This is just to inform everyone that I've put these updates on hold and might not be utilizing this blog for some time. I am however still booking trips. In general most seasons are booking up well so if you want a trip please don't hesitate to contact me. 

Well after a prolonged summer that put the entire island into an unprecedented dry October, the rains finally came. I was especially lucky this year as I had the opportunity to guide up on the famous Babine River for summer/fall steelhead for the months of September and October. This really was a stroke of luck as there's no chance I'd of been able to guide the island in October. Although I'm sure I'll tell some stories on the boat I'll summarize my time on the Babine here before speaking on Island fishing. In short, it was simply a great experience. The lodge was top class, I travelled well, I ate well, I got to experience a steelhead fishery I've dreamed about since I was a kid, and I got to meet a ton of great guests and co workers. Spending my days chasing a top class fish with absolutely top class people. That of course also summarizes why I love guiding so much. And of course like everything in life, the experience gained was invaluable. Of course after 2 months gone I was also beyond happy to get home. Getting back to the people and animals I Iove. And of course getting back on my home river the beautiful Cowichan. 

So far the Cowichan hasn't disappointed. The river bumped up pretty well just in time for my arrival home. I'll admit to very rarely having things in my life time this well for me. This was certainly the exception. Although I wouldn't mind the river being even higher, it's a good floatable and fishable height. There are piles of Salmon on the upper river spawning and the trout are packed in trying to get a free meal. It's been exciting with lots of sight fishing opportunities on hungry eager trout. I've enjoyed it and so far the great people I've had on my boat have enjoyed it thoroughly as well. Caviar season is a great time for both the beginner and experienced angler alike. Not too mention some streamer action for those willing and able to give it an honest go. The weather has been a touch odd. We went from much needed rain to a cold snap and snow. Thankfully this didn't effect the fishing. The trout were still feeding and the river was relatively void of other anglers for a couple days. The snow falling against the fall colours of the trees also created a very unique and beautiful couple days on the river. Once again proving something I always say, never let a bit of "bad weather" stop you from spending time on the water! November is fairly booked but there's a couple days left I'd be willing to sell if anyone wants to get out before the holiday season.

I'd like to thank everyone who booked with me this November. I appreciate your continued support and trusting me with your day on the water. It's my absolute pleasure spending time on the water with you all! I am now taking winter and spring bookings as well. Prime January and February dates are starting to book. Don't miss your chance at a great winters day chasing trout and steelhead on the islands most beautiful river!

So whats the best time of the year to fish? Every season has its own perks. Fall fishing however could easily be categorized as the most unique as well as the most productive. Possibly the most beautiful as well. So of course the obvious questions come to mind. Why is it so productive? Why is it so unique? Why is it so beautiful? Let's go over it in a bit more detail. 

Fall truly is a highly productive time to fish. Salmon enter the rivers and provide great sport to the keen angler. One of our favourite sport fish is the Coho Salmon. They come in bright and silver and they tend to stay that way longer than other Salmon species. They also fight great on average and provide us with that adrenaline rush we enjoy so much. As fresh Coho enter the river, the Chinook Salmon is typically already spawning. Although we don't tend to target them, their spawning draws the attention of eager trout. Salmon eggs provide probably the best food source available for trout all season. Trout become super eager and willing to take advantage of this highly abundant food source. This can be some of the best trout fishing all year! 

The uniqueness is simply a matter of the species available. In a day of fishing you could hook multiple species of Salmon as well as several species of trout. Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, Chum Salmon, Cutthroat, Sea Run Cutthroat, resident Rainbow, lake run Rainbow, and Brown Trout are all present. This is the only time of year that has this many sport fish available in the river.

Last but equally as important as the rest is the beauty. The leaves are changing colour and a once green landscape turns to different shades of oranges, reds, and yellows. This is by far the most beautiful time of year to take a drift down a beautiful trout or salmon river!

I'm only taking prime dates this fall. They will be limited but worth booking. As long as conditions are good you can have one of your most enjoyable days on the water ever! I've also made some changes to my rates. I'm offering and advertising rates with or without lunches. For the Cowichan River a 2 person float with lunch is $550 all in and without lunch is $510. For a single angler the prices are $425 and $400. Iv'e done this basically because the price of providing these lunches is getting higher with inflation. Enough so that offering a rate without them allows me to give a fairly good discount to guests. And I'll only provide lunch if the lunch I'm providing is of high quality. I'm also offering floats on the San Juan. This is a Coho Salmon and Sea Run Cutthroat river. It's a beautiful wilderness float and worth experiencing. It comes at a higher price. Given its distance to get to and the higher fuel prices it's $600 without lunch and there is no single angler rate available. I will be however offering both fly fishing and conventional tackle on this river. Something I only offer with this and Winter Steelhead.

If your'e interested in booking a prime fall date don't hesitate to email me at [email protected] As stated previously these dates will be somewhat limited but I want to get as many of my great guests on the water as possible. As well as any new anglers who would be willing to trust me with their day! I hope your'e all having a great summer and I hope to see you on the water this fall!

 

Although this may be an unpopular opinion lately, it's been a great Spring! Not the Spring we're typically used to but a great one for fish, and the fisherman on the Cowichan. Consistent rains and cool temperatures although not great if you're looking to get that summer tan started are a wonderful combination for a trout river, the trout in it, and everything that depends on that ecosystem for survival. As a fisherman and someone who understands this, it's hard to not appreciate what this weather does for the ecosystem we love so much. Everything is healthy and happy. That's a good thing!

