The total run estimates for the Early Summer Run, Summer Run and Late Summer Run Sockeye are in and at 19,800,400 fish are below the 24,000,000 pre-season 50% probability estimates. A large portion of these fish were obviously caught by the various commercial marine and Fraser River fisheries but a significant number were available to sport fishers in both marine and river. About a third passed the Mission counting station. The upper Johnstone Strait test fisheries and the Area 20 test fishery on Southern Vancouver Island are now discontinued. The number of fish now passing the Mission counting station are variable and should start to decline.
The weekend sport fishery was up and down but at times very good between the first Nation commercial fisheries which included set and drift nets. Dawn on the river was just fabulous on Saturday and Sunday and the upper river sport fishers out of Island 22 launch were like a determined military invasion force on D-Day.
The fishing started off with a bang and then required persistence as waves of sockeye and increasing numbers of chum and spring showed up.
Today the sport fishery was slow up river as first Nation Drift fisheries were in full force. Unfortunately for the sport fishers, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be dominated by in river commercial fisheries as DFO allows them to go after the lucrative Adams River run. These would be large fish and a pleasure to catch but the gill netters will be on the river till Friday morning so the peak of the run will be taken by the commercial guys. The coming weekend should show recovery by Saturday afternoon and Sunday could be decent if there are no additional First Nation fisheries.
The increasing numbers of feisty chum and powerful springs will hopefully add spice to the weekend fishery and hopefully start to be followed by coho headed for the Vedder and Harrison systems.
Tight lines
Tight lines
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