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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 08:06, 20 April 2012
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- It never for one second ceases to amaze me how relatively accessible so much of the world is these days thanks to air travel – imagine going to Canada before planes were invented, yet tomorrow morning I will get on an Air Canada flight at the quite delightful Heathrow Terminal 3 (cattle class of course) and head over to Vancouver. Overnight in Vancouver and then on Sunday morning I will take the short flight up to Terrace in the wilds of British Columbia. My base will be the incredible Nicholas Dean setup via the Aardvark McLeod lot and I can’t wait to get back to the sheer majesty of BC and the mighty Skeena river system. Excited ? What do you think ? I have been to Canada a few times and I love the country. I remember flying north from Vancouver a few years back and seeing basically nothing but mountains, lakes, woods and rivers. A glorious lack of people. BC is a big, wild place and I am one lucky fishing photographer to be going over there………..
- I am going purely as a photographer and I don’t expect to be doing any fishing – which I know might sound a bit daft, but firstly me and a fly rod ain’t exactly going to make sweet music at the best of times, and secondly this is my job and I need to get as much material as possible to make a trip like this worthwhile from a business point of view. Of course I want to fish, but I have also learnt what it takes to shoot proper fishing photos – and I need a wide variety of them. Target species are going to be fresh-run spring steelhead (ocean-going rainbow trout) and maybe some big chinooks. Wild rainbow trout do it for me in a big way, but I would love to see a big chinook hit a fly and charge off. I am told it’s some pretty explosive stuff.
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- I spent a few days with the Nicholas Dean crowd around the time of the 2007 rugby world cup I think it was, and they are some of the finest freshwater guides you could ever hope to meet. I am also very much looking forward to finally meeting a US steelhead junkie/photographer by the name of Jeff Bright as he will be hosting a trip the same time I am there. I have admired Jeff’s work for a while now (have a look at his website here) and it will be great to put a face to a name and see how he goes about producing such awesome imagery. I will keep the blog updated as much as possible with what I hope will be some pretty cool photos – I tend to struggle with adjusting to the time difference on the west coast of Canada, so no doubt I will be up and bouncing around at some stupid o’clock most mornings over there. As Pete from Aardvark McLeod says and has personal experience of, pity anybody who has to share a room with me !! Just ask my girls how quiet their Dad is when he wakes up early here at home and tries his best not to stomp around loudly………herds of African elephants are quieter than me in the morning.
- I get back from Canada on Sunday 29th April and then I have four days at home before I pack up and head over to southern Ireland on 4th May for my first bass based fishing/photography trip of the year. Excited ? I’ll let you guess the answer to that question !! This is the earliest in the year that I have gone over to Ireland for a bass fishing/photography trip, but it’s about time I started heading over there before the close season to take advantage of what can often be some awesome sport. I am getting some good feedback about the wrasse fishing on plastics article of mine that has just come out in Sea Angler magazine, and here is the front cover with a shot of mine on it. It’s always a thrill to see your work on the front cover of a magazine. You all have a good week or so and next time you hear from me I will be on the west coast of Canada…………
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Posted 07:35, 11 April 2012
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- Don’t you love it when you can feel things coming back to life after the winter slumber ? Loads more birds are singing, the grass is growing, the wild garlic is going haywire, and some of our fish species seem to be working out that it’s ok to chow lures with a bit more relish. It was not that many years ago that I used to almost suffer through summer while I was waiting for the cod fishing to rumble into life again, but these days I am far happier when the temperatures begin to warm up as we roll from spring into summer. Is that a sign of getting older ? I had a feeling that the warm weather we had a couple of weeks ago when I actually went out wrasse fishing in a pair of shorts was going to be but a mere glimpse of summer, but Easter’s done and dusted and it has to be onwards and upwards from here……………or is that the kiss of death ?
- I read a report of some outstanding wrassing on plastics somewhere in Cornwall over the Easter weekend, and it was topped off by an awesome fish of over 7lbs !! Check here for the details. Wow. That is some wrasse to catch via any method, but yet again it proves how lethally effective lure fishing for them is, and I am rather pleased of course that Sea Angler have just published a feature of mine on wrasse fishing with plastics. I did not know until the magazine dropped through my door that I had got the front cover with a shot of Keith and a Jersey wrasse that he nailed on a soft plastic. Great timing !! I have promised myself that I am going to be doing a lot more local fishing this year to get myself out of the office and out doing what I love the most, and when conditions go pants for the bass I will be out and about wrassing as much as possible. I had a few smallish ones during that hot spell, but it was weird how they started to really come on the feed later in the tide but then went off like a switch when the sun dipped behind the cliffs. It really seems that going after these rockfish with the lures has kicked on a level as regards anglers going out and doing it.
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- I heard of a few small bass taken on lures around here, but I would hope now that with the change of wind direction that the fishing should start to pick up now and continue to build. It seems to be the case around where I live in south east Cornwall that it is very much worth going after the bass well into January with the lures, but then things seem to quickly tail off for a couple of months as the depths of winter sets in – even though we had a very mild winter down here. Is this something new, or is it more the case that lure anglers are increasingly looking to tear the rule books up and keep on at it ? Why on earth then does somewhere like that glorious Kerry coastline in Ireland consistently produce its best surf fishing for bass during January, February and March, conditions depending of course ? If there is one thing I am going to do before long it’s travel over there during the depths of winter and shoot some classical surf fishing photos and then convert them to black and white. It would be a gamble as regards conditions, but how awesome could it be if things went well ?
- Over the last couple of weeks I have been getting reports from southern Ireland of some insane lure fishing for bass. I know of some serious fish that have been taken on baits during the winter, but it seems that the lure fishing has now kicked off in serious style. One guy went out and had eighteen bass to 10lbs one morning during that warm spell, and that to anybody is world class fishing. My friend Ger Carey took two double figure fish on bait in one night session a few weeks back – a bass of 10lbs, and one close to 15lbs, and I know that he had a follow from a fish on his lure the other day that apparently rather shocked him !! I am over there in early May which will be the earliest in the year that I have gone over for a bass fishing/photography trip, so we shall see what happens. I hope to see some of you at the first Irish Bass Festival in July as well………..
