Happy Canada Day ! Some of you might recognize this spot from fishing the Campbell River waterfront .
Monday, 1 July 2019
Sunday, 30 June 2019
Fishing got even better ! It's a long story.
Fishing got even better . But it is a long story that I have procrastinated writing about . Here I'll try to keep it fairly short .
Fishing has been terrific this year ! There appears to be an abundance of
chinooks around .
It is ironic that this season is especially good for chinooks
, while at the same time there are more new restrictions on them . There will be no retention of chinooks until July 15 . After July 15 it will be the same as last year , and more to keep after Aug 30.
The reason is
that the regulations are meant to protect some weak stocks , but boy , other
stocks must be doing very well at the same time . Some chinook types rear for
a whole year in fresh water , living like little trout , before going to sea .
The ones that come from the dry country of the upper interior of BC are having a
hard time with low and warm water in summer , and forest fires, and pine beetles
killing forests , etc. . Then the First Nations in those areas have first
priority to harvest some of the returning adults .
The stocks of concern
migrate early in spring/summer , so this year we are restricted to catch and release
fishing in this area until July 15 . Actually they hardly come this way on the
inside route , and, in previous years , sport anglers caught less than 1 % of
those fish . The stocks at most risk migrate primarily off-shore . It appears ironic that the more rare a fish is , the less likely we are to catch one , the more likely we are to have fishing restrictions. As Chair of the Campbell River and District Fishing Guides Association , I have been following this pretty closely and we made our submissions. Sport Fishing Institute ( SFI ) and the Sport Fishing Advisory Board ( SFAB ) presented the facts thoroughly, with disappointing results . Sport fishing is not the problem , and this strategy isn't the best answer , but here we are , and there is a lot to enjoy still .
The news to the public has been very poor and misleading , with a negative
general message that there is some kind of issue with salmon . Many people would be very surprised to hear that experienced anglers and guides are describing chinook fishing this year as one of the
best in decades . Yes , really .
Spring / early summer, until July 15 . We are fishing catch and release for chinooks
until July 15 . You can keep a coho if it is hatchery marked , and a lingcod is
a delicious bonus for the table. Fewer people are fishing in this period but those who are are enjoying this fishing very much .
July 15 to Aug 29 , , the regulations will be like last year ; one
chinook per person per day . As usual , the possession limit is the equivalent
of two days catch .
Aug 29 and after , 2 chinooks per person per day , 4 in possession .
Releasing a chinook is still a great thrill , and handling it carefully and seeing it swim away in good shape is a wonderful feeling . In addition , we are taking tissue samples for DNA which will tell which river systems the fish are from . We are supporting science by collecting necessary data .
Come on over for lovely salmon fishing . It will be
great fun for all , and fishing will be in a manner that is appreciative and respectful of the salmon stocks.
Saturday, 29 June 2019
That is a day trip !
This is a day trip !! Fly from Vancouver for 5 hours fishing and catch the next flight back again !
Nao was in Vancouver for business and fitted this in . My part was filling in for Eiji , who had this all lined up . ( AG Fish Enterprises ) . I met Nao at the taxi , picked up lunches from the floating Snack Shack , and off we went.
Fishing was terrific , as it has been this year . Nao caught and released several chinook salmon, and also caught a hatchery coho , which Masumi boxed for flight .
After a few hours of fishing , Nao asked if we ever see whales , and just that minute a couple of humpback whales appeared .
Ahoy , Eiji
Saturday, 22 June 2019
Just Kevin
Kevin came out fishing , just himself , while his wife stayed back at the Bed and Breakfast . It was a beautiful morning for lots of action . All hands are full fishing two lines, and especially so with a couple of double headers .
Monday, 17 June 2019
family from Germany
This family from Germany is exploring around western Canada and , of course , that has to include some salmon fishing . The salmon certainly showed up to entertain everyone . Lots of fishing action to share . And other challenges for the kids ,too , like blowing lots of bubbles , and watching where you are going when you are steering .
Wednesday, 12 June 2019
who's counting ?
Maurice and Elizabeth graded this trip as great as any they've had . And Maurice has been coming for , well , let's say, lots of decades . We did it all the comfy way , starting each of the two days at 8 am after breakfast at the hotel . We came in for lunch at a floating restaurant , and then a short afternoon fish nearby . The weather was calm, and it got hot by mid-day.
We're taking tissue samples for DNA , and keeping those on a blotter paper card . But Maurice remembers even better , he keeps track , and counts the one we lost the sample for . All the salmon were released , and one lingcod went home for meals . Catch and release is the order of the day , The count for the two days was 18 salmon sampled , just two of which were undersize ( less than 24 1/2 inches ) , one wild coho , and the lingcod. None of the fish were weighed, but the largest was 37 1/2 inches ( 95 cm ) in length .
On day two , after lunch, we motored several minutes extra to go out to where we could see boats watching some Orcas . We are required to keep a distance . These are the mammal eating kind , not the fish eaters. We went out to them , but later they came to us , right where we had been fishing , so we fished along, and then away , riding the tide toward the dock , to end a fine trip.
Thursday, 6 June 2019
June in the back country
June is my favourite month . Chinooks are all around, all over the neighbourhood in northern Georgia Strait and the mainland inlets in dependable numbers . The world feels alive ahead of the busier mid-summer tourists. There are some some nice big ones in the mix . Here are some photos from the mainland side , guiding for a luxury lodge .
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