Summer Chinook

It’s time to don those shades and switch over to summer fishing. May marks the month that Columbians begin to filter through our waters, with some legitimate 50 pounders in the early fish. And the first are taken at Sheringham Point, west of Sooke (where most anglers fish).

With their feeding reflex down in preparation for spawning, the longest time without food is over night; hence why the crack of dawn is usually the best time of day to fish for the big fish – they are more likely to be feeding at this time than any other. These days dawn comes early with first light now before 5:00AM. Overnight, the big fish will be found finning along at their 1.5 mph cruising speed in back eddies. They don’t pass the point, as the ebb is streaming faster than this, and simply pushes them back into the back eddy until the tide changes, whereupon they are ‘freed’.

We all know to fish close to shore as these fish are on a mission, not like feeders that reside in our area fattening up, and, of course, in much deeper water following lunch rather than shore. At the crack of dawn the most likely bet is back eddies formed behind points of land on ebb tides. That is because the fish are not moving fast and are, in essence, pushed home by flood tides.

A typical land structure, like Otter Point, sticks out as much as a half mile, creating a large back eddy. Fishing the 50- to 75-foot contour, rods at 35- to 50-feet on the downrigger, usually puts you on the money. Having said this, one day, aced out of my arc onto shore by a boat that pushed its way past me and a dozen other boats, I fished along the seam running from the Point directly toward Sheringham, past Muir Creek. The latter is also a good close-in structure to mosey past.

To my surprise I hooked a 30-pound fish, unexpected in more than 200 feet of water and with rods high, but in the back-eddy seam. Justice in a world where the boat that pushed all the rest of us out of our spot, circling, one behind the other. When I got close, I showed the offending boat my big fish and smiled, content that they had caught nothing.

The circling technique in back eddies is a cut plug technique usually used in the out backs. We don’t fish cutplugs in the CRD anymore, perhaps because there are far fewer chinook than there used to be. But, where practiced, it is deadly. To achieve a crest and trough pattern for the bait, when the line is at 90 degrees, you put the boat in gear, and move until the line is at 45 degrees, then take the boat out of gear. It is spine tingling stuff to be among a circle of a dozen boats grinding a rock pile. When the person in front of you puts his boat in gear, you do to, and when he takes it out of gear, you also do the same – move and glide, move and glide. Hence a very well-organized bunch of boats are all doing the same and when a boat gets a fish on, the fleet opens a hole and the fish-on boat passes out of the fleet to fight and net the fish. Then that boat rejoins the circle.

It is spine tingling because you never know who will get a fish, and once the bite comes on, many boats will catch a big fish. Sometimes every single boat gets a big fish before the bite wanes for an hour.

But in the CRD, we do fish anchovy in teaser-heads behind a flasher. It used to be a fishery for a Pal No. 3 metal dodger, which is a slow-motion fishery indeed, because the big fish are more choosy, and less inclined to speed up to catch a meal. As flashers rotate, rather than sway side to side, they impart more action, and thus, you are advised to use a four-foot leader between blade and bait. Also put less bend in the wire-rigged anchovy, near the tail, so it spirals more slowly and always check bait action beside the boat before sending it down to fish. And you fish slow, the time of year when some boats toss out a pail on a line to slow the boat down.

Check your chart and find the pronounced back eddies close to shore. Those are your greatest chance spots. And it takes years of fishing, to know how to fish each one. Put that time in and catch more fish. There are some in the Victoria area, that I am sworn to silence on, that the only time skippers in the know will be found fishing in them is on the ebb, for summer fish. Keep your eyes open and lips closed.

I should also add that in many places it is the top end of the flood that is best, rather than dawn, or ebb tide back eddies. This includes Port Renfrew’s Owen Point, and inside Sooke’s Becher Bay, at Creyke and Aldridge points. Check them out on the end of the flood, regardless of time of day. Every year, some 6 PM high tides reward after-work fishers with big fish. Phone ahead to the marina, and find out this important information.

The current regs allow a minimum size chinook of 45 cm, and max, for a wild fish of 62 cm, in our area. Our area is 19 and 20, Cadboro Point to Sombrio Point. Larger hatchery fish, virtually all American, may be retained. See: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/tidal-maree/a-s20-eng.html#s-regs. And remember those closed areas for killer whales, to the west of Sooke.

These are the saltwater regs: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/index-eng.html. 

This post of mine gives more information on killer whales: http://onfishingdcreid.blogspot.ca/2018/02/dfo-has-failed-chinook-and-sport.html. 

This one has killer whale feeding grounds: http://sportfishing.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/SRKW-Discussion-Paper-Final-Feb-15-2018.pdf. 

See page 8 of this one: http://sportfishing.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/SRKW-Discussion-Paper-Final-Feb-15-2018.pdf. In Juan de Fuca, we are looking at closures for feeding, except for Port Renfrew and Sooke, then to the east of our area, there are several closures that don’t affect us.

