The photo of the week shows an extremely bright Chinook (King) Salmon landed and released (after a kiss) on the Kalum River on May 17th by Robert Pratt of Kamloops. We think it weighed around 25-30 pounds. In addition to this photo check out the video clip at: http://www.noelgyger.ca/video-clips-web.htm It is Chinook video clip #0002 and is titled (Roberts 1st Kalum Chinook) You tell me if Robert and his family are excited!
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Noel Gyger - Guided Fishing Adventures and Weekly Fishing Report
4012 Best Street, Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R8, Canada
Tel/Fax: (250) 635-2568
Cell: (250) 631-2678
E-mail: noel@noelgyger.ca
Home page: www.noelgyger.ca
Fishing Reports: www.noelgyger.ca/past-fishing-reports.htm
RECORD SALMON & STEELHEAD Spin or fly-fishing
RIVER, LAKE, STREAM or OCEAN!!!
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Noel Gyger - WEEKLY FISHING REPORT dated May 13 – May 20, 2007
Dear Fishing Friends:
The weather and water conditions are good. I had the pleasure to fish again with my good friend Dan Berg of Kamloops BC. He brought his dad Norris and his brother-in-law Robert to fish with me for a couple of days on May 16 and 17on the Kalum River. Target: BIG Chinook (King) Salmon. Steelhead were secondary. Water was in great shape although still rising, it had a lot of suspended debris floating through it. Did this affect the bite? I think so. Anyway, we managed to land one beautiful, bright fresh Chinook (King) Salmon and three Steelhead. We may have hooked about 5 more fish but lost them. It's the first time Norris fished for Chinook and Steelhead in a river so there was that "learning curve" he had to go through. Were they excited? I can tell you I was. They were used to catching only small Kamloops Rainbow Trout. I knew from the guides Chinook were in the river but this is the first one I saw with my own eyes. It was a very special moment. By the way – the two female Steelhead landed were in great shape and not spawned-out yet but the one male was very dark and had spawned.
Even though it is late in the spring season, May is "prime time" to fish for Steelhead on the Kitimat River. You still have some fresh fish coming-in and spawned fish going-out. A fair number of Chinook are entering the river now. Steelhead and Chinook can be caught on the same day.
I have updated reports and photos from Ron Wakita for Northcoast and Craig Murray Central coast.
If I can be of service to find you the "best" guided fishing adventure let me know. Cast here to check out more of what I have to offer: http://noelgyger.ca/special-guided.htm
Be sure to check out my website at www.noelgyger.ca for more info on my history, Quality Waters Strategy, special guided fishing trips, video clips, scenic river photos, wildlife photos and others, comments from past guests, informational articles and archived fishing reports from 1996 through 2002. I hope it meets with your entire satisfaction.
CURRENT REPORT and summary for Skeena and Tributaries:
TYPE OF FISH CAUGHT: Chinook (King) Salmon and Steelhead
Thank you for using barbless hooks.
FISHING THIS WEEK:
POOR FAIR GOOD* EXCELLENT
LARGEST FISH OF THE WEEK: Specie: 25-30-pound Chinook (King) Salmon Where: Kalum River Angler: Robert Pratt
WEATHER: Partly cloudy. Highs to 15 degrees C. Region normal: Max. Temp. 18 degrees C. Min. Temp. 6 degrees C. Sunrise 5:22 am Sunset 9:40 pm
WEATHER REPORTS VIA TELEPHONE: Environment Canada taped messages constantly updated, giving current conditions and three day forecasts. Terrace 250-635-4192 Kitimat 250-632-7864 Prince Rupert 250-627-1155 Smithers 250-847-1958.
For current Terrace weather information please cast on:
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cities/can/pages/CABC0292.htm?ref=wxbtnold
WATER CONDITIONS: fair to good on most rivers except for the main stem Skeena which is basically chocolate brown. This is normal for this time of year. The spring melt off has begun, hopefully it comes off in an orderly manner. So far, so good. The high water should bring more BIG Chinook (King) Salmon.
CURRENT WATER HEIGHTS FOR:
SKEENA RIVER:
http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/fullgraph.asp?stnid=08EF001
KITIMAT RIVER:
http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/fullgraph.asp?stnid=08FF002
SKEENA RIVER: the river rose a little, still dirty and really not fishable. This is normal for this time of year. If we get lucky with the weather, the water will continue to drop and clean-up enough so we can start to fish for the bright, fresh Chinook (King) Salmon that are migrating through the system now.
KALUM RIVER: has an "excellent" run of Steelhead. Chinook (King) Salmon are also available. Catching both Steelhead and Chinook on the same day is great fun! The water is rising slowly but staying in fishable shape. Having a big lake at the head end helps keep the water clarity stable.
This is a Classified River year round and can be guided from March 15 through October 15 only. The Steelhead record is 32-pounds. To see a photo of this fish cast to: http://noelgyger.ca/records/Record003.jpg The angler is Dennis Therrien.
This is the river where I helped land a fish on May 24, 1983 that changed my life and got me interested in the guiding industry. I wrote an article about this fish and it can be read on my website at: http://www.noelgyger.ca/articles/Articles-LANDING-A-RECORD-CHINOOK-by-Noel.doc
Here is a brief excerpt:
"We could hardly believe it, we had landed the big fish. Jim tried to pick it up, but it was too heavy, or else he was too tired. We skidded it back to the boat. As we headed back upstream to where the play had started, we celebrated. This Chinook was weighed on legal scales at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. The Kalum River record, 83-pound 8-oz. was the result."
To this very day I have never seen such a big fish again.
