Welcome to my how to page. Over the last couple of years, I have accumulated a lot of instructional fishing blog posts. So, I have put them all here for you to find easily and I will add them to this page whenever I blog a new one.
Tree-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 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 moreRescuing a Bald Eagle on the Cowichan River
During today’s drift down the Cowichan river we came across an injured Bald Eagle on the beach. Guide Peter Dick managed to capture it and we called Pacific Northwest Raptors to come and meet us at the bottom of the river. The Eagle was totally calm while being held and transported, which surprised all of us. We named the Eagle ‘Cowi’ and we plan on visiting him over the next couple of days to see how he’s doing. His wing seemed to be broken, and who knows how long he has been on that beach. We are just glad...
read more5 Tips To Improve Fishing With Your Centerpin for Steelhead
There isn’t a more productive or hardcore way to fish for Steelhead than using a Centerpin rod and reel. For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, a centerpin reel has a large arbour with no drag and free spools all the time. Your brake is your fingers and learning to use this reel to its maximum takes practice and skill. I prefer a centerpin over a baitcaster when it comes to finesse float fishing for Steelhead. The centerpin when matched with a 11ft to 13ft rod gives you the greatest control...
read morePreparing your Boat for Summer + Necessary Safety Equipment
Summer salmon season will be upon us SOON! Now is the time to prepare your boat for battling those tyee class salmon and halibut! So, where should we start? What are some of the things we should do this spring to prepare? Well here is a check list that I put together using many different online sources that I could find. This is only meant to be a guide, at the bottom of the page is Transport Canada’s required safety equipment for a boat 19-29ft. Check your life jackets and safety equipment – Check the PFD’s that...
read moreHow to Improve your Prawn Fishing Results! Tips from the pro’s @ Tyee Marine
I know first hand what its like to go prawning with high expectations only to come home with less than I had expected! So today, I went and asked the pro’s at Tyee Marine for some ’tips’ on increasing the catch in my prawn traps and this is what they said: Here’s some great advice to those of you that are going to be Prawning on Vancouver Island: While the learning curve on the way to becoming a sucessful prawner is not especially steep, there are little tricks that experienced prawners have discovered along the...
read moreFixing a Propeller
I have owned many boats in my life and everyone of them had a different propeller. What I have learned is that having the proper well maintained propeller on your boat is very important. There are as many propellers on the market as there are boat engines, so choosing the right prop can become overwhelming to the average boater. I recently purchased a ‘new to me’ boat and it came with a 17 pitch(p) stainless steel prop that had quite a few dings in the leading edge of the three blades. It wasn’t bad enough to...
read moreMy Steelheading Gear for 2011
This year I have kept my Steelheading lures very simple. Haven’t been using a lot of jigs, corkies, trout beads, or fancy spin and glows. Just simple egg patterns and bait. Here is some of the gear that have been successful for me so far this year. The Luhr Jensen Egg Clusters in Orange (5 Egg) - This got me the largest Steelhead of my life. Purchased at: Gone Fishing in Port Alberni $3.97 for a bag. The Luhr Jensen Egg Cluster in Red (5 Eggs) Purchased at: Gone Fishing in Courtenay $3.97 for a bag. Luhr Jensen Egg – BC...
read moreHow To Tie a Roe Bag for Steelheading.
Steelhead roe is killer bait for steel and preparing it properly is quick and easy. First, you need to prepare your roe with borax. Here is a video done last year to describe how to cure roe: Video on how to cure roe – Click Here - What you need to make a roe bag: - Scissors - Pink roe mesh - Stretchable thread (available at any fishing store) - Monofilament (8 to 12lb test) - Hook - and your prepared roe. To tie a roe bag, cut a piece of mesh about 3 inches square. Then place a chunk of roe in the middle, twist up the ends and wrap...
read moreBasic Centerpin Casting – How to Cast a Centerpin Rod and Reel
I use three basic casting techniques when casting a centerpin rod and reel. - The common cast, where you just pull the rod as far back as you can and then swing and free spool the pin reel. This is very similar to level wind casting. The cast needs no instruction as this is the most common style of casting. You can get 100ft+ on a good power cast with good technique. The problem is that a lot of river banks do not allow you to make a full back swing. The next two casts are the solution. - The short cast, can be used when you...
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