, and more, at the very minimum. Well done to all - 

 

https://www.timescol...shlands-7135106

[Mike K.]

It’s even better than that, ASE. The TC reports 70 acres, but its 70 hectares (175 acres).

Press release:

Today, The Nature Trust of British Columbia (NTBC), in partnership with Cowichan Tribes, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Ministry of Forests, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation announced plans to restore and revitalize 70 hectares of estuarine marshlands along the Cowichan River Estuary on Vancouver Island.

The Cowichan Estuary Restoration Project is the largest estuary restoration project to ever occur on Vancouver Island, aiming to restore vitally important estuary habitat and enhance estuary resilience against rising sea-levels. The project will rejuvenate habitat crucial for the survival of key fish and wildlife species, including wild Pacific Salmon, migratory and breeding birds as well as species-at-risk.

The project will involve the combined removal of over 2 km of dikes at Dinsdale Farm and Koksilah Marsh, the creation of intertidal channels and salt marsh habitat, the restoration of marine riparian and flood fringe forests, and the reconnection of areas that have been historically cut off from tidal influence.

Estuaries are incredibly diverse ecosystems that thrive in a narrow band of elevation and represent the critical areas where the nutrients from the marine and terrestrial environments mix. This nutrient rich environment plays a crucial role in the life cycle of fish, crabs, shellfish, migratory and breeding birds. Estuaries are also powerful carbon sinks with sediments capable of capturing carbon ten times as quickly as forest soils. Local communities benefit from ecosystem services that estuaries provide, such as pollutant filtration and storm surge mitigation.

This project is the culmination of a rich legacy of partnerships amongst conservation agencies and Cowichan Tribes. Beginning in 1985, NTBC, DUC, and partners in the Pacific Estuary Conservation Program, began a campaign to set aside, manage and restore as much of the estuary landscape as possible and have worked closely with Cowichan Tribes and other community partners in stewarding these lands and implementing several restoration and monitoring projects.

Since 2018, the partners have collaborated in implementing an in-depth monitoring program to assess the resilience of the Cowichan/Koksilah estuary to sea level rise, and have worked with consultants on extensive modeling and assessments of the impacts of the historic dike and river training within the estuary. Based on the results of this work, a decision was made by all of the partners to implement the Cowichan Estuary Restoration Project to focus on overall ecosystem health and resilience of the estuary.



The Cowichan Estuary Restoration Project is funded by the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BC SRIF), a contribution program funded jointly by DFO and the Province of BC, DFO’s Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Fund (AERF), and Cowichan Tribes through the Aquatic Habitat Restoration Fund (AHRF). Thank you to our funders and partners for their dedication and commitment to conservation. We are honoured and grateful for your collaboration and support. The project’s development has also included a Technical/Scientific Advisory Committee composed of leading nearshore scientists from British Columbia and the United States National Estuary Research Reserve System (NERRS).

[Victoria Watcher]

Orcas are ramming into boats, but experts warn against calling it revenge on humans

 

https://www.cbc.ca/r...ction-1.6895465

[Sparky]

Port Renfrew fishers shocked by sudden chinook salmon cuts

 

Anglers will only be allowed to retain one chinook a day. Charter-boat operators worry clients will cancel visits.

 

https://www.timescol...on-cuts-7282607

 

I am booked for 2 days in mid August. 

 

Bummer

[Victoria Watcher]

This just makes it more challenging, more like Vegas.

Do I “let it ride” by throwing a smaller catch back, going for a bigger one next hook?

Adds intrigue.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 July 2023 - 05:57 AM.

[Mike K.]

The sport fishing industry has been decimated around Greater Victoria, and this will be another blow. It used to bring in very good money as people from around the world spared no expense to have a day or two out at sea off the west coast.

[lanforod]

For some reason I always thought Chinook was limit 1 per day already. Coho and sockeye typically 2. Guess I was mistaken.

[AllseeingEye]

That comment by Mr Ablack is irksome to no end - so DFO is actually doing its job enforcing the regs and he bemoans the fact they've "never seen that level of enforcement before". Aw....poor boo-boo....AND?!? As if that was something awful.

 

Here is a little insight for the Ablacks of the world: enforcing the fishing regulations is what DFO is actually supposed to do.

