Cowichan River Help

[usie33]

Hey all, my borther has recently moved to victoria and i am heading out to visit him mid feb. We are hoping to get out fishing for a day or two but i have never been out there before, so just looking for a bit of advice. He was told by one of the shops that the cowichan would be a good option for us at the is time of year, but as i have no idea i was hoping to get a bit of input. Any help would be appreciated.

[DonAndersen]

Hey all, my borther has recently moved to victoria and i am heading out to visit him mid feb. We are hoping to get out fishing for a day or two but i have never been out there before, so just looking for a bit of advice. He was told by one of the shops that the cowichan would be a good option for us at the is time of year, but as i have no idea i was hoping to get a bit of input. Any help would be appreciated.

 

 

Hi,

 

There are several sections of the river that are limited to Fly Fishing only. That means that a lot of the stuff FF types in Alberta use is illegal on these stretches. This includes split shot, floats, indicators, multiple flies and the like. Best check your regs.

 

Also that water is very clear for several miles below the lake. It's deceptively clear. What looks to be 4' deep may be well over 8'.

 

Only take what you need on the trip. Cars are broken into regularly along the river access road.

 

Be prepared for water levels that vary a lot. Some areas that I fished, the water was flowing through the trees. Getting to the main river was impossible.

 

Most of the river is bordered by private lands. Access is an issue.

 

And did I mention that it rains - - - a lot @ that time of year. Cold seething rain.

 

have fun,

 

 

Don

[usie33]

Thanks for the reply Don, I've been reading up on the regs and ff only zones. I still need to do some research but your information is a big help. From what ive been reading i here the river does blow out pretty easily and i only have a small window of time to get out there so im hoping for little rain.... which i hear may be a pipe dream. The guys at the shop my brother goes to gave him a couple locations so hopefully we will be able to get to the river. Anyways thanks for all the advice.

[alan2]

There is a very handy map available for about $8 called "Cowichan River from Lake Cowichan to the estuary". It shows all access points and practically every run, bend and pool is named and numbered on it. The sports store in Duncan probably has it.

I have been there a few times and always go to Spring pool off the Old Cowichan rd and walk downstream to 70km trestle---it's flyfish only. That river can be pretty tough fishing compared to the Bow, I found. Good luck. Don's right about deceptively clear water. Thigh deep looks knee deep...

Hope I don't get in sh*t for this, I'm not a guide!

[usie33]

Thanks alan, that will help out a ton since i wont have much time this trip to venture around too much. Do you think Id be better off bringing my 6wt or 9wt?

[bcubed]

9 weight, you'll be throwing junk to get it down, especially if you get a push of rain.

 

Stop in @ Robinson's in Victoria and chat with Matt King about the Cowichan, he can point you in a good direction

[usie33]

Sounds good, thanks for all the advice guys.

[SteveM]

Have you tried asking this same question on the "FlyBC" forum?

I asked for some advice on the Cowichan last year (a friend of mine was asking me about it) & found those guys to be really helpful.

One guy offered to take him out on the river, another offered a place to stay, etc. Worth a shot, right?

Make it clear that you're just visiting; folks seem much more likely to share their hotspots with a non-local.

 

[Guest JBear]

Dad went on a guided trip 2 years ago and caught steelhead. The guide said for some odd reason, fish in the system dont respond well to big "intruderish flies" The 3 they caught along with multiple trout (12-15") were caught on bow river buggers in size 6 with beed chain eyes on swung 5-6ips sink tips. Depending on water height/depth you may want to go with a heavier tip.

[usie33]

Thanks thats good to know, I have lots of bow river buggers, but not too sure I've seen the ones with bead chain eyes. Do most shops carry them or am I better off tying my own. I've heard from a couple people now that depth is key, so last week I ordered the rio pack of tips which will give me a variety of sink rates.

[Guest JBear]

The simplest way is to tie em. I dont know any shops that carry them

 

Tail: Black marabou + 4 strands of pearly flashabou (2 on both side)

Body: Blue Pearl Flashabou Wrapped up the shank

Rib: Copper Wire with hackle up the body

Collar: of deer or elk hair, whatever you prefer

Bead chain eyes in front of the collar.

[Guest JBear]

The simplest way is to tie em. I dont know any shops that carry them

 

Tail: Black marabou + 4 strands of pearly flashabou (2 on both side)

Body: Blue Pearl Flashabou Wrapped up the shank

Rib: Copper Wire with hackle up the body

Collar: of deer or elk hair, whatever you prefer

Bead chain eyes in front of the collar.

 

My Mistake, actually called the black humungus,

 

One on the top, but the regular pattern just doesnt have any collar.

[usie33]

Thanks for the pattern, ill have to tie up a few before i go, definetly worth a try.

