Englishman River, Parksville
The Englishman River is a relatively short and small river located on the outskirts of Parskville on the way South to Nanaimo. Being an urban river, this location can get very crowded with tubers and swimmers during the summer months. As you walk its banks you may see a sort of "fish way" built from rocks in a variety of shallow places. These "fish ways" are actually built by the tubers, to help them get over these shallow areas, but can also help fish move around during low water periods.
This river gets a variety of different anadromous fish returns, as most east coast Vancouver Island Rivers do. These returns include pink, coho, summer chinook salmon, winter steelhead, and cutthroat trout. The pink salmon run is generally large, and schools of them can be spotted in most of the runs during low water. The chinook and coho salmon returns can vary from fairly large runs down to only a couple hundred or thousand fish respectively. The winter steelhead runs have also dwindled from their once spectacular numbers down to a meager run of around 100 to 200 fish. That being said, cutthroat trout fishing on the fly can be very good in the fall and early spring months both in the river and estuary for fish up to 26 inches long.
The Englishman used to once be a renowned steelhead river, with hundreds of steelhead migrating to the upper reaches every winter. As stated previously however, the runs collapsed along with most other east coast Vancouver Island flows. During this period chinook and coho salmon numbers also collapsed, along with the cutthroat. During this collapse, extensive work was done to build side/spawning channels, off channel habitat, and to construct log jam "spurs" within the channel to provide habitat for resident coho salmon and steelhead parr and fry. The work has paid dividends, and coho numbers have rebounded into the 10's of thousands. Chinook salmon numbers have also spiked to record numbers in the past few years and steelhead are also making a slow and steady comeback.
The fishable section of the Englishman during most of the year stretches right from the estuary up to the Englishman falls. The lower river tends to be a much slower section, and is right in the city limits. The upper river has many classic spoon/fly fishing runs and has some beautiful scenery away from most of the city. During the winter, most of the upper river is closed to protect the low steelhead returns, so make sure you check the regulations before you go out. Access to most of the river is fairly good, with multiple places to park. Once down on the river, it is very easy to walk its banks and wade back and forth, especially in the summer and fall when the river is lower.
How to Get There?
The lower Englishman River just above the estuary is probably the easiest to access, as it is right within city limits and is paralleled by Plummer Road, which is off the lower highway. Anywhere you can see the river and where a pullout is located is fishable, and this lower section is very easy to walk and wade along.
Right beneath the bridge that goes through town can also offer good fishing at certain times of the year, and is always worth a check. Above the bridge has to be accessed by walk and wade as the river is lined completely by properties, and no parking is located until above highway 19. Make sure you stay right down on the river and don't walk through people's properties so you will not be bothered.
The next main access point is at the suspension bridge above highway 1 off Chattell Road. Once in the parking lot you can walk either up or down from the bridge. The only access point above this is off Allsbrook Road, unless you want to go all the way up to the falls and walk down stream. You can park at the end of Allsbrook road and follow the Allsbrook trail for quite a way upstream.
Fishing Season
Fishing can be done most months of the year in the Englishman River. The earliest fish present are the steelhead that enter the river in decent numbers starting in January and running until about May. Fishing for these fish however is poor, as many do not spend any time in the lower river and shoot above the upper fishing boundaries before stopping.
The next fish that enter are cutthroat trout in the spring. These trout stick around from March until late fall when they follow the salmon up the river, and the larger fish tend to come in later in the fall to feast on eggs and flesh. Pink salmon eggs are a very good food source for these large cutthroat trout, which enter the river around the same time in Late August and early September.
Pink salmon are best targeted from the beach in July and early August, although there are some nice fish to be had in the lower river at times during the end of August.
The next notable run of fish that comes in are the summer chinook salmon. Numbers for these fish are all over the charts, but they generally move up river in good numbers by mid to late September. After that the runs of coho salmon and chum salmon follow in behind, generally starting in the first week of October in good numbers, and providing a fun fishery right up until the second week of November or the first big rain that blows the river out permanently.
Like any other river as small as the Englishman, fishing is generally best after a sizable rain. It is a good idea to watch the river graph however, as the river rises rapidly and drops fast. Even a small amount of rain can blow the river out for a day, but the next day with tea coloured water can provide very good fishing. During low water periods the fish can be very picky, and will unfortunately draw in a large number of unethical anglers and illegal activites.
