Moving to BC from South Eastern Australia

[BushTUcka]

G'day from Australia, my name is Tom and I have been brought up a fisherman and hunter since I was 4 after moving from New Zealand at 2, and whilst the extreme range of fish in Australia both native and introduced makes the fishing absolutely awesome, there is just something about the magical Northern Hemisphere pine and birch forests, the native animals and the beautiful freshwater, it is the stuff of dreams!

Because I am very serious about moving, I have questions about both fishing and some small questions about the lifestyle if anyone would be kind enough to read through and answer the off-topic questions too

Where I live there are some great river fish (murray cod, golden perch, river blackfish, australian bass as well as introduced trout), but the real diversity comes in the estuaries and salt, with bream, whiting, flathead, luderick, pink snapper, yellowtail king fish, spanish mackeral, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, trevally, coral trout, barramundi, mangrove jacks, numerous cods, kahawai, tailor, gummy sharks, mulloway and the list (of all these unique, hard fighting, and tasty) of fish goes on and on and whilst I have been brought up fishing the fresh and always loved the idea of native trout, salmon, pike, perch and bass, I am really in the dark about the variety of species in Canadian estuaries and the salt.

The reason I am concerned about the variety of fish is after being very right wing in a political sense a friend of a friend introduced me to a hippy whom i ended up spending a lot of time with and without going into too much detail, I had some life changing experiences that put conservation and a life away from consumerism on the top of my list of priorities.
I don't feel the need to argue over politics with anyone but I do chose to live off the system as much as possible (growing food, hunting and fishing, cycling when possible, using kayaks, solar panels and rain catchment and recycling techniques, whilst working in outdoor education, and qualified in ecotourism and outdoor adventure recreation (a field I hope is just as popular in Canada, with your amazing snow slopes and rivers) and, because I rely on fish as a source of food (whilst still being a catch and release fisherman the majority of the time) I was wondering what major species of fish you have in your brackish and saltwater, including crayfish/lobsters, prawns, crabs, shellfish, squid, octopus, etc (as I am also into squiding, freediving, and spearfishing) as whilst I will take a fish from the fresh (salmon and bass are tasty enough, pike I haven't eaten and trout is nice smoked - nothing compared to some of our tropical species ) I don't believe it is very sustainable (here in Australia the idiots who colonised really buggered up our ecosystems to the point of no return) to rely on freshwater fish to feed oneself, and considering the size of the ocean, I feel much better catching a feed there
So if anyone has the time to put together a species list of popular fish in the brack and salt that I could find in BC, please help a fellow angler out

Some small, easy questions unrelated to fishing, if you don't mind:

Hunting: I know there are deer, moose, elk, rabbits and ducks, but are there pheasants and turkey that far north What about feral pigs or goats (tasty) on farmers property? I know there are foxes, bears and wolves but I only hunt for food, as killing isn't something I enjoy (the pursuit yes, but not the kill itself).

Firearms: I hunt (and sometime fish) with a bow most of the time, however I do use firearms and in aus we cannot legally aquire semi autos, pump action shotguns, magazine fed firearms or handgun cartridges over .32 (however big game hunters can get licenses but I don't get up far north enough to qualify as a buffulo hunter
I know you guys aren't the united states of 'merica, but can you get .44s, magazine fed weaponry (long rifles), pump actions, semi autos, and lever action repeaters in both rifle and pistol cartridges?

Solar power, how effective is solar power in BC as I know it can be much colder and wetter in Canada, as I rely on solar power and a fireplace fed by gathered firewood to heat, cool (probably not a problem in Canada ) and run everything?

Growing conditions. Here in south eastern australia, we can grow many temperate and sub tropical fruits, veggies, herbs and spices with ease, and I do have a greenhouse and indoor grow room with a good lighting system which I use for trickier plants. Is it possible to grow a wide range of produce in order to sustain a balanced diet with Canada's weather?

Back country fishing, hunting, camping and adventure? Make me jealous, pleeeeeeaaase! I love the outdoors, I'll be eco friendly and sustainable out in the bush and watch out for bears I promise

Does it get hot in summer? In Australia we get into the 100's/40's in summer sometimes it sucks when it gets that hot, but i do like the summer days in the 90's/30's and going to the beach to surf? What is the temperature range AND please tell me you guys measure temperature in Celsius and not **** Fahrenheit.

In fact, please tell me you use the metric system!!!

