Outlook
The weather this past week has been very typical for late may in the lower mainland. The blast of summer weather we experienced earlier in the month has made way for more seasonal conditions.
We are getting very close to beach fishing for coho. We have already seen a few anglers trying their luck at Ambleside. We haven’t heard any positive reports yet, but that should soon change. In preparation for this challenging and rewarding fishery, we are offering two specific beach courses, a fly tying course and a techniques course that are designed to teach you everything you need to know to be a successful fly angler on our local beaches. Details below…….
Lake fishing has been steady in various areas across the interior. Many of the Caribou lakes are starting to fish well. The lakes in the Whistler/Pemberton corridor have also been producing well. The lower mainland lakes usually remain productive until the end of June depending on the weather.
Saltwater fishing has been great this past week. Thrasher, Entrance Island, and Five Fingers have been the hot spots. The Hump off south Bowen has really slowed down in the last ten days.
Upcoming Courses
TYING BEACH FLY PATTERNS – Andre Stepanian
Class Size: 7
Join Pacific Angler for a 3hr evening seminar of tying flies specific to catching salmon on our coastal beaches. Without a doubt, fly selection is critical while beach fishing. These flies are often not commercially available, so successful beach anglers learn to tie their own patterns. Your instructor will walk you through each fly pattern step-by-step. This course is suitable for fly tiers with a basic knowledge.Students are required to supply their own vise, tools and materials. A 10% discount is available on materials and tools purchased for the course.
Cost: $40.00
Dates: Jun 10
Time:6:30pm –9:30pm
FLY FISHING ON BEACHES
Class Size: 20
This single evening 3hr seminar will cover the basic principles needed to be an effective beach fly fishermen in BC from Howe Sound to the east coast of Vancouver Island. Topics covered will include rods, reels, fly lines, flies, tides, and techniques. Andre Stepanian, the instructor for this course, has been chasing salmon on our local beaches for over two decades. Remember, east coast Vancouver Island has a pink salmon run every year and last year the Capilano had 12,000 coho!
Book this course early as we sold out all 3courses in 2013!!
Cost: $40.00
Dates : July 9, July 15 and July 23
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
INTRODUCTION TO FLY TYING
Class Size: 7
There is no greater satisfaction than catching a fish with a fly you tied yourself. This course was specifically designed to give you the fundamental skills needed to tie proven fly patterns used here in BC for trout, salmon, and steelhead. This course consists of 3 sessions; each session is 3hrs.
Students are required to supply their own vise, tools and materials.A 10% discount is available on materials and tools purchased for the course.
Cost: $75.00
Dates:
Jun 9, 16 & 23 Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Upcoming Events
F3T- THE FLY FISHING FILM TOUR
Join us June 12 to kick off the 2014 Salmon Season and give DAD the gift he wants for Fathers day: tickets to the F3T!
We will be back in our favorite theatre, at the Norman Rothstein Theatre at Oak and 41st ave.
Again we are pleased to have thousands of dollars in GIVEAWAY PRIZES, including a trip to Ruddocks, a $1000 Fly rod from our friends at RL Winston, tons of SIMMS merchandise and we also have a ton of glasses to giveaway from our friends at COSTA.
Join us at 6:00 for adult bevies, with the show starting at 7:15.
Net proceeds from this show will be going to a donation to The Seymour Fish Hatchery and the JCC Theatre Company.
Tickets available now online and very shortly in all your local flyshops.
Ticket giveaways from our friends at FlyBC and Fishing With Rod, so keep checking their site!
Freshwater Reports
RIVERS
Squamish
There won’t be much to say about this river system until september. Resident trout can be targeted in the late summer months with nymphs, streamers, and dry flies. We have a feeling that the river is past the point of return for the spring season, however, it is possible that it could come into shape for a small window.
Squamish Cheakamus system is a100% catch and release, single barbless fishery so play by the rules and have fun!
Chilliwack River
The next fishery on the Chilliwack system will be red springs in July and August.
Note: The Chilliwack river is closed to fishing for the month of June.
**The Chilliwack River is closed to fishing above the Vedder Crossing Bridge May 1st-May 31st**
**The Chilliwack River is open to FLY FISHING ONLY below the Vedder Crossing Bridge May 1st-May 31st.**
Chehalis River
The Chehalis River is now closed to fishing. It will reopen June 1st.
**The Chehalis River is closed to fishing for the month of May**
Harrison River
The Harrison is now in full freshet.
Capilano River
Fishing has improved over the past week. The fish are spread throughout the system. Anglers who have been getting an early start and are dialed into their technique have been limiting out. We are getting into prime time for this fishery. The fishing should continue to improve further into June. Please exercise caution while fishing from the cliffs.
