Coastal Rain River · Granite · British Columbia

Stamp / Somass River

Stamp / Somass River — Stamp River Provincial Park

The Stamp/Somass at Port Alberni is one of the Island's most productive rivers — lake-fed flows carry summer and winter steelhead and enormous autumn salmon runs through canyon water and big pools.

Prime · Rainbow Trout
Black Beetle · 12-14
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Cowichan River
  • Water temp16.8°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
BB
Black Beetle12-14
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Cowichan River
Water temp16.8°C
ClarityClear
Weather16°C
WindS 13 km/h
Pressure1016 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead4.7 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Cowichan River. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Rainbow Trout
Ideal
17°C est.ideal 10–18°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Rainbow Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
  • Green drakeMost likelyLower confidence
    #8–10 · Dun
    Duns are up — the Spent Gnat spinners fall at dusk.
  • Blue-winged oliveAlso possible
    #16–18 · Dun
    Duns are up; a sherry spinner fall may follow.
  • Iron BlueAlso possible
    #16–18 · Dun
    Cold, grey day — the dun sits long. Good dry-fly water.
  • Large dark oliveAlso possible
    #14–16 · Emerger
    Dead-drift the emerger — it's sitting in the film.
Caddisflies
  • GrannomMost likely
    #14–16 · Pupa
    Pupa first, then dries as the adults come off.
  • Satin sedgeAlso possibleLower confidence
    #12–14 · Egg-laying
    Skitter it at dusk — this one's fished, not dead-drifted.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 10am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 9 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · August highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2
American March BrownHatch
2
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Rainbow Trout fly box
BB
Black BeetleTop
12-14 · Pattern
High-confidence seasonal pick
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Gear restrictions, wild steelhead C&R, salmon heavily regulated
  • Verify current BC regs (Region 1) and DFO notices.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 2
Englishman River
41 km
Cutthroat trout · Steelhead · Coho salmon
Nitinat River
55 km
Steelhead · Chinook salmon · Coho salmon
Gallery · 2
  1. Stamp / Somass River — Stamp River Provincial Park
    Stamp River Provincial Park
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Stamp/Somass at Port Alberni is one of the Island's most productive rivers — lake-fed flows carry summer and winter steelhead and enormous autumn salmon runs through canyon water and big pools. Steelhead are fishable across much of the year and the salmon fishing in fall is a spectacle. Popular and powerful; fish the swing and respect the wild-steelhead release rules.

Under the surface

The Stamp (becoming the Somass below the confluence) near Port Alberni is one of Vancouver Island's most productive systems — lake-fed flows from Great Central Lake support summer and winter steelhead and huge runs of Pacific salmon. A powerful, popular river of canyon runs and big pools, it fishes for steelhead across much of the year and is a salmon factory in autumn.

Wading: Strong current, slick bedrock, crowded runs

  • Granite
  • Confined
  • Pool riffle
  • Large river
Conservation note

Summer and winter steelhead (wild C&R; hatchery support present) and big Pacific salmon runs (separately regulated). Clean-Drain-Dry.

The full read · show the working · for Rainbow Trout · confidence 90%
How the 83 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time75 × 13%9.8
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity56 × 12%6.7
Conditions total= 83
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Cowichan Riverproxy
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts