Outlook:
Well, October was amazing and now November is reminding us daily that yes, we still live in Vancouver and our winters can be cold and more than a little wet. I would post a weather forecast, however all you need to do is walk around outside the last couple days and this weather is here to stay for the next couple weeks! Monday does plan on teasing us with a few rays of sunshine mixed in with some clouds but that’s about it!
As the season has changed you will notice that Starbucks is now decked out in all their Christmas decorations already! Yes, that time of year is coming faster than Rudolph’s red nose after a party with the elves!
We are gladly accepting orders for Christmas gifts and Santa’s elves are patiently waiting to see what they need to paint, build and box for all the fishermen/women out there! Pacific Angler has everything for the local or traveling angler and not only that, we have the stress-free gift card system! No need to check and snoop around on what your fisher has or does not have. A gift card covers all of these angles for you!
Custom Color Abel Reels – The perfect gift for early bird Christmas presents. If you want a one of a kind hand painted piece of fishing art that also happens to be one of best fishing machines on the planet, check out this new custom color Abel mooching reel!
We fished these reels all season and absolutely love them. They have taken a season of guide abuse and have not skipped a beat! Large Arbour – Solid Back – Highest Grade Materials in the World – All the things we have been looking for in a mooching reel.
Check out Abel’s web site for hundreds of different color options. http://www.abelreels.com/
If you order now we can bring in what you want for Christmas! They can also do fly reels and tons of great tools that would make amazing gifts.
Order now so the Elves at Abel can start painting!
Corporate Team Building/Bonding Charters for 2014!
Pacific Angler is featured in this falls edition of Business in Vancouver’s magazine called “Meeting Places BC”. The magazine will be hitting offices in greater Vancouver starting this past week.
Local salmon fishing charters can be an amazing way to bring a team together as proven by the successful bonding had by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC when Pacific Angler took the team of 30players out for an afternoon of salmon fishing or when SAP Inc. asked Pacific Angler if we could pull together a 70person team bonding charter!
In 2014, if you are organizing a small or large corporate team building event or you simply want to show your gratitude to some great clients, call us at Pacific Angler and let us take the “fishing” out of the decision of who is the right company to work with and “hook you up” with an amazing and memorable experience!!
A quick reminder, we will have this completed the Pacific Angler 2014 Course Schedule towards the end of November so please keep an eye for it. We will publish the 2014 schedule in the weekly fishing report, on FB and on our blog as well.
Want to WIN $100 gift card to Pacific Angler? Contact Bryce at Pacific Angler with your IDEA on a NEW course for us to teach and if we are able to create the course we will give you a $100 gift card!!
First come first serve on those ideas!!
Stillwater Fishing:
Well, I think I had my last day on the lakes for 2013 and it was another special day. I am bound and determined to find one of these large Ivey Lake fish eventually. I know they are there. This trip a friend, Brendan joined me on the trip. Due to a work “function” the night before, he had one condition on making the trip up to Ivey which was that he gets to sleep till we get to Squamish! Not sure about the rest of you, but I have been there and said “no prob” because I knew there would be a great photo op along the way and Brendan did not disappoint.
I even gave him an extra 90min by stopping off at Judd Road and fishing for chum/coho before making our way up to Ivey. Apparently the snooze-fest paid off as he was a happy camper the rest of the day!
We cruised the shoals and some spots where I did well 2weeks ago. Water temp ranged from 46-48deg. A couple other guys hooked into a few fish then left so we had the lake to ourselves most the day.
The first fish was taken on a size 14 bloodworm pattern and the rest were hooked on either a weighted or un-weighted dragonfly pattern depending on the depth we were fishing in. We could see fish rolling fairly consistently and swimming under our punt.
With the calm water this lake continues to produce good fishing and amazing scenic shots. I am looking forward to fishing Ivey at ice-off in the spring!
Tight lines,
Bryce
Our friend Brent Gill up at Stoney Lake Lodge posted some very cool pictures of the obvious state of winter at Douglas Lake Ranch that I thought would be worth viewing. They will begin to take bookings for their 2014 season after Nov 15th, 2013
STONEY LAKE LODGE / MINNIE LAKE FACILITIES.
-The Douglas Lake Ranch-
Lodge# 1.(250).378.7492
Toll Free# 1.800.663.4838
Squamish River:
Egg fishing: Now that the chum have started to spawn in numbers, the egg nymphing has picked up. The fish are still not very concentrated, so covering water is key. 8mm mottled beads in tangerine and glow roe are deadly imitations of chum eggs. Make sure to stop by the shop and stock up on all the egg fishing fixings.
Rain is coming and the river needs it! For the last week the fishing was solid but with levels low you have had to work for them. This should change and we should see good fishing for the next week or so.
