Special Reporfp y Dusk and Dawn — FLATS BOATS UPDITE The Magic Hours Exploring -the/British Columbia Coast inside septembei/oclobei Features 30 Madness at Marthas Vineyard BY NELSON SIGELMAN Fishing in the fast lane 40 A British Columbia Coastal Odyssey BY JACK BERRYMAN Exploring for salmon and rockfish 50 Surfing for Snook BY BILL MURDICH How and where to hook a snook On the cover.. Fly tying on the Inside Passage. Photo by BRIAN O'KEEFE Departments 0 Publisher's Letter Bycatch—euphemism for plunder 0 Mailboat Readers ponder history and a bait ban 14 Salt Spray Conservation matters and other stuff 22 Resource Grass comes back to Galveston Bay 30 Fly Tier's Bench Dan Blanton's Sar-Mul-Mac 33 New Titles Casting, coastal fishing and billfish 10 Boating: Special Report What's new in flats boats 19 New Products 11 Q&A with Lefty Kreh Orvis launches Trident; marine products, and more Questions about lines and leaders One More Cast 70 Fly Casting Instructors Watcli for the iovember/Qecember issue SPINDHF," BY CHALLENGER ol Fly Fisliinj in Salt Waters, lealuring: Texas Specs • Mangrove Snappers * Imitating East Coast Baitfish All About Backing • Cuban Preview • Ten Thousand Islands 0 cycled pape; Budget Fishing • The Net Ban Spreads. FLY FISHING IN SALT WATERS Written by Jack' W. Hcvryman Ok , so maybe salmon on a cast fly the British Columbia and was optimistic we coast doesn't rank at could do the same. the top of the list of Shearwater is located the world's favorite on Denny Island near saltwater fly-fishing the famous Inside spots. But someday Passage that extends perhaps it will. from Vancouver to The rugged central west coast Southeast Alaska. These waters are of British Columbia offers great Along the known for large chinook and potential for those married to the plentiful coho salmon, and fly rod. I know, because I sampled because of their remote location three different locations there we experienced uncrowded fishing last year —Milbanke Sound, in protected waters within a few Seaforth Channel, and Lama Rugged minutes of the lodge. Passage in late July, then Rivers On our first day we fished in Inlet, Hakai Pass, and the mouth McLoughlin Bay and around of the Koeye River on the east side Napier Point, both on Lama of Fitz Hugh Sound in September. Coast the Passage just around the corner I was joined by some of the most from Shearwater. Schools of her­ knowledgeable saltwater fly fishers ring were milling around in 12 and fly-shop owners in British to 18 feet of water and hungry Columbia. Our purpose was to coho shot in and out of the explore these wild waters with a Returning schools, feeding on the frenzied fly rod, and our conclusion was bait. The conditions seemed ideal, that we had discovered a virtual but we still had a difficult time fly-fishing paradise for Pacific getting the salmon to take our salmon and bottomfish. Salmon Run flies. We tried fishing at different You will notice, however, that depths, using different colored I did not say a "fish-catching paradise." It's obvious patterns, and varying our retrieves, all to no avail. that more exploring and experimenting must be done When we examined the stomachs of several coho before the catching will surpass the casting. But that caught by bait fishermen in the same area, we discov­ doesn't mean we were disappointed. We knew catching ered to our surprise that the salmon had been taking fish on the "high seas" with a fly would be difficult, herring of only minnow size, not more than an inch but the challenge was met head-on. long. We had been using large flies, three or four I began probing the waters near Shearwater Resort inches long, so this discovery called for a change in tac­ in Bella Bella, B.C., late in July with Brian Babcock, tics. And just at sunset, Brian caught a frisky coho of owner of Babcock Fly and Tackle in Coquitlam, B.C. about 7 pounds on a smaller fly. But that first salmon We were guests of his brother, Shawn, vice president of was also the last salmon. Shearwater's operations and an experienced fly angler Catching the aggressive black rockfish (Sebastes who had fished the salt at several locations along melanops) proved a lot easier. We found a variety Vancouver Island. He had caught ocean-going coho of other rockfish species, mostly brown (S. bolina), copper (S. caurinus), dusky (S. ciliatus), quillback (S. maliger), and China (S. nebulous). When our flies L ODYSSEY got near the bottom we caught small ling cod 47 FLY FISHING IN SALT WATERS Written by Jack' W. Hcvryman Ok , so maybe salmon on a cast fly the British Columbia and was optimistic