OUTLOOK
What a week of weather! We hope everyone was able to stay dry and safe. Now that things have settled, it is time to look to our river fisheries. As many of you know after a big storm is one of the best times to be fishing our local systems.
In this report, we will be looking at water levels for all our major fisheries and the weather heading into this weekend but, before we get there, we need to look at regulations.
We have CHUM openings! As we were writing this report, announcements on dates, times, locations and limits for chum came in hot off the press! We have prepared a map to help but, the long story short, is that over the next week, we will see almost all major local fisheries open for chum fishing. We will have more information in the specific river reports below on what those regulations mean. Some fisheries are catch and release. Some fisheries are open for retention with different opening dates and limit quotas so make sure to read the official DFO fisheries notice and always check back before you head out in case amendments were made to the original notice. A good page to have bookmarked is the main fisheries notice website and you can read the specific fisheries notice there by searching by year, fishery, and/or keywords.
Just prior to sending out the fishing report upcoming coho opportunities were also announced for both tidal and non-tidal portions of the Fraser River. Check out those fisheries notices below:
Now we need to look at weather. We have more rain on the way for the weekend, but it is not close to as much as we saw last weekend. As usual, the Sea to Sky corridor will get the most precipitation and we are expecting water levels to rise again however, the rain in the valley is noticeably less. So, keep an eye on the weather and water levels before you head out!
In the shop we are wrapping up our courses for 2024. That said, we have our last course of the year, Matt’s Fly-Fishing Egg Patterns course. This is a great course with an in-house evening seminar and a fully guided day on the water. More details on dates below in the Classes and Courses section.
On to the report!
CLASSES AND COURSES
Fly Fishing Egg Patterns
This course is designed to teach you the secrets to one of the most productive presentations in the BC fly fishermen’s arsenal; nymphing egg patterns. This deadly method can be used for different species of trout, char, and salmon. During a 3 hour evening seminar we will teach you key concepts, strategies, and gear that will give you a well-rounded foundation during the seminar portion of the class. Then you will put those skills into practice during a fully guided day on the water.
Dates:
Seminar: Nov 20, 2024
Guided: Nov 23 or 24, 2024
Seminar Only Cost: $75.00+GST
Seminar & Guided Walk ’n Wade Cost: $325.00+GST
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Guided: Full Day
Our 2024 courses are almost wrapped up for the year. Keep an eye on this section for detail on our 2025 course schedule to be released!
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Chilliwack/Vedder River Fishing Report
In case it wasn’t obvious, atmospheric rivers and river fishing don’t mix- the C/V system received nearly 140mm of rain over three days, which resulted in a nasty blowout event.
Water levels peaked at 3.3 meters, which is extremely high and completely unfishable. The blowout was significant enough to cause some changes within the river itself; keep that in mind when you head out there. Of course, the river has since dropped down to a nice level and has been fishing very well; a ton of fish pushed into the system with the high water. Interestingly, the water is still a bit dirty; it’s likely that one, or several, of the clay slides were destabilized by the storm and have been dumping clay into the water- this is likely to continue for some time, or at least until the river gets “low” again. Note that the current levels of viz are still perfectly fishable, just be sure to up-size your presentation a bit. Unfortunately, there’s not an insignificant amount of rain in the forecast for the weekend, which is likely to dirty the river again.
There are still quite a few chinook around, though their numbers are certainly tapering off- as is to be expected for mid-late October. Coho numbers are still strong and will stay that way for another week or two, and there are also a ton of chum around. Note that, as of writing this report, chum will be opening for targeted angling and retention of 2 fish per day as of the 26th, which is welcome news. Check out the fisheries notice linked here for the specifics.
Assuming blowouts don’t continue to be an issue, coho fishing should remain strong until the end of October, at which point it’ll start tapering off significantly. Now that we have a chum opening, that fishery will remain viable until mid/late November. Keep your eye on the river levels and weather forecast before you head out there and use that info to determine if the river will be in shape or not. No point in heading out there if the river is a 2.8, still rising and it’s still raining!
How to Fish Spoons and Spinners
Salmon will hold in a wide variety of water, and some types of water can’t be easily nor efficiently covered with float fishing gear. This is why I always have a second rod on-hand for lobbing hardware when the float rod isn’t the best tool for the job. Casting spoons and spinners are great for two things- covering large amounts of water in a short amount of time and triggering strikes from aggressive fish. Twitching jigs is also extremely effective, but I’ll talk about them in a later report.
Despite what some anglers may say, all species of salmon can be aggressive and will bite lures under the right conditions. This is a simple fact and is not to be argued against. Some species, such as coho, are more inclined to be aggressive, and that makes them a prime target for casting lures. Chinook can also be quite aggressive and will often be caught on spoons and spinners, whereas chum are less inclined to bite a retrieved lure- though it does happen.
