A Man And His River - 2

5,000 chinook at Glory Slough:

Note the scum and bubbles on the surface. From their circular pattern, moving up, across, down and back across, etc., chinook schools carry surface detritus, bubbles from releasing them after sipping air at the surface along with them. You will see these patches that are moving upstream, rather than down, because of all the fish underneath creating the current. A good way to spot big schools. This is just a detail of the entire school.

A bright 12-pound coho in September:

A nice, big chum:

Cutthroat Trout taken with a dry fly:

Me and my kickboat:

A big chinook and happy angler:

Winter Steelhead Gear:

Winter Steelhead Flies:

Winter steelhead taken on a pink worm:

Who says you can't land a flounder on a fly?

Bunny Leeches

Fly fishing for coho in deep fall in the Little Nitinat canyon:

A nice winter steelhead on the fly:

Laying out a Spey cast:

A nice chinook salmon:

Stoneflies. These can be deadly:

Salmon Season – The Small Things

Finally, summer fishing on the west coast. May brings big chinook, most en route to the Fraser, and among them the 4(2) and 5(2) chinook. DFO estimates 45,000 of the latter will reach the river mouth, not as many as it would like. In the Victoria area we may retain 2 chinook. The shorter must exceed 48 cm (62 cm in Sidney waters) with the larger, and only one, may exceed 67 cm. The management plan will be re-evaluated for the period after midnight, June 12.

In fishing for larger summer fish, we fish closer to shore, in shallower water and find those nooks and crannies having the least tidal flow or an ebb tide back eddy. Having said this, it is also true that some areas have better fishing on the end of the flood. Port Renfrew is one of these waters. And in Sooke, Aldridge Point is best on the flood. Memorize summer contours because, with shallower water, typically less than 75 feet, and  with rocks jutting out and up, there is less margin for error – your gear hits the grabby bottom and rips, rather than sliding along deeper, winter, mud/sand bottoms.

It is time to take that annual look at gear and update what needs to be new, for big fish. Consider braided line for your single-action reels, with 20 feet of 25- to 30-pound monofilament in front. I use figure eight knots, then martingale the two together. I switched my freshwater bait-casters to braided line some years ago, and it has some distinct advantages. I thought it would shred, leading to breaks, but have found this not to be the case. In comparison with mono, braid breaks fewer times, and there is no need to cut-off 10 feet and reattach your swivel and snap each time out. Use a Palomar knot to attach mainline snaps.

The second advantage for bait-casting and other casting reels is that braid is more slippery than mono and so lures are cast more easily and longer cast distances result. Another braid advantage is that mono is stiffer, and scuffs to a translucent, visible finish over time. You will have more line twist in mono because it is stiffer than braid.

I now use braid for my downriggers, and have been surprised that it has less tendency to shred than one would think. It ‘sings’ a bit when the harmonics of line and water are right, but there is no electrical potential, pushing fish from the lure end of the tackle. So, a black box is not needed with downrigger braid – as opposed to stainless cable. On the other hand, I have noticed in quicker, swirling tides, there is a greater tendency to get downrigger lines wrapped around one another, along with mainlines, making for annoying messes to be untangled.

Cannonballs with fins on their trailing edge can be set to move farther out from the side of the boat. Simply bend the fin toward the boat and the ball tracks farther out. Note that all downrigger cables should have a ball clip on their end. Do not tie a cable/braid directly to the ball as you are looking to lose your downrigger on a hang-up. And, clips swivel, reducing line twist. There is nothing more annoying than line twist getting around your rod tip or line guides leading to broken mainline and loss of tackle and fish. Not to mention the rod tip. Grr.

Probably the most important small tackle item is ball-bearing swivels. Check these each spring, clipping a flasher to the clip and giving it a spin. If it spins freely, you are ready to go. If not, replace the swivel, or use an oil-based commercial scent. Don’t use WD-40 as it will stream off the clip directly into your tackle.

Get in the habit of using more ball-bearing swivels rather than fewer. We fish bait, and larger bait more frequently, and fish slower in summer for chinook. Four ball bearings are required: end of mainline; both ends of a flasher; and the top of the leader. The purpose is to make bait spiral (not spin) easily with the head spiraling in the same diameter as the tail – most easily set up with wire-rigged heads and the bend on the wire, behind the dorsal fin of the bait. See: http://onfishingdcreid.blogspot.ca/2014/02/wire-rigging-teaserhead-feb-23-2014.html.

Fewer ball-bearing swivels may be used with: plugs, Apexes; spoons; and hootchies. All of these lures sway side to side rather than spiral, hence, fewer ball-bearings are needed. A simple figure eight knot on the leader, as the commercial guys do it, is sufficient, and the trailing clip on flashers and dodgers, needs no ball bearing either. You will recall Pal No. 3 shiny dodgers. The trailing edge simply sways from side to side and is used in summer because of the slower, more deliberate nature of big chinook. No need for bearings other than the leading edge of the bait leader.

