OUTLOOK
As we are writing this week’s report there is plenty of rain coming down. Hopefully the rain that is forecasted will provide us with some good bumps in river levels and the get the fish moving again.
In this week’s report, we have a look at the Chilliwack/Vedder and the Squamish systems. We also are starting to think more and more about lake fishing! Locally, the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC is starting to stock lakes and for the Interior lakes, we are keeping a close eye on the temperatures as we look ahead to ice off and the start of spring fishing!
For our saltwater anglers, there is still time to get out on the water and enjoy this awesome fishery before it closes at the end of the month. Check out Jason’s report below for the latest from our guide team.
For those that are looking to get into lake fishing we have our always popular Introduction to Lake Fishing Course coming up in the first week of April. We also have a second night set for Jason’s Contemporary Chironomid Tactics course! April is also a great time to think about fly tying. Eric will be teaching his Introduction to Fly Tying course starting in April as well. This is a great 3-night course that will give you all the basics to start tying your own flies! More details in the Classes Section below.
CLASSES AND COURSES
We have a great line up of courses set for this Spring. Check out all of our upcoming March and April courses below and our full course listing here and sign up today online or over the phone at the shop - 604.872.2204!
Pacific Angler Course: Introduction to Fly Fishing Lakes
This course will give you an in-depth look at the fundamentals of fly fishing lakes. We explore equipment, techniques, major insect hatches and ideal lakes to begin with. You will learn all you need to plan your next successful lake trip to one of BC’s 5,000 lakes! This course is comprised of one 3hr evening seminar.
Cost: $85.00+GST
Class Size: 20
Date: Apr 1
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm (at the store)
Sign up here
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Pacific Angler Course: Introduction to Fly Tying
There is no greater satisfaction than catching a fish with a fly you tied yourself. This Introduction to Fly Tying 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, spread over 3 consecutive weeks. Each session is 3hrs. Location: At Pacific Angler from 6:30pm - 9:30pm. Choose your 3 dates below.
Students are required to supply their own vise, tools and materials. A 10% discount is available on fly tying materials and tools purchased for the course.
Cost: $130.00+GST
Class Size: 7
Dates: Apr 2, 9, 16)
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Sign up here
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Pacific Angler Course: Winter Steelhead on the Fly
Fishing for winter steelhead on the fly (single hand or Spey) is arguably one of the most challenging and rewarding fisheries in BC. Let our steelhead gurus help you unlock the mysteries of these magical fish with their decades of steelhead guiding knowledge. This course consists of a 3hr evening seminar and 1 full day of guided fishing on the water. In the seminar we will go over rods, reels, lines, sink tips, flies and reading water and swung fly techniques. The fully guided day on the water we will be work on casting, reading water and swinging the fly.
Seminar Only Cost: $85.00+GST
Seminar & Guided Walk’n Wade Cost: $375.00+GST per angler, minimum of 2 anglers per guided day on the water.
Dates: Seminar: April 8 Guided: April 12 or 13
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm | Guided: Full Day
Sign up here
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Pacific Angler Course: Contemporary Chironomid Tactics
Chironomids can account for 2/3 of a trout’s diet in BC lakes and on many days, it is all they will eat. If you want to catch the biggest fish and the most fish, you need to know how to effectively fish chironomids. Your instructor, Jason Tonelli, has been fishing BC interior lakes since he was 5 years old, and in recent years he has been extremely devoted to chironomid fishing. We finally convinced him to share some of his very productive techniques and insights using today’s contemporary rods, fly lines, tippet materials, fly designs and electronics. Here is what he will cover during the course.
- Life cycle of chironomids and their importance to trout and anglers.
- Boat selection, setup, rod holders, anchors, oars, electric motors.
- Rod, reel, fly line, leader and tippet selection.
- Floating line indicator setups, floating line “naked” setup, sinking line “dangle” setup, and when to use them.
- Understanding and utilizing todays electronics (sonar and GPS) including High CHIRP and Forward-Facing Sonar (Live Scope Plus, Active Target 2, Mega Live 2) with recommendations.
- The steps to properly assess a lake and subsequent boat positioning and fishing techniques.
- Contemporary fly design and fly choice (dark flies, bright flies, dark beads, white beads, etc).
- Chironomid fishing seasons and elevation.
- Course booklet.
- 10% off all in store purchases on course night.
Cost: $100+GST
Date: April 15
Time: 6:30 – 9:30pm (At the store)
Sign up here
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Pacific Angler Course: Introduction to Fly Fishing
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Chilliwack/Vedder River Fishing Report
While the weather has been all over the place, and a bit miserable, over the past week, the C/V system has been steadily dropping. While sporadic passing rain showers are unpleasant, they aren’t very good at raising river levels. As a result, the C/V system is once again running quite low, though perhaps not as clear as one might expect as a result of the previously mentioned sporadic rain showers. It’s still pretty clear but not gin clear. The forecast for the next week is all over the place and seems to be changing hourly, so I have no idea what to expect. I’d strongly suggest checking the forecast and river levels the day or night before you head out there.