we coast doesn't rank at could do the same. the top of the list of Shearwater is located the world's favorite on Denny Island near saltwater fly-fishing the famous Inside spots. But someday Passage that extends perhaps it will. from Vancouver to The rugged central west coast Southeast Alaska. These waters are of British Columbia offers great Along the known for large chinook and potential for those married to the plentiful coho salmon, and fly rod. I know, because I sampled because of their remote location three different locations there we experienced uncrowded fishing last year —Milbanke Sound, in protected waters within a few Seaforth Channel, and Lama Rugged minutes of the lodge. Passage in late July, then Rivers On our first day we fished in Inlet, Hakai Pass, and the mouth McLoughlin Bay and around of the Koeye River on the east side Napier Point, both on Lama of Fitz Hugh Sound in September. Coast the Passage just around the corner I was joined by some of the most from Shearwater. Schools of her­ knowledgeable saltwater fly fishers ring were milling around in 12 and fly-shop owners in British to 18 feet of water and hungry Columbia. Our purpose was to coho shot in and out of the explore these wild waters with a Returning schools, feeding on the frenzied fly rod, and our conclusion was bait. The conditions seemed ideal, that we had discovered a virtual but we still had a difficult time fly-fishing paradise for Pacific getting the salmon to take our salmon and bottomfish. Salmon Run flies. We tried fishing at different You will notice, however, that depths, using different colored I did not say a "fish-catching paradise." It's obvious patterns, and varying our retrieves, all to no avail. that more exploring and experimenting must be done When we examined the stomachs of several coho before the catching will surpass the casting. But that caught by bait fishermen in the same area, we discov­ doesn't mean we were disappointed. We knew catching ered to our surprise that the salmon had been taking fish on the "high seas" with a fly would be difficult, herring of only minnow size, not more than an inch but the challenge was met head-on. long. We had been using large flies, three or four I began probing the waters near Shearwater Resort inches long, so this discovery called for a change in tac­ in Bella Bella, B.C., late in July with Brian Babcock, tics. And just at sunset, Brian caught a frisky coho of owner of Babcock Fly and Tackle in Coquitlam, B.C. about 7 pounds on a smaller fly. But that first salmon We were guests of his brother, Shawn, vice president of was also the last salmon. Shearwater's operations and an experienced fly angler Catching the aggressive black rockfish (Sebastes who had fished the salt at several locations along melanops) proved a lot easier. We found a variety Vancouver Island. He had caught ocean-going coho of other rockfish species, mostly brown (S. bolina), copper (S. caurinus), dusky (S. ciliatus), quillback (S. maliger), and China (S. nebulous). When our flies L ODYSSEY got near the bottom we caught small ling cod 47 FLY FISHING IN SALT WATERS M11 B \KKE , CU \\/> SOINO Bella Bella ' ^ Hakai Pass5 Early rising anglers were treated to a Q i' ee n Charlotte brilliant sunrise sTRAIT over Seaforth Channel near Image Island and the entrance of Spiller Channel. 48 september / october 1995 49 fly fishing in salt waters Bonsai-like (Ophiodon elongatus) 2SiA. kelp greenling (Hexagrammas flies, we alternated between herring and Pacific sand trees and rocks decagrammus). Action was fast and furious as we tied lance imitations, some tied on tubes and others on near Stirling our boats to kelp beds and cast 10- or 20-foot sink-tip hooks from size 1 to 2/0. Island at the lines into the ebbing tide. Once the fly got close to the Shearwater offers its guests a multitude of good northwest corner bottom, the slightest twitch or quick retrieve resulted fishing locations. Many salmon heading to Bella of Hakai Pass. in a savage strike. Off one rocky point, I caught four Coola, the Dean River, or Rivers Inlet pass through Elaine Berryman different species of rockfish on consecutive casts. this area, and there are salmon runs in several local with one of many We used 9- and 9y2-foot rods matched to 7-, 8-, streams. Last year. Shearwater guests landed more than black rockfish and 9-weight lines, both sink-tips and shooting heads 400 tyee (chinook salmon weighing more than 30 hooked on a with different sink rates. Leader lengths varied from six pounds), with 54 pounds the largest. The heaviest skipped surface fly.