Hornby/Denman Reports

I too fished bowser growing up for one week in june every summer. Got our info from bowser bills. Head out into the straight until you can see up the pass between Denman and Hornby. Green flasher with a glow hootchie with pink spots... 6oz slip weight.

Back and forth back and forth I was only old enough to get a couple good years then the fish vanished.

Camped on eagle rock before, dad hooked a seal pup off chrome isle on a buzz bomb. I also remember exploring the run down shack on flora island eww sceptic tank was still in it and the floors were rotten above it if you weren't careful you could fall right in!

Was a sad day when bowser bills had to shut down at one time it was full of Yankees. So Many tourism dollars lost to collapsed fisheries.
 
It's a sad situation when they can see what it takes to fix it but there direction is focused in the wrong direction. I'm not happy with our present government. I think change is needed.;) eman
 
from my knowledge, info passed down to me , , a big reason that this area came to an abrupt end , were , MAJOR Storms , there use ta be alot of kelp that housed and protected all the baitfish ,
the winds and currents wiped out alot of the kelp forest completely out , whala , no more herring ,no more coho , im sure theres more to it , but , heard this was a big factor..

fd
 
I don't believe that FD the area was great for decades then a couple storms wipes it out?

I have noticed a reduction in kelp almost everywhere I fish - not sure the cause. But in the good ol days off bowser people didn't troll the kelp they were hitting migratory fish out in the middle. The runs collapsed missing bait was probably part of it but storms I doubt were much of a factor if any. It all collapsed right around the time the commercial troll fleet was shut down in there I suspect they and their herring fishing buddies played a major roll. Farms were expanding then too lots and lots of factors nobody really knows I guess.
 
Its what Jonh , the owner of Bowser Bill's told us all , and i do know for a fact ,
that alot of the kelp was definitely wiped out in that particular area , i seen it first hand
again , im sure theres more to it , i was just 13 or 14 when this all went down : )


i fished there through the 70's and 80's , people trolled and power mooched , mooching Was WAY MORE productive for me , our fam did both , i was the die hard moocher ,the concentration of bait was tucked into the kelp , the salmon waited for slack tide for them ta come out and play , then the BLOOD bath commenced , im sure the coho that were out in the open water , also gorged on these fish , when the bait disapeared so did the salmon , and tourists , really sucked , but reality



fd
 
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Did we not used to have actual sea-otters around here at one time?...Not talking about river otters,totally different ball game.

Real sea otters eat urchins...which is good because:- urchins will chew the roots off the kelp stalks and then the kelp is no longer anchored and dies.

A lot of people don't like sea otters because they eat abalone.... and feel we should be eating the abalone and not them. ......and of course our stomachs are more important than sea otters....

Water temp affects the growth of kelp as well.

I remember in the seventies there was a lot more kelp around here than there is now.
 
I've been fishing here-out of comox, place at ships point and on denman island since the early 70's-don't think there were sea otters here-there certainly was abalone cause we dove for them and more kelp!! much more kelp and small herring!!
 
Didn't the kelp vanish when it was harvested by the WAC Bennett government with their big kelp lawn mowers, that worked the east coast od the island. I feel no kelp ,no bait fish habitat,equals no mature fish around. Fish that area since mid 70's nice to see it improving.
 
My god reading this post has brought back some awesome memories! My dad started me fishing in a 14' Lund with his two brothers staying right on the water at Bowser Bills. Sliding down that rail at 5 am, I will never forget it! The fishing there was incredible every time I pull the photo album out I just can't believe how things have changed! Getting Johnny's cat drunk off Malibu and milk, yes the herring rake, (still have it in the garage) made out of aluminum, not the traditional wood, hooking an octopus at Chrome Island and damn near sinking the Lund, Tribune Bay,Norris Rock and helping my Dad steal a fish off another guys hook! Anybody know a guy that used to fish in an aluminum with the name "Wishbone", I think it was yellow. Thanks for that nice spring! Fishing for dogfish off the beach. I will never forget these days! Thanks for the memories Dad I will never forget you!
 

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IslandFisher said:
I was told years ago seal bay had all the kelp harvested... Not sure what the purpose was though?
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You know I remember that I was told it was harvested and remember puzzling over what they wanted it for-nobody gave it much thought I suppose back then. I do remember catching a nice Spring off Norris rocks one evening and taking my Dad back next morning because my old (new then) flasher sounder looked like a spoked xmas tree only to find the whole troll fleet laid out in front of us. Quite a sight-not too welcome either!!!
 
sorry ,

that is John in the photo right !ownere Bowser Bills .... if it is , i was going there years before when , he was much younger ,that must have been a 80's shot...
the face sure looks like him though , he was a great guy , anyone know of his whereabouts today ??

fd

scotty said:
My god reading this post has brought back some awesome memories! My dad started me fishing in a 14' Lund with his two brothers staying right on the water at Bowser Bills. Sliding down that rail at 5 am, I will never forget it! The fishing there was incredible every time I pull the photo album out I just can't believe how things have changed! Getting Johnny's cat drunk off Malibu and milk, yes the herring rake, (still have it in the garage) made out of aluminum, not the traditional wood, hooking an octopus at Chrome Island and damn near sinking the Lund, Tribune Bay,Norris Rock and helping my Dad steal a fish off another guys hook! Anybody know a guy that used to fish in an aluminum with the name "Wishbone", I think it was yellow. Thanks for that nice spring! Fishing for dogfish off the beach. I will never forget these days! Thanks for the memories Dad I will never forget you!
Click to expand...
 
I was told that the kelp was harvested too. Up Campbell River area too.Probably for fertilizer or something not important. The kelp is the herrings nursery and hiding area. Man is sure dumb sometimes.

Great reading all these Denman/Hornby stories. If reports are still good come August my just have to spend a day out there for old time sakes.

Dave
 
No FD that is a picture of my dad, my brother ran into him in Calgaryof all places at Bow River trout fitters, apparently he was heading out fishing for tarpon? That picture was probably from the early 90 s though, I'd say the last time I went there!
Thanks, Scott
 
wow ,
you do see the similarities there though eh ! minus the beard , John was a shorter fella : )..worked like a dog , givin er at 4 am , 7 days a week..

scotty said:
No FD that is a picture of my dad, my brother ran into him in Calgaryof all places at Bow River trout fitters, apparently he was heading out fishing for tarpon? That picture was probably from the early 90 s though, I'd say the last time I went there!
Thanks, Scott
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Out for two hrs this eve and picked up a brute of a tyee in first 20 mins.... Same location and lure. Could barely keep the coho off but managed to get springs near bottom. Fishing is best i have seen in my 30 yrs

Took some quick pics and got him back in the water
 
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