Vancouver Island
Stamp and the Ash
The Stamp River is augmented by hatchery steelhead and produces the greatest number of both summer and winter steelhead on the island, making it one of the most popular fisheries. There are also huge runs of Chinook and coho salmon and access to the river is excellent from the nearby pulp-mill city of Port Alberni. When any species is abundant, the river is crowded with anglers.
The Ash River is a tributary of the Stamp and can sometimes be a good alternative if the main river is crowded. Where the two rivers join is called Money’s Pool, named by Roderick Haig-Brown after General Noel Money. It always holds steelhead. Access Money’s Pool from a walking trail off Beaver Creek Road, seven road miles upstream from Stamp Falls Park.
Where the Sproat River joins the Stamp, the river becomes the Somas. Most hatchery steelhead smolts are released at this location and when the adults return, they hold nearby. Popular places to fish in this area are upstream from the gun range, which is on McKenzie Road just off Beaver Creek Road. Near the gun range, a steep trail leads to the river behind Stamp Falls Store. There is also a trail to the popular Stamp Falls Pool off Beaver Creek Road just before the entrance to Stamp Falls Park.
Gold River
The Gold River and its tributary Heber Creek were also made famous by Roderick Haig-Brown. They are about a one-hour drive from Campbell River. The Gold has both winter and summer steelhead and is one of the more popular rivers on Vancouver Island. Gold River steelhead are wild and it has produced fish over 30 pounds. It can be crowded during winter steelhead season. You will find fewer anglers during the summer and fall. The Heber has only summer steelhead and is closed to fishing in the winter. The Gold is not a good river to float because of its many narrow canyons. Climbing in and out of them is both difficult and dangerous. The canyons also make fly fishing difficult but the rewards can be great. A road follows the river making access possible everywhere except in some canyon sections.
White and Nimpkish
The Salmon River enters Johnston Strait at Sayward, about 40 miles north of Campbell River. Highway 19 crosses the Salmon where its main tributary, the White, joins the main river.
Above the junction pool, the White River has only summer steelhead and the Salmon has only winter steelhead. Downriver from the junction, you can hook trout, steelhead, or salmon most of the year.
The Salmon River is one of the finest trout, steelhead, and coho salmon streams on Vancouver Island. Its slow pools are deceptively deep and hold many surprises.
The White is a rough and tumbling river and one of the few good summer steelhead streams on the East Coast. Logging roads parallel both the White and the Salmon rivers making access easy. Boat anglers enjoy the Salmon but the White is not suited for floating.
North of the Salmon River is the huge Nimpkish drainage. There are five species of Pacific salmon in the Nimpkish as well as both winter and summer steelhead, but finding these fish is sometimes difficult. Logging roads parallel both sides of the river but access is still rugged in most places. Expect to do some hiking, clambering, and bushwhacking to explore this river on foot. Waterfalls and a lack of launch areas for trailered boats make it difficult, if not impossible, to float.
North Island
Access to many of the streams at the north end of Vancouver Island can be difficult and not all of them have good fishing. If you want to fish this most remote part of the island, two of the best streams are the Marble and the Mahatta rivers.
The Marble is one of the prettiest rivers on the island and flows out of eight-mile-long Alice Lake where a waterfall signals the start of the river. Summer steelhead rest in the huge pool below the falls in July and August. They also pass around the falls through little channels in the rock and often hold right at the top of the falls. The Marble is a wilderness river and there is no road access other than right at the lake outlet. There are some good pools at the picnic area at the lake outlet, and a 40-minute hike down a foot trail leads you to Bear Falls Pool just below the upper canyon. You will also find good fishing from Bear Falls Pool down to the start of the lower canyon.
The Mahatta is a tiny stream that flows out of two-mile-long O’Connell Lake. The long and dusty drive from the pulp mill at Port Alice to the Mahatta is on a rough, narrow, and often steep road. Watch for and give the right-of-way to logging trucks. These hazards can be worth it if you are lucky to arrive in June when fresh summer steelhead are in the pools. The steelhead migrate through the river during the summer and hold in the lake until the spring spawning season. The river is closed to fishing after the end of October. Supplies and accommodation can be found at Port McNeil, Port Hardy, and Port Alice.
South Island Steelhead
For anglers who are restricted to the south end of Vancouver Island there are a few streams within a two-hour drive of Victoria. The San Juan and its tributary Harris Creek are about 40 miles west of Victoria and have both summer and winter steelhead runs. The San Juan has slowly recovered from years of logging abuse and has a picturesque float from the steel suspension bridge down to Fairy Lake. Access above the steel bridge is difficult, but you can line or paddle a canoe upriver. Where Harris Creek enters the San Juan is an excellent steelhead pool. The best sections of Harris Creek require a hike upriver into its canyon pools.
Access to the Nitinat River is over logging roads through Cowichan Valley and past Cowichan Lake. The Nitinat is a lovely stream that can be drifted from Parker Creek to Nitinat Lake. The Nitinat has a hatchery near its mouth that produces huge numbers of large Chinook salmon. The Chinook arrive in late August if there is enough water, but they darken quickly. Summer steelhead arrive in early June and move quickly into a canyon section that is closed to fishing, so timing is crucial if you want to see the best fishing the Nitinat has to offer.
Vancouver Island is rich in angling history and opportunities for exploration-minded anglers. The fishing is rarely easy but almost always rewarding.
Ian Forbes lives in Duncan, British Columbia, near the Cowichan River.
Copyright © 2012 Intermedia Outdoors
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