Pacific Angler Friday Fishing Report: October 5, 2018

OUTLOOK

The air is getting crisp, the leaves have a hint of colour and the salmon have hit the rivers! Fall salmon season is here! Yes, yes we know many of you have been hooking a bunch of fish already but the best is yet to come. If you have been holding off until there are more fish, now is the time to get out.

We have had good reports from the Vedder and Stave. The Squamish has been dirty from the rain and snowmelt but we expect with the crisp weather to hear good reports this week. We are also hearing a few reports off the Harrison/Chehalis. This system is sometimes a little behind but it is worth a trip if you are thinking about it! We have intel on all of these rivers in the freshwater reports section so be sure to check it out.

Though saltwater fishing has slowed there are still fish off the mouth of the Capilano and options to intercept chum, coho and late chinook. Jason has more details in this weeks saltwater fishing report.

Lake fishing is probably at its peak for the fall season. The reports we have been getting are awesome and it is still not too late to take a run to the interior.

Finally, as promised last week, we have another fly tying tutorial from Zach. We have changed it up this week. This week it is in video format and we plan to bring you many more. This week’s feature is Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp. It is probably one the most famous modern bonefish flies and we love it for CXI, Cuba and pretty much anywhere that has bonefish. Don’t miss this video and you can look forward to more videos in the future!

If you need to pick up a few things before you head out this weekend our Thanksgiving Long Weekend Hours are below.

Friday October 5 – 10AM – 7PM

Saturday October 6 – 10AM – 6PM

Sunday October 7 – 11AM – 5PM

Monday October 8 – Closed – Happy Thanksgiving

 

On to the report!!

CLASSES AND COURSES

October is here, don’t miss out on taking our last Introduction to Fly Fishing Course for 2018! There are still a few spots in that course and a couple in Andre’s Fly Fishing for Salmon in Rivers course. Call the shop today to get dialed in for the Fall Season.

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.

Seminar: October 17, 2018
Seminar Time:  6:30pm – 9:30pm
Casting: October 20, 2018
Casting Time(s): 10am – 1pm or 2pm -5pm
Cost: $125.00+GST

Fly Fishing For Salmon In Rivers

Fly fishing for salmon is one of the most exciting fisheries in the Lower Mainland. Let us teach you the techniques and the hot spots to catch salmon on the fly in our local rivers. In the 3hr evening seminar you will learn about rod, reel and line, sink tip, and fly selection. Then put the skills into practice during a fully guided day on the water where you will learn how to read water and swing the fly!

Seminar: Oct 24, 2018
Guided: Oct 27 or 28, 2018    DATES SOLD OUT
Guided: Nov 3 or 4, 2018
*Custom Trip Dates Available*

Seminar Only Cost: $45.00+GST
Seminar & Guided Walk’n Wade Cost: $250.00+GST per angler, minimum of 2 anglers per guided day on the water.
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm

 

FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS

Chilliwack/Vedder River Fishing Report

With relatively stable weather for the weekend the Vedder should be a great option for a trip. We had some mixed reports last week before the rain. The fish are spread through this system now. If you can find a moving fresh pod of fish, fishing has been excellent.   In areas of high pressure the fishing is more challenging, but this is fairly standard for salmon fishing. If you are new to salmon fishing in general there are some simple rules to play by. Pressured fish are hard to catch. Early mornings are always your best bet. If you are on a run with a bunch of other guys and not many fish are being caught it is time to move!  This is especially true in the mid to upper river. In short – move lots.

Roe is still producing the most fish but spoons, colorado blades and small single egg presentations need to be in your kit. If you are in an area of heavy pressure, take note of what the other guys are using. If they are not hooking fish use something else. If this fails remember the simple rules listed above and move.

Fly guys are also finding fish and in slow moving water the fly can out fish gear. Find deep slow water. In this water we like a stealthy sink tip with 10 lb fluoro leaders or even a full intermediate sinking line. Small muddlers and attractor patterns can be deadly for Coho when they get picky.

Good Luck!

 

Capilano River Fishing Report

Capilano River had another drastic change in water level and a lot more fish entered the river. Fishing can be great when the fish just enter the river however it can shut down quite quickly after the water settles. Especially when people bottom bounce the river.  We encourage all anglers to use an ethical and legal method when fishing.

Understanding the water is key to choosing a proper presentation. For frog-water or any slower moving water, stripping flies, twitching jigs and tossing spoons and spinners will be the best method.  For medium speed water, float fishing and swinging flies or spoons and spinners is a viable method.

Please respect all the other anglers on the river and please don’t bottom bounce or fish with roe when there is bait ban.

Release all wild coho and any steelhead you encounter.

See you out there,

Dustin Oh

 

Squamish River Fishing Report

The Squamish is finally starting to drop down and clear up after last week’s blowout. Fish have been found throughout the system, including the Mamquam and Cheakamus. We’ve had reports of some good bulltrout fishing too from anglers who are targeting them with gear, flies, and beads. Once the chum start to show up the char and trout fishing should really pick up.

With the water still a bit high and coloured, larger presentations have been key. 8-10mm beads have been good, as well as bigger spoons such as K-Wobblers from Gibbs. At this time year when we are usually carrying 2 or more rods, one great accessory weblogs is the QuikShot from Fishpond. This simple device helps us carry and then easily access a second or third rod.

Remember, be safe and wade carefully,

Jordan Simpson

 

Stave River Fishing Report

Mixed reports from the Stave River have been coming in this past week. Some anglers found fish wile others struggled. Historically, this is when a lot of the chum get caught at the mouth of the Fraser. Chum that are at the mouth of the Fraser won’t take long to get to the tributaries. There are schools of chum in the river now but you will need to hunt for them.

