As some of you salmon anglers may already know there is a shortage of pro-cured roe in the Lower Mainland.  But have no fear, preparing your own roe is not as hard or complicated as it may seem.  Follow these easy to follow steps to prepare your very own roe! Roe Recipe: 1) Butterfly Skeins of roe onto paper towel. 2) Add a light layer of procure or pautzke’s cure to the eggs, covering them evenly. 3) Flip over the skeins onto front and cover the membrane of the skein with cure as well. 4) Massage the cure through out the skeins into all the layers.  Make sure to use gloves. 5) Place the roe into a Ziploc bag. 6) Leave the bag in the…

Well, the salmon fishing season in our coastal rivers is fast approaching.  As a teaser to start to get you thinking about this amazing fishery that is right at our doorstep we would like to publish this short section of our famous “Salmon Fishing in Rivers” course. One of the most important things to consider in pursuit of salmon in rivers is the water conditions.  When heading out to your chosen river you will want to consider the following. Visibility: Water visibility varies dramatically in direct correlation to weather systems and is very important to the salmon angler.  Visibility tells you where you can expect to find fish and what kind of gear you should be using. Jason with a nice coho on a spinner….

“What pattern should I use?” is the number one question I hear out on the river. To be honest this is the least important peace of information I can provide. I am sure a number of you that have fished with me are now scratching your heads. “But didn’t he refuse to let me use my own flies? Didn’t he insist I use that stupid black and blue thing?”.  Yes, I am very fussy about my flies but it has little to do with material or pattern and more to do with the confidence that comes from knowing how the fly has been tied and how it is going to fish. When I first started guiding, I let my more experienced clients use there own…

From the bank of the river, I see my client’s rod bounce.  The line pauses.  The rod bounces again.  My heart quickens. The words “don’t set the hook,” whisper across my lips but I know that I don’t need to say it out loud – I have been drilling the concept all morning. The rod tip bounces again, then stops.  My client shakes his head, calms shot nerves, and makes another cast. The fly swings and again the rod bounces, still the fish refuses to take. My client looks back at me with a defeated grimace. He may not be happy that the fish refused to take – but for me, now is when the fun begins.  He has found a ‘player’ and together we…

The steelhead’s ‘take’ is a culmination of dreams, practice, and patience.  The phrase, “The tug is the drug” sums it up well. The only problem is that like all drugs, the tug comes with a price. Like a junkie with a case of the DTs – or a hangover after a long night of celebration, there is nothing worse than the feel of slack line when the tugging has stopped. Tug is the drug…overdosing on steelhead No matter how skilled, every steelheader misses takes. It cannot be avoided. This said, I have found that experienced anglers employ a number of simple techniques to avoid the DTs of missed takes. The first step to increase hook up ratios, is to understand what is happening under the…

Beautiful cutthroat taken on the fly last spring. Chasing cutthroat (cutties) or winter steelheading?  This has been a constant battle for years when I fish from mid December to mid May.  I love to fish for both of them but always have a hard time deciding which one to go for.  These are the usual deciding factors: 1. Sometimes nature decides for you when the heavy rainfall brings the water levels up and the local rivers that we fish for Steelhead blow out. 2. You want to take a break from a big spey rod and give you shoulders a break. 3. You get excited from a post you saw on a fishing report including pictures of big cutties. 4. The fry are out and…