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Posted 06:56, 2 May 2012
- It is over a month ago that I went out shore fishing in a pair of shorts, indeed I landed at Heathrow around Sunday lunchtime and drove back home in a howling gale and torrential rain (why oh why was the word drought ever mentioned by the media ? Don’t they know that the weather can hear us ?). Canada was as awesome as that awesome country always is – wide open spaces and a serious lack of people. Suits me down to the ground. I feel more qualified now to understand how the whole steelhead thing so gets to some anglers – I call them steelhead junkies, and the look in the eyes of the afflicted to me is similar to somebody who’s been puffing on exotic herbs. Gone. Out there. In love with such a magnificent fish, and if there’s a better excuse to go to the wilds of BC then I am not aware of it – except of course for the salmon fishing as well. And the halibut. How about some monster rainbow trout in the lakes ? Arctic char ? Dolly Varden ? What a place…….
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- On Friday I am taking my usual route up to Fishguard to catch my favourite ferry over to Rosslare in south east Ireland. When you fly a lot in cattle class like I do then the idea of a ferry journey where you can take all the gear you want, wander around without tripping over somebody’s legs sprawled out in the aisle and actually get a bite to eat that doesn’t taste like something the cat puked up is a serious thrill. I dig the StenaLine Europe ferry like you would not believe, plus of course I am always in a serious state of overexcitement at heading over to the country that floats my boat more than anywhere on earth. Did I mention that I was a little bit excited about heading over to Ireland for my first bass fishing photography trip of the year ? Here’s hoping that the weather begins to behave a bit.
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- There are a few items of fishing gear that I am using on a kind of long-term test basis at the moment, including a spinning reel which I am beginning to think might be one of the best value for money bits of kit that I have come across for a while. I have fished with it a fair bit and I can’t find a single think I don’t like about it – more info in due course. All this stuff is going over with me. I also have a few “new to me” hard and soft lures that I am dying to try out on the Irish bass. We all have our go-to lures, but I do love trying out new stuff to see how it works for me in different locations and conditions, indeed that is a part of why lure fishing I guess floats my boat.
- It might just be me and my slight fixation with technical clothing, but Canada once again reiterated to me just how important the stuff that you wear under your waders is if you are going to be walking, scrambling and climbing for your fishing. I grant you that the kinds of fishing where one sits still for hours or even days on end is not something that is going to benefit from this kind of stuff, but for me the right gear is vital. I wore my Under Armour ColdGear leggings and compression tops every single minute we were out on the river and it continues to amaze me how well these innocuous looking garments work for fishing (nope, a compression-type top on me ain’t remotely pretty, and yes, my wife does giggle when I put it on to go out fishing). And when it’s warmer I use the Under Armour HeatGear stuff. If you are going to be standing around in extremely cold water for long periods like the guys where in Canada then an extra pair of fleece leggings might be required (the rivers were absolutely freezing), but since I was for the most part moving around and taking photos, just a pair of the ColdGear leggings under my waders did the trick for me – and I can’t think of a time this winter when I have worn more than that under my waders for lure fishing. Looks like simple stuff but somehow it just works so well. Anyway, the next time you hear from me I will be over in southern Ireland, and I’ll try to keep the blog updated as much as possible…………
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Posted 17:23, 28 April 2012
- ……then I implore you to check out this steelhead fishing. No, they are not easy to catch, and yes, an ocean-run wild rainbow trout is in my opinion one of the most impressive freshwater species of fish you could ever hope to find. It’s class fishing the whole way, and the thing that I have really started to get my head around on this this trip is the whole steelhead “vibe” if that makes sense. These fish inspire almost a religious fervour amongst the afflicted and I believe I am now further along the road to understanding why. You are never going to catch millions of them, but that is not remotely the point of this fishing. To fish rivers in a place as truly wild and out there as British Columbia and then catch these awesome ocean-run rainbow trout from icy cold water is surely about as majestic as the art of fly fishing could be, and there are different runs of fish out here at various times of the year to almost suit any kind of fly fisherman. And of course there is the small matter of some of the finest salmon fishing on this earth. Sure, I get the whole Atlantic salmon fishing thing, but look into chasing the various Pacific salmon species and you might get a shock at the sorts of fishing that can be done. How about sight fishing to bright coho salmon at various river mouths in early autumn ? Like Atlantic salmon fishing but on steroids………and often much, much cheaper. With the added bonus of coming to such an awesome country as Canada.
