Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: JustinG on January 29, 2007, 02:37:52 PM
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;D 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.
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/jginetz/DSCN1230.jpg)
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/jginetz/DSCN1232.jpg)
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.
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/jginetz/DSCN1233.jpg)
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/jginetz/DSCN1236.jpg)
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/jginetz/DSCN1238.jpg)
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.
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/jginetz/DSCN1241.jpg)
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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Sorry I should have stated, Ken is staying away from Internet polls, he has physical sheets (or is going to) at the shops listed. Terrible when someone's self interest can be imposed without proper public consultation.
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How much was the charter?
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$350 + $50 tip
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Justin, the instruction for posting photos can now be found at:
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=12876.0
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thx, worked nicely. ;D
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Nice report and pictures.
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Nice pics ! ;D
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I bet the poll was 99% homeowners who are annoyed at the sound of jet boats buzzing all around...
Not to mention, but it's unlikely that the poll was locked down by IP address, and therefore maybe one pissed off homeowner voted 33 times...
You never know.
Cheers,
nicole
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excellent report! looking forward to my trip on the 21st!!!
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;D
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What website can I see that from? I think it's garbage. 99% of the river is unaccessible by shore so all the people who pay for a guide boat and enjoyed it will come back even if theres no boat access and crowd the limited shore line even more then it already is. The guide boats let the taxpayers have a better chance at catching the hatchery fish there tax dollars paid for.
99% wow, I lived there for 20 years and would have never guessed that. Everyone that I fished with from shore never had a problem finding a spot on that river by foot. Most of the locals have never used a guide boat, only tourists and out-of-towners, granted locals do know a lot of homeowners that will let you cut through their property but 99% is pretty rough. ::)
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Overall in my opinion the same.
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the river is very accesable you cant expect to go there once and know all the spots i have spent days searching and hiking and its paying off thats what makes stealheading special the feeling of accomplishment the Stamp is a beautiful river LETS KEEP IT THAT WAY
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Too bad the province missed out on this kind of discussion. My intention in posting the info on the so called poll was to show that there has been no OPEN public consultation. The fact is there is a cap on guide boats in the lower river, I believe the number is 15 (someone correct me if I'm wrong), hardly an overwhelming number. The upper river is jet boat free from my understanding which makes up half the river. The lower river is quite different from the Vedder - it is wider and deeper (from the falls pool down).
If the government suddenly took away your livelihood with little or no notice after you sunk thousands of dollars into equipment etc based on an anonymous internet poll, I would call it less than democratic. A sample size of 33 is hardly a reliable data set. If someone shut down the Vedder to drift fishing and made it fly only based on non-advertised internet poll with 33 people, what would your reaction be (I personally would love it, but a raw deal for the majority who use it)?
As for the fish, my experience with the guide I have been with was he was VERY carefull when releasing wild fish as his business depends on the stocks returning every year. The guide boats also respect the shore fishermen and don't poach their water or rip through it (they give a wide berth as there is room). Again, many of these guys are actively involved in the brood stock fishery for the hatchery which everyone on shore and boat-access enjoy the benefits. One other benefit, is that these guys provide unofficial policing and monitoring of the lower river because the majority care about the resource. The impression I got from the last trip was that there is a small group of fishermen who would like the river all to themselves and have some influence over the local regulators. Personally, I have signed the petition, if you agree, please stop buy Fred's, Pacific Angler (in Vancouver by Mtn Equipment Coop) or Gone Fishing (in Pt Alberni).
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If you have a BC Angling License with an accompanying Steelhead tag, I am sure you are more than eligible.
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climb off your soapbox, Darmin. The fish belong to everyone, and the proof that the guide boats do no harm is proven by the health of the system. only 20% of the river above the bucket is shore fishable.Maybe. There are way too many rivers on the island more conducive to shore fishing.go fish there, or maybe you should fish the Gold, just look at how much better that flow is since they banned jets. ::) ::) ::)
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sorry justin i removed my posts it was taking away from your thread nice fish dude
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Well, if it is the same I could see people being upset with jet boats, wouldn't you be upset if you were fishing a nice quite hole on the vedder/stamp, then some jet boat goes ripping threw your run and now you will have to deal with spooked fish.
^ I'VE NOTICED THAT THE STAMP FISH DON'T GET SPOOKED THAT EASILY !
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we sat on the same fish, from the boat, a mere 10 feet away from it, casting everything in the arsenal and that fish did not move from it's spot..... the boats don't spook the fish like i thought they would that's for sure.
another example..... we let 2 jets through our morning hole on tuesday and then proceeded to get into several fish behind them... they weren't too impressed hehehe ;D
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^ U NEED A COFFEE, AND A SMOKE !
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hey.... corey n trevor.... 2 smokes.... let's go hehehe
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:(