Comment Gif

Summer’s Coming

It’s funny what you think about sometimes. I have fished fabled waters and caught huge salmon and steelhead. But as I wait in the hospital ward, where the only sound is the whir of variable pressure pumps on IV stands, my mind drifts to a small stream.
Outside, on a cold day in late spring, snow slants across the window, falling in an empty courtyard at Vancouver Hospital. Nearby a patient stirs and sighs, a sound so full of resignation and weakness that it doesn’t sound human. A nurse swabs one of my arms, while another is busy injecting a hypodermic needle into my abdomen. It will leave a dark blue bruise.
My thoughts aren’t on this, but on a summer stream. I recall scrambling down a steep bank under a canopy of Ponderosa pines, dirt and rocks sliding with me. I wade wet in the river. It is cool under the shade of the trees, but warmer when I wade into the sunlight, and cool again where the darkness of a cliff falls across the river. It is so cold I shiver, and move again into the light.
In a field upstream a farmer is bailing hay and I can catch the scent of it in the air, as rich as it was when I was a boy, bringing in the harvest.
Behind each rock in this river, which I’d driven by before many times but never stopped to fish, lay a small, cold trout. They were 10 inch fish, that flashed in the water as they took the nymph. I worked my way up, rock to rock, catching and releasing and catching. The light bamboo rod vibrated and shook . I and the line seemed to pulse with life.
“Are you ok?” said the nurse, giving my arm a shake.
“Oh, yeah,” I said, my eyes coming back into focus. “I’m not ready to go yet. Summer’s coming.”

What do you think? Visit our online discussion area and post your views.

Letters can be sent via e-mail to: letters@ariverneversleeps.com

Letters Gif

“The River Is More Important Than Any Of Us. . .” - A Guide Calls For Cutbacks

An Open Letter to Jamey Alley, Director of Fisheries, Government of British Columbia:

I am writing to you with concerns about the Cowichan River, but first I would like to commend the Ministry for the bait ban for Vancouver Island. This is a great positive step forward which will surely help our Vancouver Island rivers fish stocks. Now if we can only progress this bait ban to all river in British Columbia, it would help greatly.
I was disappointed, though, to not see the fly fishing only regulation extended on t he Upper Cowichan to Skutz Falls, in the 2001 synopsis. I truly hope the Ministry will extend the fly fishing only to Skutz Falls in next year’s synopsis to protect the spawning steelhead, which the gear fishermen have been catching for the last month. As we all know, the fly fisherman catches very few winter steelhead compared to the gear fisherman (especially spawning fish and kelts) Therefore, fly fishing only regulations are conservation tools, allowing the fishery to occur while not harming the resource.
Another concern of mine is the amount of guiding that is suddenly occurring on the Upper Cowichan compared to the past. In the last 2 years the amount of guiding pressure has increased so greatly that the fishing experience is being ruined, especially for the resident walk-in angler. I have talked to many bank anglers (residents) and also clients (non-resident and resident) who have fished this river for years plus many other rivers elsewhere, who are very concerned about this increase in pressure and they all agree that the quality angling experience on the Upper Cowichan is deteriorating badly.
The Upper Cowichan is a very small river with small fragile fish stocks compared to other large rivers with large fish stocks such as the Bow or Bighorn that have a lot of guiding on them. The Cowichan cannot take the pressure from both the conservation side (fish stocks) but also from the angler’s side (social).
It seems the new guide of today wants to use volume (as many boats as possible) such as in the case on the Bow or Bighorn or most of the U.S. rivers. But these rivers can take the pressure (if you can stand the social aspect) because they are very much larger, both in width and length, and have huge fish stocks, 3,000 fish per mile compare to the Cowichan’s 100 per mile.
As you know, I have lived and guided here all my life, and I realized years ago that a quality fishing experience was the only real quality the Cowichan had when talking about guiding, and I have tried to keep the Upper Cowichan exactly that way for both my clients, but also for the walk-in resident anglers and not used any other boats. Also, as one who considers himself a resident angler first, before a guide, mainly because I fish a lot on my own, this guiding pressure affects me greatly.
Now, because of a few fly shops pushing the Upper Cowichan for business plus guiding, plus the gear guides from the Lower River now coming to the Upper River, we are starting to experience a very different situation than in the past and it is only going to get worse.
My suggestion to the Ministry would be to either:
a) Make the Upper Cowichan a Classified Water with an angling use plan of a very low number of guided rod days - 150 maximum. The guide reports which have been mandatory since 1988 will show who has used the Upper River and the 150 rod days would be split accordingly.
B) Or the Upper Cowichan should have no guiding on it. I am sure most resident anglers would go along with this suggestion. It will affect me greatly, but I believe the river is more important than any of us and has to be saved at any cost, before the inevitable happens, that has occurred on most of the U.S.’s waters.
Please consider my suggestions seriously and time is of the essence here because the longer we wait, the worse the situation will become.

