Lots of questons from a beginner.

[VanIsl Flyfisher]

I got a few questions to ask the "seasoned" fisherman, so i'll just come out and say them.
How old is this site?
I'm going to want to get a nice fly rod for cutthroat, whats a good weight?
whats a good fly rod weight for Steelhead?
what are good flies for winter and summer run Steelhead here in Campbell river?
what are good Cutthroat flies?
does anyone know if the cutthroat in the campbell river are year round?
what size of flies for Steelhead and Cutthroat?
whens the best time to fish for Cutthroat in the campbell river?
i know there is a lot of questions, i don't expect one person to answer them all, but any help is appreciated. As for the flies, pictures would be great, even ones from google, i am fairly new to fly tying and learn well from pictures and info on flies, just a name like doc spratley, or kelsy's hope, does me no good
Thanks in advance.

[Coastrider]

Well, a nice rod for Cutthroat would be a 4 or 5 wt and the length would depend more on preference. I would say a 4wt in the 8'6" would be good for small rivers. If your fishing big rivers such as the Campbell and need distance, a 4 wt. switch would be a better setup but the casting principles are different if you want to spey cast with it. A good weight for steelhead? I am not a steelhead fisher as of yet but I would think that a 6-8 wt would be good enough depending on the run of fish and size. Looking for flies? there are alot of threads and gallery photos on the site containing both recipes and photos for great patterns, the rest is up to you to research. We all know how to use google and the info is endless, a name is all you would need. As per most flies, a good selection of sizes and colours are always best. For instance, i carry the doc spratly in olive, red and black in sizes 6-10 for cutties. There is a cutty fly swap under way now, keep your eyes on it as there will be alot of good patterns coming from it. Cutty fishing is good pretty much year round as they do migrate back to the ocean aswell for some spectacular fishing

[SalaR]

Hello there flyfisher....what a bombardment of questions..but all good ...Coastrider said much of what you need to know...checkout the fly swaps here on this site for just about all the files patterns you will ever need. I might add that welcome...also check out the Nile creek fly swap web site for lots of pictures of flies and fish together...some even from Campbell River. Your Cuttie fishing(salt and Fresh) is or can be year round...some months better than others...Now if Steelhead fishing I would suggest for you likely an 8 weight,simply because the flies can be larger and Rivers such as Campbell and Gold are large and fast...small rods are useless at times with large fish,we end up hurting the fish!
If you wonder why there is such a growing use of Switch and Spey rods I just explained it..big water,big fish,big rods!
For Cuttie fishing you don't need a big rod and often you are fishing 50 -60 feet off the beach (Salt water) or in closer on the streams. The Campbell is no differrent,fish are not too far off the shore,as is the Quinsam and other area streams. But there is always times when they are more difficult to reach,it is during these times that the need for a great line that is versatile and effective comes to the forefront...you have some good Cuttie fisheries and fly fishers in your area...often very secretive and wisely so...have fun..keep us posted
C

Attachment 2206

I got a few questions to ask the "seasoned" fisherman, so i'll just come out and say them.
How old is this site?
I'm going to want to get a nice fly rod for cutthroat, whats a good weight?
whats a good fly rod weight for Steelhead?
what are good flies for winter and summer run Steelhead here in Campbell river?
what are good Cutthroat flies?
does anyone know if the cutthroat in the campbell river are year round?
what size of flies for Steelhead and Cutthroat?
whens the best time to fish for Cutthroat in the campbell river?
i know there is a lot of questions, i don't expect one person to answer them all, but any help is appreciated. As for the flies, pictures would be great, even ones from google, i am fairly new to fly tying and learn well from pictures and info on flies, just a name like doc spratley, or kelsy's hope, does me no good
Thanks in advance.

