Well, the holidays are over and we hope you had a fantastic one!…but it's time to get down to the business of fishing, and put that new gear to use! I know it's late, and Fraser River sturgeon fishing season should be at a crawl right now, but our team guide's Dave and Shawn didn't get the memo! Right now roe is the best bet for success and we are finding that the lower river is producing consistently.
Dave was fishing with Paul and his group, and wrestled an incredible 15 dino's to the boat with 3 over 5ft 5″ mark. The groups arms were definitely done by the end of the day. Shawn was with our friends Doug and Edna in the morning and landed 4 with a few more opportunities missed. In the afternoon three dino's with Mathew and his grandfather Claude proved to be an outstanding day. There is something special about hitting the water with loved ones, chasing monsters. The anticipation, and excitement of the whole adventure can be a bonding experience second to none. The team takes it seriously and is honored to take part in these unparalleled moments.
Speaking of special days, The Great River team wants to congratulate client and more importantly good friend Dick Deno on his retirement. After years of hard work it's time to enjoy more time doing what you want to do most, whether it is fishing, or some well deserved time with family and friends…or both! We wish you the best.
The Chilliwack and Vedder rivers are starting to ramp up and are providing some serious Steelhead fishing right now! There are some big chrome bullets being landed as well. The river is low, and clear right now, but with the upcoming rain in the forecast the river should only get better. It will provide some more fishable water and allow them some more movement and places to hide. Some of the keys to catching one of these river dreams, is to keep moving, if something isn't working change it. There is a whole host of bait that works rubber worms, Colorado's, wool, roe, and jigs. If you are swinging flies remember that presentation is more important than the fly itself. In clear water subtle colors seem to work better, pink, purple, maroon, blue. In colored water you may want to try
darker patterns. Sometimes less is more. Steelies can be big, brawly and aggressive. After a long spell in the big water they show up strong and silver back to their home waters, ready to test the mettle of anyone who has the privilege to hook up. I always picture them as an underwater coiled spring…ready to pop the end of your line and explode in a fury of power that can take an angler to the breaking point. Come out with us and try to catch your winter chrome dream! We will start fishing gear Feb 9th and will start on the fly mid March.
One of the major Problems we have with our rivers and streams is garbage. We ALL need to do our part to protect this incredible gift we are given. I am forever picking up other anglers garbage. I see pristine fish habitat everyday littered with sandwich bags, coffee cups, cigarette butts, hook and weight packages, and worst of all fishing line. The reason I say worst of all is because I know that angler has been there and used and abused the area. It is very frustrating to know that these people exploit the area's that we all use. The people who should have a vested interest in keeping the environment clean for future use can be some of the worst offenders, and that is a huge disappointment. It is incredible to me that an angler will pack in all kinds of gear to catch a fish, and pack plastic bags to retain fish but will not pack out garbage. To rape the rivers and streams and leave a trail of garbage in your wake is unacceptable. We need to do more. Monofilament fishing line takes up to 600 years to decompose. It can be recycled and there are programs in place to do so. Berkley has a good one. Please, let's do our part. We can start asking local tackle stores to put a line recycling bin in their stores. People have the tendency to see garbage and walk by in disgust and say things like "who would do that?" The truth is lots of people do it, but if we had more people that would just pick it up it would be a lot cleaner out there.
That's it for the report. As always, pack out what you pack in, and maybe a little extra.
If you have any questions check out DFO Pacific Fishery Notices & Region 2 Summary Page
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