Prince Rupert

Today and tomorrow I had the opportunity to head to Prince Rupert, BC. It was about a 7 hour drive with a mixed bag of weather, a bit of sun and a lot of rain. We checked in to a B&B and got an early night to make sure we got up in time to get out for some fishing. 

The weather started cloudy and a bit of rain but bybthe time we reached the fishing grounds the weather began to improve and by mid morning we had sun shine. A few humpback whales graced us with their oresence and to top it all off the water was calm and the fish were biting. It took all of 4 minutes before we were into our first coho of the day. One of many dime bright fish brought up from the depths. We fished water from 75 ft deep to nearly 500 ft deep with our bait averaging about 60 feet down. After filling our quota of salmon, all coho and one chinook, we took off to fish 200+ feet of water for halibut. It didnt take long there either and we hooked into a few and my first ever halibut. One keeper and the rest were let go. Jigging for them was fun but tiring. 

Crab traps on the way back gave us our limits of dungeness crab and we are back at it tomorrow for more salmon, halibut and maybe some ling cod.

Bulkley 2022

Just got back from 2 days on the Bulkley. It's early in the steelhead run and the first day there gave up no steelhead. Although I was plenty entertained with a few pinks and some dime bright coho.

Day two started with a bang. Fourth or fifth cast and a steelhead hit like a freight train and took off down stream, reel screaming... but... I won.
My prize was a quick picture and the memory of and pleasure of meeting it. Off it went back to the river.
The rest of the morning was spent hooking a few more coho and a bull trout.

Can't wait to get back there in September when more steelhead are around.

Terrace and Kitimat

This week I was out in the Terrace and Kitimat area with my family on a camping trip. Naturally I took a few rods with me. I mean you can't camp along the mighty Skeena River and not fish it.
The first couple days posed a challenge fishing wise. We fished near the campsite, on the main stem Skeena and got nothing. Not even a bite. Talk to one old guy there who had fished six days with nothing to show for his efforts. The frustrating part was there were fish rolling frequently, close to shore, but none were biting. We tried flies, spoons, spinners and bar fishing. Most other people on the shore were bar fishing and no one was even getting a nibble.

The third day we decided to give the Kitimat river a try. We arrived at the river and hour before high tide in the area thinking a fresh push may come in with the tide. To our amusement, at the end of the gravel road just off the dyke road, there was a sign saying no camping or parking within 30 meters of the river bank (or something to that extent). We had a laugh because just beyond the sign and right on the river bank were a couple of campers. Then we looked to the right where the road turned and our jaws dropped followed by howls of derisive laugher [Bruce]. We saw about fifty more campers just down the road, again right on the bank. We had our laugh and moved on.

When we got out of the truck we hike a kilometer or two and found a nice pool. Out came the rods and not the reels. Unfortunately I left my reels back in the truck so I hiked back to get them. When I finally returned it was time to start working the water. It took us longer than I thought to get the first fish but after that the flood gates opened and many more were landed. We landed a few decent chum and a bunch of very chrome pinks. Three of which came home with us. Among the catches I was also fortunate to hook a real nice looking cutthroat that was about 12 inches long and put up a scrappy fight on the fly rod.

All in all a good day out despite not finding what I really wanted. A big ol' Kitimat chinook. Maybe next time.

Feeling Pink

Got together with a few fellow fishermen for fly flinging fun today.

It was in pursuit of some early pink salmon in the Vancouver area. Typically around this time of year there are a few salmon making there way along the local beaches towards their streams of origin. Armed with my fly rod and a box of flies we went out early and found some fish cruising the beach shore. More fish than I was expecting, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Low slack tide worked the best but fish were caught throughout the day. When they are thicker in there, it doesn't matter what the tides are doing. A helpful hint for those that aren't familiar with fishing for pink salmon, a long cast and deep wading is not necessary. No need to bomb your lure out a long way; save your energy and time. Tip number two, your leader (when fly fishing) should be a little heavier than you would think. I typically fish 15 pound mono. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, it helps turn over a weighted fly a little easier. Secondly, and more importantly, the thicker line can take more of a beating on the sharp barnacles which at some point will be contacted either when fighting a fish or on the beach behind you during your backcast. A few knicks in a thicker line will allow you to land your fish, a smaller pound test line is more likely to fray and prematurely snap. Not to mention these fish are not leader shy, so why use lighter line?

The fly of the day was a sparse pink over white clouser minnow fished on a clear intermediate sink tip. I love using this fly on the beach as it rides pointy side up, is less likely to snag and always gets the fish in the upper lip. Not to mention it must also appear tasty to a salmon because it is usually effective.