Post by cfused on Aug 5, 2018 8:28:38 GMT -6
Just got back from a week and a half on Vancouver Island. Main purpose of the trip was to visit my daughter and do some sturgeon fishing on the Fraser River. Upon checking with some of my contacts there , I learned that the pink salmon were showing up in the Campbell.I had never fished this river. The Campbell is an easy river to access and has a fly fishing only section. It also turns into quite the gong show when the run is in full swing. I have driven through here going to Nootka and believe me....Lockport looks tame compared to the combat fishing going on here. However it was early in the run and since I had thrown some flies in my luggage that should interest the pinks, I decided to go for it. Checking the tide tables showed low tide was at 7:40 in the morning, so no need to get up real early and do the 3 plus hour drive up from Victoria. I arrived mid morning and didn't start fishing till about 11.
This is upstream to the power dam....the fly fishing only section starts about a hundrsd yards up from this spot.
Downstream from the same spot. You can just make out the logging bridge road and the fly fisher is standing were the Quinsam enters the Campbell. This is the start of gong show central.As the pool just in front of me had fish jumping just at the current seam
It was time to gear up.I was lucky to zone in fast and second drift made contact
A very nice pink salmon fresh from the ocean. I fished from about an hour and a half landing several fish and loosing a few. All were fish fresh from the ocean that had just moved into the river.
Then things slowed down and I noted that the water had become very murky due to some dredging going on upriver in the spawning channels..which were being rehabilitated. The minute the water got real cloudy the fish moved. It had been a great outing and I wanted to get back to the Qualicum Beach area to visit some contacts and hit Nile Creel Fly Shop and visit Courtney.I packed it in instead of moving to cleaner water and continued the adventure. A great trip. The sturgeon fishing was outstanding...a 90 incher was my best fish...this put it at 220 to 225 lbs.
Two days after getting back we had booked a return visit to Van Isle in October....main target...Chum salmon. But there will still be chinook and coho around . The cutties will also be there feasting on the eggs.
This is upstream to the power dam....the fly fishing only section starts about a hundrsd yards up from this spot.
Downstream from the same spot. You can just make out the logging bridge road and the fly fisher is standing were the Quinsam enters the Campbell. This is the start of gong show central.As the pool just in front of me had fish jumping just at the current seam
It was time to gear up.I was lucky to zone in fast and second drift made contact
A very nice pink salmon fresh from the ocean. I fished from about an hour and a half landing several fish and loosing a few. All were fish fresh from the ocean that had just moved into the river.
Then things slowed down and I noted that the water had become very murky due to some dredging going on upriver in the spawning channels..which were being rehabilitated. The minute the water got real cloudy the fish moved. It had been a great outing and I wanted to get back to the Qualicum Beach area to visit some contacts and hit Nile Creel Fly Shop and visit Courtney.I packed it in instead of moving to cleaner water and continued the adventure. A great trip. The sturgeon fishing was outstanding...a 90 incher was my best fish...this put it at 220 to 225 lbs.
Two days after getting back we had booked a return visit to Van Isle in October....main target...Chum salmon. But there will still be chinook and coho around . The cutties will also be there feasting on the eggs.