One more small thing: get release clips with 30- to 48-inches of stout mono. The purpose is to hang the clip from the cable over the gunwhale, making it far easier, once you have tested gear action by the boat, and let out 25 feet, to pick up the clip and set the mainline within it. Then lower away. Clips that won’t reach the gunwhale will have you reaching farther out, every time to bring the clip to mainline – with the risk of falling out.

And one final thing: use Farr Better flashers in summer for big fish. They come with a pin you insert in the trailing edge. When the fish bites, the pin pops out and the flasher, attached at its leading edge only, no longer causes shear on the line, resulting in losing big fish, particularly when they hit the surface. Nothing worse than watching a trophy swimming away because shear has ripped the hooks from its mouth.

And buy yourself a better quality rod because you are a better quality guy. Fish like better gear, too.

Winter Chinook In the CRD

Strategy for winter chinook in the CRD and other areas is the same because fish behaviour is the same. And, chinook are the only species in our waters 12 months of the year, so anglers should concentrate on understanding them to catch more fish. Other species are caught in the two months of the summer when they pass through.

It used to be the case coho were found as pan-sized bluebacks in January and February, Saanich Inlet, for instance, and in April – June in mid-island waters, for example, the Winchelseas, as three- to five- pound fish prior to migrating to open ocean. They were, and hopefully will once again be found (with anticipated success of the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Salish Sea project), in surface waters in tide lines caused by restrictions in land structure below and above the water.

Both migrating adult chinook and nursing chinook are alike in their behaviour: they are relentlessly structure related for their entire lives. In winter, though, these fish are deeper, and far more commonly found related to bait. Adult fish, on the other hand, bite reflex waning, are not as commonly found with bait, other than when both come to reside in ebb tide back eddies. Their location is related only to the tide pattern, not feeding.

Summer chinook are moving relentlessly toward their natal rivers. In contrast, winter chinook are nursing, putting on weight, and not migrating anywhere; so winters are not found tight to shallow rock shores, nor are they going anywhere. They are staying close to lunch. Consequently, reading bait schools becomes far more important in winter, and staying close to them through the tidal change that moves them about.

Winter fishing is more reliable than summer, but for smaller fish. It makes less sense to fish back eddies tight to shore because bait, commonly herring, is found in mid-water depths, not related to shore. This winter bait pattern also includes herring staging to ripen before spawning. This is why we fish offshore of the 115 foot mark off Ogden Point where bottom falls away, and in the open water to the west that contains the bait.

The same pattern applies to other Island waters. For example, the mouth of Bamfield harbour typically turns white with herring milt in January to early March. Prior to this, herring stage in Rainy and Vernon bays in deep water. The same can be said for the Deep Bay, Fanny Bay, Denman Island waters with herring coming on to shoreline kelp in March.

In many areas the alternative bait fish is needlefish – pilchards and anchovies are more commonly found in summer and at west coast fishing spots. Change in bait species can result in changes in the hot lures in water only a few miles apart. For example, Clover Point to the Breakwater typically has herring (sometimes you read needlefish, the difference being they are almost always on the bottom, so reading bait on the bottom, think needlefish, not herring – often read right over the outfall pipe at 110 feet.).

Clover Point is a hootchy spot, but Oak Bay, a huge flat on the other side of Trial Island, is needlefish water and thus squirts catch far more fish. Last week, the Cloverleaf, Purple Haze and Glo-Below hootchies prevailed on the Waterfront, but in Oak Bay, Pickle Green, J-79 and Jellyfish squirts were the trick.

If you troll the long flat from Clover to Trial – you are scratching a fish, and it takes 45 minutes, so picking up lines and moving makes more sense than fishing through – you will be changing to squirts just after you pass directly south of Trial at 120 feet.

For the Victoria Waterfront, the Angel Wing, and Army truck patterns are good back-ups, while the Irish Mist and Mint Tulip are go-to back-up squirts in Oak Bay.

Similarly, Sidney is predominantly a needlefish area, and squirts rule. Add the Electric Chair to the Oak Bay squirts and you have a place to start. Also, needlefish presence, makes small anchovy and small strip the baits of choice, whereas in herring areas, medium anchovy is best.

This includes waters west of Victoria. Teasers of choice are the Bloody Nose and Glo- Green, although my favourite is the Pearl, a cream/glo/602 pattern that is highly visible in the deep. From Pedder Bay to Otter Point, the larger baits and same teaser colours, as well as the Purple Haze, a colour that fishes better in Sooke than waters east.

The other lure of choice in winter is spoons. They are more effective on winter chinook than summer chinook. Partly this is because winter water is clearer than in summer, thus smaller lures with high reflection make sense, along with some UV/Glow properties. Note that these two properties are different. UV means light waves that we can’t see, but that fish can, and they show up as Dayglo in the deep, dark winter waters – look at one under a black light and you will agree.