There are two common ways of fishing a spoon/spinner- casting and retrieving, and swinging. Casting and retrieving works best in slow or “frog water”, whereas swinging works best in water with moderate flow- think walking speed runs.
Casting and retrieving is dead simple and self-explanatory- you cast the lure out, and you reel it back in. The flash, “thump” and motion that the lure creates while being retrieved is what triggers fish to bite. As mentioned above, casting and retrieving works best in slow water and is often the best way to go about fishing “frog water”- water in which there is very little or no current. Coho love “frog water”, so casting and retrieving lures in these still pools is an excellent way to catch a lot of coho. Spoons such as the Gibbs Koho or Gibbs Croc are great options, as are spinners- the Blue Fox, Mepps Aglia Brite or Prime Lures “Clean-Up-Crew” are great as well.
Swinging is also a relatively simple concept; the technique itself is simple enough – cast across or slightly downstream, let the spoon sink, then tighten the line and let it swing across the run. You should feel the spoon “thumping” and occasionally ticking bottom and use a very slow retrieve to hold it off bottom. Once the spoon has completed its swing, let it “hang” at the end of the swing for a couple seconds before you reel it in, as fish will often follow it and smash it on the hang… anybody who’s ever swung a fly should be very well acquainted with this concept. This technique works in moving water; walking-pace water is ideal, as it’s slow enough to let the lure sink, but fast enough to carry the lure across the run and hopefully, avoid snagging up too much. Good swinging spoons are “broader” or more oval in shape, Gibbs Kohos are a great option. Gibbs Ironheads and K-Wobblers are also great swinging spoons, though they were discontinued a few years ago; give ‘em a shot if you have a few lying around. If you want to swing a spinner, it’ll have to be one with a heavier body such as a Prime Lures “Clean-Up-Crew”, as lighter spinners won’t get deep enough to be consistently effective.
A good spoon/spinner rod will be 8’-9’6” long, medium or medium-heavy in power and fast in action- faster rods tend to have a more sensitive tip, which is what you want for this style of fishing. Spinning or casting rods both work fine; my primary spoon/spinner rods are an 8’6” medium-heavy IMX-PRO casting rod and a 9’3” medium-heavy IMX-PRO spinning rod. Braided mainline is beneficial, as the lack of stretch means that detecting subtle strikes will be much easier. A short mono leader should be added, either via swivel or a line-to-line knot, to prevent the fish from seeing the mainline, though flouro should generally be avoided. Any decent spinning reel in the 2500-400 size range will work fine, as will a 100-200 size low-profile baitcaster.
Casting or swinging spoons is a lot of fun and can be extremely productive in the right situations- just remember, good float water usually isn’t good spoon/spinner water, and vice versa.
If you want to geek out a little on this technique Matt and Jake shared some of their sea to sky strategies with spinners and spoons in the lasted video version of the Friday Fishing Report. Check it out here if you want to learn more.
Taylor Nakatani
Squamish River Fishing Report
Lots of news from the Squamish this week. The river is back in shape after last weekend’s downpour. The river crested at almost 6 meters making it dangerous and unfishable for a few days. As of writing this, the river is holding around 3 meters and clarity is improving. With the bump in water, we saw a massive bump in chum entering the river. Much to the surprise of everyone in the shop, DFO has allowed a catch and release opening for chum salmon in the lower river. Remember this is a catch and release fishery so handle all fish with the utmost care. See the full details in the fisheries notice here and as always be sure to check notices before you head out in case there are any amendments.
Gear anglers can have loads of fun with chum short floating jigs. It is a simple effective setup that can produce excellent numbers of fresh hard fighting fish. We are fully stocked up on the best jigs for this fishery. These are large fresh fish so be sure you have a medium or medium heavy rod to do battle with. This is a great one to get new anglers, or kiddos out for their first salmon.
Fly anglers can get in on the action swinging flies on single or two handers. Try throwing bright pink, purple, blue and black popsicle style flies… even a big old bright pink woolly bugger will get them. Chum travel close to shore making them an easy target for a well-presented fly. Coho are still in the mix with plenty of fish in the system. Look for slow moving pools or frog water. These areas are well suited to stripping flashy flies on sink tips or full sink lines. With the substantial number of chum around I recommend 8 weight rods and heavy leaders in the 12 lb range.
Finally, after a big blowout I am always concerned about changes in the river. Be cautious navigating loose riverbanks and braided areas that have flooded. We have heard some reports of quicksand, and minor slides in the area. Your favorite spot is still there but it might look a little different than you remember. Keep the bear spray handy as we head deeper into salmon spawning season with bears on the feed.
