Trailhead
Resort, Port Renfrew: Swiftsure Bank is the closest,
pristine wilderness fishery in BC. Trailhead has several things going for it:
easy drive-in location 1.5 hours west of Victoria; reasonable prices; large
metal fishing boats; Swiftsure itself which – and I have gone out with them
many times over the past two decades – typically limits everyone for halibut,
then the boat moves to the chinook and coho area, where limits are also taken;
rock solid fish prep in vacuum packed portions as you wish them prepared; and,
a nice lodge and out buildings. See: http://trailhead-resort.com/.
Sockeye
fishing: It looks like we will be getting some
sockeye retention in the CRD, Victoria area this summer, but there are some
issues. Based on gillnetting returns, a 50/50 diversion down Johnstone and Juan
de Fuca straits is predicted. That implies low ocean water temperature because
sockeye divert through Johnstone at 80% or higher with a one degree rise in
temperature. So, many more sockeye will be coming our way than in a warm water
year. And you will remember the 7 to 77 million Fraser sockeye forecast earlier
this year.
So far 55,000 Early Stuart sockeye have
passed the Mission counter. The Stuart and Chilko fish peak timing will be 4
days later than usual, and, right now, they are in Area 20 where we fish. However,
the hot weather we have been having is warming the Fraser where the sockeye are
going, melting the snowpack sooner and river flow has declined slightly to
5,502 cubic metres per second.
At Qualark, the temperature, at 17.0 Celsius, is
1.7 degrees above average. This means up-river mortality will be higher this year,
and thus sockeye retention in our area isn’t happening until other, larger components
of the run start passing through. DFO is still expecting the 50% probability
level of 23,000,000 Fraser sockeye.
This is the fishery that includes shore-bound anglers who go up to fish the San Juan estuary, and camp right on the beach. Typically, as lots of lead flies, it is best to fish early, for the largest average-sized coho on Vancouver Island, in the third week of September. Once the rains begin, use the 4X4 road near the Harris Creek Bridge, and take it as far as it goes. You need a 4X4 as this track has some of the deepest holes en route and most mud of any terminal access on Van Isle. Note that you will have to check the non-tidal regs as any water above the San Juan estuary bridge by the Pa-chee-daht First Nation is deemed freshwater.
This is where you find DFO area maps and
salmon retention regs: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/tidal-maree/a-s19-eng.html.
Lanceville:
Lance Foreman, a 12 foot, tin-boat-er from Clover Point Anglers Association,
hauled in a big spring this week in front of the Beacon Hill Park Flagpole. In
the boat, it measured 31 pounds 4 ounces, and by the time he reached Island
Outfitters, 29 lbs 11 ounces, and leads the leader board. He caught it on an anchovy, Bloody Nose teaser-head and 5 foot leader to a Purple Onion flasher. All of us
guys who go to the Oak Bay Recreation Centre gym every morning – and there are
lots of us – want to thank Lance for telling us two if not three times about
his big spring.
Integrated Fisheries Management Plans: There are two documents, the separation point being
Cape Caution on the mainland north of Port Hardy. This is the summary document
for south BC: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/ifmp-eng.html,
only 13 pages. This is the actual, full
length document for south BC, 150 plus pages, and I suggest you read it at
least once in your life: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/351581.pdf.
It is impressive and DFO can be patted on the back for doing a good job.
You
will note from the summary document that the 2010 number for tidal sport
fishing expenditures was: $689.7 million expressed in constant 2009 dollars – this means that the
actual figure was higher. DFO puts out its Survey of Recreational Fishing in
Canada, every five years.
If you compare the DFO document with
the BC Stats document – which has the best set of stats on the fishing sectors
in BC (commercial, sport, processing and aquaculture) – you will find that,
expressed in 2002 constant dollars, that of the total revenue of $2.2 billion
spent, almost 50% was from sport fishers, at $936.5 million and that sport
employment, at 8,400 jobs, is an impressive 60% of the 13,900 jobs in the
sector.
BC
Stats 2011 Report:
Fish, Processing, Sport Fishing and Aquaculture Stats - Figures in
Millions (and 2002 constant dollars, except for 2011 Revenue)
Commercial
|
Processing
|
Sport
|
Aquaculture
|
Total
|
|
Contribution to GDP, and %
|
$102.3 (15.3%)
|
$177.5 (26.6)
|
$325.7 (48.8%)
|
$61.9 (9.3%)
|
$667.4
100%
|
% GDP
|
0.4%
|
||||
Employment
(% of total)
|
1,400 (10.1%)
|
2,400 (17.3%)
|
8,400 (60.4%)
|
1,700 (12.2%)
|
13,900
100%
|
Wages and Salaries
% of Total
|
$78.4*
$8.4
2.2%
|
$105.3
$105.3
27.5%
|
$218.9
$218.9
57.1%
|
$55.7
$55.7
14.5%
|
-
$383.3
100%
|
Total 2011 Revenue (increase/decrease)
|
$344.8 (+4.1%)
|
$427.5 (+2.1%)
|
$936.5 (+0.8%)
|
$469.0
(-12.2%)
|
$2,177.8
|
Revenue % of Total
|
15.8%
|
19.6%
|
43.0%
|
21.5%
|
100%
|
Pink fly fishers: The
River Sportsman in Campbell River says: “There are a ton of pinks in the river.”
And flies that work? “Pink and shiny.” My favourite for the Campbell are sparse
size 8 Muddlers, tied ala the River Sportsman. For rivers north of the
Campbell, pick up their size 8 and 10 pink Muddlers. All who fished in 2012
will remember it as the best year on record, and their progeny are coming back
now in 2014.
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