Cowichan River

Cowichan steelhead seem to spawn a bit earlier than most island rivers I have fished. I suspect the warmer water coming out of the lake speeds up the maturation process a bit. Anyways it has been my observation that kelts start showing up around the beginning of March and the quality of the steelhead fishing quickly goes down hill in the month of march. Are there still bright fish to be found, yes, but should people be hammering away trying to find the odd bright fish mixed in with all the coloured and spawned out fish? I stop fishing the Cowichan around the middle of March because of the prevalence of coloured and spawned out fish. I see no reason whatsoever to be fishing for steelhead in April on the Cowichan.
When the river was full of fish it didn't matter. The river is no longer full of fish and it might be prudent to try and save the fishery now rather than wait until we have another gold river on our hands.
 
Agree wholeheartedly. I have quite fishing the Cowichan at the end of first weekend in March for the last 10 years.
Unfortunately, that is when the biggest fish of the season seem to be in. Nothing worse than seeing some idiot trying to floss a couple of big fish as they dig redds.
 
There is a "March run" on the Cowichan. They tend to be smaller fish, 4-6 lbs and tend to not go above Skutz. The biggest fish were the early December run. I have caught these up near the 70.2 trestle in mid-December, but then this was may years gone by. I think it is fair to say in this system, the more of the system the fish use, the larger their potential.

I would have no problem with a no SH fishing above the trestle in March, or perhaps a maximum hook size or tippet strength. Perhaps unenforcable but better than shutting it down.
 
I can't think of a single river on Vancouver Island whose headwaters take the beating the cowie fish do, even the stamp has restrictions in the headwaters. Most rivers would be closed Dec 1 to May 1 above Skutz fall to protect spawning steelhead. It might inconvenience some guiding operations to close this section but I really think the time has come to modernize the steelhead regulations to reflect what is happening.
 
There is a process in which u can put forward a request for a regulation change : FFRAC PM me and send me your email address and i can send u the paper work... It would have to be a thought out proposal


Hello everybody,

We are looking ahead to the 2021-23 Freshwater Fisheries Regulations Synopsis, and would like to request your participation once again on the Freshwater Fisheries Regulation Advisory Committee (FFRAC).

Attached please find:

1) a timeline for the coming months including the deadlines for submission of proposed changes (February 14, 2020), and the FFRAC meeting date for proposal review (following discussion with your respective groups/constituents - May 8, 2020),
2) the template form for submission of Regulation Proposals,
3) a copy of the Terms of Reference for your information.


Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns.

Thank you.



Best regards,
Brendan Anderson
Senior Fisheries Biologist, West Coast Region
 
If people want to fly fish go ahead there is no reason there regulations should be different from people who want to produce numbers I don’t have time to stand around and fight fish to death on a light weight fly rod on there spawning beds you choose to fly fish not me, not the fish, do what you please but regulations should be the same throughout. It’s no different then people complaining about downriggers In certain spots it’s pathetic!
 
As a fly fisher (mostly) I also disagree with fly fishing only area's. I totally disagree that playing a fish on a fly rod is any more harmful than any other method. Total BS really. It's all in how the angler uses their gear. People that need to produce all important "numbers" with the least amount of effort need to get over themselves.
 
onefish said:
I can't think of a single river on Vancouver Island whose headwaters take the beating the cowie fish do, even the stamp has restrictions in the headwaters. Most rivers would be closed Dec 1 to May 1 above Skutz fall to protect spawning steelhead. It might inconvenience some guiding operations to close this section but I really think the time has come to modernize the steelhead regulations to reflect what is happening.
Click to expand...

Wow, closing down from Dec 1 to May 1? Really? Do you realize this is the only period the river is floatable? In 2019 there was no water in this river until almost Xmas. This would be the end of all river guides on the only floatable river on the south island. Give your head a shake!
 
How is it that people want the cowichan to remain open for steelhead yet at the same time champion the Chinook closure that arguable should be open given the recovery.
 
calmsea said:
Wow, closing down from Dec 1 to May 1? Really? Do you realize this is the only period the river is floatable? In 2019 there was no water in this river until almost Xmas. This would be the end of all river guides on the only floatable river on the south island. Give your head a shake!
Click to expand...

I was wondering when the indignant guides would make an appearance on this thread.
You do realize this is what the regs are on virtually every other river on Vancouver Island. You do realize there are miles of floatable river from Marie Canyon to Duncan. You do realize that the steelhead themselves are more important than a handful of guides beating up on the last semi viable steelhead run on the lower part of vancouver island.
When it comes right down to it, why are we still allowing guiding for fish that are rapidly declining in numbers? I think you need to give your head a shake and we need to do what is right for the fish not your pocketbook.
We need to protect Cowichan steelhead where they spawn or there won't be any left to protect in a few more cycles. The time frame on when to do that, and any proposed fishing closure boundary is certainly up for debate, but the fact they are declining in numbers and need help is not.
Personally I am not holding my breath that any meaningful changes will come into effect until it is too late and we reach the same pathetic numbers that we see on so many other Vancouver Island streams.
 
Last edited:
onefish said:
I was wondering when the indignant guides would make an appearance on this thread.
You do realize this is what the regs are on virtually every other river on Vancouver Island. You do realize there are miles of floatable river from Marie Canyon to Duncan. You do realize that the steelhead themselves are more important than a handful of guides beating up on the last semi viable steelhead run on the lower part of vancouver island.
When it comes right down to it, why are we still allowing guiding for fish that are rapidly declining in numbers? I think you need to give your head a shake and we need to do what is right for the fish not your pocketbook.
We need to protect Cowichan steelhead where they spawn or there won't be any left to protect in a few more cycles. The time frame on when to do that, and any proposed fishing closure boundary is certainly up for debate, but the fact they are declining in numbers and need help is not.
Personally I am not holding my breath that any meaningful changes will come into effect until it is too late and we reach the same pathetic numbers that we see on so many other Vancouver Island streams.
Click to expand...

As a former river guide on the Cowichan and other rivers i 100% agree. The sustainability of the fish stocks should always be the first consideration over anything else
 
Great thread, some serious knowledge of the system out there. Thanks for sharing.

Hats off to the guys swinging flys but agreed that upper system April fishery has gotta go. Cringe worthy watching people flossing fish off redds.
 
Because the fly fishing is what got us here and the steelhead stocks where they are, right? OMG!
 
There are so many people hitting that stream now compared to days of yore. I was fishing it in the late 70's to the early 90's. I was a mere dirty "banky" and I caught my share of fish, but I rarely saw another person as I hoofed it around. Then, in about a decade, there was an ever increasing daily parade of drift boats. That's when I pulled the pin, I think I've been back once since. So much pressure now and with the killing of the hatchery program, here we are.
 
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