The fishing has been pretty good, though it seems that there is a lot more wild fish around than there are hatchery fish. The same presentations that I’ve repeatedly mentioned all season are continuing to produce fish, so no surprises there. There will be fresh fish pushing into the system into April, so there’s definitely still some time to get out there, cover water and find a few fresh ones.
Note that the upper portion of the river (from the Tamihi bridge to the fishing boundary 100m below Slesse Creek) will be closing at the end of the month; the 31st will be your last day to fish that portion of the river. Also be aware that there are a lot of salmon fry hiding in the gravel of backchannels, side channels and in the slow water near shore, especially in the lower river- so unnecessary wading is to be avoided.
Here's a visual representation of the closure that comes into effect at the end of the month.
Taylor Nakatani
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Squamish River Fishing Report
Even with a few showers here and there over the past week, the Squamish River systems have overall been low and clear. As I write this report, the rain is coming down and the rivers are on the rise. This bump in water will be sure to get some fish active and on the move again.
If you're gear fishing, keep an assortment of bead sizes of various colours ready to go for all water conditions. It's always hard to say what the visibility will be like, and you don't want to be caught without the right tools! On my most recent raft scout, I finally began to see fry more consistently. We still aren't at the peak, but it was enough to indicate to me it's time to get the fry patterns and blades out! I wouldn't fully give up on beads and egg patterns but be ready for anything.
Don't give up on beads yet!
When fishing blades, don't be afraid to let your gear swing a bit. Locking up your reel and letting the float drag will really get that blade kicking. It's pretty counterintuitive to fishing beads where you want your float to be as undisturbed as possible to produce a natural "egg tumbling down stream" look, but that is irrelevant with blades. You don't want it so tight that it's lifting your gear way off bottom but provide enough resistance to the drift that the blade is working to its full potential.
If you're stripping fly patterns, be sporadic and inconsistent. Next time you're on the river and see some fry, watch how they move. They dart FAST, and are hard to track. Mimic that with your stripping. Less consistent the better. This is sure to coax a bite or two from some hungry trout who have been patiently waiting for the fry to wake up!
This Bull Trout is ready for Fry Season
Tight lines,
Jake Comrie
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
Local Lakes Fishing Report
Spring is here and with it comes the stocking of our local lakes! The team at the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC have started their Spring 2025 Rainbow Trout Lake Stocking Program.
Check out their stocking reports here along with the many other great programs they have like their learn to fish program. A great option for the last week of spring break!
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BC Interior Lake Fishing Report
It’s time! Well sort of…. The lower elevation lakes are now fishing, so lakes in that 500-600m elevation. The usual suspects like Shannon, Swan, Richter, Morgan, Six Mile (Pat) are now iced off and people are fishing them daily.
For early season tactics the fish are going to be in the shallow water and fishing leeches, baby damsels, and blobs under an indicator will usually be the way to go. Sometimes the fish want a more active presentation, so be prepared to strip leeches, boobies, and shrimp on a clear intermediate line or faster sinking line depending on depth and retrieve speed.
We are fully stocked for spring lake fishing with the best custom tied flies, and everything else you need for spring lake season success!
The Coquihalla looked nasty this morning, so most of the early season anglers will be locals while the rest of us down here in the big city wait for better highway conditions, warmer water, and chironomid hatches.
Not great driving conditions this morning!
Looks like Stump and other notable lakes in that region are a good week or more away from being iced off. It’s coming fast though, so get the gear out and get ready now. The long-term forecast looks good, with plenty of double-digit temps on the way, so the ice will be off quickly once the warmer weather shows up later this month.
The Contemporary Chironomid Tactics course this past week was a blast, and I am looking forward to teaching the next one on April 15. If you want to take your chironomid fishing to the next level, this is the course for you. Sign up online or call the shop. Here is what some of this week’s students had to say.
“Thank you for such a detailed course. I am looking forward to applying all the specific techniques I learned. One of the best fishing courses I’ve taken so far”
“Jason, thank you for sharing your knowledge and chroni secrets with us! I’ll see you out there this spring and I will be using some of your leader setups, that was some great info”
“Great course, totally exceeded my expectations and the fish are in trouble this year! Thanks again.”
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
Well, it’s been one heck of a winter chinook season, and we are in the last week or so of it. Recently we have had some good fishing with some great prawning and crabbing to top it off.
An epic winter harvest from last Saturday, chinook, prawns, and crab!
If you haven’t made it out yet it’s not too late! We still have until March 31st to get some winter chinook, prawns, and crab. Fishing this past week was pretty good and we had our best success in Vancouver Harbour. There are also some fish being caught in lower Howe Sound but upper Howe Sound has been slow for about a month now. If you have the weather to cross, Gabriola has also been fishing well.
To book a trip give us a call at 778-788-8582 or visit us online at Vancouver Winter Chinook Salmon Fishing
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
