the sockeye in the stamp
- Thread starter hemi57
- Start date
OldShoreFisherman
Active Member
Please let us know how you make out. I'm hoping to get up there in the early portion of July if the run is still on.
I don't think discussing fishing in the tidal portion of the river in this section of the forum is going to be a problem.
Sorry forgot to post something here.. well, besides the usual gong show and the water levels being pretty low, the sockeye have started to enter the river. If interested, I posted a few pics on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/customizedfishingtackle
Rum Buddies
Well-Known Member
not much luck involved in snagging and flossing 
agreed, Sockeye will rarely, if not at all, strike once they enter the river. First day we fished, our gear wasn't set up to 'floss', so we couldn't even hook into a single fish, so we ended up being a charity group accepting donations from the locals. But I never caught a sockeye before, so wanted to check it off the ol bucket list and see if I can hook into every single salmon species we have on the island. So we spent a bit watching the locals setup their gear and sure enough, the next morning we limited out pretty quick. I know it takes away from thrill of the hunt knowing that these fish aren't being caught by triggering aggression or feeding. But as I said, never caught one before, so thought I'd give it a go.
OldShoreFisherman
Active Member
Paper Mill Sockeye
I spent July 3 to July 7 camping in Port Alberni with my son and we fished Paper Mill Dam on the Somass with little success (probably because it takes time to learn the best -- not to mention few -- holes and how to drift into them properly) and, for the most part, with little enjoyment. We came home with four average-sized sockeye.
With about 100 yards of fishable river on each side, Paper Mill is a shoulder-to-shoulder gong show.
We ran into some very nice locals there who were quite willing to share some knowledge about leader length, float depth, a producing hole, etc. At the same time, there were some really annoying and frustrating pieces of work -- guys who would catch well over their limit of two per day and just carry on fishing thereby hogging a spot that could have been used by another fisherman. Then they would pack up and cart their fish off only to return a while later the same day, basically elbow their way back into their favourite spot, and start all over again. These people were well known to the locals who would say things like "Oh that guy, he'll be back and forth until he has six or eight fish today."
Incredibly, we ran into a guy in the local tackle shop who was telling the clerk and anyone else within ear shot that he had caught 170 fish the previous day and evening at Paper Mill. Now, he may well have been exaggerating, but he was buying a new smoker and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just for a couple of fish. In any event, we heard lots of people talking about catching 20 or more fish on the evening of July 6, which happened to be a day that I decided not to bother going out to Paper Mill again after spending a few hours there in the morning.
The last two days that we were in Port Alberni we didn't go to Paper Mill at all because I just couldn't stand watching people snag fish after fish, most just foul-hooked, drag them up onto the rocks, and often just kick them back into the water if they thought they would like to catch a bigger one. The whole atmosphere just wasn't my idea of fishing.
I'm 60 years old and the camping trip with my 22 year-old-son was great. I've never caught a sockeye before, so that was fun, too. Watching my son catch his first salmon of any kind, a sockeye with the hook cleanly in its mouth, was an absolute joy.
Paper Mill was an experience, but I really don't think it is one that I'll be repeating.
I spent July 3 to July 7 camping in Port Alberni with my son and we fished Paper Mill Dam on the Somass with little success (probably because it takes time to learn the best -- not to mention few -- holes and how to drift into them properly) and, for the most part, with little enjoyment. We came home with four average-sized sockeye.
With about 100 yards of fishable river on each side, Paper Mill is a shoulder-to-shoulder gong show.
We ran into some very nice locals there who were quite willing to share some knowledge about leader length, float depth, a producing hole, etc. At the same time, there were some really annoying and frustrating pieces of work -- guys who would catch well over their limit of two per day and just carry on fishing thereby hogging a spot that could have been used by another fisherman. Then they would pack up and cart their fish off only to return a while later the same day, basically elbow their way back into their favourite spot, and start all over again. These people were well known to the locals who would say things like "Oh that guy, he'll be back and forth until he has six or eight fish today."
Incredibly, we ran into a guy in the local tackle shop who was telling the clerk and anyone else within ear shot that he had caught 170 fish the previous day and evening at Paper Mill. Now, he may well have been exaggerating, but he was buying a new smoker and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just for a couple of fish. In any event, we heard lots of people talking about catching 20 or more fish on the evening of July 6, which happened to be a day that I decided not to bother going out to Paper Mill again after spending a few hours there in the morning.
The last two days that we were in Port Alberni we didn't go to Paper Mill at all because I just couldn't stand watching people snag fish after fish, most just foul-hooked, drag them up onto the rocks, and often just kick them back into the water if they thought they would like to catch a bigger one. The whole atmosphere just wasn't my idea of fishing.
I'm 60 years old and the camping trip with my 22 year-old-son was great. I've never caught a sockeye before, so that was fun, too. Watching my son catch his first salmon of any kind, a sockeye with the hook cleanly in its mouth, was an absolute joy.
Paper Mill was an experience, but I really don't think it is one that I'll be repeating.
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jbv
Active Member
that's a sad and disgusting story mate. i don't mean the part about you and your son! those kind of people can really ruin the spirit of fishing for me, which is why i generally avoid the river 'hot spots' like the plague, which has me missing out at times. how some people can treat a resource like this is beyond me, but it takes all kinds. glad you guys made some good out of it.
myflyisdown
New Member
care to share some details ? Thanks
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
[zOKvXO9O1ok]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOKvXO9O1ok
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
I am sure 80% there are good...but there is always the snagman...
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