Destination B.C.

Over the 12 years I have been filming The Complete Angler television series and the subsequent years writing a fishing column for the Winnipeg Free Press I have been blessed with the opportunity to head out to the west coast of Canada a number of times to enjoy some great saltwater fishing. A couple of the most memorable trips included fantastic coho salmon fishing off the tip of Langarra Island at the north end of the Queen Charlottes, then a few years later to Bella Bella half way up the B.C coast for trophy chinooks!

And there have been a lot of changes over those 12 years to the attitude of tourist operators in British Columbia.

When fishing closures and reduced limits stemmed the flow of anglers in the lates nineties some lodge operators knew they had to change with the times in order to still attract visitors from around the world. This was most evident two years ago when I went to Nanook Lodge just north of Campbell River, one of the most famous salmon fishing destinations in the world. It was a smaller lodge, holding just 17 guests at a time but the activities centered around ecotourism and the enjoyment of the whole resource. Guests could dig clams, pull lobster traps or climb a mountain and if they happened to be around in early September, they could also participate in a chinook salmon capture as part of an enhancement program spearheaded by lodge owner Larry Anderson.

These adjustments helped many of the lodge operators get through lean times but the last two years has again seen a change to the west coast -the salmon are back big-time!

Tom Bird is the Executive Director for the Sport Fishing Institute of British Columbia, and formerly a biologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada for over 30 years. He is also responsible for telling the world that the fishing in the salt waters off the coast is as good as it ever was. In fact, Tom says salmon returns to many BC streams are seeing record numbers.

Bird believes there have been a number of contributing factors to the resurgence of the salmon fishery which included aggressive management measures, a reduced commercial fleet, and positive change in ocean conditions over the last two years. For example, he says coho stocks returning to the Port Alberni area exceeded those of the last three decades, and more chinook salmon returned to the Skeena than had been seen for 50 years. A predicted run of Fraser River pink salmon that saw a pre-season estimate of nine million actually reached 20 million. Further examples include a stream in Georgia Strait, near Comox, that has seen runs as low as 2,000 saw a return of 17,000 coho; a small creek on Vancouver Island on the east coast near Qualicum Beach usually averaging a dozen coho saw a return of 500, as well as 17,000 pinks, 1,200 chums - numbers that have not been seen in living memory. Other factors that indicate ocean conditions have improved have resulted in the return of sardines after an absence of 40 years. Bird says these are examples that are indicative of a strong rebuilding of many, coastal stocks.

For more information on saltwater sport fishing in British Columbia visit www.sportfishing.bc.ca, or Fisheries and Oceans Canada at www.pac-mpo.gc.ca.

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