The Case for a Switch Rod

There are three kinds of fly rods: single handed, switch and Spey. Most people begin fly fishing with a single-handed rod. There is good point in this, as learning the basics of a forward cast sets the stage for all other fly casting. While it used to be the case that big water lead to learning Spey casting and the extreme distances the rods can throw, these days there is another path.

Switch rods came on the scene after the move in Spey to the Skagit-style lines and matching 12- to 13-foot Spey rods – rather than the long 14- to 16-foot Speys. The heavy Skagit tip is seldom longer than 30 feet and matches very well with the shorter rods. The line systems became very popular with coastal fly guys who fish for steelhead and salmon. In the former, the issue is reaching a lie, with the latter, the issue is lofting a heavy sinking tip easily. 

And learning Spey casts sets a fly fisher up for switch rods. While the roll cast is the basis of Spey, and one can make a roll cast with a single-handed rod, it is the versatility of the casts that is useful. In both the Single Spey and Double Spey, for which the key word is taking your time and being deliberate in setting up the D-loop behind you, the tip touches the water, and then the forward part of the stroke is last. Other casts like the Snap-T, or Circle-C are really variations on the other casts; still, the key is deliberately letting the D form, before the forward cast.

But the most important thing to remember is that Spey casts are change of direction casts. That may not seem so important until you get the casts down, but it is the key of versatility. Both the single and double Spey begin with retrieving the line at the end of the swing below you, and laying it down close to your body, and then on to the rest of the cast. Then, the important thing is that the cast changes the direction of the cast by 90 degrees, from downstream to laying the line out perpendicular to your body. 

It is that change of direction that leads to versatility. Once you can cast proficiently, you will find endless times in your day where you want to cast 45 degrees or even 120 from where you stand. If you see someone with a single-handed rod who seems to be able to land his/her fly virtually anywhere in front of him/her, you are watching someone who has learned Spey, and then uses it with a single-handed rod.

In the middle of your cast, if you see a fish rise, or wind changes direction, you can use Spey casting to make instant adjustments and place your fly where you want. And one additional thing here: spend your day on the water, trying to put your fly within a foot of where you want it to go. If, for instance, you can cast all the way across the river, and into the forest on the far side, then every cast, try to put your fly within a foot of the opposite bank.

You will lose a lot of flies at first, but then your judgement of cast distance improves. If the cast is going long, if you lift the rod tip, the fly will land short, something that one does all the time when casting dry flies, but rarely in the subsurface fishing we normally do on the coast. Your sensitivity to your circumstances, and practiced, fluent casting, leads to being able to land in front of, beside, just above a surface branch, in a gap and so on.

If you are never willing to go through the period when you lose more flies, you will never be able to count on your fly going where you want it to go. Reconcile yourself during the learning period, making multiple, simple nymphs or marabou creations that are quick, cheap and light enough to make casting them easy.

Now, think of switch rods as short Spey rods. And the single Spey, the easiest of the Spey casts becomes your good buddy. Line systems have moved on to the Skandi system of specific grains, or weights. The other use of switch rods, like Spey, is: not having to do a single-handed back cast, to set up the forward cast; this means you are less likely to catch your fly on bushes behind you. 

As a D is rarely 10 feet behind you, you are far less likely to be chagrined by catching flies. This is particularly useful in winter when rivers are higher and force you back into the forest, as in closer and closer to sticky branches. The other thing to remember is that in a D-loop the fly line hangs vertically behind you rather than horizontal. A vertical line hangs on bushes without getting a hook tangled, and thus, even when your D-lays on vegetation, it seldom gets caught. And the cast goes well.

Moving to a switch rod (though the change was really made by manufacturers to sell more rods), allows you to cast farther than you do with a single-handed rod. And even more importantly, it is far less effort to Spey cast all day than conventional back and forward casting on a single rod.

Add to this that Switch rods allow you to land a fish without breaking the tip off, as happens with longer Spey rods. When you try to ‘surf’ that fish to you – at then end, judge when the fish is tired enough to allow you to get its head out of the water, and ‘surf’ it to you – the closer it gets, the more likely your rod tip, up in the air is bent over double, and if it snaps that could be the end of your day, not to mention Ka-ching. Fly fishers seldom kill a fish, so releasing them unharmed, without having to drop your rod in the drink, or have someone with a net is a bonus offered by most switch rods.

Always, always, take two rods with you when you have a day on the water. If one breaks, you are still fishing. And that versatility thing can help you out in trying conditions. I fish a lot on Johnstone Strait beaches, where the wind is always blowing up to 25 knots over your left shoulder. I am left handed, and simply learned to make a single Spey off my wrong, meaning right, shoulder. So, I don’t hit myself in the side of my face almost every cast, if I had cast off my left shoulder. 

If you watch fly people who can Spey cast, they can, on every type of rod, make instant decisions on what cast will get their fly where they want it with the least amount of energy. Switch rods make great sense because once you get Spey casting down, they easily place that fly anywhere within casting distance. Also, if you watch someone who seems not to be doing a conventional forward/back cast on a single-handed rod, yet their fly is on the money all the time, you are watching someone who has integrated Spey into single handed casting.