With the welcomed rains arriving, we should expect to see some new fish pushing through the various systems that make up the great fishery of the lower-mainland. There are still lots of nice bright chum laced with sea-lice showing up in the lower river and coho have been reported to have been caught throughout.
With the rivers rising and colouring up, one might want to start using flies or lures with a more pronounced profile. The once go-to sparsely dressed flies might want to be substituted for something with a little more shape and colour. Sparkle-buggers and small flash flies have proven successful for some anglers the last little while and may be a good starting point.
For those fishing gear, medium to large Colorado blades, #3 and #4 Bluefox’s, and Gibbs Koho and Croc’s have been getting good results.
With the coho fishing in the Squamish expected to continue being good over the next few weeks, picking and choosing which days to fish can play a key role in the amount of success one could have. Past experiences have shown the fishing on this system to be good into the third week of November where water levels and flows have fluctuated and played a key role in fish migration and movement.
Stave River:
Chum fishing is still doing really good with a number of reports coming in of some fresh fish coming in on the tides. Popsicle flies swung through moving water or colourful jigs drifted under a float have been garnering some good success.
We have also been receiving some good reports of coho being caught throughout the various sections of the river from the dam down into the Fraser River on various spinners and spoons, as well as a variety of flies.
Chehalis:
There are plenty of bright coho in the system, getting them to bite is a different story. Subtle presentations like a nickel sized piece of roe on a #4 hook and a fluorocarbon leader have been the ticket. Micro colorado blades and small spinners have also been getting fish. Be prepared to hike around and look for pods of less disturbed fish.
Harrison River:
Andre has been teaching his “coho on the fly” and “fly-fishing for salmon in rivers” courses like a mad-man this fall. The students have been having great success not only in the educational format of the course but in hooking up with salmon as well!
This week Andre was out on the Harrison guiding clients on the jet boat and yesterday the river came up (water was needed) and the fish came in.
It was an epic day, the water came up and all the fish were rolling in after a dry spell. The back channels filled up and fish were coming through. Chehalis and the B channel rose so fast and got dirty by 2:00pm. Fishing is going to be great for the rest of the month.
Fraser River:
The Fraser River has been producing some good results from the usual bars, as well as for anglers willing to do some exploring. Back-channels, sloughs, and side streams are other good places to cast a line.
Spinners, spoons, and jigs have all been seeing some good results as well has small baitfish and attractor patterns. For the more urban angler who might not have too much time to venture to more remote bars or locations, nearby regional parks along the bank of the river such as Ladner’s Deas Island Regional Park or Steveston’s Gary Point Park can provide some afternoon fishing for a relaxing start to your evening after work.
Fraser River Sturgeon Fishing:
It has been an epic year on the Fraser fishing for sturgeon. We had some clients out on this past Tuesday and they stopped counting and rested their arms after 30+hookups on a trip with Ultimate Sportsfishing that we set up.
Here is a quick report from another one our friends and Fraser River guides, Brian McKinlay:
The amount of Salmon returning this fall continues to amaze! Lots and lots of fresh chum salmon and coho are still returning to all the local rivers with force! Fly fishing or float fishing for chum is a big hit right now, and spin fishing for coho is producing well.
November chum salmon fishing is a really good option until later November, these fish are known for being brighter and good fighters too.
Fraser river Sturgeon fishing over the past week has really been spectacular, its been fish after fish and double headers too on a regular basis. Fish are averaging 4-7 ft as usual with the odd bigger fish over 8 ft. This is what November Sturgeon fishing is all about- lots of fish!
November offers hot fishing and low angling pressure, it’s the best time of the year according to many guides such as ourselves.
Call Pacific Angler to assist you in booking your guided fishing trip on the Fraser river or one of Vancouver BC’s other gem like rivers!
Capt’n Brian Mack @ Silversides Fishing Adventures
Pacific Angler Courses for the remaining 2013 schedule are completely SOLD OUT EXCEPT FOR ONE SPOT!! We have ONE spot left in one of Andre’s salmon on the fly courses starting on Nov 18th! Call the store for details ASAP as this spot will go fast!
We have had an amazing year growing the educational part of what we offer to our customers and in 2014 we hope to continue to grow this segment of the business!
Our source of motivation here is the amazing feedback and responses to the courses we teach. Our students continually send pictures and tell us stories of how they caught their first coho on the fly after taking a course or learning how to fish the local saltwater with success! Learning how to tie flies that work is another great one as there is such a high level of satisfaction that comes from catching a fish on a fly you have tied!
We will be releasing the 2014 Pacific Angler Course Schedule in late November and we plan on adding new courses to the program!
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, Andre, Max, Eddie, Jordan and Bryce