 I’ve decided to touch base one last time here before Spring season ends, as my schedule has changed slightly. I’ll be out of town on a fishing trip June 13th to June 20th. The most likely scenario is that by June 20th the river wont be in guiding condition. This isn't 100% for sure this season. We have an amazing amount of water for the end of May! It is however dropping steadily. But it’s something we more so have to look at on a weekly basis to be able to give absolutes. Right now I’m booking June 2nd to June 11th. I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to get us on the water through that period of time. If it works out I can take booking’s for the end of June we’ll simply cross that bridge when it nears. Also for the month of June I’m offering different rates. Right now my rates after taxes are $420 for a single angler and $550 for 2 anglers. These prices include a hearty gourmet lunch. For this last 2 weeks of the season I’m also offering prices based on me not providing lunch. So prices that don't include lunch will be $400 for a single angler and $510 for 2 anglers. Of course prices still include use of all my gear and flies.
So how has it been fishing the past couple weeks? In general pretty good. The rainbows have for the most part been quite active and nymphing well. They are usually there and pretty willing to eat when presented with the right fly. Some days they come to a streamer well also. But not every day for whatever reason. Most likely just water height and temperature. Dry fly has been inconsistent since the river bumped up. Most likely this will change as the river continues to drop. We've been getting some very fat healthy rainbows also! The browns have been active on a relative basis. Really different every day. I’ve had a couple more challenging day’s with guests lately. Challenging is such a relative term though. More so challenging numbers wise, not quality wise. So instead of hooking upwards of 10 or sometimes more browns in a day (along with the usual good amount of rainbows) it’s more so been sub 5 and some days only 1 or 2 browns. What’s made up for the lack of numbers has been the size of some of these fish. Been some in the 20” to 24” class hooked (unfortunately often lost) in the last week or so. Hey that’s fishing. They don't all make the net. But it’s fun hooking fish of that quality. The fact that opportunity exists on Vancouver Island is just awesome and something we all need to be grateful for. And for anyone interested in trying to find that opportunity it is officially the last call for Spring season. After my fishing trip I’ll book days if it’s possible. Once again further we get into June the more unlikely that becomes. Then I’ll be off to the Bow River in Calgary for the summer season. Then back to the Island at the end of September. One thing to note about reports like this. They are ALWAYS in the review mirror. Even as I right this the river is changing, the water conditions are changing, the trout could be shifting food sources, and overall trout activity level could be changing. This can happen on even a daily basis. One thing I pride myself in is figuring out these changes and doing my best to adapt. I work hard every day to make sure I’m giving guests the best opportunities and I’ll most certainly continue forward with that work ethic. As well as making sure any guests I do have in boat leave having enjoyed a fun day on the water.I thank everyone for trusting me with their guided trip. I love what I do and I love spending the day on the water with you all! Let me know if you’d like to get out there!
0 Comments
 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. |