We left Nanaimo by 5 a.m. and arrived at the Eve by 8:30 a.m.stopping at the corner pool to see if any fish had moved up from the estuary. A quick peek confirmed that they had so a dash back to the truck for waders and gear and we had it all to ourselves.
We both started with Gerry's blue/green optic as that was "THE ONLY" fly they were taking last week. I beached two within about twenty minute but with the river being 14 to 16 inches lower than last year I also had a lot of hang ups with my 250 grain sink tip. I switched to a floating line with a strike indicator and hit and lost two fish before losing the indicator. I next tried just the floating line and a weighted Gerry's Special. With this I limited by 9:30. I also had a few whacks to the back of my head when the wind caught the weighted fly. Even with my hat it felt like being shot by a B B gun.
Mike quickly limited after I threatened to "help" him. We then stayed for a little catch and release with some fly experimentation. First up was a green Gartside Gurgler which brought no responses. Next a red and pink Gurgler also proved disappointing.
I then switched to a strike indicator and a small split-shot with an unweighted Gerry's Special. This was a little clumsy to cast but it bought two hook ups and two quick long line releases before I snagged up and lost the indicator.
Next was a hot pink polar chenile Cluxewe Special with just the floating line and a small split-shot.This cast well and brought six quick hook ups. I then tried a Teddy's euphasid and nailed 3 more before switching to a "Butt Ugly" made from hot pink deer hair. Although similar in size and colour to the Cluxewe Special it brought no responses, possibly the stiff deer hair didn't flow like the polar chenile.
I then tried a chartreuse bodied fly with palmered long pink chenille. This brought a quick fish but as no others responded, I concluded that it was a fluke.
I also tried small shoe-lace flies in both pale pink and in bright green, with no interest being noted in either.
My last fly was a bright orangy-red polar chenille Cluxewe Special . This brought 3 quick fish who inhaled the fly.
We each probably had 20 hits with about a dozen beachings apiece. The hot pink Cluxewe Special brought the quickest responses followed by Gerry's Special and then the red Cluxewe Special. I found that with the low water a floating line with a small split-shot worked best for me.
It was also interesting to note that the river temperature was now a cooler 58.3 F when only 12 days ago it was 61 F plus. This might explain the up stream movement . Last but not least there were a lot of fresh fish, some even with sea lice.
Reported by Bob Kissinger
Ed Note: I fished downstream of Bob and managed to get at least one of his "LEVERMAN BOBBERS" that came floating past.
