Brown Trout
Brown Trout caught Nymphing on the Cowichan
Island Outfitters
Our 18th annual Boat Show was a success and we'd like to thank everyone for attending. Kevin and his first mate had a great time telling stories and sharing what its like to be a commercial Tuna fisherman on the show Wicked Tuna. They even made it out to the Pacific Salmon Foundation dinner where they donated a trip to come fish out of Maine with them. This raised an additional $6800 to go towards the Foundation's cause, which was also a huge success. We were glad to see so many people that care about our wild pacific salmon's future at the dinner.
Review of the Steelhead Fishing this Season
December and January had lots of low water that made it difficult for fish to get up the rivers, and made it difficult to fish as well. Luckily we got lots of rain through February and so far in March that has improved fishing and numbers of steelhead returning to the rivers. Overall it looks like a little less fish have returned this year, however some rivers have had better returns than last year. The Cowichan has fished well over the last month. Lots of boats have been drifting on a daily basis, with numbers of fish averaging between 2-4 fish per day, with a few good days of 8 fish or more being hooked. The Stamp has been much better than last season. With most of the season having to cope with low water, the best fishing has been lower down than usual. We had a report of a fresh 18 lb hatchery buck which was good to see. All in all it turns out that this season seems to have been a little better for the majority of island rivers than last year. Hopefully the fish continue for the rest of the month and into April.
Upcoming Trout Season is Around the Corner
With the increase in warmer weather starting to be the trend, we should start to see hatches of insects slowly emerging in our local lakes and rivers. If you have any questions on how to make the most out of trout fishing this spring come in and we will be happy to explain so that you understand the basics. Whether it be fly fishing, trolling, Czech nymphing, or bait fishing, we've got everything to get you out on the water with the right gear this season. Good luck out there!
We have some exciting events coming up that we wanted everyone to be aware of:
- Tuesday, March 25 - Early Bird Ticket Sales Night - 6 Mile Pub, 6 pm, lots of give-aways!
- Saturday, April 12 - 8th Annual Elk Lake Fishing Derby
- April 26 & 27 - Our 20th Anniversary Sale
- May 2 & 3 - the Sidney Anglers' Fishing Derby
- May 8 - Fly Fishing Film Tour, at the Legion #292, doors open at 6 pm
- May 10 & 11 - Just for the Halibut Derby
- June 13-15 - Father's Day Weekend Port Renfrew Derby