[BH_flyfisher]

You have a great stream for cutthroat right under your nose that hosts awesome cutthroat fishing year round. Very under rated and can have some great fishing. For flies for cutthroat i pretty much use 5 flies only, black egg sucking leech size 4-10, olive egg sucking leach size 6-10, Glo bugs in assorted colours under an indicator with a few split shot on the leader, those are pretty much my go to wets for cutties. I cast my egg sucking leeches straight across stream and then start a sharp jerky retrieve as it swings. For Glo bugs, i like to cast as far upstream as i can and let it drift back, if there is any movement at all in your indicator, SET THE HOOK. Now for dries its pretty hard to go wrong with a stimulator in sizes 8-14, and elk hair caddis' in sizes 10-18, let it dead drift and you should have cutties chomping on them quite frequently. I find for the bigger cutties in streams, stealth is EVERYTHING. I spent about 30 mins on 3 pools catching little guys one after another. After getting frustrated, i decided i'd give the runs a 15 minute break and then i decided i'd approach from directly downstream position of them and hit the fallen trees and logs that hang around. Sure enough first good cast right along side a fallen log in a deep undercut pool and nice cutty engulfed my dry. Proceeded to do the same thing with the next 3 runs.

Rods wise I'd go nothing heavier then a 5 weight. It was very over powering on the fish that were 10-18" in a small stream. A nice 9' 4wt is pretty much a good all round rod. It would be great to fish dries with a 3wt, wets with a 4wt so i just opt for the 4wt. To do both.

If you're beach fishing i'd go with 10' 5/6 weight just because of wind its hard to throw a wimpy 9' 4wt rod in winds 15km+ winds.

Steelhead wise, Salar knows what he's talking about, he puts in a lot of days on those fish, and has frequent success.

May is a great time for the campbell itself for cutties. If you just google the names of the flies they'll show up on the "intergoogle" or just ask for them in river sportsmen. Theres a few streamers in tyee marine that i wouldn't go without....

[VanIsl Flyfisher]

Well, a nice rod for Cutthroat would be a 4 or 5 wt and the length would depend more on preference. I would say a 4wt in the 8'6" would be good for small rivers. If your fishing big rivers such as the Campbell and need distance, a 4 wt. switch would be a better setup but the casting principles are different if you want to spey cast with it. A good weight for steelhead? I am not a steelhead fisher as of yet but I would think that a 6-8 wt would be good enough depending on the run of fish and size. Looking for flies? there are alot of threads and gallery photos on the site containing both recipes and photos for great patterns, the rest is up to you to research. We all know how to use google and the info is endless, a name is all you would need. As per most flies, a good selection of sizes and colours are always best. For instance, i carry the doc spratly in olive, red and black in sizes 6-10 for cutties. There is a cutty fly swap under way now, keep your eyes on it as there will be alot of good patterns coming from it. Cutty fishing is good pretty much year round as they do migrate back to the ocean aswell for some spectacular fishing

The problem with googling things is that the results are so vast, i google "cutthroat or steelhead" flies, and i end up with results like muddlers, pink and purple marabou tubeflies, small delicate flies, and sure the may catch fish, but i need a place to start and develop my own patterns, variations of a good fly that catches, say cutthroat or steelhead. There must be something that a steelhead prefers to bite, a colour pattern or materials, any help on a good combo to start from? either for cutthroat or Steelhead?

[BH_flyfisher]

There is no ultimate steelhead fly, find a pattern that YOU have confidence in. A pattern that you have confidence it will catch that one fish for days on end. Steelhead are definitely not a numbers fish on the island like they cant be on the skeena system. You need to have confidence in your flies. There are millions of flies, everyone has a favorite, and most of them have caught fish before and Steelhead dont technically feed in freshwater. You just want something that will grab their attention or piss them off i find.... BUT YOU NEED TO HAVE CONFIDENCE.

As for the googling, google the names of the patterns we suggested, like type in Egg sucking leech, Elk Hair Caddis, Stimulator, Glo bug. The results wont be all over the place.

Muddlers are good too. Same with bunny streamers... :O i've said too much...

