This page has all my blog posts in chronological order. Surf through them as there are more than 225+ posts about fishing Vancouver Island, Videos, Gear Reviews, How-to’s and Fishing Reports.
New Cowichan Steelheading Video ~ Must See!
Fishing was good today, and one of the fish was an acrobatic, cart wheeling, chrome 8lb doe that I happened to get on video. Here is a video of that doe we caught today, this is a must see: (When viewing enlarge to full screen) Music by The Kid Natural – Land Called Haida Gwaii...
read moreStamp River/Cowichan River – Fishing Report
The Stamp river conditions are favourable, the water level is good, the river clarity is a light green. The fishing has been good, but we need another push of new fish to really get it going again. The weather is predicting plenty of rain today and tomorrow and that’s all we need to get the fish moving again. The Cowichan river conditions are ok, the water level is low and the clarity is clearing. The river is at 1.4 which is low and the fishing is always a little tough when the river level is down on the Cow. It’s...
read moreAvailable Guide Days in February
Thank you to all that have booked a guided Steelhead trip with us! Since I have been getting a lot of emails regarding bookings in February, I thought I would put up the days I have left in February for you to see. Here are the available days with guide: Ian – February 22, 24, 28, 29 Peter – February 23-26, 29 March has many available days, weekends go the fastest and right now I currently have the 1st weekend of March available due to a reschedule. If any of the February dates work in your schedule, email or call me to reserve...
read moreCowichan River – Fishing Report
The water levels have been dropping, currently it’s around 1.5 meters, the water clarity is about 6 – 8 feet with a light clay green tinge to it. I can see the water going clear in a couple of days if there is no rain. The fishing today was a little slower than it was last week but we still managed to get some nice size fresh Chromers. The weather today was amazing and there is some more sunshine in the forcast. The fishing should be very consistent through to the end of April. If you would like to head out on the...
read moreStamp River – Fishing Report
Today we fished the Upper Stamp River and we managed a pretty decent number of fish between our two boats. Guests were pretty happy with the catch, which makes us very happy! The water level is slightly higher than normal, and came up about 6 inches from yesterday, with a clear green colour. The weather was overcast with no rain at all. Lots of big fish in the river and the fishing is great! A guide day starts at 7:30am where we meet at the top of the river and discuss the plan for the day. Then we launch our drift boats and...
read moreMaui Jim Sunglasses – Worn for 145 Fishing Days
Last summer I brought 4 pairs of cheap ($30 – $50/pr) polarized sunglasses to Haida Gwaii for the three-month guiding season. I thought that would be plenty to get me through the summer. I put a lot of wear and tear on my sunglasses, and a pair rarely lasts me more than a couple of months; getting broken or so scratched I can no longer see through them. Until now I have refused to pay more than $50 for a pair thinking that all sunglasses were created equal. Halfway through the three month guiding season last summer, I...
read moreTree-Wheeling a Broken Trailer
Today, a friend and I fished a North Island river and we were about 50km’s from any kind of civilization, and hours from home. As we were pulling the boat out of the river, we noticed that the trailer had completely blown a bearing. We stood there for a couple of minutes thinking about all the different options, we could leave the trailer and the boat and drive to town and return, or we could deflate the boat and put it in the vehicle and return for the trailer the next day… or we could ’dogleg’ the trailer and...
read moreGuy Sets up a Zip Line Across Elk Falls
We went for a walk down to Elk Falls on the Campbell River with the family and we found a guy stringing up a rope from the far side of the canyon to the viewing platform, then as we watched he hooked up to the zip line and slid across the canyon to where we stood. It was a little more entertaining than what we were expecting! Here he is: Join me on Facebook: Click...
read moreSpin Floating for Steelhead… What a Newb!
A few weeks ago Pete picked me up a fantastic Shimano 13ft noodle rod from an old time angler who used to fish Steelhead on the Great Lake tributaries. This rod is rated for 3-6lb test mainline and is perfect for use with very light leaders and small presentations, as is done in Ontario streams. This is a very uncommon fishing rod here in BC, as we mainly like to use heavier gear and stronger leaders. The common practice for the west coast Steelheaders is to use a levelwind or centerpin reel with 12lb to 15lb mainline and 10-12lb...
read moreCowichan River Steelheading Video
Well I’ve put together a little video of some Steelheading on the Cowichan river. As you will see the fishing has been steady and the weather hasn’t really been that bad, in fact it’s supposed to be sunny for the first week of February! Ever since we rescued that eagle, the fishing has been getting better every few days. The high water has pushed in some fresh steelhead. If you haven’t booked a steelhead trip yet, book a day in February now while I still have some dates available. If you would like to join...
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