OUTLOOK
Nice Spring weather is coming; just maybe not this weekend. It looks as though we will see another mix of sun, cloud, rain and mid teen temperatures. Next week is the one to keep an eye on if you are looking forward to some warmth and sun with a warming trend over the next 10 days and finally some stable weather.
The unstable weather hasn’t been all bad for fishing though. It has made for some good late river fishing and the Interior lakes are still fishing well with chironomids hatching in the mid to high elevation lakes with Mayflies and other bug species starting to come off in good numbers in the lower elevation lakes. We have details on the lake fishing, if you are heading up, in the Lake Fishing section of the report.
The other big news this weekend is coho are opening in the local saltwater. We have a report on that below and we also cornered Jason in the saltwater section and got him to spill the beans on the specific coho lures and flashers that our guide team is using. In the Saltwater report section, we have links to that video and more details on what is going on with crabbing, chinook and coho.
There are some other fisheries to keep an eye on with more stable weather coming. We have a report on the Capilano where we are hearing of coho showing up and we also have a kokanee and bass fishing updates. Check them out below. Last, but not least, Matt tunes in with a Video report if you want to sit back and listen to what is going on in fishing around Vancouver.
Check out that Video here:
On to the report!
CLASSES AND COURSES
Introduction to Fly Fishing
This course was specifically designed to give the new fly fisher the basic knowledge, casting skills and fly fishing strategies to effectively fish our local BC waters. This course is comprised of two sessions; 3hr evening seminar and a 3hr casting session. The dates below show the seminar date first and casting date second.
Dates: (Jun 4 & 8), (July 11 & 15), (Sept 18 & 22)
Cost: $180.00+GST
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Casting Time(s): 10am – 1pm or 1:30pm -4:30pm
Introduction To Fly Fishing Trout Streams
Stalking trout on mountain streams defines fly fishing. In this course we will teach you the fundamental techniques for fly fishing trout streams; dry fly fishing, nymphing, and streamer fishing.
This Introduction to Fly Fishing Trout Streams course will get you as close to being Brad Pitt (A River Runs Through It) as you will ever be! This course is comprised of one 3hr evening seminar.
Dates: June 19, 2024
Cost: $75.00+GST
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Check out the full course listing here and give us a call at the shop (604.872.2204) to sign up today!
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Capilano Update
The Capilano is fishing well for anglers willing to get up early and hike the steep canyon walls. The crew in shop have had success with a few happy customers putting a fillet or two in the freezer. This system in notoriously tricky but your continued efforts will eventually be rewarded. I have included some tricks to help you connect with the elusive early season fish.
The river has been holding at current levels all week. This can result in challenging conditions, but the advantage is rain. The rain can help prolong that first light bite and make the fish less weary of the gear drifting down river. We have a few days of heavy rain in the forecast. It’s hard to say if this will drastically change water levels. Keep an eye on the water gauge https://metrovancouver.org/services/water/seymour-and-capilano-river-levels. At the very least, this will add a little colour to the water and help push fresh fish up the system. If the water is clear, fish the heads of runs with a little chop. Do not forget to put a few casts right into the end of the tail out (the teeth).
I run light clear-drift floats with small 8-10mm beads in various red, orange, and pink mottled colours. If you do not mind getting your hands dirty, then roe and deli shrimp make for great natural baits. These fish are smaller than their fall run siblings so make sure to pare down the size of your hooks and leaders accordingly. It is not unusual to run small size 6-8 single hooks on 8lb fluorocarbon.
I do not fly fish every spot, but it is a good option when fishing slow moving water. Go with faster sinking lines (s6 or s7) and keep your leaders on the short side. You want the sink line to do the work and a long 9ft+ leader will not help. Again, I go with a fluorocarbon leader in the 3x range. For flies, a variety of cap buggers and small flash flies in various drab colours will do the trick. If the water is moving, go with heavier flies. If the water is slow, I choose smaller lightweight options. I seldom use unweighted patterns on the Cap.
I want to mention that a net can really improve your success rate. If I am fishing from cliffs or ledges, it might be the only way to land a fish without trying to flip them up a rock face. Long handle and extending nets can make an enormous difference. This will also help to identify your catch and makes for better fish handling if you release a fish.
Eric Peake
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
BC Interior Lake Fishing Report for Region 3 and Region 5
Brrrrrrr! That pretty much sums up the last week of lake fishing! It’s been cold, rainy, and windy. Some lakes are much cooler now than they were 3-4 weeks ago where there were temps in the high 50’s and now they are back down in the low 50’s. When the lake temp goes backwards like this, and in such a dramatic fashion, that usually makes for some tough fishing.