What are the people like? I hear Canadians are very nice and while i dislike generalising, all the canadians I met (mostly in university who loved outdoor adventure) were super cool and laid-back. I love laid-back people

Lastly, and arguably most important... What is the best hockey team to support? Don't hold back guys



Thank you guys so much! I'm giddy with excitement just thinking of Canada right now, I just don't like the idea of leaving our awesome estuary and salt fishing behind with such a diverse array of species.
Peace, love and good hunting from the land down under, take care of your amazing country and enjoy it too! <3

And don't turn into America ever that country isn't very good.

 

[Da Bay Bye]

G'day Bushtucka. Welcome to the forum and to BC.

I am not sure where to start because I can only answer a few and I am new to the fishing here. Either freshwater or salt water require a separate licence.

Most fishing here depends on where you settle. I am on Vancouver Island and it has a mix of fresh and salt water. I would say that the salmon is the king of fishing here. Most saltwater fishing here is done from a boat and the method is by trolling. If you want an idea of how it is done, best bet is to check out You Tube. Lots of videos from around the area. At certain times of the year you can river fish for salmon. There are also ground fish such as halibut, cod, mackerel, and many other types. You can also fish for crabs and prawns using traps.

There is fresh water fishing and it seems to me that it is mostly trout (lots of varieties). You can either fish lakes or streams.

As for hunting, I am not a hunter. But, here there is deer, elk, bear, cougars, wolf and more that I can name. They have bow and firearms hunting here on the island.

As for living off the grid, the winters here are for the most part wet and or cloudy on Vancouver Island. The summers here are usually very sunny and warm but not overbearing. Depending on where you move to, winter can be anywhere from the - 20s in the interior north of the province to + 4 in the southern pacific coast. The summers run around +20 or + 30 depending on where. We have lots of mountains and even desert areas as well as valley areas that are great for growing food. Most people that move here fall in love with the place and never want to leave.

To give you an idea of diverse areas, check out Fort St John in the north, Okanagan Valley in the southern interior, Kamloops for desert area, Vancouver for city living, Victoria on south Vancouver Island, or Port Hardy on the north end of the island. If you can find a TV series called Canada over the Edge, look for the BC ones. It gives you an idea of the size, ruggedness and beauty of this great province.

I hope this helps you in your quest for information.

Don

 

[BushTUcka]

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out, it all really sounds like home away from home

When fishing in the estuaries and river mouths, are there any structure (fallen wood, reef, drop-off etc) loving fish where your fishing technique changes with the tide?
In Australia we have the bream, which, on low tide, will hide around structure like reef and gutters (in the bays) and fallen tree 'snags' up river. As the tide rises, you fish higher in the water column as opposed to on the bottom around structure and at full tide as they love to feed on oysters and shrimp up near the tops of reefs they couldnt access before. At high tide they can often access shallow flats which hold crustaceans and prawns, and it is here you can have great fun targeting them with surface lures like poppers, walkers, or even flies. On a falling tide, you target the gutters leading off the flats and the prawns and baitfish will often stay on the flats out of harms way for as long as possible for protection, but the bream just wait at choke points during the runoff to eat them up. Then at low tide you just fish on the bottom around structure.

I love structure loving fish, and i love structure loving estuary fish the most because they are versatile and you have to be too to catch them. Do the lingcod or rockfish ever come into the estuaries or hang at the river mouths? I here they like structure, but do they come up onto the shallows like i described before with the tides? Sorry for being overly specific, but this is my favourite type of fishing even more than sight fly fishing in backcountry or targeting large tuna offshore, which makes the decision to leave versatile estuary fishing of south australia difficult, as canada seems to offer everything I like about australia but better, except this one style of fishing which I am so totally hooked on (mind the pun)!


Anyone here who fishes for tuna such as yellowfin, albacore or bluefin please let me know, as I love tuna and if they came inshore during an annual run like they do in my hometown it would be awesome, tuna are such great fighters, even the smaller albacore

Last but not least, can you find northern pike around vancouver? I know they get them in northern BC, but just how far south can you catch them?

Cheers everybody, and goodnight from aus (past midnight here)

 

[KV1]

Do you have a work permit? "Live off the grid" eh which means use all the social benefits but pay nothing in to it. Typical. Definitely no room where I live its all full here move on.

 

[Gunsmith]

I would ignore this response as it is not typical to this website. Generally friendly and accommodating, there is the odd grouch hiding in the woodwork.