Please note: ALL steelhead(adipose clipped and unclipped) must be released with the utmost care.
The most popular method for this fishery is short-floating with light/medium power casting and center-pin rods. Productive baits include cured roe, roe bags, krill, dew worms, and Colorado blades. Fly fishing is also quite effective for these early run coho. 7-8wt single hand fly rods equipped with full sinking type-6 lines allow you to strip your fly reasonably fast while maintaining a deep presentation. The most effective flies are olive woolly buggers (Andre’s Cap Coho Bugger), muddler minnows, and small polar bear winged flies in sizes 8-12.
-Max Stickel
Interior Lakes
Great reports coming from Stoney Lake Lodge! Both Stoney Lake and Minnie Lake are fishing well. Chironomids fished deep on a full sink line have been the ticket on Stoney over the past few days. Fishing micro leeches under an indicator in the shallows has been quite productive on Minnie. Both lakes have seen “bomber” chironomids come off recently. Although it is early for these big bugs, you should always leave home with a few #10 and #8s in various colours.
We have heard some good reports out of the Caribou region this past week. This is typically the time of year when these lakes start to fish well.
This is a good time to fish chironomids as they make up for 90% of a trout’s diet before they turn on to other food sources by mid June. If you are new to chironomid fishing, try fishing lakes where the fish are known to be willing biters(Tunkuwa,Leighton,Englishmen etc.). This will help to decrease the learning curve. At the same time always have Leeches and scuds in your arsenal. Chironomid fishing starts as early as 11:00am and lasts till 4:00pm more or less, so before this the fish might feed on leeches and scuds.
Here are some lakes that are worth checking out in the Merritt area: Davis, Englishmen, Harmon, Marquart, Lundbom, Kump, Corbett, and Courtney. For more in depth information and getting set up for your trip please drop by the store.
Andre & Max.
Local Lakes
Rice, Lafarge, Como, Buntzen, and all the other local lakes are fishing well.
It is a good idea to play around with different techniques to find the most effective method on any given day. When experiencing slow fishing with stationary bait rigs like float fishing or bottom fishing, a spinner or a spoon can really change your luck.
We encourage people to take the introductory angler in their life to one of these stocked lakes. It is a great way to get people into the sport based on how willing the fish are and proximity to the city.
Stump Lake in Squamish is fishing well for smaller cutthroat trout. Because this lake is tannin stained, dark coloured bugger and leech patterns are most effective. Don’t be afraid to fish some flashy flies to target some of the bigger cutthroat that may be feeding on the invasive pumpkin seed.
The Whistler Lakes are starting to heat up. We have heard good reports from Alta lake recently. The species of target in Alta lake are cutthroat trout and rainbow trout. Cutthroat are best targeted with woolly bugger and minnow type flies like muddlers and belly dancers or small spoons like a Dick Nite. The rainbows can be taken on a variety of flies. Chironomids fished under an indicator can actually work quite well on Alta for rainbows.
We have also heard decent reports from the Pemberton Lakes recently.
Local Saltwater
Thrasher Rock has been fishing great this past week. The Grande and Thrasher reef have been producing some nice chinook. Anglers who are willing to take a chance and venture out off shore have been greatly rewarded with some fast paced fishing once they have located fish. We have been hitting our fish from 75ft down to 135ft on the riggers on a mixture of spoons and hootchies. Productive flashers have had some glow on them as the water has been pretty dirty.
Entrance, Snake, and Five Fingers have also been fishing well. The hot depths for us at these locations were 160-200ft on the riggers. The fish seem to be down deep as the water up there is very blue.
The Hump has continued to fish slow. If you can make it, we recommend you take the time to run over to the other side.
West Vancouver will start producing for coho in the next couple weeks. There is already a decent number of coho in the Capilano River, so it is only a matter of time before the saltwater fishing takes off.
This time of year if you are thinking about booking a charter we do strongly recommend trying to make it over to Gabriola, as it often provides some of the best chinook fishing of the whole year. The best fishing is likely yet to come as it usually gets red hot late May and early June. Our phone has been ringing steadily, so if you want to take advantage of this awesome chinook fishing, please give us a call as soon as possible as open dates are becoming limited.
To book your trip give Jason a call at 778-788-8582. If you are heading out in your own boat, stop by the shop for the latest up to the day report and info on the hot flashers and spoons.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
On behalf of the Pacific Angler staff we wish you the best in your fishing endeavors and we hope to see you either at the shop or on the water. To check out the latest Pacific Angler news view the Pacific Angler Facebook page.
-Jason, Matt, Max, Andre, and Jordan