We headed over to the Island for a little fishing this past weekend so I could break-in the new Sage drift rod. Met up with our guide Ken (
www.fishmyster.com) at the marina in Pt Alberni for some fishing on the Stamp and Somas Rivers. Ken kept us pretty busy all day and we came home with a hatchery buck and doe both ~7lbs along with some shots of a few chrome wild ones.
The river was high and clear and the fog was pretty thick, we did not see clear sky all day except for our ride home at higher elevations.
The river was pretty busy, apparently all the licensed guide boats were out (however, no where near "Vedder" busy) and everyone is very courteous. Our first stop, and my father-in-law's first cast yielded a 7lb hatchery buck which was hiding in a tail out.
We worked our way up river with Ken spotting and pointing out other holes sometimes with visible fish (in all the cases where we physically saw the fish, they didn't bite).
About an hour later I had my first fish on, ~ 8lb buck. We chased him down river and found a safe place to beach and snap a shot.
We worked our way up river to the clay banks and dropped into a slot which was just worked by another boat. First cast, hit but nothing there, next cast hard hit and it was on. The 7lb hatchery doe was in the boat after a short but spirited fight.
We decided to hit the Somas after that as the upper river apparently was pretty full of guide boats. 3 casts into the run we were working, I had a slight take, nothing there, next one it was on, the fish shot down river into a fast flowing section and managed to wrap my line around a rock, do a cartwheel ... snap & gone. We hit the same run a little later which gave me a brief fight with a small summer run.
After working some of the Somas we headed to the falls on the Stamp and hit some water which was worked over earlier in the day by almost every guide boat. No dice. We could see them, but there were no willing dance partners. On the way down, we met up with the local CO who was checking everyone on the river. Good guy. He went through the whole drill - license, hook and checked our retained fish.
We ended the day drifting in the lower river in a wide slow moving section. I asked Ken, does anyone ever catch anything here? He kinds of laughs with a yes... no exaggeration, but ~ 30 seconds later my float goes down and I get another to the boat and we send the ~6lb wild doe back.
Great day, will be back next year, no doubt about it. The new Sage seems to work just fine
Finally, Ken informed us while we were out, that the local Provincial Biologist is trying to get jet boating on the river shut down. Apparently, there was an internet poll done with 33 respondents who "all" wanted a ban on boats and did not want the bait ban lifted above the bucket. Based on this poll, the province apparently is going ahead with the new regulations. No one informed any of the guides on the river - no consultation at all. The guides are expected "find another river". Bizarre, as many of the guides participate in the brood stock program for the local hatchery. A proper poll is being done by Ken and if you would like to be a part of it, copies are posted/going to be posted at Fred's, Pacific Angler (new in Van as of Feb 1st) and Gone Fishing in Pt Alberni.
Forgot how to post pic's but have sent to Rodney to add (thx Rod!).
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Topic: Stamp & Somas Rivers - Saturday January 27th (incl. Photos) (Read 4577 times)