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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 currently raining and the water is starting to come up, so the fishing should improve. Today we managed to get into a few Steelies in the low water, one was on a Pink worm… which I am not a big fan of, but my guest cast one down the river and hooked a fat acrobatic steely on the first drift!

March is starting to book up quickly but I have some days available. If you are interested please call or email me.

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 a guided Steelhead trip.

You can contact us by clicking here.

To see more information on guided steelheading on the Stamp river click here

To see more information on guided steelheading on the Cowichan river click here

~ Ian

The Cowichan river is one of the most beautiful rivers on Vancouver island, and is one of my favourite rivers to Steelhead. For more information on booking a guided Cowichan river Steelheading trip: click here. 

Here’s a couple pictures of today:

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 drift down to the first fishing hole and work all the sweet spots until we are satisfied that there are no more taking fish.  Then we glide down the river and work it methodically catching steel until we stop for lunch at a nice little beach.  We make sure we take lots of pictures of your day of fishing and send them to you when the day is done.  Sometime we light a fire to warm up, but lately the weather has been warming up and it hasn’t been really necessary.  After some lunch we start heading down stream fishing all the corners and slicks until we get to the pull out at around 5pm.  We clean and bag your hatchery Steelhead and drop you off at your vehicle or your accommodation.

I’ve got a special deal if you book two consecutive days with me, one day on Stamp river and the other on the Cowichan river, email me for the details.  Both rivers are fishing very well, and if you have been hesitating on booking a guided trip… I would suggest booking a day or two now while the fishing is great.

Sunglasses when you are on the river are mandatory, sun, rain or fog, you need something to see through the surface glare to spot the fish and to protect your eyes from flying hooks.

Maui Jim has four different types of lens, and they have sent me three of the lens to review.  The Lava Flows with Neutral Grey lens, the Stingrays with HCL Bronze lens and the Canoes in The Maui HT lens.  I’ll be posting a full review later in the month, plus any guests of mine will have a chance to test these Maui Jims.   The following are the three best lens for anglers:

Maui HT® (High Transmission) is the lens for when most lenses would be too dark. They are perfect for early morning or late afternoon, foggy conditions or when light conditions are extremely changeable. With 25 percent visible light transmission and 75 percent absorption, Maui Jim’s High Transmission lenses are a mellow palm shade. The Maui HT color option provides greater visibility even as it boosts color, contrast and depth of field.

I have been using the Maui HT lens since I purchased them in the summer, and they are excellent for river fishing in low light conditions, they really allow me to see fish under the surface of the water better than any other sunglasses I have used. 

To see all the different styles of sunglasses that are offered by Maui Jim, please visit their website at www.MauiJim.com . Also, ordering from their site is easy and the shipping normally takes about 3-5 days. 

There are plenty of local retailers in BC that sell Maui Jims, you can find the nearest location here: http://www.mauijim.com/store-locator/

Also, here is a little bit more about the different lenses and history in a PDF file from Maui Jim:  maui jim pdf

I’m no expert when it comes to ’doglegging’ a trailer, but I’ve done it once before to a friends half ton when 4×4′ing in the bush, he blew a flat 20kms from the highway and we doglegged it all the way into town.  So, I know it works.  However, we had to make it 50km’s down a pretty unfriendly road… could we make it that far?  Yup, we made it 50km’s tree-wheeling down the dirt road and the same tree made it all the way! Not much was left of it though:

We left it at the gas station and drove to town and got the parts, returned to the trailer, fixed it and I got home just in time to put the kids to bed!  I’m just glad that the bearing decided to break on one of my days off instead of a guide day.  It’s new now, and I had already replaced the other bearing a couple of weeks ago.

The fishing has been pretty good lately, with plenty of fresh Chrome steel entering the rivers.  The fishing should remain good until the end of April on many island rivers.

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When Peter told the old angler that I was probably going to put a centerpin on the rod, he told Pete that the rod was meant for a spinning reel!  Pete’s reaction was ‘What?!’  What self respecting hardcore Steelheader would use a spinning setup for float fishing?  Especially on a 13ft noodle rod!  That would be like going back in time; breaking out an old manual typewriter to send a letter, or throwing away your iPhone in favour of a rotary phone, or ditching your Xbox 360 in favour of the Commodore 64.  We have technologically advanced the sport of steelheading away from float fishing with spinning reels.  We hardcore Steelheaders don’t walk the river in our $400 Simms wader jackets, $400 Redington waders, $250 Maui Jim polarized sunglasses and a spinning reel!  It’s laughable!  Come on! Give me a break!  We don’t want to look like a NEWB!

30 years ago, the spinning reel is all I had and I caught plenty of Steelhead float fishing with a little plastic float, a couple of split shot, and a worm all tied to the 10lb test mainline and big gangly hook.  With the memory of my childhood years sitting on the banks of Oyster river fishing for Steelhead with my trusty old spinning rod, I went fishing with the 13ft noodle rod and my kid’s spinning reel. A $90 dollar set-up!

For more information on how you can book a guided Steelhead trip, click here

Setting the hook on a noodle rod with a spinning reel isn’t as impossible as I thought it would be.  I have fished everyday with this noodle rod for the last two weeks and with reluctantance I will say that I really enjoy using this rod.  You would think that when using 10lb test mainline and 6lb test leader, that you would be snapping fish off all day long.  The reality is that no fish were snapped off because the noodle rod absorbs everything.  There is so much even flex on the rod, that unless you apply a stupid amount of drag on the reel, the rod absorbs every head shake the fish dishes out.  Also, the drag you apply on the noodle rod is equal to the amount of drag I would apply on my levelwind when playing a fish.  The rod is perfectly matched with the line weight so that you can really put the brakes to the fish.

In any event, I wanted to try something different and this experiment showed me that sometimes the way I fish isn’t always the best way or the only way, and that there is no need for elitism among river anglers.  I have encountered plenty of elitest anglers over my lifetime, and using my kid’s spinning reel to catch Steelhead reminded me what angling is all about; enjoying time spent with our friends and family in the outdoors and hopefully catching a fish.  Whether you’re young or old, whether you float fish for steelhead with a spinning reel or a centerpin, whether you show up at the river with your jeans and gum boots or your Simms waders,  you will get a hearty welcome from me, because fishing is for everyone.  Enjoy!

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