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Weekly Fishing Reports (Smithers, Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert and Meziadin North)
Noel Gyger
May 22 to May 29, 2011
Dear Fishing Friends:
SUMMARY: It has rained most of the week.
The Skeena River is high and too dirty to fish. Even though the water is dirty the Chinook (King) Salmon will be migrating up river to spawn in their native waters.
The Kalum River is high but still in shape. More and more anglers are heading out to try their luck fishing for Chinook. Reg: The upper section closed for Chinook on May 25. Please do not target Steelhead anymore.
The Zymoetz (Copper) River is dirty and not fishable.
The Kitimat River Steelhead fishing is basically over. Chinook are showing up in the lower end. More
and more fish should come in with the higher tides. Chinook have been caught down the Douglas Channel and I have received reports of Chinook being caught in the Kitimat Harbour. Until the numbers are better some boaters are venturing out further for Halibut and bottom fish.
Prince Rupert is fishing well for bottom fish and Chinook.
Lake fishing around the Smithers and Meziadin areas is a little slow.
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New Items on Website go here http://www.noelgyger.ca/news-bulletin.htm to find New items:
May 16, 2011 Beautiful log home For Sale on the Bulkley River on the edge of Telkwa, BC
May 6, 2011 Prince Rupert, BC OCEAN trip $2199/person for a 3 day/3night trip
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River Reports
Skeena River is very high, dark brown colour and too dirty to fish. Even though the water is dirty the Chinook (King) Salmon will still be migrating up river to spawn in their native waters. Tip: You may want to try and fish in the clean water of the tributary rivers where they join up with the Skeena. Example: Try fishing the mouths of the Exchamsiks and Kasiks Rivers.
Check out the Skeena Tyee Test Fishery Chart for Chinook here:
http://www.noelgyger.ca/H2O/Non-Tidal/TyeeTestFishery/Charts/SkeenaChinookDays.pdf
Kalum River is high but still in fair shape. More anglers are heading out to try their luck fishing for Chinook (King) Salmon. Fishing has been reported as fair. Chinook are being caught in the lower section only. Reminder: Fishing for Chinook upstream of signs below the lower canyon closed on Wednesday, May 25. The lower end will remain open to fish for Chinook until August 7.
Steelhead should no longer be targeted. The record 85-pound (if my memory is correct) Chinook was landed by Gordy McDonald of Terrace, BC. It was landed in circa May 1985. Caution: Jet boaters please be careful because there are new channels and lots of trees have fallen into the river. How to: Try using spoons the next time out. Some of the best spoons are made by Gibbs. Some of the best rods are GLoomis. Shimano makes excellent spin reels. Tuf-line makes excellent braided line. Duracast line is coated and slides effortlessly through the guides and won't wrap on the tip. Tip: If the Chinook are in a pool you should see them rolling. Try casting spoons. They love spoons and by using Tuf-line you have a better chance of landing them.
Lakelse River The water is high but still in fair shape. Some of the side creeks are coming in dirty from all the rain we've had. Chinook will be coming in the lower end. Where: The bridge on the lower end is a popular spot to fish for Chinook. Camping: There is a rough forestry campsite close to the bridge. Tip: Fishing off of the bridge with a marabou jig is the most popular method, so is a Hot-shot or Kwikfish plug. Reg: Fly fishing only between Lakelse Lake and CNR Bridge, Mar 1-May 31. I have reports that fly fishing for Cutthroat, Dolly and Rainbows in the upper end is very good right now. Steelhead should not be targeted.
Zymoetz (Copper) River is high, dirty and not fishable. If the water was in shape you would still have a chance to catch a Steelhead in the lower end but this is coming to an end rapidly. Steelhead season is basically over for another year. Fact: it was a great year for summer-run Steelhead. Chinook may be coming in with the higher water. Regs: Fishing for Chinook is allowed until July 23. Reminder: No fishing above the sign at the transmission line crossing (below) Zymoetz Canyon Jan 1 – June 15. Fly fishing is the choice of many anglers on this river. Wading with quality Simms waders and accessories is the way to go. A friend of mine is very happy with his new Islander fly reel. Trophy XL fly rod, Cortland Line and Maxima Tippet . Tip: Fly fishermen please wade safely by using a wading staff. Trophy XL makes a nice one in 7 sections. Easily folds up and stores in a pouch on the waist.
Kitimat River is high and murky but remains fishable but if it continues to rain it will "blow-out". I have reports of a few Chinook hooked. Chinook anglers have already started to bang in their rod holders at the Pump House, Lower Dike and the Big Spruce in hope of catching an early Kitimat River Chinook. There have been a few early Chinook caught in the past few weeks and Chinook fever is starting to spread. Trout fishing continues to be good. With the high water the Trout are holding in the back eddies. Regs: This river has a power boat ban. The drift boaters love to "pull plugs". The most popular plugs are the Hot-Shot and Kwikfish made by Luhr Jensen. Reminder: Bait ban, May 15 - August 31. Regs: Hatchery Steelhead daily quota = 1; hatchery Steelhead monthly quota = 10. All wild Steelhead are catch and release. Gear suggestion: Kamloops Dragon fly rod, 10' Kamloops fly reel, AFTMA #8line. Backing Dragon Fly "Bright Orange" 30lb, 150 yard spool. Fly line SA Sharkskin Steelhead WF-8-F.