Fishing Techniques
The Englishman, amongst many other Vancouver Island Rivers, is a bait ban river. During low water periods this can be a bother, as the fish get quite picky and will become lock jawed. During low water periods, it is definitely best to fish in early morning and late in the evening to find biting fish. This river is best fly fished or spoon fished, as the fish get spooked by floats. Sometimes even fly line hitting the water on the first cast will spook the fish and turn them off. These are the days when spoons and spinners can be very effective. If you do choose to fish with gear, a small fly under a float, a roe imitation or colorado blades can be good if fish aren't too spooked. Even the ever faithful pink worm will generally claim a coho salmon or two.
Being a small river, it is very easily and effectively fished with flies and spoons. If fishing spoons the best method is normally casting across right to the opposite shore and retrieving at a moderate speed (just enough to get an action on the spoon) above or right through the school. The fish will not move very far to strike in clear water, so it is important to get the lure on top of or through them. Since fish will not move far, jigging spoons right through the school can sometimes be a deadly method. Most times the fish will hit as the spoon flutters and sinks, so braided line and a very sensitive rod are key. Spoons that have been very successful include gold hammered Crocs with an orange stripe in 3/16oz, gold and silver kwobblers in various sizes with an orange stripe, silver Little Cleos with an orange stripe in 2/5oz, and Koho spoons in size 45 and blue illusions colour. At times spinners can work quite good as well, including Blue Foxes and Colorados, all in sizes 2 to 4. It never hurts to have a little orange, blue or green in the spinner or spoon, but pure colours like silver or gold will work just fine.
Fly fishing as mentioned before is also a very effective way to fish this small flow. At times fly fishing can be downright amazing, if your timing on water conditions and fish movement are right. Fish tend to stay deep, so very heavy flies and a sink tip are advantageous. In this river, smaller and sparse patterns seem to be much better. Even a size 10 fly with 10 strands of deer hair tends to claim more fish than a well dressed fly. If you do so happen to come across a school of salmon, there are a variety of effective flies to use. Here are some suggestions:
Pink salmon - Pink handle bars, large pink marabou flies, flash flies, and when they start getting picky, stonefly imitations can do the job quite well.
Chinook salmon - Large woolly buggers in black and Olive, Minnow patterns, large intruders in orange/red/black, Muddler minnows in a variety of colours, and flash flies will all get the job done at times. These fish can be very picky, so try everything and don't get discouraged.
Coho salmon - The best hands down 3 flies that I never leave home without are the Mickey Finn, the Kelsey's Hope, and my variation of a Christmas Tree – the SC Needle. Others that work well include an orange and yellow streamer, Mickey muddlers, rolled muddlers in a variety of colours, and other small hair-wing flies and minnow patterns. Don't overlook Californa neils in the river as well.
Chum salmon - These also love the flash flies. I have also hit them fairly well on Mickey Finns and an orange and yellow hair-wing pattern. These fish are generally chrome in their biting phase and provide great action on the fly.
As mentioned before there are also cutthroat in the river, but they generally will not travel in schools. If you come across a school of salmon, there is a good chance to hit a large cutthroat trout on Mickey Finns and flash flies as a by-catch. These fish will also respond well to flesh flies and roe imitations, and if you want to try something new, they will absolutely smash a top water crayfish fly.
Important Notes
Before your first fishing trip to Englishman River, please make sure you know the following information:
- You must have a valid British Columbia freshwater fishing license for the upper river and aBritish Columbia tidal fishing licence for the lower river below the marked tidal boundary sign.
- Englishman River is located in Region 1 in the British Columbia freshwater fishing regulations, and many restrictions apply with multiple closures.
- The river level fluctuates very quickly during rain events, so please be careful while wading.
- This river is managed entirely as a catch and release fishery. Please treat the fish respectfully when caught, and please resist the temptation to snag and other wise harass stacked fish if they will not bite.
- Many violations take place on this river. Please inform them of the regulations as many do not know, and report it to the RAPP hotline. This is a very delicate system with a few small runs of fish that need protection.
- Please respect residents and wildlife around the river by keeping the noise level down and picking up your own garbage.
