A Pineapple Express is forecast this
week, so think winter steelhead. Rising water and high tide brings them into
rivers like the Cowichan and Stamp. In the latter, new fish hit the Confluence
Pool in three hours. Wear your raincoat and fish until water turbidity declines
to less than a foot. If you have to fish high, brown rivers, remember biters may
be within a foot of shore, and where clear streams enter.
Dry weather moves steelhead into pools
and they become skittish in runs. In cold, ice forming in your rod guides, hit
them on the nose, running dink float setups down multiple times, before moving
on. The best fishing is on dropping water after rain, in straight line runs, 3
to 8 feet deep. Learn the 3-D contours of river bottoms you fish frequently.
Gear fishing, with floats and split
shot, or pencil lead and leader off its swivel, gives you the best opportunity
to learn run dimensions because you can raise or lower the float, changing
mainline distance to the weight. Cast out sequentially, in one foot ‘strips’ and
run downstream to learn the bottom.
Steelhead are found near rock more
frequently than wood, like logs. In winter, they are on the bottom - rivers can
be colder than the ocean, in clear weather associated with low temperatures.
Fish sink to the bottom and move only inches for lure or fly. I once plumbed a
run forty times before the 14 pound winter whacked the lure on the Gold River
one frigid February morning.
Dropping water and knee deep visibility
are the highest percentage days. Steelhead are very aggressive and will smack
anything. When you catch a hatchery steelhead you will keep, always check its
stomach for what it may have been eating. I got one in the Stamp that, when
gutted, was stuffed with salmon eggs. I could not see the eggs tumbling by me
in the water, and it was December, past all spawning but a few remaining chum, with
coho more likely in side-stem streams. But the steelhead was selectively
picking up eggs and had nothing else in its stomach.
Little wonder gear guys prefer eggs when
regulations allow. I once spotted a steelhead finning in its spot, and put a
glob of eggs behind a spoon. It looked more like a golf ball than roe-bag. I
cast across and above the fish. As the lure swung into view, the steelhead
picked up the scent and began moving forward. From behind and out of sight, as
much as 25 feet, a 10 pound coho rocketed from invisibility, passed the
steelhead and smacked the roe. So I got to keep a fresh coho.
The point is: salmon eggs leave scent
passing downstream. It is a huge stimulant and worth pursuing a very long way.
I suspect the smell is a pheromone, and more particularly, to fish about to
spawn; hence the coho beat the steelhead to the roe as the latter needed several
months of ripening.
One more thing: add different rivers to
your repertoire in winter. One example would be the Nimpkish on the north
Island. You will have to stay overnight as it takes me four hours from Victoria
to hit Sayward Junction, where the Fisherboy Hotel is good value for two, one
half hour short of Woss, with the Nimpkish just beyond. There are six to eight
miles of highway accessible river before it moves away and drops into its
canyon shy of the Zebellos turn off.
Plan a north island trip with a half
dozen rivers in mind. The Campbell, itself, is worth a plumb as its summer
steelhead run has split into two, with January being a high month now. For fly
guys, January can also be good for large cutthroat. Explore the Quinsam from
the Campground near the logging bridge at Haig-Brown’s Sandy Pool. Consult your
fishing friends for info, or join the local fishing club – there are many on
Vancouver Island – they can save a decade of prospecting on your own.
dcreid@catchsalmonbc.com
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