OUTLOOK
If everyone is not already aware we are having our 11th Annual Spring Super Sale this weekend! It is perfectly timed with the prime time of our spring river season as well as a great time to restock your boats for the upcoming saltwater season. We have the massive sale list ready for you to drool over and make your shopping list for this weekend but for now lets focus on what makes this report great – the fishing content!
We have got back to seasonably normal weather with some classic rainy Vancouver days hitting the coast this last week. It might not be what most people would want for outdoor activities but it is exactly what the fisherman ordered for river fishing. Our rivers have been a little low the last 2 weeks and we are excited to see if the rain will be enough to raise up river levels.
It is not going to be a ton of rain and still cool at night so we are not too concerned about rivers blowing out. The rain should taper off tomorrow and be only a light drizzle for guys and girls heading out on the weekend. Take a look at all the river reports for more info on how the weather will affect individual systems. We are hoping for another solid week.
Though we are not reporting on interior lake fishing yet we are busy watching the weather, specifically the temperatures. It is warming up in the interior and if you are going to be hitting the lakes this spring we have some amazing deals at the sale for the lake fisherman. 20% off all flies is a good one and we have some hot new lake patterns in stock! We will be starting the ice off reports soon so stay tuned for that and come down to the sale to load up.
Saltwater fishing has been very solid as well with good fishing in a number of areas. Overall it has been a very good winter chinook season and we are looking forward to seeing what spring brings. The crabbing has picked up this week and we’re hoping prawning will once more areas open April 1. If you are holding off on putting your boat in the water it is time to get on it. Gear up at the sale this weekend and get out fishing! For more details check out the saltwater section at the end of the report!
SPRING SUPER SALE
Our Spring Super Sale starts tomorrow at 9AM! Get out on the water this season for less – come on down to the shop and gear up at the best prices of the season. If you missed the special mail out with the sale list yesterday be sure to check out all the details and the full sale list here.
We’ll have some awesome in store giveaways throughout the weekend and if a great sale wasn’t reason enough to come to the shop this weekend don’t miss out on your chance to come on down and meet some of the top reps in the industry. They’ll be in store to talk tackle and share their knowledge and passion for fishing Saturday from 11AM – 1PM.
Scott Baker-McGarva | Sales rep, guide, instructor, and fly shop veteran! With over two decades of fishing and guiding experience from the Bahamas to Northern BC, Scott is a wealth of knowledge and always willing to talk fishing. As a sales rep for Simms Fishing Products, Abel Reels, Montana Fly Company/Gaspe Fly Company and Waterworks-Lamson Scott is at the forefront of the top brands in the industry. Come on by to chat with Scott at the sale. Saturday March 24 from 11AM – 1PM!
Marty Spencer | Many of you know Marty as he is a regular fixture in our store but if you don’t now is your chance to get to know him. As a rep for Sea Pro Distribution Marty is dialed in on the latest and greatest in tackle from some of your favourite brands like Scotty, Berkley, Fenwick, Penn, Abu Garcia, Diawa, Okuma, Gibbs, Normark, Colman and many more. With over 25 years in the fishing industry Marty has extensive knowledge and experience in local saltwater fishing, salmon and steelhead fishing (fly & gear), stillwater lakes, and tropical fishing.
Dave Yeager | Dave has spent almost a decade guiding in the saltwater on the Central Coast and Haida Gwaii. When he’s not out on the water he’s busy representing a strong portfolio of fly, conventional and outdoor brands in BC with Pro-Line Sports and serving as a member of the Sport Fishing Institute Board of Directors. Some his brands on sale in store this weekend are Gibbs, Scientific Angler, Orvis, Mustad, Outcast, Okuma and Tuf Line.
CLASSES + COURSES
We’ve got a HUGE line up of classes in April and just a couple of spots left in this month’s Fly Fishing for Searun Cutthroat Trout In Rivers class.
Fly Fishing For Searun Cutthroat Trout in Rivers
This spring make sure to get out and take advantage of the world-class cutthroat fishing in the Lower Mainland. This cutthroat course is designed to educate you on the life cycle, location, seasonal feeding habits, and successful techniques and flies used to catch these elusive yet aggressive fish. This course consists of a 3hr evening seminar and a fully guided day on the water
Cost: $250.00 + GST
Dates: Seminar Mar 27 Guided: Mar 31 or Apr 1
Seminar Apr 4 Guided: Apr 7 or 8
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Introduction to Fly Tying – Sold out – call the shop to add your name to the waitlist
There is no greater satisfaction than catching a fish with a fly you tied yourself. This 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; each session is 3hrs. Students are required to supply their own vise, tools and materials. A 10% discount is available on materials and tools purchased for the course.
