Freshwater fishing from shore near Victoria

[DanTheMan]

Hello everyone,

I am new to fishing on the Island but I have done a lot of salmon fishing in the Kitimat river on the north coast.

I am looking to get into fishing on the Island but am not really sure where to go. I live in Victoria so am looking at things relatively close to the city. Based on the maps that I have looked at the Sooke River and the Cowichan River are looking to be my best bets.

Is there anything worth fishing for in either of these rivers? I don’t have a boat and like to fish from shore so if anyone could point me in a general direction it would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Dan

 

[medherring]

Hey Dan, there are loads of great lakes on Southern Vancouver Island that you can fish very successfully from shore. Have a search through the Freshwater Forums as this topic has been talked about quite a bit. If you are focusing more on river fishing make sure you really do your research on restrictions / time of year / species etc gear type for each river as they all seem to have different rules. Best of luck fishing!

 

[DanTheMan]

Thanks for the reply.

After looking at the regs I think I am going to have to learn to flyfish to get into a lot of waters around here. I picked up a back roads mapbook yesterday so I think I'll check out a bunch of the lakes around and see what I can come up with.

Dan

 

[Last Chance]

I know it's a put and take fishery, but it doesn't seem a week passes by without a couple 4-5 pound hogs coming out of Elk...

 

[DanTheMan]

I know it's a put and take fishery, but it doesn't seem a week passes by without a couple 4-5 pound hogs coming out of Elk...

I've never really been to Elk lake, is there a dock or something to fish from?

 

[Dan]

Yeah the river guys are tight lipped here, public/open posting info usually turns overly dramatic pretty quick but if you're willing to give lake fishing a shot you'll get lot's of help/info here. No drama.

There is a fishing dock at Elk Lake, most guys are using powerbait floating eggs off of the bottom or casting bass lures, fishing is relatively slow there.
There are plenty of places to cast around the lake from shore but many dog owners are oblivious to the park rules and even will throw sticks for their dog(s) to fetch right on top of your line. You can also do carp fishing in Elk/Beaver lake, they are probably the most numerous species in those lakes as they breed in mass numbers and nearly no one fishes for them. Hell of a fight !

 

[DanTheMan]

Thanks for the info Cobra.

I think I'll go pick up some new gear this week and then do a tour around a bunch of lakes over the next month or so.