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Regional Report for Vancouver Island - Rory E. Glennie
Originally Published in
August / October 2007 Issue
This past Mother’s Day the made for television movie special
“Luna: Spirit of the Whale” aired on the CTV television
network. I am sure most of you will have heard, via extensive
national news coverage, of Luna, the orphaned juvenile male
Orca which took up solitary residence in Nootka Sound on
Vancouver Island. The movie attempted to portray the life of
this Killer Whale and how its residency and interactions
affected the folks living, working, and recreating in and
around the Sound. As well, the aboriginal Mowachaht/Muchalaht
people’s story—their belief this particular Orca embodied the
reincarnated spirit of their recently deceased chief—was the
highlighted premise of this story. Filmed on location, Nootka
Sound provided a great natural backdrop for the story. And
that brings us to looking at some fine fishing waters found
there during the late summer early fall period.
Nootka Sound with its many inlets,
passages, islets, rocky humps, estuaries, and kelp beds
provides some of the best large chinook and coho opportunities
along the coast. Rockfish and lingcod are found there too. The
most convenient access to Nootka Sound is through the Village
of Gold River (about a one hour drive West of Campbell River),
or by venturing past Gold River along a gravel logging main
road to the village of Tahsis. You can also put in at Zeballos
– about a two-and-a-half hour drive up, and off the Sayward
highway North of Campbell River. Over the course of the summer
hundreds of folks flock to these destination points to launch
their boats on the great salmon quest.
For trip
planning assistance and current information try contacting the
folks at The Lodge at Gold River via
www.thelodgeatgoldriver.ca,
or the fishing guides at The Lodge at Tahsis Harbour
via
www.fishingadventures.bc.ca.
There is also (and I personally love the name of this one)
Critter Cove Marina Resort. Contact Cathy and Cam Forbes at
Critter Cove via
www.crittercove.com. This
one is a floating establishment right on the fishing grounds.
Just a little way up the coast from
Nootka Sound is neighbouring Kyuquot Sound. This too has
become a major destination for saltwater anglers. As the
salmon move southward on their annual migration, streams
running into the sound attract some great runs of chinook and
coho. There are also resident species, including rockfish and
lingcod, enough to challenge your skills. Though a little
harder to get to than Nootka, Kyuquot Sound is well worth the
trouble. Dave and Marilyn Murphy know the area well and can be
contacted via
www.murphysportfishing.com.
They run a ship-based floating fishing camp anchored right on
the fishing grounds. As well, Dave provides guide services for
Summer-run Steelhead on the Stamp River, just outside Port
Alberni.
Another neighbour to Nootka Sound --
this time down the coast a wee bit -- is Clayoquot Sound.
Easily accessed through the bustling tourist town of Tofino,
the extensive shallow water areas – averaging only about
twenty-feet deep – provide what have become legendary,
prolific, salmon catching waters. Largely protected from the
ravages of stormy weather, Clayoquot Sound offers many areas
amenable to fly fishers prone to motion sickness on more open
waters. Large chinook and coho salmon are the main quarry,
though casting to submerged rock piles and along kelp beds
often provide opportunities for some truly awesome rockfish
and lingcod action. As well, fly fishers find top-water
eruptions of rockfish to surface disturbing flies is, in a
word, eye-popping.
Easily accessed by car, Tofino is
about a two-and-a-half hour drive West along highway #4 from
Parksville on the Eastern side of the Island. A good place to
start finding information, tackle, and guiding services is
Jay’s Fly Shop in Tofino. Jay Mohl knows the whole Clayoquot
area thoroughly and can set you straight on what’s biting
where. Hot local fly patterns and appropriate tackle can be
obtained at the fly shop. As a pleasant diversion from the
salt water venues, if one is needed, Jay runs float plane
trips into remote lakes and streams for large native trout and
summer-run steelhead. You should plan on spending a few days
casting about Clayoquot as the extent of the fly-fishable
water is vast and varied, and a one day trip only serves to
whet your appetite for more. Contact Jay Mohl at
www.tofinofishing.com.
Though it may be late in the
salmon season when you read this – up to mid September is
usually not too late -- contact any of the folks mentioned
above to see what they still have to offer. Or try logging on
to
www.sportfishingbc.com to
find other helpful guides in these and other areas of
Vancouver Island. Even if you cannot make it to the coast this
season, you would be wise in choosing to put together a trip
for next year at this time.
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