- My apologies for the lack of blog posts this week, but we have been out on the rivers for long hours on the hunt for these fish. I came here with the aim of nailing this whole spring steelheading thing on the small coastal rivers, and I am over the moon to be coming away with a load of photos. The Terrace area offers so much fishing and this small window for targeting steelhead from these small and off the scale wild coastal rivers is but one way to get at these fish. Took my first ever float plane ride as well – rather cool……….
- Wild they may well be, but once again it’s down to the professionalism of top class fishing guides that makes them accessible to the likes of you and I. Take it from me, these Nicholas Dean guides and indeed the whole setup is about as good as you are going to find anywhere. It kind of helps that they are fantastic people to spend time with out on the water, and aside from putting their clients onto the myriad of fishing around here, it’s the fact that the operation works so well in giving us access to the truly wild places on this earth. When you see fresh bear, wolf and moose tracks along the riverbank you kind of get the feeling that you’re far from the top of the food chain, but the fact that somebody like you or I can so safely and relatively easily spend a bit of time away from the crowded places on this earth is a damned good reason to put wild steelhead fishing on your list of must-do. Talk to the Aardvark McLeod lot about coming to the wilds of British Columbia.
- Anyway, I am heading back home today. Sure, it’s the other side of the world out here, but it is actually pretty easy to get to. I slept to a “normal” time this morning which means that I have finally got onto Canada time – right at the end of the trip which is about par for the course for me !! Yesterday we did one of the most physically demanding yomps that I have ever done for my fishing or photography, and if you have half a clue about what I do for my work and also how hard we can sometimes push the bass fishing out in Ireland then you’ll have an idea how out there it actually was. The middle of frigging nowhere ain’t even close to where we were yesterday – I was told that the locals don’t like even getting out of the boat where we went fishing/yomping because of the numbers of bears around, but I have complete faith in these Nicholas Dean guides and their skill levels. Once again it proved the point that the further you walk and the harder you push things, then the better the fishing so often is. To watch a guy hook six steelhead and land three in the space of about an hour is some mightily impressive fishing. If all goes to plan I will be back home to see my girls around their tea time on Sunday and then I am off to Ireland on Friday. Canada is as awesome as I remember and steelhead/salmon fishing in British Columbia is up there as one of those things that I have to pinch myself about to make sure that I’ve really been to the places that my cameras say I have………..
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Posted 13:24, 23 April 2012
- It’s as awesome as I remember, indeed you can’t help looking around here with your jaw dropped to the floor in some extreme hound dog style. Snow-capped mountains ring this whole Skeena river system like some perfect frame and it’s quite simply great to be back out here with the Nicholas Dean lot. The flights were easy and everything ran according to plan, and because I arrived a few hours earlier than the rest of the guys I was even able to get out taking photos of Dustin fishing for a few hours on Sunday afternoon. Trout fishing the margins in BC, doesn’t get much better if you ask me……
- It’s just before 6am here now, and this morning the proper stuff begins. Today I am off to the coast where we will jet-boat into some remote coastal river and then hike back upriver. This is what I have really come to see, the spring coastal steelhead fishing and I can’t wait to get going. The story is that the steelhead in these smaller rivers are seriously feisty fish that really run hard. I have come prepared for all kinds of weather as you have to do out here, indeed there is still a fair bit of snow lying around on the ground around the lodge, but yesterday was like a warm UK spring day and it was just glorious to be out on a river in BC once again. Plenty more to come…………
