Giant Bull Trout of British Columbia

welcome everyone to the new fly fisher it's  september and i'm standing in beautiful   squamish bc the pacific salmon are in and  that can only mean one thing it's time to   drift egg patterns for trout and char joining me  today is clint goyet from valley fishing guides   clint is an expert fly fisher a competitive  angler he's going to show me the euro nymphing   techniques he's developed on the world stage  to catch these trout and jar it's going to   be a great show that's the biggest bull trout  i've ever ever ever seen on the squamish river oh that's a nice size fish absolutely fantastic the new fly fisher is supported by valley  fishing guides canada orvis fly fishing   scientific anglers trout unlimited weathertech canada upon arriving i was pleased to learn that  we were in for a period of decent weather   clint informed us however that the region  had recently experienced significant rainfall   many of the rivers especially the main stem  squamish were still swollen and running bank to   bank the smaller tributaries we were planning  on targeting were slowly coming into shape   clint's plan for our first day was to check  out a couple of his favorite haunts to see what   they had to offer pink salmon had arrived  in decent numbers and the region's trout   char and whitefish should be amongst them feeding  heavily on dislodged and drifting eggs from my   perspective i was looking forward to working with  clint to further hone my euro nymphing skills squamish gets a pink return every  odd year and the pink is a vital   species for our ecosystem they bring so much  nutrient load back to our rivers they lay eggs   their eggs hatch into small fry their fry  immediately leave in february and march and   april and then they return as two to five  pound fish with all that biomass coming   back from the ocean to feed our bull trout  to feed our rainbows to feed our cutthroat   it's just an iconic species as well as all  the other wildlife the pinks feed the bears   the eagles the wolves you know they're very very  important and we're lucky to have those as well known by a variety of names  including czech nymphing   tightline nymphing contact nymphing  euro nymphing is a deadly method   born through competitive fly fishing where  external weight on leaders and strike   indicators are not allowed euro nymphing provides  superior presentation control versus traditional   nymphing methods your fly or flies if permitted  by regulation are your weight the flies are tied   in a variety of weight configurations to match  conditions such as water depth and current speed   by adjusting variables such as pattern weight  the amount of leader placed in the water   rod position and angle you can thoroughly explore  a variety of structure and presentation challenges   allowing you to consistently place  your fly or flies in front of fish so clint you've set me up with one of your 20-foot  euro nymphing leaders yeah that's right so what   we have here is uh 10 and a half feet of tankera  fluorocarbon hive is okay and then there's a about   a foot and a half of space or material which  is zero or one x so we're tapering down from   from this diameter to the next one then you've  got your cider material which is about 45 to   60 centimeters okay and then from there you're  going to run your tippet material for the strength   of fish that you're going to be fighting  all right and that tip final tip at length   you're saying three to six feet is average so  that's about the length of your tip yeah total   length is six feet to make it the full length  of the rod so total length of the leader is is   twice your rod length and every between every  section is the typical ring that's right yeah so for short casts i'll start with the  fly in my hand and with the rod pointing   the opposite of where i want the fly to go and  then i'm going to drop that fly and bring the   rod over the top and then pull that fly  downstream in the direction of the current flow finish my cast bring the fly back  it's a very direct path of the fly   with the current then i'm going to reach out and i  want to go to sort of a more medium distance cast   i'm going to get my line set up i'm going  to start again with just a rod length but   now this line here is going to be what i shoot  at the end of the rod again i'm going to load   back here fire and release that line  immediately lift the rod so that i'm fishing   with the fly upstream of the rod tip  manage my line allow that fly to pass   finish with a dangle go for the  further cast pull a bit more line out bring that back in hand is higher now back up manage the line pull it through at this  point i've reached the middle distance   casting i can't cast any further with  that method so i have to change it up   in which case i'm going to change  to more of an oval or belgian cast   and for that i'm going to start with the line  out in the water bring it around and over around   and use the water to load the line so that i get  the fly way upstream and way out into the current   then i hand twist to maintain tension to the fly  as it comes through the zone that i want to fish strike if i get a touch found a fish first cast this guy's gonna make it what makes this water  so good why is this the the money hole well you   can see there's pretty heavy duty rapids up here  we just had a high water event yep and this here   where this guy's hanging out is the first super  calm deep slow spot where they can chill out   and eggs are gonna gather in there yeah eggs are  coming through they're relaxed there's nothing   too crazy happening i could probably land  this guy with that net myself swing him in   yeah i try and get him upstream and then that just  let there you go well done and he comes right in   oh this is a cuddy it's a cuddle yeah wow these  are coastal cutthroat