[Coastrider]

cutthroat will eat pretty much anything, that is why you see huge results. My biggest cutty was in bigq the other week, caught on a chartreuse cali-neal

[btree]

BH and Coastrider covered things for cutties, just upsize them for steelhead, or not, same sizes mentioned work very well.

Thought I think I might be able to simplify things -3 dries and 3 wets that will have caught cutties and steelies alike... pictures included

1) The egg sucking leech is a confidence fly for many many steelhead and cuttie flyfishers.

Purple, black, olive, even bubblegum pink - all good body & tail colours. Try gold as well as pink or orange bead heads. Chartreuse beads can be good too. Try sizes 10-6 for cutties and 6-2 for steelhead, though in low clear water the smaller sizes can be great for steelies too. One could probably fish any river in any month and catch a steelie or a cuttie on an egg sucking leech.

I've had trout just hammer a #6 purple with orange bead ESL this month despite hoping for summer runs. Coho and Springs will also take this fly on occasion so hold on tight!

2) The Doc Spratley can be good in black or red with either gold or silver tinsel, though I think I prefer just a straight gold body which makes more of a minnow pattern.


3) The bead head muddler minnow is a good fry or sculpin pattern. Again, try sizes 10-6 for cutties and perhaps size 8 - 4 for steelhead. If I had to go with two sizes for this fly it would be #8 and #6, gold bead, gold body, sparse natural deer hair with an olive mallar wing and tail, but lots of people use silver or bronze.

So that about covers it for wet flies - cast across the current and just let it swing, or strip it in, both work.

For dry flies, I like these three: the stimulator #6, the elk hair caddis #12 as well as the tom thumbs #10 and #8.


Basically, if it's got deer hair or elk hair, is bushy and is a similar colour to some of the insects flying around, then you have a good chance. Black, brown, tan, olive, even orange or chartreuse body colour can be good. I like chartreuse when the light is low in the evening.

That's about it for starter flies. Throw in a mickey finn if you want, but I only use that for chum or coho these days, though I do find lots on the banks of the rivers I fish when after cutties.

I figure rods are covered. Happy fishing - it's always fishing season on the island - love it here!

[VanIsl Flyfisher]

Thanks so much btree! that was very helpful! i guess i gotta get tying! Is there any point trying for cutties with all the chum and the odd coho in the river right now? theres so many chum that i have a hard time not snagging them. when is the best time for cutties and or Steelies?

[btree]

Well, you will likely still be able to find some cutties, they are usually much more plentiful than steelhead. Try casting a glo-bug near spawning salmon, particularly behind them, and if there are any cutties around poaching eggs, you will find out.
See this video on tying a globug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40NniJUeHK8

But chum are usually quite agressive compared to other salmon, so I'd see if I couldnt find some spawning chinook or coho and try casting a glo-bug behind them. Steelhead do poach eggs, but likely there are fewer than 50 steelhead in the Cambell system at any given moment, so the changes are slim. Cutties on the other hand might number in the hundreds, so you have a better chance. I fish a globug with a heavy sink tip and a light leader so you can break off any accidentally snagged salmon - fighting a 15-20lb salmon on a 4 or 5 wt is hopeless, even a 6wt is no fun. You can use a small splitshot if not in a flyfishing only area to help get the fly down, but it's a challenge to cast and you will catch the bottom more frequently.

On the weekend I had good luck for trout casting behind spawning chinook on a North Island river. Was hoping for steelhead, but a 12" trout took the globug. I just cast it across current and let it slowly drift down stream, then I let it swing across the tailout and then just hang down stream - the silly trout took it when I was looking at other flies to try next while dangling the fly straight down stream for a minute or so. Sometimes you just get lucky I guess

Steelhead fishing is probably best in Feb and March as a general rule, though any month can hold surprises.

Cuttie fishing is probably hottest in March, April and May as the salmon fry hatch, though many people love the summer months with dry fies. When I lived down island, I fished cutties 12 months a year in streams and always found a few fish, though if you fish the same stream regularly and politely ask questions of the people you meet, you will quickly learn the best times. Every river is different.