 

And in case he doesn't actually get out there and fish himself simply ask any one of us who does what the conditions, particularly up island and in the back country ecosystems are. In a few words - not good. All he has to do is look out the window or scan the weather forecast - lots of hot, warm sun and blue skies. Precious little rain. Salmon are in trouble in case he also doesn't read the news. Everything from habitat degradation to over-fishing and warming oceans and seas (which affect in turn rivers such as the Cowichan and the Campbell and Quinsam to name but three of the best known on VI) all combine to gravely impact and over time deplete fish stocks.

 

As a keystone species their survival and well being is a critical foundation for everything else including apex predator species which predate on them, and even the forests where animals such as eagles, bears, raccoons and others that eat salmon eventually POOP, providing an invaluable fertilizer for said trees. Not to mention that for resident Orcas in particular, yet another animal population that is steadily declining on our watch, focus on chinook salmon as their primary food source.

 

It also includes BTW those aspects of local economies - such as Pt Renfrew - which are dependent on fishing, commercial and recreation and FN. If people such as he could only look beyond the next month or year - or tourist season - and actually take a longer term view of the worrisome fish stocks situation, he should easily be able to figure it out and moreover applaud the fact DFO is at least trying to alleviate what is a very serious problem. But of course planning for the medium to longer term admittedly isn't exactly a strength of human beings.....

Edited by AllseeingEye, 18 July 2023 - 03:16 PM.

[Mike K.]

It’s different when it’s your business, and you live it 365 days a year, than if you’re doing it as a hobby a few days a year.

Fisheries and the professional/sports fishing communities have always been at odds. Sometimes the government makes boneheaded decisions, sometimes the professionals overreact. But it’s their job to keep each other honest as best they can.

Ultimately, while we point fingers at each other, foreign trawlers come up to the Canadian territory boundary and fish to their hearts content, regardless of how dry the rivers are, etc.

[AllseeingEye]

It’s different when it’s your business, and you live it 365 days a year, than if you’re doing it as a hobby a few days a year.

Fisheries and the professional/sports fishing communities have always been at odds. Sometimes the government makes boneheaded decisions, sometimes the professionals overreact. But it’s their job to keep each other honest as best they can.

Ultimately, while we point fingers at each other, foreign trawlers come up to the Canadian territory boundary and fish to their hearts content, regardless of how dry the rivers are, etc.

 

I agree partially with the first part of the first sentence - I get that is his job - but as for that last bit....mm, no.

 

"Foreign" fishing trawlers have virtually nothing to do with BC salmon degradation. For starters no fishing is permitted by foreign vessels within 12 nautical miles of our shores at any time. As we have an EEZ extending out to 200 miles from any coast, any foreign vessel wishing to fish within that zone is required to hold a Canadian EEZ fishing licence, as specified by the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act. And DFO's own stats show very clearly the main category of fish harvester seeking this licence by a very long shot are US-flagged albacore tuna harvesters wanting to troll for tuna in our waters under the conditions of the Canada/USA Pacific Albacore Tuna Treaty. Salmon aren't even mentioned which is no surprise as the US has its own salmon populations in Alaska, Washington and Oregon. Why would they pay additional $ for a license therefore to fish for Canadian salmon?

 

In whatever order you want to take it hydro dams, the introduction of open water fish farming, habitat degradation for umpteen reasons including historically unsustainable forest practices, such permitting allowable cuts to within ten meters of river banks in many locations, pollution, overfishing - primarily domestic commercial overfishing by BC fishing interests including in the past certainly some recreational jurisdictions, reduced water flows due to poor water management and higher water temperatures, all have way more to do with the current state of the fishery.

 

At the end of the day, and regardless of the root cause(s) of fish stock declines, the answer most assuredly can't be to stick one's head in the ground "hoping" things will improve while continuing down the 'same old, same old' path of doing what we always do, i.e. exploiting the s*** out of the environment simply for money. "Hope" is not remotely a plan but it is an almost certain path to a devastating species collapse. Just because certain practices occurred in the 1950's, 60's, 70's and beyond does not mean they are a good idea in 2023. The current state of fish stocks, and massively reduced fish numbers, don't lie.

Edited by AllseeingEye, 18 July 2023 - 08:21 PM.