that's right yeah they're   anatomists yeah and this guy you know if you  looked at him sideways you'd be like oh it looks   like a rainbow i'm like absolutely but this is my  first hint it's a cuddy it's got a nice yellow fin   and spots are really like pepper yeah and then you  take a quick look at it under his jaw and it's a   nice cut though but he's fat been chowing on eggs   just a beauty little fish off he goes  your turn i like this alternating stuff right where you said you would be out of the water  oh yeah beautiful fish great fight in this current   you're doing a great job but he's going this  way trying to stay with him he's right there   yeah i see him okay i got him now i use this  current so well there he is yeah there he is nice job nice job well coach boss well coach  right on what are we doing here phil he's a fat   little guy yeah they're awkward to hang on to when  they're so fat from the eggs beautiful little fish   look at that little fish full of eggs look at that  belly little tiny head beautiful belly awesome so clint for your waters here what rod  weights and lengths are you recommending   well phil i'd probably use a three to five weight  rod uh with more more of the time we're gonna use   a four weight um that has enough power in the  butt section to fight some of our larger trout   uh and the inadvertent steelhead that you  may hook in in the april timeframe yep   okay and the five way to be good for those  larger five weight is for sure something   if you're targeting larger trout the five  weight is going to give you the optimal backbone   and again that length is going to be able  to allow you to make those long casts soft   tip to cushion those strikes and still be able  to reach out and cover water while maintaining   good weight or safety yeah correct yeah okay  yeah excellent there we go oh there we go that's a good one i better put my rod  down again okay it's getting serious now look out you said he might come back now we can't  guarantee that was the nope i can't go out there   phil why not oh it's another cutthroat nice  one too there we go team so a beautiful little cutthroat dress that is just an unbelievably effective method look at the  belly on that guy look at that squish dumpster   just a beautiful fish off he goes later all right  clint nice you're up all right i'll give her a go   something there somebody's home just like that looks like a decent fish it's a good one a little  yeah i i have nothing yet he's he's got lots of   lots of power let him fight the crew  we're gonna end up down through that   rabbit yeah he's going he's going  we're going down down we're going down i don't know where he is right now but he's  he wants to go down that rapid does he though   well well he is because now  he doesn't have a choice so in this case i'm going to just  hold the rod high and hope for that   yeah hope he just stays with you  oh it's a bolt it's about trouble just a second well done we've got all of them look at the  chubster on this guy that guy has been eating   well my friend eating well so these are anadromous  too right out to the ocean yep yeah but he's he's   come into a predator or something to them at  some point or a larger bull truck or a larger   bull trout yeah this is uh this is a good spawning  age bull trout look at all beautiful yeah thank   you pink photobombing us right here big decaying  pink coming in for a look off you go bye he goes   beautiful fish well done that was a battle euro  nimson it's the only way to go to me good times landing in vancouver you're just an hour and a  half away from squamish once you get here you just   need your underwear clothes i have waders boots  belts and all the fly tackle that we're gonna   use in a day i've got the four weight rods we've  got the seven weight rods and all the terminal   tackle flies tip it and all of that really you  just need your sunglasses your hat your camera   and a good attitude and we're  gonna have a great day on the water after spending the first portion of our trip  exploring some of clint's favorite local waters   we opted for a longer excursion  to another of his favorite rivers this river featured a run of  both chinook and sockeye salmon   while being home to a healthy population  of rainbow trout bull trout and mountain   whitefish our tactics remain the same drifting  egg patterns using euro nymphing techniques   our spring season starts mid february with the  emergence of fry and the water temps are are   good enough to to start fishing from that point  we start getting the steelhead return anytime   in mid february through the months of april and  may until frechet during that time there's always   cutthroat bull trout and rainbows in our area and  a little further north you can get into the to the   whitefish as well as you go through the summer  it's a trout fishery and then as you move into   the fall which is where we are today we're into  the salmon return throughout that time frame of   the pacific salmon return we're catching trout  on egg patterns which is what we're doing today so clint we've got spawning salmon  in here we can see some pears   digging reds they're going to be spitting out  eggs downstream to any willing trout and char   but it looks pretty skinny how are we going to  approach this so anytime i come to skinny water   i'm going to always start from the bottom and work  my way up as if you were upstream dry fly fishing   and that's just so if you hook the big fish  somewhere up here and it's going to run down   she's going to scare everything else out  so we're going to pick from the bottom of   the tree and work our way up okay that's what  we're going to do and we won't get too close to   that's right we're going to cast from quite far  away so that we're our bodies aren't over the   water at all that's that's pretty key okay let's  let's give