To continue to conserve these special, beautiful big fish you must release the big ones over 65 centimeters in the early season. You may retain the smaller ones.
KASIKS RIVER: It is now possible to fish for Chinook at the mouth, in the clean seam, where it joins the Skeena. Sometimes, the Chinook come out of the Skeena and into the clean water in search for scent of their home river.
EXCHAMSIKS RIVER: Same as above, it is now possible to fish for Chinook in the clean seam.
EXTEW RIVER: Same as above, it is now possible to fish for Chinook in the clean seam.
Note: the above three rivers are closed to angling for Chinook except at the very low end. Please check 2005 – 2007 BC Freshwater Salmon Supplement (fancy name for regulations) at: www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish for details.
ZYMOETZ (COPPER) RIVER: is closed now for angling (as of December 31, 2006 above the lower canyon) to protect the "wintering over" wild Steelhead. Spring fishing is still available on the lower end below the canyon. Like other Skeena tributaries, the Chinook will start coming in.
OCEAN FISHING PRINCE RUPERT: Randy Janzen of Unreel Charters in Prince Rupert is very busy with his charter business but did find the time to send me these two photos. The photos pretty much sum up how the fishing is.
A summary of what is available year round can be read in the Archived Fishing Report dated April 13, 1997. For a direct link cast here: http://noelgyger.ca/archived-fishing-reports/Old%20Fishing%20Reports%201997.doc
AREA RIVER RECORDS: Chinook Salmon: Skeena River, 92.5-pounds; Kalum River, 85-pounds; Kitimat River, 74-pounds; Steelhead: Skeena River, 45-pounds; Coho Salmon: Skeena River, 27-pounds.
CURRENT REPORT and summary for Northern Coastal Rivers:
KITIMAT RIVER:
Success continues for guide Mike Herzberg (on the right) with a couple of very nice Chinook (King) Salmon. They hooked three chinook and landed two. They also caught and released two steelhead. Mike has really dialed this early Chinook (King) Salmon in. His streak is still alive!
One of the advantages of raising a family in the Northwest is the vast opportunity to share the passion of fishing with your family. Some of the fondest memories I have of my father are hockey road trips and fishing trips. My sons, Brandon and Corey and Corey's friend Alex continued the family fishing tradition on a Saturday afternoon drift. On the drive up to launch the drift boat we decided that if we catch a hatchery steelhead we would barbecue it for dinner. I reminded the boys that the regulations only allow hatchery Steelhead to be kept. They are distinguished by the missing adipose fin that is clipped in the hatchery before they are released. The regulations also require that angler to stop fishing," Once you catch and retain a steelhead you can no longer fish those waters for the remainder of that day".
Five minutes into the drift Corey landed a ten pound hatchery doe. Corey kept the fish and as planned we cooked it for dinner. I could feel Corey's sense of pride for the rest of the day and especially throughout dinner. There was also another proud moment when he delivered a fresh fillet of his catch to his Great Aunt who loves fresh fish. The "fishing" is only a part of the experience, the pride and telling the fish stories after is also an important part of the program. It was a gratifying moment for me as a father to watch his thirteen year old son catch, fight and land a Steelhead all on his own.
The Kitimat River has a healthy run of early Chinook and Steelhead in the system right now. It is possible to hook both species depending on the type of water that you choose to fish. Mike Herzberg of Reliable Guide and Charters boated five Chinook and seven Steelhead last week.
Pat Oliver also an associate guide for Reliable Guide and Charters and Justin Lowes drifted on Thursday (May 17th). Although the Kitimat River was on the rise because of the warmer weather they hooked two Chinook and landed one about 18lbs. There was also a report of a Chinook lost and another one landed at the Big Spruce. It appears that there is a healthy early run of Chinook in the Kitimat which is a good sign of things to come. Report and photos from Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters
OCEAN FISHING KITIMAT DOUGLAS CHANNEL:
Don Carlson and his group fished the outer waters of the Douglas Channel and they boated their limit of 27 halibut. Great catch Don! Congratulations to you and your group.
Cosby Smith of Cosby Smith Charters boated four Chinook Thursday May 17th all around twenty to twenty five pounds. He also caught one on low slack on Friday about 22lbs. I suspect that these are all part of the early run of Chinook destined for the upper Kitimat. They are mostly 20 to 35lbs. They can almost be identified by their shape. They look like footballs. They are almost as thick as they are long.
With the better weather and the May long weekend more boaters will be out fishing the Douglas Channel. Stay tuned for the results of this weekend in next week's report.
Report and photos from Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters
CURRENT REPORT and summary for Central Coast/North Van Island Wilderness Rivers:
May 18, 2007
Fishing report from Nimmo:
A photo speaks volumes. And the Saga continues ....
Stay tuned folks for the next edition from Nimmo Bay.
To Fly is Human ... To Hover, Divine
Craig Murray, Owner
Nimmo Bay Resort
FISHING REGULATION WEBSITES:
2005/2007 BC tidal waters and freshwater Salmon fishing information:
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish
Effective April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2007
2006/2007 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations/intro.html
Effective April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007
NOTE: For In-season Regulation Changes posted on the web check the above URL's
CATCH & RELEASE FORMULA: Chinook: girth squared x length x 1.54 divided by
1000. Steelhead: Steelhead: girth squared x length x 1.33 divided by 1000 (inches)
To receive my WEEKLY FISHING REPORT and PHOTO via e-mail please send your name and e-mail address to: Noel Gyger noel@noelgyger.ca
GOOD LUCK and GOOD FISHING!
Yours sincerely,
Noel F. Gyger
Back to: http://noelgyger.ca/past-fishing-reports.htm
Home page: www.noelgyger.ca