 

[usie33]

Well I'm back from Victoria was a great trip! Had an awesome time out on the river for the 6 hours we (my bro, our buddy, and myself) were able to get out for, didnt manage to get any steelhead but the scenery was amazing. We started off at one spot and walked down river till we found a fishable spot, one guy was just leaving as we got there and said he managed a couple browns. There was three of us fishing one 50 ft run for maybe 30 min when a couple guys showed up asking if they could fish downstream I said "ye no problem" thinking they would go "downstream". One guy grabbed his spey rod hopped right in-between my brother and I, which was pretty frustrating as I was back casting with my one handed rod and my bro and I were only 15ft apart, while our buddy was down a bit more from us using gear. I was pretty irritated and then the guy that was on shore comes up to me and says " you know just so its fair, after you cast take a step down so everyone can get a fair shot at the water." Well at this point im pissed im not too sure if thats how it is in BC but here that would not fly! So i kept my mouth shut , threw a few more cast and had a cigar too cool off. As you can see I was a little irritated, sorry just had to vent a bit about that. Then we just decided to drive to a different spot of the river, which was much nice'er and lots of room for the three of us. Had a great time here, didnt catch any but had a couple chase our egg sucking leech's. We did see a guy using gear bring one in right infront of us, he said sorry for coming downstream into our area as the fish got away from him. But we were totally fine with it since we got to see one up close and he was very apologetic. Cant wait to get back and give it a go, getting one of those fish on a fly rod would be unreal. Next trip is going to be strickly fishing, gotta slay the steel! Anyways Thanks for all the info and ill see if i can post some scenery pics.

[usie33]

Just great scenary!

 

Parking lot

 

Walk to the river

 

Friend fishing

 

Sorry no fish this time....

[ÜberFly]

Other then the guy stepping in between you guys (not cool on any river), that's pretty much proper protocol on the Bow as well, actually (for people in the know - which is not many)... The guy should have asked to "rotate in" that way you would have known what he wanted to do... Seeing that he said he was going to do one thing, and then did another, that's a whole other scenario...

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

P

 

and then the guy that was on shore comes up to me and says " you know just so its fair, after you cast take a step down so everyone can get a fair shot at the water."

 

im not too sure if thats how it is in BC but here that would not fly! So i kept my mouth shut

[Guest JBear]

Yeah, and it helps you cover more water effectively. Sorry i should have given you a heads up about the steelheading protocol.

[usie33]

No worries jbear, I would have been fine with it if he would have asked that in the first place. I don't mind sharing water, especially if i can see a fish pulled out, let's me know their there. After a bit though they both hopped in there and kinda booted us out. Little frustrating but gave us a chance to find a new spot that was much nice'er to fish. Anyways i'll defienetly be heading back.

[kritofr]

One of my first times fishing a rivershed in BC, I too had experienced what "onthefly" had experienced with another angler coming in after I had been in a good pool.

 

I too was quite distraught and couldn't believe the audacity of this fellow fisherman and thought that he was in the wrong. I did go up and talk to him and his first reply was that I must be from Alberta. He then pulled out a copy of the BC regs and showed me the section on rotational angling (pg 81 in the 2011-2013 regs). While he did admit he should have talked to me first, I noticed that the other locals were frustrated with me parking myself in the best part of the pool and not moving.

 

It is a good system when it works and everyone is on the same page. Just a good reminder to research what is proper etiquette when we are visitors to "foreign" water bodies. We cannot assume what works for us is the norm;

 

Glad that you found other water to get your day back on track;

 

Tightlines

[jayjjones11]

You were on the Cowichan during steelhead season, hardly a quiet river. You are expected to (and you should) move downstream after every cast if you're fishing a fly rod. I would expect they were getting a lot more frustrated about the dude from AB not taking steps as they waited to get in.

 

 

"There was three of us fishing one 50 ft run for maybe 30 min". A 50 ft run should not take nearly that long, no wonder they were annoyed.

[usie33]

You were on the Cowichan during steelhead season, hardly a quiet river. You are expected to (and you should) move downstream after every cast if you're fishing a fly rod. I would expect they were getting a lot more frustrated about the dude from AB not taking steps as they waited to get in.

 

"There was three of us fishing one 50 ft run for maybe 30 min". A 50 ft run should not take nearly that long, no wonder they were annoyed.

 

We were the only ones there at that time other then the one guy that left earlier. They showed up after the 30 min, we were just trying to figure out some flys. I like to fish in sections from shore which takes a bit of time and this was a completely new river for me. When they asked to fish behind, one hopped right in, as the other gave some direction. As i said, "im not too sure if thats how it is in BC but here that would not fly! So i kept my mouth shut". I appreciate the information and now I have learned what's proper etiquette. If I was them I'd be annoyed of the out of province fisherman too but they could have gave a little info like kritofr got, all depends on the person i guess. I did research before I went but hard to get all the info you need. Anyways next time will be a different story, takes time to learn. Thanks for all the replies guys.

[halcyonsancta]

I fished the Cowichan nearly 40 years ago with my father - and many other fine waters on The Island. Of course, times change but when I read stories like this I am happier than ever as to why I like living in Alberta so much. I regularly choose isolation and remoteness over waters where there may be more fish.

 

It is the last best place