Salmon and
Steelhead
While salmon and steelhead will consume food in fresh water under
some circumstances, they are mostly concerned with surviving the
migration and spawning.
To consistently catch salmon and steelhead you must become familiar
with the timing of the run and understand where the fish are most
likely to hold. Call a fishing guide service near the river you
intend to fish, they'll tell you when to expect the best fishing.
Plan your trip around that information. If your schedule is flexible,
wait until the run is actually underway and then go. Even the most
knowledgeable, local predictions can be frustrated by unusual weather
patterns. Drought will often delay a run, while heavy precipitation
may bring the fish in earlier than usual. Ocean currents, like El
Nino, and commercial fishing can also have an effect.
When you know the fish are in the river, look for water that would
be an attractive holdover spot or migration route for moving fish.
Local knowledge is priceless in this regard, as the same pools are
usually the best producers season after season. You may also want
to just drive along a section of the river, watch the access points,
and study the types of water other anglers are concentrating on.
Once you know what type of water your quarry prefers, you can fish
any stretch of the river and be successful. In moving water, fish
usually hold in certain locations and wait for the food to drift
to them. Look first for breaks in the current. Some of the best
locations are fallen trees, in-stream rocks, gravel banks, current
seams behind islands, deep depressions, weedy bends, above riffles,
back eddies, steep banks, riffles, and submerged boulders or obstructions.
Trout
Trout are coldwater fish, so you will find them in rivers and lakes
that have cold water year-round. In rivers, trout face upstream
so the water flows into their faces, bringing drifting food to them.
Like bass and panfish, they spend all their time eating, resting,
and hiding from predators. When they are resting, river trout hide
under currents, near the bottom of deep pools, under shoreline structures
such as logs, brushy banks, undercut banks and boulders.
When they are feeding, stream trout move to where the food comes
to them, eddies (anywhere there is a break in the flow, creating
a fast current beside slow-moving water), along weedbeds, behind
boulders, at the tailouts of pools, and in early morning or late
evening, in the stream shallows.
You can locate feeding trout (also bass and panfish) by the dimples
they make when they take insects off the water's surface. You can
locate nymphing trout (fish eating nymphs beneath the surface) by
looking down into the water (using polarized sun glasses) and spotting
their sides flashing as they feed.
Lake trout cruise in search of their food. Look for them along weedbeds,
a prime location for the insect life that trout feed on. Also look
for their rise rings (dimples they make when feeding on the surface)
on the lake. Trout often cruise the surface to "gulp" aquatic insects
that are hatching.
Certain areas of a lake are more likely to hold fish than other
areas. Some more rewarding places are where freshwater enters the
lake, fallen trees, sand or gravel bars, rock piles, steep banks,
overhanging brush or trees, weedy coves, submerged weedbeds and
underwater points.
Trout will often cruise from one location to another.
Bass
Bass capture their food by ambush, and because they prey
on panfish, they often lie in or near the same places that panfish
are found. These larger predators dash out from their hiding places
to snatch moving minnows, panfish, frogs and crayfish.
In lakes and ponds, expect to find them prowling or lurking around
lilypads, weedbeds, boat docks, logs, overhanging trees or any man-made
structure that they can hide underneath. Look for bass around headlands,
jetties, reefs or along the shoreline.
Remember that larger bass usually live in or near the deeper
holes. The larger the fish, the more depth it needs for protection
and food.
If you need more information, have a question or need a guide service
on southern Vancouver Island, we're at www.ex-stream.com.
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