Glow properties refer to emitting light from the lure so that it is visible, in the same way a fluorescent light is. The best example are some Radiant spoons that literally glow all day. I once left one on my night table and it boomed out visible light all night long. Oh, and all glow lures should have a flashlight shone on them before being consigned to the deep. The non-Radiant surfaces hold light for only 15 to 20 minutes, and thus need recharging, whereas longer lasting glow does not. The difference becomes a strategy consideration.

In addition, spoons as we all know are the best, most reliable lure for continuing to fish without having to be checked. There is no bait to slip on its wire, no fronds to get caught on one another, or plastic skirt to slide up the leader after a whack that pulls it forward, but does not trip the release clip. Note that you want a kirbed hook on a spoon.

Spoons have the added advantage in clear winter water because they need not be paired with a flasher – you can use a dummy flasher attached to the downrigger line if you wish – and thus any fish you catch gives you the satisfaction of fighting only the fish, not the flasher and its sideways shear. Some west waters top spoons include Irish Cream and No Bananas, along with Cop Car, which is called a glow with gold between the scales. In Victoria to Sidney waters, try glow colours and the half glow/half green spoon we call a Coyote spoon.

Finally, before going out, do check the Island Outfitters web site for the most recent hot lures in your area:  http://fishingvictoria.com/fishing-report/. For waters from Cowichan North, try the Island Anglers site for current tackle hotties: http://www.islandangler.net/. Do patronize our local tackle shops before hitting the water.

Salmon Fishing 2014

If you were impressed with chinook fishing last summer in the CRD, you will be happy again this year: http://www.sportfishing.bc.ca/docs/preliminary_2014_salmon_outlook_-_dfo.pdf. The overall comment is for improvement relative to 2013.  

Fraser River Summer Run 4-1 chinook numbers will be higher this summer; however, Fraser 5-2s and 4-2s are still in decline and may affect retention opportunities in our area. On the other hand, all three West Coast Van Isle hatchery rivers will have higher numbers of fish. The stocks are: Nootka Sound’s Conuma hatchery; Barkley Sound’s Robertson Creek hatchery; and, the Nitinat hatchery. All three areas should provide terminal chinook fisheries good enough to consider towing your boat over the humps.

Coho stocks are improved, including the Mid- and Upper-Fraser stocks that migrate through our area as well as Georgia Strait stocks – long in decline. This may result in some wild retention in addition to marked fish. Last summer’s fishing was for marked fish - lots of action but little keeping until late, in October. Thompson coho will come home in greater numbers, too. And WCVI coho remain abundant.

Cohen Commission Fraser sockeye indicate retention possibilities. Things look good for Early Stuart, Early Summer North Thompson, Summer Nechako, Fall Portage and Fall South Thompson. Somass sockeye fishing in Alberni Inlet should be good, too, with sockeye rated in abundance. Fraser components in decline include Early Summer Lower Fraser, Summer Raft, and Henderson rivers. As DFO does DNA analysis twice per week from saltwater entrances all the way to Mission, some openings may be afforded in the Victoria area.

There are two tantalizing factors for Fraser sockeye: the research catch rate for juvenile sockeye in 2012 was the highest since sampling began in 1998; and, ocean surface temperatures were cooler in 2012 than in the previous two years, a condition associated with more sockeye.

Pink salmon will be in short supply here because our predominant run is odd-year Frasers that last year produced a huge run of 26 Million fish. For 2014, if pinks are available, it will be Puget Sound fish. Up Island, for you fly guys, the even-numbered year is the higher pink return year, from Campbell River north to Port Hardy. Targets include a good half dozen estuaries including the Campbell, Amor de Cosmos, Salmon, Eve, Cluxewe, Keogh and Quatse. Expect pinks in average supply but recall that 2012 resulted in pink numbers so unexpectedly high that most fishers caught and released more than 100 salmon in a few days. One of my trips resulted in the phenomenal release of more than 350 pink salmon, with several days over 50. This release rate implies 700 on the line and well over 1,000 bites. So cross your fingers.

Fraser chum will be in average supply which typically means 1- to 2.75-million fish. The Brown’s Bay troll fishery looks good for late September and early October. Georgia Strait chum are also expected at average numbers. The Big Q typically returns 100,000 and the Cowichan roughly 250,000. Nitinat enhanced chum should be better than the average 300,000. One year, after 1.8 million were mopped up in the lake and outside the bar by commercial/aboriginal fishers, 658,000 made it into the river and anglers literally got soaked drifting through their huge schools.

An updated Salmon Outlook is expected in April, ahead of the summer season. And if you want to see what DFO is doing with the 2014 southern BC fishery plan, take a look at: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/mplans/2013/smon/smon-sc-cs-2013-eng.pdf. This is the Integrated Fisheries Management Plan for June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014. It is a superb source of information along with links on a variety of subjects for southern area stocks. The Plan for the 2014 fishery is not yet available.

dcreid@catchsalmonbc.com