Went over to the island this weekend to visit my grandparents, and do some fishing. I took the ferry over on friday after school and got picked up and was at their house about an hour later. We had a great dinner, and went to bed fairly early as we were all tired. The next morning woke up to pancakes... mhmm they were good, then headed to the river. I will not name this river as its not very big or well known. Arraived at about noon and got my waders on and my granpa and me headed down the trail to a nice spot I seen last time I visited. Water looked good, perfect level and almost crystal clear. This spot was a buety, nice ripple water which goes to a sharp turn with a big rocky drop off into a nice tailout. Almost immediatly i spot 2 fish about 10 feet out, they looked like cutties. After a about 5 mins in this spot my float goes down, i strike and fish on! But its not very big, it was a nice 14" cutty. Stayed for a bit longer had 2 good takedowns on jigs, then switched to a blade. After a first cast the first steelhead is on, but is gone after about 20 seconds. Nothing else so we walk down the trail a bit more.
After walking for a few mins we get to a nice looking set of pockets with a small run. I fish through the pockets with nothing to show for except for a rock fish. So i go to the run, second cast I notice 2 guys standing behind me, I guess waiting for the run, I turn back my floats gone. So i set the hook, and a fish come flying out of the water and my gear right back at me. Then these 2 guys go on either side of me and force me out of the run. After this I was prety mad so we decided to drive up river abit. We get to a bridge with a nice deep pool under it. I go up on the bridge to see if I see any fish, I see the outline of what likes like a nice fish behind a big boulder near the tailout. I give my pin to my grandpa as he has never caught a steelhead before and told him where to cast. Third cast at the end of the drift he lets the blade swing into shore and what do you know, hes got his first ever steelhead on, He was the happiest I have ever seen him. He played the fish for 5 mins and guided it into the shallows where I tailed it. It was a chrome buck of about 8 pounds, back he goes. Fished here for a while longer with nothing except a fishy branch. Tried a few more spots but nothing, so we decided to call it a day and get some ice cream.
This morning we woke up early and got down to the river at about 7. We decided to start at the spot my grandpa got his the previous day. Except there was already 2 guys working the pool so I decided to got a serious of pockets above it. I fished through alll the pockets with nothing , but then i see the other side has a nice deep ledge along the bank, so i throw a goey bob over and half way through the drift float down, fish on! II played it for a bit and guided it into one of the other fellows hands who tailed the 6 lb doe for me. (thank you if you read this Max). I try threw there a bit more but nothing, I also try the pool as the others moved up but nothing. So we decide to go to the spot where i lost one yestaerday, fished it for a bit but nothing except a nice drennen. It was starting to get late now as I had a ferry to catch at 5, so we go to the next run right belowe it, at fist it looked to fast and shallow, but it was actually prety nice, but there was nothing home except a cutty I saw raise. Then I see a guy above me is into a fish but it quickly tangles on a log and snaps off. By now its about 12:30 and we have to leave the river by 2 to catch the ferry and grab some food, so we decide to drive down to a pool down by the mouth that Max told me he got into some fish the day before.
We arraive at 1 and get down to the pool, its a big bouleder which splits the river into two section and then join creating a big deep slow pool. It looks very fishy to me. A few casts later float down but i was talking and didn't set it, to bad I know it was a fish. Fished through the run then went back up to top with a pink worm. About half way through the run my float stops and i set the hook and fISH ON! After a fight of about 10 mins the fish is tired and a guide into my granpa who goes to tail it but mises, the fish makes one more big run down and is now getting close to the ocean! This was a big fish im guessing about 15 pounds.Then out of nowhere the fish feels alot bigger and is speading towards the ocean, I knew what happened, a damn seal stole my fish!!! So i snap it off and call it a day, But my granpa wasn,t done he wanted to try this pool to. So i rig him up with a roe fly, and on his third cast he has a fish on, but it was just a small 10" cutty. It is now after 2 and time to head back to the van and go get get somne icecream and a burger from dairy queen and head to the ferry. We both had a great 2 days on the river and are already planning another weekend to go soon
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Topic: Vancouver Island river, February 25th & 26th 2012 (Read 1460 times)