Another option is: lay the line out in front of you with a short single Spey, then lift it off the water – surface tension loading the rod – directly behind you and use a haul on the forward cast to reach out your fly. The other advantage is that there is no false casting. Each false cast can lead to a failed cast and having to start over again. Some people will use as many as 10 false casts, each of which could lead to a failed cast. With Spey casts, there is no false casting, and far fewer failed casts. Just be deliberate, making those D-loops, and you will be Spey casting in no time.

April and Salmon

April is the month when salmon fishing moves from winter patterns to summer patterns for returning fish, particularly chinook. Winter chinook and summer chinook have different habits. In winter, two- to three-year old winter chinook inhabit deeper water layers and are further off shore than summers. They are actively feeding, staying close to lunch and not migrating anywhere. Tide changes are your best bet, before a high tide and after a low tide.

In most areas, fishing is best in 80- to 140-feet depths, using the bottom as structure to find the fish. We are past, for instance, when herring stage off the Victoria breakwater before entering the inner harbour on a spawning run. In areas with needlefish, for example, the Flats, that inhabit the bottom layer of water, bottom bumping is standard practice. 

In water influenced by Puget Sound chinook, they have habits similar to those of Cowichan chinook. The latter circle the Georgia Strait for a year or more, before moving offshore. In October, for example, they have been caught in commercial troll fishery off Nootka and Kyuquot sounds. From Sidney to Sooke, in winter, the predominant fish are the US fish, and as some are three-year olds, this is evidence that they are ‘circling’ Juan de Fuca waters until moving offshore.

This year our fishing will still be affected by the Warm Blob that prevailed in recent years in offshore waters. The phenomenon reduces mixing of water from lower levels with surface levels and thus the stimulus for the food chain – deep water nutrients – has been absent. In part, this has negatively affected returns, and will also do so again this year. The Blob is subsiding and fish leaving rivers to migrate to the high seas this summer will find better ocean conditions and thus return in higher numbers in several future years.

Having said that, Cowichan numbers should be buoyant once again, as 4000 jacks, were reported to came back among the 26,000 returnees last year, evidence of a possible good year in 2018, too. Most of these fish come down Johnstone Strait, and mill the Saanich Inlet, Cowichan river mouth areas in September. In other words, they are not among the spring returning springs.

The summer pattern of mature fish begins in May. The original Columbians start down Juan de Fuca Strait bound for the Fraser River in this month. And Sheringham Point is the traditional first spot in our area to fish. This year, do note the killer whale restricted fishing waters and don’t mistakenly find yourself in closed waters in the Strait.

Summer fish are a whole lot larger than winter fish, being four- to six-year old returning fish, typically starting at 20 pounds, with legitimate 50-pound leviathans in mid- to late-May. Summer chinook, as they are no longer actively feeding, and trying to scent their natal river, typically reside close to shore in shallower water than they did as feeders. 

That they are no longer feeding, is the reason why the crack of dawn becomes the best chinook bite of the day – it represents the longest period that the fish might not eat in a 24-hour day. Along Juan de Fuca, however, the last two hours of the flood can be the best fishing of the day. This is true of Port Renfrew and inside waters of Sooke, Aldridge and Creyke points, for example.

And the Integrated Fisheries Management Plan for salmon in southern waters, sets out the annual plan for stocks and fishing opportunities. Here is the IFMP for southern waters: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9sfkgh4s3tdpr3b/AAB9gJMy-OPClGgX0Az2RkTya?dl=0&preview=Southern+2018-19+IFMP+Draft+Final.pdf. It is a fat 587-page document. And while they say they want comments by March 13, my understanding is that the deadline has been extended one month.

Stocks of concern in southern areas start on page 102. And specific stocks on page 127. There are different numbers for Cowichan chinook in different parts of this report, however, the 2017 return is listed here as 23,000, of which 400 were taken as brook stock, and 11,800 were jacks, a huge number; this augers well for 2018.

The Fraser Spring 4/2s, Nicola, Bonaparte river area, are in poor shape, once again. 5/2s and 5/2 Summers will also have conservation fishery actions. Interior Fraser River coho came in at 30,000 last year, half way between the conservation goal posts of 20K and 40K. These are low numbers, and while DFO is managing to the numbers, they don’t get to doing freshwater habitat restoration/enhancement, just ratchet down the numbers.

The species and location specific fishing plans start on page 178 and continue, for more than 250 pages to 430. That’s where you look for any place you may want to fish in southern BC. There is a whole other plan for northern BC.

When you go fishing, make sure to look at the retention regs each time: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/index-eng.html. On this page, you can sign up to receive regulation changes by email.

Now, remember that those biggies like slow moving baits, and bait is the best, or an artificial lure with some scent. And in most areas, your main territory of interest is back eddies in falling tides. That is because the girthy ones mosey forth at about 1.5 mph, hence, they don’t make it out of back eddies until the tide changes to flood. An example everyone knows is the west side of Clover Point on the ebb. It gives chinook as much as 6 hours to migrate along the Waterfront to Clover, where the ebb is moving at speed greater than 1.5mph, and thus there the bunch of them gather, until the flood.