Gabe and his friend Cole decided to sneak off and do some fly fishing in local waters (the Vedder and the Skagit) and Cole snapped this early morning shot. Cole is one of the two partners in Nordica Photography and flew out from Sweden to shoot a wedding in Hope. (Yes he does that on a regular basis, i.e. zipping out to Greenland or South America happens to him all the time)
Local Rivers
The scenery on the Vedder was great but the fishing was slow today. The last of the early red Chinook run are now moving to the upper reaches of the Vedder and you will have to fish from the Vedder Crossing Bridge to the closed section at the fish hatchery. There are Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Sockeye in the system and they are all catch and release to handle them with care.
The Skagit was running clear and small caddis would be a good bet for trout.
The Chehalis was also running clear but full of very small trout and fingerlings so while you might get lots of action, it was, well, pretty small. A few early Chinook are possible as well as summer steelhead.
The Squamish is still rippin high. If the hot weather doesn't keep the level up due to glacier melt then the rains of last week help peak it. Some of the open tributaries will be open for rainbow, bull trout and cutties but finding those areas is tricky and be very careful of the high water. Using small minnow and sculpin or egg sucking leaches will bring about some strikes.
The Fraser has dropped a meter and a half and then came up a bit with last weeks rain. Chinook are in it and most success at this time is bar fishing with the standard Spin-N-Glo or plugs. There are not enough Sockeye which many people are still disappointed about. So there are only First Nation fisheries. Given the warmer weather of previous years, the later arrival of the main summer runs coincides with potentially cooler water. So maybe it is the Sockeye's way of adjusting to climate change. Makes the waiting longer though. The test fisheries in region 12 have not had the high sockeye returns so a prediction of mid August arrival still seems to hold true. The Sturgeon are there and ready to bite. Last week eulachon beat out roe, but having a selection of eulachon, roe, dew worms, eel and now that the salmon are in, some left over fillets from last years catch might just work.
Further afield;
There are lots of boats out in front of the mouth of the Capilano and both beach and boat fishermen have captured the odd coho. Not a lot in the way of springs yet. Heading out to the mouth of the Fraser would be a good bet. Mornings with calmer wind might make the trolling easier.
Campbell River; there is a pink salmon opening on the Campbell River on Vancouver Island and these are always fun on the fly. Anything in chartreuse pink or green will usually work. This is an excellent fishery to teach youngsters the art of fishing. With a good week of weather ahead, might be a good idea to head up island for good camping and good fishing fun.
Somass River: The Somass has an extended opening now to the end of July to allow more sport caught Sockeye. It also has another commercial fishery as the Sockeye number have a 90% forecast of 1.3 million fish.
Skeena River: As predicted, the Skeena Sockeye run is also very strong and the daily catch limit has been increased from 2 fish to 4 fish per day.
Tight lines!
Local Rivers
The scenery on the Vedder was great but the fishing was slow today. The last of the early red Chinook run are now moving to the upper reaches of the Vedder and you will have to fish from the Vedder Crossing Bridge to the closed section at the fish hatchery. There are Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Sockeye in the system and they are all catch and release to handle them with care.
The Skagit was running clear and small caddis would be a good bet for trout.
The Chehalis was also running clear but full of very small trout and fingerlings so while you might get lots of action, it was, well, pretty small. A few early Chinook are possible as well as summer steelhead.
The Squamish is still rippin high. If the hot weather doesn't keep the level up due to glacier melt then the rains of last week help peak it. Some of the open tributaries will be open for rainbow, bull trout and cutties but finding those areas is tricky and be very careful of the high water. Using small minnow and sculpin or egg sucking leaches will bring about some strikes.
The Fraser has dropped a meter and a half and then came up a bit with last weeks rain. Chinook are in it and most success at this time is bar fishing with the standard Spin-N-Glo or plugs. There are not enough Sockeye which many people are still disappointed about. So there are only First Nation fisheries. Given the warmer weather of previous years, the later arrival of the main summer runs coincides with potentially cooler water. So maybe it is the Sockeye's way of adjusting to climate change. Makes the waiting longer though. The test fisheries in region 12 have not had the high sockeye returns so a prediction of mid August arrival still seems to hold true. The Sturgeon are there and ready to bite. Last week eulachon beat out roe, but having a selection of eulachon, roe, dew worms, eel and now that the salmon are in, some left over fillets from last years catch might just work.
Further afield;
There are lots of boats out in front of the mouth of the Capilano and both beach and boat fishermen have captured the odd coho. Not a lot in the way of springs yet. Heading out to the mouth of the Fraser would be a good bet. Mornings with calmer wind might make the trolling easier.
Campbell River; there is a pink salmon opening on the Campbell River on Vancouver Island and these are always fun on the fly. Anything in chartreuse pink or green will usually work. This is an excellent fishery to teach youngsters the art of fishing. With a good week of weather ahead, might be a good idea to head up island for good camping and good fishing fun.
Somass River: The Somass has an extended opening now to the end of July to allow more sport caught Sockeye. It also has another commercial fishery as the Sockeye number have a 90% forecast of 1.3 million fish.
Skeena River: As predicted, the Skeena Sockeye run is also very strong and the daily catch limit has been increased from 2 fish to 4 fish per day.
Tight lines!
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