Recent content by Westcoast

Coming up on the summer beach salmon season. I’m in the mood to try a new line on my new guideline coastal 793. I usually fish a monocore clear intermediate 99% of the time and my current favourites are the obs and Cortland compact. Anything new out there?

If you’re looking for a casting set up for throwing a variety of baits, I would go for one of the MB rods from loomis. The 843MB is a fantastic rod that can do a lot of things and do them well. Pair that up with a Shimano bantam or metanium and you will have a set up that you’ll never need to...

Check into the Okuma sst line. They may have a med heavy(10-20lb) that can cover both. Throwing 1.5oz on a rod only rated for 3/4oz isn’t really an issue. Just may not want to really lean into it. And fishing 8lb leaders on the same rod is more than doable, just use the drag on your reel and...

Getting old sucks. I’m mid fifties now, I have a very physical and strenuous career and I always did the things and went that extra mile when others wouldn’t. I’m now paying the price. I have disc issues and osteoarthritis in various joints, sciatica, tendonitis , etc… I try to not let it stop...

That’s a staple outfit here in B.C. Sage is king in the float fishing /centerpin market out here. They do tend to have the heavier action as mostly a 20-30gram float is used with an appropriate amount of lead shot. Nothing too subtle needed in our steep gradient rivers and fast water. Could...

It’s not just the sky and stilly. Steelhead returns are hurting all over from northern BC to California. Both wild and hatchery stocks are surviving poorly. Something bigger is afoot be it climate change or the food chain in the northern pacific. I would love to see both wild and hatchery fish...

Low clear water means light line and small baits for me. Fish things like beads or small jigs, small plastics on 6-8lb leader. I try and look for fish that have been moving as they will be most aggressive like in pocket water or tailouts and heads of pools.

Frogs toggs hellbender boot foot have been some of the best boot foot waders I’ve ever had. And I’ve had them from everyone, simms, orvis, cabelas. The cabelas were a close second though. Simms were good back 20 years ago when they were only a couple hundred bucks but now for $1000, not for me...

Lots of west coast Americans use spinning reels for float fishing for steelhead. But on the Canadian side the tradition has always been centerpin reels followed by baitcasters. Spinning reels have always be left to newbies that haven’t learned the “proper ways” to catch a fish.

The quality of the capes and saddles these days is outstanding. Whiting has good descriptions on the sizes of hackle that are available on the different grades. I have no problem buying them online anymore.

YouTube is your friend. Lots of info there, some shops like mudhole have plenty of instruction videos. Also I’ve seen shops that put on rod building classes occasionally. Then also scope out your area for a friendly rod builder that is willing to show you a few things. A nice bottle of whiskey...

A five weight does the job just fine. Especially if you are fishing from a boat and are standing above the water vs up to your waist. Get a line like an outbound short or Cortland compact and bob’s your uncle. It is always better to have multiple rods though. The five with a dry or intermediate...

I use mine exclusively to fish warm water backwaters for carp and bass. If I’m out further in cold or big water, I’d rather be in my kayak or zodiac. I think of it as using the right tool for the task at hand.

Definitely, I have built a rod on a 10’ 5wt blank that I use to bead fish for trout and char. Also I have a few small 3.5” to 4” reels both bearing and bushing that get put on the rod. It’s a joy to use and In situations it is definitely more effective than fly fishing an indicator rig.

You can target any thing with the centerpin but it excels at trotting in rivers and streams. Meaning float fishing with bait or artificial in current. Kind of like the euro equivalent of indicator nymphing, to put it in fly fishing terms.