Weather is what we get when we open the door and go outside. If you include a trip or two on the salt chuck you may get more weather than you can handle.
This has been the case for local waters throughout most of January and February this year. I have been fortunate enough to get out a couple of times with friends and pictured with this column is the delicious results of one of those trips. It should be noted that the flounders provided six two-family member meals of fillets and the prawns provided similar seafood treats. One note of caution 鈥� I would recommend warm survival type of clothing to enjoy a day on the saltwater because it is cold out there.
There is a steady supply of reputable rumours that there are good numbers of chinook off the hump at Kitty Coleman. I cannot verify them but I have no doubt that there is some good fishing for salmon to be had off the hump when the weather allows it. During my last trip we fished salmon for about two hours and we had seven fish to the boat and a few long distance releases. Of the seven chinook we had to the boat, none of them were large enough to even bother netting to measure. However one of the long distance releases did take considerable line.
We caught our salmon on four inch coyote spoons in green and white and cop car patterns fished at depths of 170 to 200 feet. Other fish were taken on green and white hoochies. Later that day we saw one boat with a fish in the 12-pound class and another boat had one that was just legal.
The positive news is that there are quite a few salmon in local waters and it bodes well for later in the season. After four trips Charley Vaughn and Bruce Bell netted a prime 15-pound chinook last week so there are some good fish around if you are in the right place, at the right time and get lucky.
Flounders are simple fish to catch and delicious on the table. A small Berkley Grub fished with a two- or three-ounce weight is a sure fire way to catch these small flat fish. You will also get good results bouncing a small jig off the bottom with a light spinning or casting outfit. There is excellent flounder fishing to be had over all sandy
shoals at depths varying from 40 to 80 feet. We use barbless hooks for easy release of small fish and have a minimum size limit of 12 to 13 inches.
For the past few years we have enjoyed excellent prawn and shrimp fishing in local waters. This year prawn fishing has been more of a challenge and the catches are smaller although still respectable. In our last catch three families enjoyed a delicious couple of meals of these seafood treats. We fished six traps at about 400 feet baited with cat food and a small shot of prawn oil.
We are fast approaching the roe herring season. There has been a significant food and bait fishery hi the commercial sector to date. Most of it took place down around Parksville. In the next few weeks there will be the traditional roe herring fishery although details are scarce as of this week.
It is the time for those of us who use herring for bait, food, or fertilizer by catching our own to start watching Baynes Sound for signs of the huge schools offish. Fishing herring with the small jigs is a fun way to spend a day on the water.
For people new to the Valley the annual run of Pacific herring in local waters is one of nature's great wildlife spectacles and can easily be witnessed from shore. Plan to travel along local beaches from Courtenay to Parkville and watch for large concentrations of birds, seals, and sea lions and you will witness one of nature's creative wonders.
Congratulations to the Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association for receiving the 2011 Environmental Initiative Award from the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce. This award is annually sponsored by BC Hydro. It is reassuring when fishers and hunters are recognized for environmental works.
Ralph Shaw is a master fly fisherman who was awarded the Order of Canada in 1984 for his conservation efforts. In 20 years of writing a column in the Comox Valley Record it has won several awards.
