68 ROD * CREEL 



either of the two most famous pools, the Falls pool is twelve 

 miles from Duncans, the Rips pool four miles from the lake, hav- 

 ing plenty of time to fish and return in the evening. 



The river itself is over twenty miles in length from the Lake 

 to the sea and has numbers of splendid "reaches" and good pools. 

 If you want to fish it thoroughly and have a most enjoyable out- 

 ing, your best way is to get some of the Indians to send a canoe 

 up to the Lake and then come down the river in it. You can 

 make the trip in a day, but it is better to camp out and take sev- 

 eral days and do it thoroughly while you are about it. The 

 Indians are good canoe men and very pleasant to deal with. 

 There are plenty of them close to Duncans and they can be best 

 secured through the Indian Agent. 



With regard to the fish to be caught. It is an excellent 

 stream for steelheads in the winter and early spring months up 

 to March 25th when the season closes on Vancouver Island for 

 this species of fish. Some of the local anglers catch them entirely 

 on the fly, generally using a fly very similar to a large Grouse 

 and Claret. The Jock Scott and Silver Doctor are sometimes 

 good. Spinning with a devon minnow, prawn or small spinner 

 can also be practised. Duncans is nearest the best steelhead 

 water. 



After the first freshets in the spring the rainbow and cut- 

 throats begin to run and afford sport to the fly-fisherman all 

 summer (May and June being the best) except after a long 

 drought, when the water gets too low. 



An odd Dolly Yarden may be taken at any time when spin- 

 ning, but there are not many of them. 



There is always the chance of hooking a spring salmon on 

 the fly during April, May and June and cohoes in the fall. The 

 best salmon water is about ten miles up stream from Duncans. 



Some of the best flies are Cowichan Coachman, March Brown 

 and Jock Scott for rainbows. 



For steelheads a Grouse and Claret tied on a 6/0 hook. 



THE KOHSILAH 



This stream is reached by the E. & N. Railway from Vic- 

 toria and is only a few miles on the Victoria side from Duncans. 

 There is a small hotel on the river at Kohsilah. 



It is an excellent stream for fishing and is very similar to- 

 the Cowichan, onh r on a smaller scale, the fish, however, run 

 much the same size, though I have never heard of any salmon 

 being caught in it. 



COWICHAN LAKE 



This is a very large lake about twenty miles long. There is 

 quite a good hotel just at the outlet where boats and launches 



