Fraser Valley report for the week of June 25 /2002
FREE DRAW:
STS Guiding Service and Hub Sports are giving away a Free Quantum Spinning rod combo valued at $70.00 retail. All you need to do is e-mail us with Quantum Free Draw in the subject line. Winner will be announced in our next newsletter.
If you’re looking for Archery products be sure to drop in and see Hub Sports new archery section. Hubs is located at 33917 Essedene Ave, Abbotsford, B.C. Phone- 604-859-8316
2002 summer salmon fishery update:
The summer salmon fishery is now upon us, there are good numbers of Chinook salmon in the river but water conditions have been poor preventing us from having any kind of real success. It looks as though the river has crested so its all good news from hear on in. Each day that goes by more salmon will enter the river and conditions will improve. Most of our June salmon trips have been re-scheduled for July so our calendar is almost full. If you’re planning on booking a day trip, weekend adventure or week-long holiday I would suggest contacting us soon. This summer/fall is going to offer some incredible fishing so don’t wait until it’s too late.
Fraser River
Salmon
The Fraser River is finally beginning to recede. Anglers have been patient waiting for water conditions to improve and soon they will be rewarded with some great fishing. You can expect some excellent fishing to begin as soon as the water drops a bit more and begins to clear. Each day that goes by more salmon enter into the Fraser, the past week we have been watching large salmon jumping all over the place. These salmon are mostly Chinooks with the odd Sockeye mixed in. Once we get 6 to 8 inches of visibility we will begin guiding for salmon. July will be a good month so don’t wait too long to plan a days fishing.
Sturgeon
Sturgeon fishing was fair to good this week. We had 3 boats out all weekend with good numbers of fish caught between 3 – 6 feet. Our largest fish was just under 7 feet. With this high water there are plenty of side channels to fish that will keep you out of the main current. Most of the places that we caught fish are usually above the water level. Look for the slower water behind an island or where a back channel and main channel meet. Sturgeons prefer to hold in the slower water near the main channel. You don’t need too deep of water, most of the fish we have been catching have been in less than 15 feet of water. Best baits this week have been Ditch eels, Lamprey and Dew worms.
Vedder
The Vedder/Chilliwack will be re-opened on Monday July 1st for the start of the summer/fall salmon season. There should be good numbers of Chinook salmon already in the river so try to get out on opening day if possible. Chinook salmon prefer to hold in the deeper pools, being that the water level is very high, it shouldn’t be too hard to find the deeper water. Cured salmon roe is one of the better baits to use but Chinook salmon will also have a hard time resisting a good wool tie or spinner. Float fishing with a bobber is the preferred method by locals but you can also spin cast in the larger pools. If you decide to spin cast be sure to give anglers who are float fishing plenty of room. Check back each week, as we will keep you up to date with water conditions, tips and angler success stories.
Chehalis River
The Chehalis River has been fairly slow producing the odd summer steelhead every few days. Water conditions are excellent so it’s only a matter of time before both Steelhead and Chinook salmon begin to enter into this river. These runs are not large but they do offer fishermen good angling opportunities. Tackle used to catch these fish is much the same as the Vedder River, float fishing with cured salmon roe, corkies, spin n glo’s or wool ties are most popular with local anglers. We also like float fish with weightless spinners for both Steelhead and Chinook.
Harrison
Harrison River is as high as I have seen it in years. Kilby Park is closed as is the boat launch and parking lot. Harrison Bay Store and nearby homes and campers along the bay are all near flooded. The water has begun to drop but it will take the rest of the week before campers can move their trailers back onto the bay. Again, don’t expect too much from this river until the water levels drop. Soon the sockeye salmon will begin to enter the river but the good fishing doesn’t start until late summer. Until then, keep an eye on the Fraser, as it will be hot fishing as soon as the water clears a bit.
Local Lakes
I haven’t herd too much this week on the local scene other than the larger lakes like Allouette and Stave have been producing a few trout. As the weather becomes warmer the local lakes will begin to be filled with swimmers, boaters, skiers and the occasional angler. Anglers are best to move to the higher elevation lakes where the water temperatures remain below 65 degrees. Some of the better lakes to fish during warm summer weather are above 3500 feet, lakes below 3500 feet become too warm to be very productive.
Interior lakes
We spent a few days last week fishing some of the lakes along the Hwy 24 route between Little Fort and 100 Mile House. Overall the fishing was good on most of the lakes in the area. Egan Lake was good for Kokanee and small rainbows and we had reports of fair to good fishing on most of the other lakes near Sheridan and Bridge. Mayfly hatches were prolific during early afternoon with sedges just beginning to come off in the early evening. Our best flies were leeches trolled with a sink tip line and pheasant tail nymphs casted into the shallows along the shoals. The fishing in this area should only improve over the next few weeks so don’t wait until it’s too warm and fishing begins to slow.
2nd Annual BC Outdoors Sport Fishing / Gibbs Kids Story Contest:
Calling all kids!
B.C. Outdoors Sport Fishing Magazine and Gibbs Fishing Tackle are pleased to sponsor our 2nd Annual Kid's Story Contest, open to Kid's 12 and under.
Want to enter? Visit the kid's section at GibbsFishing.com/Kids, go to the Story Contest and write in with your favorite fishing story. Tell us about the one that got away, or your first time fishing! Enter as many times as you'd like, as long as each entry is a different story. Contest closes September 30, 2002.
The Prize-winning story will be featured in an upcoming issue of BC Outdoors Sport Fishing and will be posted on the Gibbs website. The grand prize consists of $50.00 worth of tackle, a subscription to B.C. Outdoors Sport Fishing Magazine, and a ball cap from each company. When the fish get biting- kids, get writing!
Remember to conserve your catch
Tight Lines and we will see you on the water
Vic Carrao
www.guidebc.com
sts@guidebc.com
604-880- FLYS(3597)
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