VANCOUVER ISLAND , VICTORIA & THE GULF ISLANDS


Spencer's Sport Fishing Photos


has superb exhibits documenting the town’s First Nations heritage, pioneering days, and resource industries. Snorkel-drift on a “swim-with-the-fishes” tour down the Campbell, a designated British Columbia Heritage River. It’s also worth the drive north to Sayward to see the Iron Man Totem, the world’s biggest cypress tree. Take the short trip across Discovery Passage aboard B.C. Ferries to Quadra Island, where you can tour the Nuyumabales Cultural Centre in Cape Mudge Village, home of the We-Wai-Kai band. The Centre has a substantial collection of historic totem poles, ceremonial masks, and carvings. Search for ancient petroglyphs at low tide along the rocky shore near picturesque Cape Mudge Lighthouse. Over a hundred artists and craftspeople (including painters, potters, sculptors, musicians, writers, and photographers) have studios and workshops on Quadra Island,


24 The SPORT FISHING Guide 2012


many of which are open to the public. Explore a pebbled beach with inspiring, panoramic views of the mainland’s snow-capped mountains across Sutil Channel at Rebecca Spit Marine Provincial Park, on the eastern side of Quadra. And did you know the surprising marine micro- climate allows the island to support several vineyards?


Central East Coast of Vancouver Island, and the Gulf Islands There’s good salmon fishing


from Bates Beach to the southern ends of Hornby and Denman islands in the Courtney-Comox region. For a change of pace, try drift-jigging for salmon as an alternative to the preferred method of deep-trolling with downriggers. You’ll find great fishing for


rainbow trout, Dolly Varden char, and trophy cutthroat trout in Comox Lake, which also holds a good population of willing kokanee. Smaller waters in the Comox Valley,


Tailspin Charters Photos


like Maple and Wolf lakes (along with Chickadee on Denman Island), are regularly stocked with rainbow and cutthroat trout. Smaller hike-in lakes on the Forbidden Plateau hold surprisingly big rainbow trout. Try the Oyster and Puntledge rivers for good salmon and cutthroat trout fishing during late summer. Nanaimo’s Brannen, Lowry, Long, Rhododendron, Horne, Spider, Quennell, Westwood, Cameron, and Loon lakes hold plenty of cutthroat and rainbow trout. The Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C. not only stocks most of these lakes with catchable-sized trout from the Vancouver Island Trout Hatchery in Duncan, it also offers a free Learn-to- Fish program for kids aged 5 to15 at Colliery Dam Lakes. Anglers will find good opportunities for chinook throughout the year along the deep drop-offs adjacent Mayne, Galiano, Gabriola, and Saturna islands, and on the edges of swift tidal currents


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