Coastal Rain River · Granite · British Columbia

Stamp / Somass River

Stamp / Somass River terrain map
Terrain map

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.

Species

A proper day on the water

Low and clear — careful approach country. Stay small, stay accurate.

The water temperature is around 12°C, about where the steelhead want it, running clear, sitting at a steady height.

90% confidence in this read
Water temperature for steelhead
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 4–13°C
0°14°28°
The full read · show the working · for steelhead · confidence 90%
How the 79 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow60 × 22%13.2
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity55 × 12%6.6
Conditions total= 79
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Conditions
○Regional est.
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
12.3°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
12°C
Wind
NE 6 km/h
Light breeze
Pressure
1019 hPa
Rain · 48h
0.0 mm
No meaningful rain
Rain · ahead
0.0 mm
No meaningful rain · next 48h

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 10am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 10 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Evidence
ModelledModerate confidence

Modelled from regional ecology — no survey or occurrence data for this water yet.

How to fish it · for steelhead
When
Summer steelhead ~May–September; winter steelhead Dec–April; salmon in autumn.
Where
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…
Why this works
Good — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Through the year
0–3 scale · June 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.

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.
Directions
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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
Seasons & zones
  • Trout1 January → 31 December
Other water nearby · 2
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