So how's it been? We're almost 2 months in now so it's pretty easy to look back and reflect on everything. The first thing I'd like to reflect on is all the great guests I've had the pleasure of having in my boat this spring. Without getting too sappy I do want to give a sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart! I guide for a lot of reasons but one of the main ones is the great people I get to meet and spend my days with. So thank you all for helping me support my dreams and trusting me with your day. In short it's been a wonderful spring of fishing and guiding. But of course we all need a little more detail to satisfy us. So let's go over this on a monthly basis.

End of March was typical. The rainbows were in full spawn. Browns were relatively active. The temperatures were average but it never warmed up much. The salmon fry were starting to hatch but not significantly. There were some BWO hatches but very few trout looking up to greet them. We also seen some stoneflies hatching. Once again the water level and temperature just weren't quite there to have trout really looking up. Although you'd see the odd rise. This is typical for March on any year. We did have a few rockstar streamer days. But fewer than usual. Of course nymphing produced well whenever utilized. 

April was a weird month. We had every kind of weather nature could throw at us. It even snowed a few times! Despite this fact the fishing very good! The rainbows were post spawn and eager to eat and the browns were very active as well. We had the start of our major hatches. In particular the Western March Brown hatch (WMB). We had some great dry fly days and seen some very sizeable browns hooked on the surface. There was a period there where the browns weren't very picky especially when there was a drizzle of rainfall. They were just really happy to be eating bugs again! Streamer fishing was on average slow. Way slower than typical for April. But once again we had some good streamer days. Nymphing was there to take its place and provide good action.

May has been great as well. The trout are in incredible shape. The rainbows and the browns have been putting the feedbag on. They're happy and in excellent spring condition. This is due to good Caddis hatches as well as multiple Mayfly hatches. For whatever reason streamer fishing has been a bit more consistent finally. This is most likely due to water temperature and salmon fry finally being around in good numbers. If theres more fish around it makes sense that trout will key in on them a bit more. Another great thing thats happened this May is fairly significant bump of water. About a week ago I was getting ready to pack the drift boat away and pull the raft out. Then some major rains came and bumped the river up higher than we're used to seeing in Spring. A bit of blessing. The drift boat stays in use and most likely we'll be looking at an extended season of drifting the river.

So where do we go from here? Well as stated above, we keep on fishing! This bump of water has given us a wonderful cushion for drifting, fishing, and guiding. We get to keep doing what we love in comfort. I still have a few dates in late May I'm willing to guide and will also be looking at booking the first week of June. I'll be booking June on somewhat of a last minute basis. The last thing I'd ever want to do is cancel a trip on a guest. I know how excited everyone gets for their day because I get equally as excited! If you'd like to grab one of those last May spots feel free to contact me at [email protected] Also I'll be creating a June list for those interested in getting out on the water for what may be our first month of nice weather this year! Get ahold of me if you want to capitalize on the great fishing this spring.

Winter has arrived and it sure has been a real winter this year. Mother nature has given us more snow and sub zero temperatures than usual. We had a white Christmas that carried well into January. Although there has been some cold days theres also been some great fishing opportunities.

Trout fishing on the upper Cowichan this fall was great. At least for the limited amount of time the river was actually fishable. Heavy rains hammered the Island in late October and the high water persisted well into December. As anglers all we could do is wait, anxiously thinking about how the river may change and of course how it would be fishing as that high water finally subsided.

We're now well into winter and we've had great fishing conditions for a few weeks now. Giving us time to drift the river multiple times and get a clear view of everything going on. Of course the flood made a few changes to certain runs, overall the river is safe to drift and fishing quite well. The flood actually cleared a few areas that were getting clogged up with logs. So now let's get down to business.

I've said it before and I'll gladly say it again. We are very lucky on the island to have open water and good fishing opportunities during the winter. While most of Canada is frozen over we continue to do what we love. And that we have! Trout fishing has been great overall. Browns all seem to be post spawn. They managed to get it done in the high water. Most likely utilizing tributaries and side channels. Some of the hens of course are skinny but we've also been getting some very healthy browns as well. They've been quite active! The Rainbow trout population is looking quite strong. Both in numbers and in average size. Theres lots schooling up in the upper river in preparation for spring spawning. Some of these fish will spawn as early as February with bulk spawning in March. We've been getting into some solid rainbows with the largest landed so far at 19" and healthy. This is a great time to target these fish. They are healthy and looking to eat. Don't overlook this time of year if your'e interested in booking a trout float. The upper river is quiet and the trout are happy. 

Steelhead season has just started as well. The river got a decent push of fish in December with things slowing down a bit in early January. This is normal and it should only improve from here. As I write this the river is rising quickly from rain. As it subsides you can expect the Steelhead fishing to improve. Those who are out consistently making the effort are getting into fish. I have a special love for these fish and have made the promise that I will donate 5% of my sales this winter and spring to the steelhead society of British Columbia. That goes for sales of both Steelhead trips and trout floats.

Some reminders on regulations. The river is closed from the lake to Greendale Trestle. From Greendale trestle to 70.2 Trestle is fly fishing only. This means NO indicators or floats of any kind. NO split shot or lead of any kind on your leader. Use heavy nymphs and tight line nymphing methods or sink tips. We'd be happy to teach you how! From 70.2 trestle down the river is open to fly fishing and gear fishing. Of course hooks must be single barbless and all trout and steelhead must be released.

Are you interested in getting out for a float? We still have January dates available. A few February dates (But its filling up fast!) and of course can book into the spring as well. We have a single angler rate at $425 that includes a hearty gourmet lunch and non alcoholic beverages. And double angler rate at $525 for the boat and includes hearty gourmet lunch for both anglers. We supply all rods, reels, flies, and other consumables. We also have some sizes of waders available if you don't have any. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.