Do you have a work permit? "Live off the grid" eh which means use all the social benefits but pay nothing in to it. Typical. Definitely no room where I live its all full here move on.

 

[finaddict]

Do you have a work permit? "Live off the grid" eh which means use all the social benefits but pay nothing in to it. Typical. Definitely no room where I live its all full here move on.

Have to agree that I am more than a little suspect when I read someone wants to come here and "chose to live off the system".

 

[KV1]

I am not "grouchy" man just tired of people wanting to live "outside of the bubble". I too love to enjoy all the great outdoor activities that we have to offer in BC but know that it costs money to have those available to us. All you have to do is read into this persons "quest" for freedom,peace and love ideas and any regular joe will know its another freeloader coming to Canada. I also take the United States comment personally as they are our closest ally and my encounters with them have been great. G'day mate.

 

[Fish Assassin]

When I read Tom's post there are a tons of questions that I think he will need to answer on his own. Not sure that any one person can have the right answer to allow Tom to accomplish what I wants to set out to do. I would think he needs to do some more research on his own time and decide where he plans on moving to and what's there for him.

Maybe Prince Rupert or the Yukon is the right fit for him

 

[Pippen]

Aside from the other comments I'll answer what I can.

G'day from Australia, my name is Tom and I have been brought up a fisherman and hunter since I was 4 after moving from New Zealand at 2, and whilst the extreme range of fish in Australia both native and introduced makes the fishing absolutely awesome, there is just something about the magical Northern Hemisphere pine and birch forests, the native animals and the beautiful freshwater, it is the stuff of dreams!

Because I am very serious about moving, I have questions about both fishing and some small questions about the lifestyle if anyone would be kind enough to read through and answer the off-topic questions too

Where I live there are some great river fish (murray cod, golden perch, river blackfish, australian bass as well as introduced trout), but the real diversity comes in the estuaries and salt, with bream, whiting, flathead, luderick, pink snapper, yellowtail king fish, spanish mackeral, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, trevally, coral trout, barramundi, mangrove jacks, numerous cods, kahawai, tailor, gummy sharks, mulloway and the list (of all these unique, hard fighting, and tasty) of fish goes on and on and whilst I have been brought up fishing the fresh and always loved the idea of native trout, salmon, pike, perch and bass, I am really in the dark about the variety of species in Canadian estuaries and the salt.

I guess a lot of it will depend where you decide to settle. in the saltwater immediately around Vancouver...and all around BC you'll get salmon (5 species) which is the prized fish on the West Coast, sole, flounder and possibly sea run cutthroat trout. Again....I ask as to 'where' you would settle as we also have a plethora of bottom fish but access to them and open seasons depends on where you are; many different types of rockfish, ling cod, halibut among others. We don't have the tropical myriad that you guys do down there and seasons vary.

Here is a list of saltwater fish.

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/species-especes/fintable-tableaupoisson-eng.html

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/species-especes/finid-eng.html

There are also Dungeness crabs in and around a good number of areas which are great eating. We do have prawns but you need a trap set up to get you down in that 250' - 350' range.

Some small, easy questions unrelated to fishing, if you don't mind:

Hunting: I know there are deer, moose, elk, rabbits and ducks, but are there pheasants and turkey that far north What about feral pigs or goats (tasty) on farmers property? I know there are foxes, bears and wolves but I only hunt for food, as killing isn't something I enjoy (the pursuit yes, but not the kill itself).

First off....here are our hunting regs. Most of your questions should be answered in there.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/

We have wild turkeys with a limit of one per season and they are located quite a ways inland from the coast. We have quite a variety of upland birds which include grouse, ptarmagin, partridge, quail and pheasants. To be honest with you though I don't know where in the province to hunt pheasant.

Aside from what you mentioned we also have various species of mountain sheep, mountain goats, geese, bison and bears which people DO hunt for food; pair that with moose, mule deer, white tail deer, elk and caribou and there is quite a plethora of species.

Firearms: I hunt (and sometime fish) with a bow most of the time, however I do use firearms and in aus we cannot legally aquire semi autos, pump action shotguns, magazine fed firearms or handgun cartridges over .32 (however big game hunters can get licenses but I don't get up far north enough to qualify as a buffulo hunter

There are a few certifications you have to go through before you can have a gun OR hunt in BC. You need to have at least a Possession Only License (POL) to own a firearm but a Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) to purchase firearms. I believe you need to live in BC for 6 months before you can obtain a hunting license and before getting a license you need to complete your CORE program which is a hunting centric course before you can obtain a BC Hunter's Number.