The lakes that did have hatches saw quite a bit of mayfly activity. This is typical for late May and into June and especially on overcast days. There are of course still some chironomids coming off on the lakes that are known to have later hatches into late May and June. There have even been a few sedges (caddis) coming off as well and this will increase once the June heat shows up. Damsels will also be making an appearance on many lakes right now and all through June.
Speaking of June, it looks like the weather is finally going to make a dramatic change as we get into the first week of June. Tuesday or Wednesday of next week there will be temps getting into the mid to high 20’s in a lot of areas. It will be interesting to see how the lakes and the fish react after this long cold May and quick snap back into the heat of June. I don’t think the fishing can get much worse on many lakes, so one can only assume some hatches will start cranking again and the fish will respond in kind. I am an optimist, so I will stick with that fishing forecast. At least if the fishing is slow, it will be warm out!
If you are heading up you really need to be prepared this time of year. Chironomids, mays, damsels, sedges, and bloodworms are all on the menu depending on the lake and the elevation. If nothing is happening, get out those leeches and blobs. It really does pay to have a diverse selection of flies and fly lines in June and July because just about anything can happen. Our experts at the shop are happy to help you get setup, so stop by for the latest in flies and fly lines.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
Kokanee Lake Fishing Update
Kokanee fishing in the local lakes has been a bit tough as of late, due almost entirely to the weather. The dip in water temps after the very warm early-spring weather we had seems to be wreaking a bit of havoc on some lakes; Kawkawa did stratify during the warm spell but has since appeared to have un-stratified to some extent. As a result, I’m hearing reports of fish at all sorts of depths, which makes targeting them tricky- as I’ve said before, Kokanee don’t like moving up or down in the water column to grab gear, so not knowing what depth the next school is going to be at makes targeting them a challenge. They also seem to be a bit less aggressive than they usually are at this time of year.
The anglers that have been trolling are generally doing better than those who are anchoring and fishing bait, since the trollers are able to cover more water to find fish. All of the gear that I’ve discussed in past kokanee reports will be viable, so I’ll spare you all that monologue.
The forecasted warming trend that’s supposed to be showing itself in the coming week will probably start to get water temps on the rise again; I’m hoping it’ll be enough to get the lakes stratified enough to get the kokanee fishing back on track. In any case, at least the cool weather has been keeping most of the waterskiers, wakeboarders and other “recreators” off the water, which is always a good thing for anglers.
Taylor Nakatani
Local Bass Fishing Update
The unsettled weather has continued, and local bass fishing has continued to be a bit tough as a result. As I suspected, it looks like most of the smaller ponds are post-spawn, while the larger ponds appear to be mostly post-spawn, with a few stragglers. An interesting note is that the ponds with darker, dirtier or dingier water are a bit warmer than the ponds with clear water- this makes sense when you remember that darker water absorbs more solar energy and thus heads up faster than clear water.
It looks like the lack of sunlight is going to continue to be a theme for a while, but it does look like there may be some warmer air on the way; that should help raise water temps a bit… though it looks like the unsettled weather trend will continue as well, which means the bass fishing is probably going to be staying inconsistent for a while. Of course, this assessment is based entirely on the weather forecast, and we all know it’s called the “forecast” because it has a 4% chance of actually being right.
All of the gear that I suggested in last week’s report is still relevant and will likely stay relevant until we see a big change in the weather.
Taylor Nakatani
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Coho & Chinook Salmon Fishing Report
It’s June 1st this weekend and that means coho will be open in area 29-3 as well as most parts of 28 for 2 hatchery coho a day, size limit of 30cm or greater. This means we can fish the productive waters off South Bowen for coho and out on the Hump as well.
When fishing for coho, concentrate on the top 60 feet of the water column and don’t be surprised if you hit fish right on the surface when letting out the gear. It is still early in the season for coho, but we have already been into some wild and hatchery coho while DNA sampling for chinook salmon in local waters. We expect the fishing to be decent right off the hop here and to only get better as the season progresses.
For a detailed video on some of my top coho flashers, spoons, and hootchies, check out this video:
Remember that chinook are closed to fishing in our local waters, meaning that you should not be fishing for or targeting chinook. There are a lot of them around, in fact probably record numbers and it should be open for retention in my expert opinion, but that is a whole other story! The fact remains they are closed to fishing, so when you get a chinook while coho fishing, and you definitely will, simply release it at the side of the boat and continue on with your coho tactics.
A reminder that bottom fishing for lingcod and rockfish is also open over in the Gulf Islands. We are doing trips there for these species and will now add coho to the list and some C&R chinook fishing as it is open for C&R chinook fishing in area 17. Overall, an excellent day can be had in this area with bottom fish, coho, and chinook making for a lot of action!
Crabbing has been excellent as well and we are dropping crab traps on all our charters right now. To book a trip, give us a call at 778-788-8582.
If you have your own boat and want to get setup with all the top coho gear, come by the shop for some expert advice and the top coho producers.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