Eric Peake
Capilano River Fishing Report
The Capilano is back in shape. The levels have stabilized and are getting lower each day. The bulk of the chinook have entered the system so you will find a mix of fresh and colored fish. Coho are still trickling in on every high tide and will continue to fish well for the next few weeks. As levels get lower, consider smaller presentations and flies to fool those late running coho. Every year is different, but I would anticipate the fishing well for another month or more. Spinner, spoons, and jigs will still be taking the bulk of fish with drift presentations working in deeper faster flowing water. Nov 1st sees the end to the bait ban. Roe will be deadly for late season coho. The river is still busy so be courteous to your fellow angler and leave your fishing spot cleaner than when you found it.
Eric Peake
Harrison River Fishing Report
In the case that you were either away or had your hands over your eyes and ears, this past week saw a significant increase in water levels across all systems as the Atmospheric River passed through.
Though this made angling hard this past week, each passing day from last weekend saw an increase in the conditions and the water is dropping. One nice thing about the Harrison is it clears up fast and if you can work with high banks and limited access, the fishing should be good this weekend.
The other big news is chum will open on this system on Saturday, the 26th, for 2 chum a day retention. Details can be found in the fisheries notice here and as noted in reports above always be sure to check the notices before you head out in case there are any updates or amendments. If you are fly fishing, target this fish with purple and pink flies swung on sinktips. If you are gear fishing similar float fishing jigs, twitching jugs and even pink/purple rubber worms are very affective
With it now almost being November, we’ve seen more and more fish arrive, with anglers reporting good numbers of fish throughout the system.
Anglers are finding success at the current water levels, but access to common spots may be hit and miss. Keep this in mind that if a spot is barely accessible, that it may not be by the time you want to leave, weather dependent.
Harrison tributaries and side channels will also be starting to fish well right now. The increase in water height last week helped fish to enter the smaller sloughs and river systems. As they settle these areas should start to fish well. This may also increase spot options, with anglers being able to spread out and explore more water.
If you are looking for coho, stripping small and sparse flies, thumping spoons, and retrieving spinners are all great tactics to cover the changing water conditions.
Twitching jigs and swinging large flies are also great options depending on which rod you prefer, with both being good options in coloured water.
Remember to wade and boat safely, and to leave the river cleaner than when you arrived.
Strip set,
Jordan Simpson
Fraser River Sturgeon Fishing Report
If you’re seeking consistent sturgeon action, now is the perfect time! October continues to deliver, with double-digit hook-ups as hungry sturgeon take full advantage of the abundant food supply in the river. Recent heavy rainfall has triggered a massive influx of salmon into the Fraser as they make their way to their respective tributaries. The sturgeon are keenly aware of this, and they’re in full feeding mode. While the rain brings certain benefits, the sheer volume of precipitation this past week also presents some challenges—so be sure to consider a few key factors before your next outing.
Safety Tips for Anchoring on the Fraser River
The atmospheric river that hit the Lower Mainland this past week definitely stirred things up on the rivers. The rapid rise in water levels resulted in a large amount of new debris to enter each river—ranging from small branches to entire trees. As the Fraser is the final recipient of this debris before it empties into the ocean, anchored jet boats can be at risk.
If you’re heading out in your own boat, be extra vigilant while anchored. Large logs colliding with your anchor line can pose a serious hazard, potentially causing the bow to dip and in serious cases, cause the boat to sink. To stay safe, it’s best to anchor closer to shore, away from visible debris lines. The river usually funnels most debris into specific routes, so if you notice a concentration of floating material in one section, it’s wise to steer clear—larger logs often follow. Always keep a watchful eye and consider having a pole on board to push away smaller logs before they become a problem.
Bait for White Sturgeon
The bait of choice remains unchanged—and it likely won’t for the next month or so. With so many salmon present in the river, using discarded salmon parts and roe is the obvious go-to for targeting sturgeon right now. Over the past week, salmon roe and leftovers have proven to be the most productive. Roe is easy to prepare, and it can stay fresh for a considerable amount of time, making it a reliable option throughout the season. While fresh roe is always preferable, frozen roe can also work—just make sure it hasn’t been thawed and refrozen too many times, as that will affect its quality.
The Pacific Angler jet boat is gassed up and ready to go!
With its covered cabin, you’ll stay dry on these rainy fall days, and we provide waders to keep you comfortable all day long. Whether you’re an experienced angler or a first-timer, we’re here to make your sturgeon fishing adventure unforgettable.
Give us a call at 778-788-8582 to book your trip, or visit our website, sturgeonfishingvancouver.ca for more information.
Tight Lines,
Jake Comrie