Yours sincerely,
Joe Saysell
Cowichan River guide


Hey...... Mr. Baglo:

There Are Web Sites.
During one of the formal presentations at the Eugene Conference on Nutrients in Salmonoid Ecosystems the presenter was explaining the Keogh River project. He gave credit to www.ariverneversleeps.com for being among the first to bring attention to this project. The session discussed the experimental fertilization of the Keogh River and its applications to the Upper Salmon River in B.C. and positive responses to watershed-level inorganic nutrient addition and stream habitat structures by Keogh River steelhead.

There are some steelhead.

Credits to P. Slaney and B. Ward for their wonderful presentations.

Leslie Benscoter
scooter@CASCO.NET

PS ""Thank You"" for keeping us reminded of these sources of information.

The Editor:

In response to Rafe Mair’s story on taking the fly out of fly fishing. I somewhat disagree, especially the two flies he chose...Dog Nobblers with foam eyes. Following Rafe's premise I think he should have to elimenate most of his favorite New Zealand patterns (all the Killer series, Red Setters, etc, etc) because they don't imitate anything specific. I do agree that there is little difference between manufactured plastic lures and some creations we make using the modern glues of today (epoxy, Softbody, hotglue etc). But, really, who cares? If it is cast with a fly rod and it is the line that propels the lure and not the weight of the lure pulling the line then what difference does it make. Built in action with the aid of plastic bills turn a fly into a lure and defeats the purpose of fly fishing. But, again, who cares? Is there a difference between a #14 bead head nymph and one that's weighted with an under body of lead? Or, take it one step further, an actual lead head jig and a bead head nymph. I know trying to cast one of those weighed things make fly fishing an abomination and requires a heavy weight rod (9 wt or 10wt). I tie a variety of "flies" for saltwater and fresh and try to imitate the food that fish (pick a species) feed on. It is all part of the game. Is an imitation of a squid, crab, leech, shrimp, scud, baitfish, a fly? I guess it is. If we use modern materials: glues, mylar tinsel, synthetic flashy dubbing, etc, does it make it any less creative or less appealing? I don't think so. Should we go back to cane rods, silk lines, hand made hooks, only silk tying thread and ONLY NATURAL MATERIALS FOR FLIES? Should only flies that imitate specific insects be called "flies" and everything else elimenated? I don't think so. Hey, but I know Rafe wasn't proposing any of that. He was just tweeking our thought processes. Who wants to give up the Royal Coachman or Carey's Special, or Doc Spratley? In response to Peter McMullan's article on sight fishing New Zealand. I agree that it is a fascinating place. Having spent several months in the past few years exploring the rivers and lakes of north and south Island the variety is astounding and the challenge great. I tourist angler doesn't need a guide if he or she knows how to read water and does a little research. There are a number of good books showing where to start. The guide earns his money by putting people into areas where the trout are concentrated at certain times of year. And, if you've never experienced big trout in skinny water a tourist angler is in for a surprising treat. Coming from North America where we usually fish the water rather than spot fish first is one main difference. Surprisingly large brown trout (3 to 6 pounds) will frequent tiny streams and hold in water less than knee deep. The trout know every rock in their home pool and every tree or bush along the shore. They are very wary and easily spooked, especially later in the season when most tourist visit NZ. The trout take small patterns very deliberately and can be easily spooked by one bad cast. Even a freely drifting line underwater will put the trout off their feed until the angler goes away. Every fly fisher should experiece the sight fishing that NZ has to offer.

-Ian "March Brown" Forbes,
Vancouver Island, Canada
iangforbes@hotmail.com

To A River Never Sleeps:

Greetings from the Great Land.

My spouse and I are planning a trip to Vancouver Island during the first week of June. Is it necessary to have reservations for lodging this early in the summer? I plan to fish a few rivers and perhaps the salt water while traversing the island. Could you by any chance recommend a couple of patterns for the trout in the rivers. Tight lines.

Thank you.