Float fishing with a jig is a good method to target these fish. Common mistakes people make when float fishing with a jig is that they use same length leaders as they were fishing with roe. You only want about 8inches of leader and jigs have weight themselves and will sink. Change your depth with the float until you find the best depth and you will be hooking fish left and right.

Fly fishing with a marabou popsicle fly can be just as effective. Make sure to use sink tip line so you can get the fly down to where the fish are.

It is very important that you use a proper set up for this fishery. A Good durable medium power float fishing rod will get you in the game. Fly rods should be at least an 8 weight. Come in the shop and we will gladly set you up with proper gear!

The coho fishery usually starts a bit later than the chum run. Spoons and spinners, and fly fishing with a sparse fly will get you in the game. Twitching jig is also a very good method to aggravate these fish.

Thanks for everyone who sent their scouting report past week! And see you all out there

Dustin Oh

 

Harrison River Fishing Report

The Harrison is a very interesting system. In terms of water it is made up of the slow waters that are almost like a lake below the Lougheed Hwy bridge, the waters above that have some flow and then the Chehalis, its major tributary, is a classic coastal river. We can also not forget the number of sloughs and lakes that are closely connected to the system that offer great fishing opportunities.

We have already heard reports of chum in the lower river as well as coho as far up as the Chehalis. The lower river is a great fishery for all skill levels and is perfect for spinners and spoon fishing and fly fishing. When you go above the bridge you have some great beginner float fishing water where you can target chum and coho. The Chehalis is more technical and harder to access but a beautiful river to hike with a float rod.

For float fishing the water above the bridge make sure to bring your pink and purple jigs for the chum. If we get a good chum year, the river will be blanketed with them. For coho in the lower river spoons produce best but if you love float fishing and get board of catching chum, try a Colorado blade in copper or gold. Many anglers will also fly fish on the lower river. It is perfect for stripping coho flies and you will hook a bunch of chum if you switch to chum style patterns.

This system is historically a little later. We love fishing it the last week of October all the way until December but like we said we have already heard good reports so it is worth a hike and scout now!

 

STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS

Late season lake fishing is sometimes overlooked but for those who make the drive to the interior it offers debatably some of the best lake fishing of the season. We have heard great reports from Tunkwa, Roche and the Kane Valley lakes to name a few. Pretty much all the lakes in the interior will be fishing well and it is hard for us to name just a few.

The key to late season is to look shallower than you were fishing in the summer. As the temperature of the water drops, fish move into the shallows and feed aggressively. We recommend more searching patterns. Leaches, boobies and general attractor patterns cover lots of ground.

Most anglers will use a slow sinking line as their go to presentation but you should also carry an indicator rod with an 8-12 food leader and a heavy sinking line for fishing dragons and booby patterns.

Come down to the shop and we can help you get ready!

 

FLY FEATURE

Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp

With the cold weather and the rain on its way, this week we are going to change gears a bit and tie up a fly for your favourite warm water destinations. Veverka’s Mantis Shrimp is a go to pattern for bone fish in the majority of warm water destinations. When designing the Mantis Shrimp Bob Veverka was really focused on the size, shape and colour of his fly to match the prey that predator fish eat. He says, “size can easily be changed or matched by the size of the hook you tie on. Shape or silhouette must be built into a pattern so it resembles the prey you wish to represent. It should be a fly that’s easy to tie with basic materials, lands lightly, sinks fast and most important, catches fish. The bulky body on my Mantis pattern makes it land softly, and the bead chain eyes bring it to the critical zone.” The beauty of this saltwater slayer is that it incorporates inexpensive materials and it is fairly easy to tie up. This week we will doing the tutorial in video form so make sure to click the link and enjoy the video! If you aren’t up to tying this pattern, I have tied up a few for the shop and I will be doing them in a couple of different sizes soon as well. Come on in and grab some for yourself or come see us to get all of the materials to tie this pattern up.

 

Hook: Mustad C70SD Big Game Size 8-4

Thread: UTC 140 Grey Brown

Weight: Bead Chain Eyes Gold Medium

Mouth: Rabbit Strip Tan cut from the hide w/ one strand of Pearl Crystal Flash on each side

Eyes: Mono Eyes Black

Carapace: Tan Craft Fur

Body: Tan Craft Fur Under Body Fur Dubbing, Barred Sili Legs Sand

Check out the video here!

 

Zach Copland

 

SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report

Well fall is certainly in the air with nighttime temps in the single digits and frost on the dock in the morning! This also signals the back end of our Cap Mouth fishery for chinook. The fishing this week has been a bit slower, but the big fish are finally showing up.

We probably have at least another week of decent fishing if more fish continue to show up, as there isn’t much rain in the forecast the next 7 days. We often see fresh fish show up until Oct 15^th, so it isn’t over yet. The week after next it looks like it is going to be a wet one and that will push any remaining chinook up the river. As a result, if you want to head out this coming week is likely your best shot at some of the largest chinook we hook all season.

Besides the Cap Mouth, there are opportunities for coho and chum down at the South Arm of the Fraser. Fishing for the coho has been pretty slow these past few days from what I have heard and the test sets at Albion would confirm that with low numbers in the nets. If you look at past data there is usually a decent push of fish around the first and second week of October, so fishing could pick up any day. The chum numbers usually pick up around mid October as well if you want to give that a try.

Personally I am looking forward to doing some work on the boats in the coming months and getting out for some winter chinook fishing. In the meantime our guides will be targeting the last of the big chinook to show up at the Cap Mouth and doing some river fishing as well.

See you in the shop or on the water,

Jason Tonelli