Cowie's Biggest Steelhead

B

Blackleech

Member
Hey guys,
Thought I'd put this out for discussion... last spring I heard that a fly fisherman took a 29 lb steelhead from the Stoltz area without a camera, and then I heard later it was 19 lbs. Anybody able to confirm or add insight to this? Also interested in what the record is for the Cowichan if anyone happens to know... considering it has been fished for the last 100 years I would imagine there has been some monsters caught.
BL
 
David Anderson (NOT the politician) caught one over 30 lbs in late December about 10 years ago. The big buck was photographed before being released. It's picture was on the front cover of one of our Island fishing magazines, Island Angler I believe. It was an incredible fish. Can't remember the exact stats on it's size that were published, but maybe someone else does.
 
I think I remember that picture was that the one where the guy held the fish up by the gills for the picture before releasing it.[xx(]
 
There are definately some big fish on the flow. Some beauties this year with the biggest I've seen going just under 43 inches long. Didn't send him to the hatchery either.:) Still swimming strong hopefully!!! This is why I love the Cowie. Not all the fish are gonna be Stamp 7-8 pounders.
 
Just remembered that it was Daryll and not David Anderson. In the picture he has his hands under the fish while he is standing knee deep in the water just out from the bank, holding the fish horizontally for the camera. He had a replica mount made from the measurements. I'll try to find the article and post them. He was bank fishing and not in a drift boat.
 
I got one close to 30 in 1982 I think??.It was a mended kelt caught just above the pump house.It was almost may when I got him.I released it.Perhaps his gene pool is still out there.
 
Hey frango that fish u talk about is a nice one but would be only around ten pounds. Mama i didnt hook the fish but it was in my boat. I'll get the pic from my buddy. He took a picture of it with his cell phone as we had no real cameras with us[V]
 
He may be refering to lbs not inches choosen![:X]
 
I use to live on Gibbins road and fished almost everyday during the winter.The river was a 10min walk from my front door.I caught and no bs hundreds of steelhead in the 20 years that I fished fresh water.I have no reason to stretch the truth.You should keep in mind that was the 70's and 80's.I dont steelhead anymore just salt,so would you like to hear about a 62 lb spring???PS Of those hundreds of steelhead I only killed one.
 
Having lived and fished in the Cowichan area and its environs since the mid '50's I also understand what frango has said , at one time the Cowichan was alive with "silver rockets"(what we as kids called)and the size of some of them was unreal ; as before on another thread I personally took a 22lb steelhead from the Koksilah in the early 1960's therefore why is it not possible to have even bigger fish from a system which at one time was renowned for their presence ?

My two bits worth.

AL
 
I've only been fishing the Cowichan heavily since the mid 80's. Have also seen hundreds hooked and landed. Never seen a hatchery over 20lbs, and have seen maybe 3 or 4 wilds that might have been in the low 20's. Saw that picture of the so-called 30 lber - give your head a shake! It would have been lucky to make 20! Too bad it was killed to get a photo...

A 30 Lb kelt! Wow! From what I know that beast would have been in the mid 30's to low 40's as an upriver fish. Steelhead that big haven't EVER been caught on the island.

Try posting before you hit the bong fellas...

Gooey.
 
OK. Low 20's maybe. Too bad it had ruptured gills and never got a chance to pass along its genes - maybe it was the offspring of that 30 lb kelt...

Gooey.
 
who cares if he's freaking holding it by the gills.
i'd have to credit him on releasing it.
would anybody release that fish now???
i really don't think that i would. i'd find some way to get it home.
 
Got to remember back then there really wasnt a lot of conservation going on,and yes fisherman 14 I would release it I have only bonked 1 steel in my life time and felt guilty about it over 10 years ago and what good is it with his fingers in his gill to release it and the way there holding it they should have bonked it,


Wolf
 
do you guys really belive that that fish was released,i dont think so, have you ever seen sombody hold a fish like that with the intent for release,ah no, even if it was released there is no hope in hell that the fish survived, its a shame to see pics like that,and to think that there are fishermen out there like that, and if you drive up to sayward and look at the 30lb + mounted steely on the wall at the cafe then you would know that there has been fish THAT big taken on the island, not that there are anymore left thanks to the greedy meat hunters of the past
 
It was nice to see that picture of Daryl with the big steelhead again. Daryl was a client of mine for many years in the '90s and I saw MUCH BETTER AND CLEARER photos of the fish back then and we discussed the event many times. That is probably why I incorrectly described the picture in an earlier post. What you can't tell from the photo is that Daryl is quite tall, over six feet. If you look at the photo, you'll see that he is holding the fish close to his body and shoulder to support it's weight. It was a long deep fish. Like many anglers know, you can make a fish look bigger by estending it on your arm towards the camera, but that is very hard to do with any fish of substantial weight. The picture supports that it was a very big fish. Also, I do know that the fish was held that way for only a few photo-op moments.

It is not that hard to hold a fish with your hand under the gill plates and not touch or harm the gills, and even easier on a large fish. I've done that many times in years past to weigh fish on scales or admire them before release. The biggest steelhead that I ever caught (back in the old days when you could keep any 2 steelhead a day) was a big buck from the upper San Juan River above Fleet Creek while that section of the river was still open. I had a Hardy Salter Weigh Scale hooked between it's jaw and gill plate for the longest time as I tried to get an accurate reading. I wish that I had my camera or a tape measure with me that day. The scales kept bouncing between 18 1/2 to 22 lbs and still don't know what the real weight was. Eventually I let the fish go and it swam back into the clear water to the hen (even bigger) it was paired with. The following day the same two fish were holding in a run 3 pools upstream, but neither fish would bite. Anyway, the point being is that not all fish handled this way are killed or seriosly injured. IMHO, and from what was related to me, Daryl's fish was released unharmed.
 
quote:It is not that hard to hold a fish with your hand under the gill plates and not touch or harm the gills
Click to expand...

Get serious, you can't actually make a argument for this type of handling be ok for released fish?

Lets just be honest, back then most people had no clue on how to properly handle a fish before release. Please tell me you don't still jam your dirty hands under gill plates anymore?

I'm just an occasionaly steelheader but if I was with someone that did that to a fish they intended to release I'd give them an earful.
 
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