Kasiks River is closed for Chinook (King) Salmon above the highway 16 Bridge. Tip: Below the highway bridge can be a good spot to fish for Chinook when conditions are right. That is when the Kasiks River is cleaner than the mainstem Skeena. This is the time of year when the Chinook start migrating up the Skeena River. This is the first river to go out of shape from rain but is the first river to come back into shape once the rains stops. Sometimes, when the rain stops you can see the river cleaning right in front of you.
Exchamsiks River is closed for Chinook (King) Salmon above the highway 16 Bridge. Tip: Below the highway bridge can be a good spot to fish for Chinook when conditions are right. That is when the Exchamsiks River is cleaner than the mainstem Skeena. This is the time of year when the Chinook start migrating up the Skeena River.
Douglas Channel Chinook have been caught down the Channel and I have received reports of Chinook being caught in the Kitimat Harbour. It is an exciting time of year for boaters on the Douglas Channel. Boaters will soon be able to limit out for both Halibut and Chinook consistently. Crab and Prawns are being landed on a regular basis.
Prince Rupert With the fishing season getting into full swing, and the fish starting to show up with reports of nice size Chinook being caught. The weather has not been good all week. We have had our share of wind and rain. Tip: When trolling for Chinook try a SplitKing Lure. Jeff Carlson of BC Style Fishing Charters reports good success with this lure. I have reports of limits of Dungeness Crab and Prawns. Tip: Use the Ace Line Hauler to pull your traps. Reg: When travelling with Crab you must leave the shell on.
Lakes – Smithers Ice is off most lakes in the Bulkley Valley & Lakes District now except those at higher elevations. Fishing should be decent now close to the surface. Trolling Flat Fish for char on bigger lakes, Jack of Diamonds & Red Devils can be productive. Wedding bands and worms are always a good choice. Rainbow Alley is open for business and trout fishing is fair now. Minnow patterns are effective. A little sun should get the fish really excited! Report from Steve Hidber of Oscar's Source for Adventure
Lakes - Meziadin Hi Noel, fishing at Meziadin has been slow, over the past week. There are a few Dollies as well as Rainbow's being caught, but not in the numbers that we usually see. The lake level is high, as are, all the inflow streams. This is making fishing at the stream mouths a bit difficult. Successful anglers have been using a variety of baits and lures, ranging from worms and roe to small spinners as well as gang trolls. Kinaskan and surrounding lakes should be ice free by now. My experience has been they do not start producing fish in any numbers, before the first week in June. I will have a report from Kinaskan for next week. I am planning, within the next two weeks, to travel into Brown Bear Lake. There are a number of lakes in and around Brown Bear that I am planning on visiting. Once I have completed the trip, I will let everyone know what the conditions are at each lake along with some photos. Until then, enjoy your fishing.
Marvin Reid marvin_reid@telus.net or at 250-639-9856
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Fishing Guide and Tackle Shop Reports
Summary for Skeena and Tributaries
Fishing This Week
POOR
Type of Fish Caught
River: Chinook, Steelhead, Cutthroat Trout and Dolly Varden Char.
Ocean: All five species of Salmon, Halibut, Bottom Fish and Dungeness and King Crab for ocean.
Largest Fish of the Week
River: 30-pound Chinook – Kitimat River Ocean: 50-pound Halibut - Rupert
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Contact information
GOOD LUCK and GOOD FISHING!
Yours sincerely, Noel F. Gyger
Guided Fishing Adventures and Weekly Fishing Report
E-mail: noel@noelgyger.ca
Home Page: www.noelgyger.ca
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It is NOT too late to book a guided river or ocean fishing trip
RIVER FISHING Lots of lodge or day bookings still available on classified or non-classified waters. Guiding fly or spin fishermen with raft, drift-boat or jet-boat. Contact Noel to book NOW! noel@noelgyger.ca
OCEAN FISHING Chinook Salmon, Bottom Fish and Crab in Prince Rupert or Kitimat Douglas Channel has started. To book warm, covered charter boat please contact Noel Gyger anytime. Phone: 250-635-2568 E-mail: noel@noelgyger.ca
NOW BOOKING for 2011: Let me know if I can be of service to book you with the "best" fishing guide and/or fishing lodges for both river and ocean. There are NO extra charges to book through me, just a lot of free information and advice from a person with years and years of fishing and fish guiding experience. It is like hiring two guides for the price of one. I will promptly answer your questions and concerns. Contact Noel Gyger to book NOW noel@noelgyger.ca
