Winter fishing in salt water is starting to pick up. Reports in from Pedder Bay on Vancouver Island with winter feeder springs has started. If you have a taste for spring salmon and want to make a day of it, you can get there by ferry from the mainland and rent from the marina. Lot less expensive than getting your boat out of winterization and hauling it all the way there. Boats are heading out from Vancouver Harbor into English Bay chasing winter feeder springs and that season should pick up for the next two to three months. Most are using green flashers with long leaders and spoons looking like three or four inch herring.
As far as the local rivers go, the last of the northern coho were thought to be in but today some relatively bright fish were hooked, sorry no pictures as they also unhooked themselves and no wild chase through the water with hands outstretched could scoop them back onto the shore.
The elk are heading into the valley floors to their overwintering forage spots and the goats were congregating on the south slopes to enjoy the short hours of bright sunshine as that golden orb is heading to its lowest spot on the horizon.....the official start of winter is about 8 days away and any nice sunny day helps them conserve energy for many of the cold days yet to come. If you have a spotting scope or a nice pair of binoculars, it is worth scanning the rocky outcrops for these creatures which are quite placid up on their secure cliffs......makes you wonder how they don't fall off though.
Today, the bull trout, one coho and one nice rainbow were very co-operative as water levels are still dropping and clearing. A good number of the fish were in the 20 to 24 inch range. The first two fish were in the sub 20 size but then this 24 inch beauty was quickly followed by another one of the same size.
To my surprise one fish hit the fly and immediately breached to the surface so the original thought was that I was into a rainbow which are relatively few compared to bull trout. Line pulled out and the reel sang but after a spirited battle the fish finally came to shore. It wasn't a bull or a rainbow but a seriously bright coho! Unfortunately it spit the hook and took off between my legs, so no photos. Was a pretty good tilt though!
Mother Nature is a wonderful sculptor and with the rising and falling water there are always new shapes and formations to see if you only take the time to look and enjoy.
Today the distribution of fish were all the way from one that was about the same size as the fly it was trying to swallow to this stunning 27 inch bull that was back into it's finest winter chrome outfit.
One of the things you don't want to find is the trash that other people leave behind. Somewhere upstream a logging and/or road building operation was careless and this five gallon pail of gear lubricant came floating down and lodged in the rocks of one of the most productive bull trout holes. So, if you bring it in, pack it out and if you find it, do a little extra and take out trash and keep our waters as pristine as possible.
As it turned out, the end of the day was just as fine as the start. The fish were still biting as we made our last casts and I somewhat reluctantly unhooked a nice 20 inch fish. Like last call at the pub, this was last call at the river but it is always good to pull out as you watch your last fish of the day swim back out into the current. Able to grow larger and live to battle another day......Tight Lines.
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