[100MileGord]

Just got back from Bella Coola River. The pinks are thick: had a great time.

The Bella Coola is glacial so you can't see into the water but at one pool in the Atnarko River you could see hundreds of pinks.

Hit a few chum on light gear. It was like hooking a freight train.

We stayed at Bailley Bridge Campsite and did most of our fishing right there. Keith and Val are the new owners of the campsite and will set a person up and tell of a few holes that the average tourist angler might not know about.

Apparently, coho are just starting to show up.

 

[pgBilly]

Great stuff, love those flows. The Antnarko is a fantastic little river, you just really need to eyes in the back of your head with the amount of grizzly that inhabit that valley. Did you see many on your trip?

 

[100MileGord]

We saw four smallish blacks in three days. They seemed pretty skittish and spooked easily compared to interior blacks. We didn't see any grizz.

My wife is a bit paranoid about bears so we wear protection: had pepper spray, a leatherman, and 12ga defender along (for bushy secluded areas). The owner of the campsite said that he had a sow and cubs wander thru his beach a few days ago. They are attracted by fish guts that some people don't dispose of properly. Some of the smaller streams have salmon carcasses but the main rivers didn't seem to have any yet.

 

[steelhead101]

we went to bellacoola last year for 4 days didn't catch very many salmon but we saw 23 Grizzlies and 4 blacks in for days..... at one point we could see 8 grizzlies at the same time

 

[100MileGord]

Grizzly and black bears are one of Bella Coola's tourist attractions so keep your camera handy.

For the amount of sightings (sometimes really up close) the bears seem to leave the fisherpeople alone.

The last two people that where chewed on by griz in the area where a mountain biker a couple of years ago and a surveyor/prospector/bushwacker.

The bears are an adrenaline rush but most people carry protection.

 

[Flinch]

I recommend reading the book "bear attacks in BC" if you want to wander around in the woods in Grizzly country. Not that it shouldn't be done but the risks and measures of prevention should be understood. Particularly when cubs are involved. To switch gears though, the fishing sounds like a blast. I'm always glad to hear of possibilities for high production fisheries where I can take my daughters to catch their own fish and build confidence. Thanks for posting!

 

[100MileGord]

Hi Flinch who does not sleep:
At the bailley bridge fishing site, probably half the people fishing where fisherkids. It was a blast watching 9 and 10 year olds catching fish, learning fishing and C&R technique, etc. It is a good place for kids (and wifes) who are just getting interested in the sport. It is a little intimidating fishing with a $300 rod/reel but being outfished by a kid with the $20 CanTire special.

Its a bit of a drive down there but it may be worth a family holiday. The bears are overrated: they don't like red meat over there!!! (Chew it up - spit it out: "Mama, that tastes like chicken!")

 

[Flinch]

100 Mile, Thanks for the insight. I do sleep a good 8 per day actually but I work in Thailand. Cheers!

 

[flyfisherB]

when I was gearing up for the Chilco the other week, I stopped in to get some bear spray from a shop in Kamloops. there was a "bear biologist" there who said that one of t best bear deterents is a small marine air horn. Apparently it works up to several hundred yards (way farther than pepper spray.) Still got some spray jus to give myself piece of mind.

 

[HOOK]

does this mean a whistle would suffice? we have been taking and using a whistle on a remote river down here and no bears yet ;D which is nice after running into a pair on the Vedder.

 

[100MileGord]

Posted on: August 31, 2008, 05:22:59 PMPosted by: HOOK
Insert Quote
does this mean a whistle would suffice? we have been taking and using a whistle on a remote river down here and no bears yet which is nice after running into a pair on the Vedder.
Posted on: August 31, 2008, 04:53:34 PMPosted by: flyfisherB
Insert Quote
when I was gearing up for the Chilco the other week, I stopped in to get some bear spray from a shop in Kamloops. there was a "bear biologist" there who said that one of t best bear deterents is a small marine air horn. Apparently it works up to several hundred yards (way farther than pepper spray.) Still got some spray jus to give myself piece of mind.

I saw one guy with the air horn on the river - it seems like a good idea.

Bear (pepper) spray is very limited with distance, wind direction, etc
Pepper spray is handier for multi-tasking (ie two legged predators in the city)

Personally, I put whistles in the same catagory as bear bells. Now I can start looking for whistles and bells in bear scat.

Somebody did a study of grizz in the Kootenays about 10 - 12 years ago that observed bears being attracted to the sounds of rifle fire. :

 

[dereke]

Hope not I just bought a whack of Bear bangers......