Rory Glennie - Vancouver Island Field Editor
Rory is a master fly tyer and designer of several popular patterns; a saltwater and freshwater fly fishing guide on Vancouver Island; and has twice been a member of the Canadian Fly Fishing Team. He is a member of the Outdoor Writers of Canada, the Haig-Brown Kingfisher Creek Society, and the IGFA. He is co-author of The Ardent Angler and The Essential Guide to Fly Fishing in BC. Rory was recently the recipient of an OWC award for his article on Roderick Haig-Brown in this publication.
Vancouver Island
Fall 2010 Report (blog 10 - coastal report) for The Canadian Fly Fisher - by Rory Glennie
I think by now the whole world is aware that 2010 has become the "Year of the Salmon” here in British Columbia. For whatever reasons, many, but not all, salmon stocks along the coast have returned in record numbers. That is in stark contrast to a year earlier when some of these same stocks had been given the last rites by fishery sector leaders as having collapsed beyond recovery. Go figure?
The most air play went to Sockeye coming into the Fraser river, most destined for spawning grounds in tributaries far upstream from Vancouver. Not to be outdone, over here on Vancouver Island, the runs of Sockeye swimming in the Alberni Canal were reportedly so thick "it was hard to drive your boat through them, you had to slow down.” Most folks took their quota in a short time, some in a brief hour on the water before heading to work that morning. Impromptu roadside vendors quickly set up shop to cash in on this salmon bonanza; selling whole fish at unheard of low prices out of the back of their pickup trucks. For a while the atmosphere in Port Alberni was akin to that when the circus arrives in town, giddy.
Not to be outdone by that "other” Salmon Capital of Canada, Campbell River, boasted a run of Pink Salmon of such magnitude that Fisheries & Oceans opened the river for anglers to harvest these fish a full month earlier than scheduled. That was a grand bonus for fly fishers, as these feisty salmon take the fly well and give a good account of themselves in the turbulent flows of the Campbell. And, being earlier in the run, they were at their ocean-bright prime as table fare. Haig-Brown’s "Line Fence Pool” and the Big Sandy pool a bit further upstream were popular and productive areas. The riverside atmosphere paralleled that of Alberni, sans the vendors hawking their catch.
Mid Island Chinook salmon stocks appear to be in good shape. Both the Little Qualicum river and its Big sister enticed in good numbers of big chinooks. For conservation purposes these rivers revert to a "Fly Fishing Only” rule on September 1st. This also means one finds the salmon pools largely undisturbed and salmon well rested. The down side; although these early fish are ocean-bright and prime on the barbeque – Chinook salmon measuring under 62 cm. may be kept from the Big Q. – it was very hard to hook one which was small enough to keep. At 62 cm. a Chinook salmon is about five or six pounds. The majority caught were in the eighteen to thirty-five pound range – too big!
Early reports from the Cluxewe and Keogh estuaries on the North Island tell that a good Coho beach fishing season has begun. The average size of the fish caught seems to be larger too. If things progress as anticipated, traditional beach areas from Campbell River to Cowichan Bay should produce some fine opportunities for fly fishers in the salt. Then, as early October rolls around, these Coho will be sought after in the rivers – just before the arrival of the Chum salmon hordes.
Chum salmon are a whole ’nuther beast, worthy of more verbiage than can be presented here. Their populations seem to be in very good shape and can be a good training vehicle for neophyte salmon fly fishers not used to handling BIG fish on a fly rod. Pretty well any river on the Island will host Chums so locating a fishing venue is easy. The near endless supply of Chums willing to take a fly can lead a fly fisher into sleepless night-sweats and uncontrollable auto-synaptic nervous twitches. Some fun!