Pat
Valdez, AK
Alaska Fly Fishers Forum
pcwelch@alaska.net

Hi Pat:

I don't think reservations are really necessary in June. Vancouver Island does get busy during the tourist season, in July and August, when even the campgrounds start to fill up. But you can always find a hotel or motel. The high end fishing lodges are a different matter, and you would be advised to book ahead if you're staying at one of those operations.

But on Vancouver Island you can stay in small towns, in small hotels or in B&B's, or in motels, and drive to the fishing.

If you are camping, there are lots of places to stop. And if you are going down logging roads into the back country, there are countless places to pitch a tent or pull a camper to the side.

In June you might want to spend some time fishing the lakes for cutthroat, as well as trying the rivers. A Tom Thumb dry fly will go a long way for you, as will a Muddler Minnow.

Fishing the Cowichan for browns? Better have a black ant pattern in your box in case you hit the flying ant hatch, which will come off after two or three days of hot weather.

Best advice on flies, however, is to stop at the local fly shop. There are good ones in Victoria, Nanaimo, Duncan and in Campbell River. Stop in and drop $20 (that's about $14 US) on fly patterns and you’ll pick up a wealth of local information in the process.

One tip, if this is your first trip to the Island. The East Coast of the Island is pretty developed from Victoria to Campbell River, although there are many beautiful rivers to walk and hundreds of secluded lakes.

North of Campbell River it gets wilder, the farther you go. And anytime you can get a logging road heading to the West Coast, you'll find you are able to leave the crowds behind.

Have fun. It's a beautiful place to fish and to explore. And don't forget to try stream mouths, on a rising tide, for sea-run cutthroat. A Mickey Finn, or a Royal Coachman won't go far wrong.

-Cheers,
Mark Hume


To: A River Never Sleeps:

I really enjoyed your web site. I may even tie up a fly or two for your contest. Could I put a link to your web site on my web site? My web site is dedicated to fishing and managing cold water resources. You can check it out at The Southwest Wisconsin Fly Fishing Page..... http://ejohannesen.tripod.com/swwiflyfishingpage/index.html I found a link to this page from someone who submitted a discussion topic on the Wisconsin Fly Fishing Page

Eric Johannesen
Livingston, WI
erjmjj@mhtc.net

Hi Eric:
Yes, by all means put a link to our site on yours. I'm just ploughing through e-mails tonight, and I haven't had a chance to look at your site, but I will as soon as I get done. I've never fished Wisconsin, so it will be fun to see what you guys are up to down there.
-Cheers,
Mark Hume

The Editors:
Got your website from a fishing site here in Australia and it brought back memories. I was a member of the survey team which surveyed the Paul Lake Provincial Park. I also did quite a bit of fishing for rainbows in the lake.
That was in about 1958-9.

Regards,
Kevin Hendry.
Brisbane , Queensland , Australia
kevinw@powerup.com.au

Kevin:
Nice to hear from you. And how was the fishing in 1958? No, don't answer...you lucky guy. Wish I was there!
-Mark Hume

Reply:
The fishing was fantastic ! !
- Kevin ( Australia )

To A River Never Sleeps:

"I started this article without the faintest idea as to where it would end. I still don't know. But I do know that some things placed before this aging fly fisherman by the best of fly fishing magazines are simply not flies. I don't know why they aren't but, dammit they're not."

This confession is the crux of why I don't think it was a very good article...just an aimless rant. Rafe's main problem is his failure to define 'tradition or traditional'. Who's tradition is he talking about, what are these traditional standards? When does tradition start? Is there only say a 2 decade long window for us to derive the traditions of fly fishing?

It would seem to me that the elementary tradition of fly fishing (in fact all fishing) is that it is constantly evolving to try and become more entertaining, more successful at catching fish, and include more varieties of prey and patterns. The elementary tradition of human kind is to resist change and evolution by clinging to the small little window of what we are familiar with under the guise of respecting tradition.

Have fun
Paul
Seattle, Wash.
pdieterpro@aol.com

Paul:
Thanks for taking the time to write. Your point is taken, but I think you trip over your own waders when you say Rafe's article wasn't very good. It made you stop, think and take the time to marshal your argument in reply. We should all be doing a lot more thinking about our sport, questioning the direction we are going. That's not to say change is bad, but just that it should be done with some thought.

I hope Rafe will write again soon, and get some more debates going. He’s a stimulating guy.

- Mark Hume

{E-mail letters may be edited for clarity, taste and brevity. It is understood they express the opinions of the writers, not the editors.}