it a shot let's do it it looks fishy   there we go and he was right where you said he was going to be rainbow proof is in the pudding competition fishing really taught me a lot about  how to nymph with a tight line and bringing   that information back to my home waters was a  critical change in in my in the development of   my own personal guiding skills as well as my own  angling skills i started valley fishing guides   because i love fishing and to be able to make  a living while teaching others how to fish   and spending time on the water which is my  happy place that just made sense i wouldn't   even bother dropping it down on the first  pass i'd keep it high the whole time okay you imagine that egg doesn't sink like  a stone it kind of rolls off the shelf   and you're used to seeing a mid current right yeah oh yeah that's a good white fish oh that's  substantial nice white fish nice size slowly going off oh jeez louise that fish wanted it bad rainbow they're everywhere these guys are marched right up to the top  right cause something's pushed them out yeah   they they uh they can occupy there's  another one already a little bigger what this technique allows you to  do is drop it in that spot and fish   it immediately yep right that fish is on  before i even had a chance to set the hook   another rainbow right in the top lip yeah  because if you were to indicator fish that   you got to wait for all your gear to and you  can't even really put it up there because   everything will be on the bottom and you're you're  hooked up exactly what we're noticing phil is   they're all in fast water yep they're right where  it picks up speed so we'll just keep looking at   that for the rest of the day and that'll stop  looking at the deep holes that aren't moving   and that's pretty common with  this particular river yeah   they just did plus is it is it possible those  larger sockeye kind of pushed them out could have   pushed them out but i think chasing off the reds  kind of thing you're you're highly visible in that   big pool to predators whether it's a fish in the  river or or a bird from above right that's cool the flies we used throughout the  trip we've got the egg pattern   we've got the omg for really deep  fishing three beads underneath the   material and then we've got the 511 turbo which is  a very heavy mayfly pattern uh pheasant tail style we're getting to a safe landing zone here going  downstream okay got caught in that heavy that'd   be our bully we've been looking for oh that's  a nice fish that's a nice fish there we go so right where you sat on that  drop it was right at the very top well done the bull trouts again see  the white leading edges standard char   bullies beautiful fish yep took it in heavy  heavy flow heavy flow surprised me a bit   relating more to the heavy flow today all day  thought they'd be in the pools but they're not   all right there you go go  away get bigger get wiser squamish is full of other activities for  the non-angler or with your time off we   have a the cedar sky gondola which is a great  activity we have mountain biking hiking we have   museums the train museum we have the mining  museum just south in britannia just a lot of   things for people that are just looking  for something to do outside of angling it was our final day on the water the weather  had steadily improved the water had cleared   and its levels had dropped clint had us on the  banks of one of his favorite rivers a little bit   earlier than previous days in anticipation  of a great day of drifting egg patterns   clint's experience and intuition foreshadowed  one of my best days using euro nymphing tactics   it was time to put the lessons  clint had provided to work   we have a lot of species here in squamish by far  the bull trout is my favorite and i'll tell you   why it's the the sheer power they have when you  hook one you know they just dog it they keep you   fighting to the end you know they don't want to  die they're the top apex predator in our system   you know they're eating eggs they're eating flesh  they're eating the fry they're eating sculpins   and with this technique you're able to get  right into that zone right to the bottom and   when they suck that fly in there is nothing like  setting the hook on a big bowl so where was he   sitting right there in front of me right on the  bubble line so where that swings around and yep   natural just natural drift and he smoked it  like there was no question that that was a bite   looks like a good fish well i can't lift it  yet and this is my four weight doubled over so definitely going down to the ground  which usually means bull trout   yep he's hugging the bottom like all  choice yeah it's a little char for sure i'll just let you steer him in there  we go right did a little reach nice job   beautiful right in the top lip just like  there's more is he supposed to be look at   the size of that look at the clearly been feeding  on eggs awesome off you go well done clint well   done you're up egg patterns for boltrope awesome  euro nymphing techniques just a deadly method   while clint this looks like a fishy spot from  right there right on out i like where two currents   come together where you've got the big current  over there and the smaller one coming together and   and where they meet i call it critical v okay  right and that's where i expect almost always   at least half fish to be and in a lot of cases  the biggest biggest fish so i'll start here   and edge my way out to that critical v and  see what happens absolutely let's do it okay   what's going on phil i look down and it's  literally you had one that is hilarious   love it when they eat it on the swing that's a  is that a cuddy or a ball looks like might be a   full trouble if it came to the surface  though maybe because you pulled it up   look at that little tubby guy well  done thank