Happy New Year of the Salmon

2019 is International Year of the Salmon.   Really . http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/iys-ays/index-eng.html 

2019 is also 100 years since the 1919 patent for the Superior spoon .  Think of how much the world has changed in 100 years ! 

 Fishing tackle certainly has changed , and yet these are still solid fish catchers .  They have a rhythmic side to side swim and substantial body , wobblers , in contrast to the light flutter spoons that are popular now-a-days for towing behind flashers . ( Did I mention I dislike flashers ? )  A lot has been learned about what fish will bite, but the fish don't follow the fashions entirely. 

 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com 

Christmas at home

  Going for a walk in the neighbourhood Christmas Day .  There is an eagle in the usual perch and a deer on a lawn .  I pulled the boat out of the water for a while this winter , so it is right beside the old pear tree decorated  in a few festive lights.

 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com 

last trip of the year

 We can fish all winter , and many years we do , but for this year today is the last trip , November 17.
 Fishing reports have been mostly good for these winter chinooks , the local feeders . It is a calm clear day , preceded by a cold frosty night , so we didn't get started until nearly noon when the world warmed up .

 Calm is nice for fishing , not so good for sailing , but one sailboat is out to harness what little wind there is .

 A sea lion tracks us for a while . We saw him at a distance splashing the surface with a fish of some kind , as they do to break the meal into large bite-size pieces.  He came over to check us out but lost interest after a few minutes. 

  I rarely hold the rod for the whole fight of a fish . I thought about what I coach people to do , and tried that.

 There were only a few boats out, even though the conditions were perfect .  We noticed these fellows playing a fish as we drove by on the way in.

 We think the winter chinooks are the tastiest salmon of all. 

 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com 

chum salmon

 A couple chums grabbed on for Steve on this sunny October day .   

Chum salmon are the last species migrating in from the open Pacific.  They come in schools and when they are biting it is crazy-busy fishing . But sometimes they are moody , you see them while they mostly ignore you ,and occasionally one bites .  Still pretty good , hey , Steve !   And speaking of chums ,  Scott came along on this trip for good company and to take the wheel often, to make things very easy. 

 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com 

from England in lovely late September

 Nick and Rebecca , from England , had a lovely day in late September .  

 A herd of Pacific White -sided Dolphins met us as we were going through Seymour Narrows. 

We released a couple of nice cohos , and brought back two sockeyes . 

They are staying at Loon Point cottage on Quadra , which is one of the few places with it's own dock .

 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com 

. 

looking around

 Cory had to have patience for the slow fishing , but he is an outdoorsy Alberta guy who can also appreciate seeing the bear, and dolphins, and sea lions.  

 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com 

variety pack with late sockeyes

   Some schools of sockeyes came late and unexpected .  Add a bunch of those to a couple of chinooks, also put in a couple of lingcod and an incidental rockfish and you have a lot of dinners for winter.  Shamra brought the good luck .  Chen's family enjoys more parts of the fish , including heads for soup and stir-fries.  Smart , we should try that , really. 

 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com 

Lucky photo

That is Rich and his guest,  in Lucky the rowboat , playing a fish out of Tyee Pool .   

 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com 

Combo day

  Mary initiated this combo day .  Morning fishing from the motor boat with hubby Dietmar and their friend Wayman .  Evening fishing , just the guys, rowing in the Tyee Pool . 

more Super Island

  

A few more super days from Super Island .

 Bailer and his personal assistant play low key. 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com 

Sotsols 2018

 How to describe these guys ?   The originals have been coming to fish with us from California for over 35 years , and the size of the group has varied .  This year three are sons of the originals.  It is a 4 day trip , as usual. 

 What a treat to have this reunion and then settle in to the comfort of sharing fishing with our old pals. 

  We release a lot of very nice fish . 

 

rick@gobrightfish.com

250 830 8680

www.gobrightfish.com