We have rifle, shotgun and bow seasons depending on the species you are pursuing etc.

I know you guys aren't the united states of 'merica, but can you get .44s, magazine fed weaponry (long rifles), pump actions, semi autos, and lever action repeaters in both rifle and pistol cartridges?

Pistol's you need a 'restricted' firearms license and you can't hunt with them OR legally carry them with you in the bush unless you have a prospecting license or something like that.

Solar power, how effective is solar power in BC as I know it can be much colder and wetter in Canada, as I rely on solar power and a fireplace fed by gathered firewood to heat, cool (probably not a problem in Canada ) and run everything?

Solar power is not a rarity in BC however it may not be the most effective way to keep yourself running in BC. I know very little about solar power or how much light is needed to power battery banks etc. But suffice it to say from November to March it is usually pretty dark, damp and not too bright but we do get stretches of great weather as we have experienced this winter.

Growing conditions. Here in south eastern australia, we can grow many temperate and sub tropical fruits, veggies, herbs and spices with ease, and I do have a greenhouse and indoor grow room with a good lighting system which I use for trickier plants. Is it possible to grow a wide range of produce in order to sustain a balanced diet with Canada's weather?

In southwest BC we likely have the most favourable growing climate in the country for year round production. Although in the winter we do drop below freezing and may get the odd snowfall at lower elevations if near the ocean we don't live in sub-freezing temperatures throughout the winter. Yes it does drop below freezing but I would think through the winter months you'd want to be largely greenhouse fed. Spring/summer months are nice and quite sunny and yes....growing is great. We do flirt with the low 30's in temperature occasionally in the summer but I would say low to mid 20's is more of a norm but again this depends on where you live.

Back country fishing, hunting, camping and adventure? Make me jealous, pleeeeeeaaase! I love the outdoors, I'll be eco friendly and sustainable out in the bush and watch out for bears I promise

We have it all......I have been to your country and although I enjoyed it, BC is among the most beautiful places on earth.

Does it get hot in summer? In Australia we get into the 100's/40's in summer sometimes it sucks when it gets that hot, but i do like the summer days in the 90's/30's and going to the beach to surf? What is the temperature range AND please tell me you guys measure temperature in Celsius and not **** Fahrenheit.

As for surfing.....you really need to get out on to the West Coast of Vancouver Island to surf (take a look at a map). The waters protected by Vancouver Island on the 'inside' don't really have a surf swell to speak of. Tofino, BC is known as the surfing epicenter of BC....but even in summer you'll want to be wearing a wet suit.

In fact, please tell me you use the metric system!!!

Largely.....we are officially "metric" however the reference points people use differ. It is rare to hear someone refer to their weight in kilograms or height in meters. Our building codes are still imperial using inches and feet....BUT we are officially metric. Road signs of distances are all in kilometers....it really is all quite mixed up.

What are the people like? I hear Canadians are very nice and while i dislike generalising, all the canadians I met (mostly in university who loved outdoor adventure) were super cool and laid-back. I love laid-back people

Terrible......awful, awful people.

Lastly, and arguably most important... What is the best hockey team to support? Don't hold back guys

Philadelphia Flyers.



I think there is a ton of info you need to research as our province is a pretty big place. Obviously you want to be near the ocean from what I can tell but there are also a lot of factors in that as to where you would choose to settle. If you are in Vancouver it's kind of tough to 'live off the grid'....and the price of real estate is very high. You could look to Vancouver Island and there are a ton of places to look at living over there. You could also find somewhere more secluded up the coast as there are small little places like Powell River, Lund which are still quite 'south' in the province or you could look to the central/North Coast.

Heck....if wanting to live a real 'eco' existence there are a bunch of people like that on Lasqueti Island; but then you are on an island at the mercy of the ferry's and not too sure how accepted hunting is on the island of their deer.

 

[baddogg]

When he said live off the system, i'm not sure he meant the social system as much as he meant the eco-system. It sounded to me like he wanted to work as well as take advantage of what nature can provide him.