you sir you're welcome   thank you there's that egg fly right now  right in the corner right in the door   and he clocked it like you feel  it he wanted it and beautiful look they are chubby you're up next buddy awesome we weighed a lot in our rivers so you  have to have some really decent footwear   your waiting shoes should either be studded or  felt or felt with studs or rubber with studs   and the other thing is you got to be aware there's  a lot of wood in our rivers and that's really the   danger if there's large log jams below you don't  make those crossings right you've got to be   you've got to be very aware of the the dangers  on the on the rivers a little different footprint   than a human we're not the only one hunting  fish down here are we absolutely yeah and yeah   clearly there was a grizzly bear here at some  point overnight yeah or in the past bunch of hours   so you've got to keep your sort of width about you  when you're out here um so what are some of the   things you do uh well i i really just use my voice  to let them know that i'm around so if i'm in a   tight quarter sort of trail walking into the river  i'm going to talk a lot to either myself if i'm by   myself which is not always the best thing to do  when you're at this time of year walking through   the forest human voice definitely alerts them to  your presence the worst thing you can do is show   up unannounced to a party of grizzly bears right  and startle them yeah exactly they want to know   you're around and you're carrying bear spray  i carry bear spray yeah i do um and again it's   sort of the last minute or last second sort of uh  choice to use i've never actually pulled it out   and and that's for a good reason you know  i'm i'm making sure the bears know we're here   right yeah yeah so we're gonna look on the open  areas obviously make sure there's no bears here   and be particularly noisy when we're crossing  those little feeder creeks absolutely we have tons   of pinks coming up because we've seen evidence of  uh bears having a recent feed on the carcasses so   just be aware enjoy the outdoors  but you're not alone and stay safe this is not small not small at all very big it is deep down there i see a cider and  it's gone so we were within eight feet at least   you know how deep it is right here kind of did  a round circle turn down there tell me there's an opportunity possibly coming up this is unreal uh yeah oh yeah we're catching a glimpse  here it's coming higher in the water column   i can't lift any higher go for it go for it  oh yes holy smokes that's why it was hard phil   oh i can't believe you had that  much power i can look at that thing it's such a fat fish i get it it is it's stupid  it's like off you go i literally was like my arm   is shaking my arm is shaking after watching clint  fight and land an incredible bull trout it was   hard to imagine the day getting any better i was  pleasantly surprised to find out that it could there we go fish on good bulb i'm coming  just in that critical v again clint you'd   advise me to concentrate my presentation right  at that critical v and i was having a little   i hadn't quite got my slack in order and as  soon as i got it in led the fly a foot whack   nothing subtle about that take full side pressure  yeah and i got a load of the river killing them to   the side they have those great big pectoral fins  that act like wings and just keep them stuck to   the bottom rudder yeah they just oh man i think  that was another bully just spooked out there   that's a big that's a beast just trying  to hang on here yeah my right arm   is on fire we know we've got at least 10  feet of orange line followed by another 10   of something so he's 20 feet off that piece  right there he's in the heavy current right now   he's he's just keeping his head out  there and he got nothing it's a big fish holy feels big it's really big yeah putting this  five weight to work and that's why you said reel   up reel up those larger weights a little harder to  hold horizontally a little more taxing on the arm   at the end of a euro nymphing day but when you  hook something like this it's nice to have that   backbone on your side yeah you're gonna be lying  on the bank after this yeah and as soon as you   see that give take take take yeah yeah don't  wait for him to roll back out there because i   can't keep walking downstream no and he's gonna  i'm backing up backing up backing up backing up   he's coming this way sorry i'm coming down a  little bit just yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah oh that's why you that is a trophy  holy bull trout holy hell   now i can have my moment because excuse me while  i puke over here kept flashing in my head the   longer that fish is in the water the more likely  he's going to stay there can't think of a more   beautiful specimen than this just an impressive  beast and the sun on it is just a gorgeous fish bye bye girl hope to see you soon there she goes  back into her lair off into the gloom thanks clint   wow is that the biggest bull trout you've ever  heard that is the biggest bull trout i can't thank   you enough thank you squamish thank you mother  nature i hope you enjoyed today's show learned   a little bit more about your nymphing for trout  and char for more information on this episode and   other episodes in our informative series please  visit us on the web at thenewflyfisher.com and   don't forget to follow us on social media facebook  youtube and instagram we'll see you next time   the new fly fisher is supported by valley  fishing guides canada orvis fly fishing   scientific anglers trout unlimited weathertech canada   do you

Channel: The New Fly Fisher

Views: 135,087

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Id: PnCNZZiuY-w

Length: 33min 18sec (1998 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 23 2022