NO SPRING IN SIGHT!
I don’t know about you, but this winter has been one of the longest on record. I can’t remember one that I have had to spend so much time indoors. Now we have the storm of record proportions bearing down us, set to dump massive amounts of snow.
With all of that I am thinking it might be a good April to visit the west coast. Outdoor writer and hardcore angler Dave Shmyr extended an invitation to come out and try some Vancouver Island bass fishing this past year and it is starting to look pretty attractive. Dave moved to Sooke, B.C. a year and half ago to work this brother and be near family.
Now you might think of the island as a salmon destination, but it has some of the best bass fishing in Canada. Sooke is located west of Victoria some 38 kilometres. In the southern section of the island are several lakes stocked with both smallmouth and largemouth bass. With a year-round growing season, these bass grow large, with fish pushing the seven-pound range.
When Dave first arrived, he decided to buy a pontoon kick boat so he could get on these smaller bass lakes. I can remember one day when he called me from this boat, giving me a play by play of what he was using to catch fish.
Shmyr says most of these bass lakes on Vancouver Island have cool hiking trails, making it easy to bring the whole family and keeping everyone’s hobbies at the same place. Some of the different lakes include Shawnigan, Thetis, Matheson, Prospect, Elk, Langford, and Quesnel. All are among the prettiest lakes on the Island and all within a reasonable distance from where he lives.
SPRING SPAWN
The bass on the island are starting to get in the spawning mode at this time of the year. Last year at this time Dave spent many days after work heading out for a couple of hours on the water. His biggest largemouth to date has been a 6. 25 pounds. He caught that in flipping a jig next to a log in a shallow back bay. He has also a lot of hefty smallmouth, but none as big as his brother. It weighed in a six pounds and eleven ounces.
SPRING ANGLING TECHNIQUES
Flipping jigs and creature baits into cover is going to be our primary technique going into the spawn. Then as the spawn finishes up we switch over to docks, using Dingers and Sankos. As the season progresses a bit , early and late in the day we like throwing top water frogs over the lilly pads.
Dave recently completed his saltwater captains’ course so he can enjoy both the saltwater and freshwater near his new home.