I don't feel the need to argue over politics with anyone but I do chose to live off the system as much as possible (growing food, hunting and fishing, cycling when possible, using kayaks, solar panels and rain catchment and recycling techniques, whilst working in outdoor education, and qualified in ecotourism and outdoor adventure recreation

 

[Rockfish]

After reading your list of all the varieties of fish you have available to catch in Aus. I am thinking there are lots here who are serious anglers who would love to live and fish in Aus. for a few years. The grass is always greener I guess.

We still have some good fishing and hunting opportunities here for residents, but it is getting more restrictive and less easily accessed all the time. If you want the really exceptional fresh water trout fishing for example, you may need to get away from the beaten path and a way back in the wilderness. To do that as I have done when younger, you will be either be flying in with a float plane or spend 10 hours to go 8 kilometers driving over the worst kind of mud bog gumbo trails, I would not call them roads, with a lot of winching and hard work, and with a canoe on the top of the 4x4 in order to hunt moose, grouse and fish. Once there we would camp close to where a river entered a major lake and fish and hunt where the river entered the lake. In locations like that it does not matter what you throw at the trout and dollies etc, the fishing is almost too easy, with a nice trout every cast with even an old ratty rusty spoon.

There are still lots of opportunities to hunt deer (coastal blacktail, mule deer and whitetail) and black bear, grouse, ducks, geese and a wild turkey as BC still has high populations of these. For most other species including increasingly even moose, you are looking at LEH (Lottery draws) or LEH paired with very difficult and restrictive access to decrease harvesting of high demand low numbers species or protect the financial interests of million dollar guiding territory owners or both and now also first nations interests.

For example as a resident hunter, if you want to hunt a bull Vancouver Island Roosevelt Elk sub species, the largest and most desirable elk on the planet, you will be looking at odds of getting a draw that can be hundreds to one for the best and most likely to be successful areas and very few draws are available to resident hunters.

Even with a draw for species like mountain sheep or goats, in many cases you may well need horses to pack in many miles or have to fly in to get you close and be young and extremely fit and strong to climb up there and backpack them out. At the end of the hunt you may be half dead from exhaustion and injured from wear and tear on the body and cursing the fact that you were dumb enough to have actually harvested one up there, assuming you were successful and that's a big assumption.

There are lots of road closures and ATV restrictions and other restrictions to limit hunting success etc. It seems to me that while they still want all the money that resident hunters bring to many small communities throughout the Province from hunting, they don’t actually want you harvesting very many of the high demand and valuable species and the regs. are increasingly designed to allow you to hunt but severely limit the chances of being successful.

Somewhat understandable when guided hunting opportunities for many of the more desirable species can cost hunters many 10’s of thousands of dollars and are often hunting opportunities sold to very wealthy Americans and Europeans. I guess what I am trying to tell is that BC is no longer the hunting and fishing paradise it was for resident hunters and even anglers and is quickly getting less so, but if you have huge amounts of money, you can still purchase the opportunity to hunt Mountain Sheep, Goats, Buffalo, Grizzly Bears and increasingly some Caribou, Elk and Moose etc. and the process won’t half kill you to do it.

If you want a chance at fishing in higher success rate locations for a 50 to 80lb tyee Chinook/King salmon, chances are you will increasingly be paying substantial dollars for that opportunity also.

 

[Hookin'up]

You better check with the CBSA before coming here, there is lots of paperwork to be done before just showing up
for a long term stay

 

[BushTUcka]

Morning from Australia guys, thankyou all for taking the time to reply to my questions

Don't worry, I have no desire to bludge off social benefits, I mearly wish to cut my living expenses to an absolute minimum so I can afford to have lots of fun in the outdoors and be able to travel, as well as care for the environment by being 'green' I enjoy my job in education and have also worked when travelling in ecotourism and adventure tourism, teaching people to respect and enjoy our planet's playground/wilderness, and I have never avoided taxes, don't worry!

I heard that many anglers regard the northern pikeminnow (or squaw) as a pest because it interferes with salmon fishing and isn't tasty, however I heard they can fight hard and those who eat them love them, just cutting out the red meat sections and eating the white meat - mild and delicate

I was planning to come and work in BC next winter (our summer, which just finished) hopefully nailing a job as a ski guide or something else fun and exciting, however I have lots of research to do into employment first.

I fell in love with Ontario during a student exchange program in uni, and whilst it was beautiful it was also quite landlocked, and I do love the ocean, and after seeing BC on Robson Green's extreme fishing I decided BC looked very promising