Cost: $75.00 + GST
Dates: Apr 9, 16, 23
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Mastering Local Saltwater Salmon – 2 spots left!
Over 50 million salmon migrate past Vancouver annually. Learn how to catch these fish with a Pacific Angler. This course offers an in-depth look at the local saltwater scene. We cover the local saltwater salmon fishing for the entire year, showing you the how, when, and where. This course includes a 6hr weekend seminar and a fully guided day on the water in one of our Grady Whites.
Cost: $300.00 + GST
Dates: Seminar: Apr 14 Guided: Apr 20, 21, 23, May 6, or 7
Seminar Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm – with a one-hour break for lunch. There are two restaurants on site for students to have lunch at their cost. Coffee/Tea and water will be provided.
Seminar held at Pacific Gateway Hotel – 3500 Cessna Drive, Richmond, BC
Guided Day: Full day on the water
Introduction to Chironomid Techniques
Chironomids are the number one food source for trout in BC’s lakes; however, few anglers have taken the time to become true masters of this discipline. Those that do are often rewarded with the largest fish. Trevor is a former member of the Canadian Fly Fishing Team and an excellent chironomid angler. Dedication to his sport has helped Trevor become one of the top fly fishermen in the province as well as a fisheries biologist working for Hemmera. This course is comprised of one 3hr evening seminar. Content is for beginner to advanced.
Cost: $45.00 + GST
Dates: Apr 17 or May 2
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Introduction To Fly Fishing – 2 spots left!
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.
Cost: $125.00 + GST
Dates: Seminar Apr 18 , Casting April 22
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Casting Time(s): 10am – 1pm or 2pm -5pm
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: $45.00 + GST
Dates: Apr 25 or May 29
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Chilliwack River Fishing Report
We are nearing the backend of the season for steelheading on the Vedder but the backend can offer some of the best fishing. The water is extremely low and extremely clear right now. We are getting some mixed precipitation this weekend but more than likely it won’t colour up the water much if at all. We will take the overcast days as it will make the fish less spooky. When we see these conditions focus on the lower and mid river for fresh fish still coming into the system. We will start to see more spawners showing up in the upper reaches as we get into early April so if you catch a dark colored wild fish make sure to treat them with care.
With these water conditions keep your presentations small and your tackle light. Fluorocarbon is a good idea to give yourself the added stealth advantage. Alternatively, you can go the completely opposite route and fish something big and bold to attract the aggressive fish. There are good numbers of fish in the system so go give it a try before the season is over.
Alex Au-Yeung
Capilano River Fishing Report
There was a big change in the water levels at the Cap this week. Water rose quite a bit and this is great for fishing. With the water level change, it should shuffle around the fish and bring more fresh fish in.
Look for walking speed water or pockets. Try anything from bait, plastics (worms, gooey bobs) corkies, spin-n-glos, and flies under the float. Also try swinging spoons if the temperatures continue to be warm.
Dustin Oh
Squamish River Fishing Report
The river is still quite low on the graphs and we are hoping that this rain will get the upper river going. It has been ditch low for the last 2 weeks. That said reports have not been horrible. Fry are moving on the lower river areas and we expect them to start moving in numbers in the upper river an day. So make sure you are well stocked on fry patterns as well as small spoons, spinners and Colorado blades if you head out.
When I am out I have been focused on bulltrout on the upper reaches of the system and then I switch to larger pink patterns and or steelhead gear presentations on the lower river.
Watch the river levels and with any luck the rain will spread out the steelhead and get the trout fishing going.
Remember to release all steelhead with the utmost care and have fun on the weekend!
Matt Sharp
Fraser Valley Cutthrout Report
The cutthroat season has officially started. I went fishing last Tuesday starting from the Harrison River and finished my scouting for the day at the Stave River. I am happy to report I saw a lot of fry in all the systems. I also saw a few pics of cutthroat from my friends who were there on the weekend before me so it looks promising. The river level was at 8.6 meters. If you want to put your boat in, come in from Harrison Lake so you can see if there is any activity on the beach before you enter the river from the top. Due to the low water it is hard to launch you boat at Kilby Park and sometimes they will even close it.
It is a good year to do a lot of walking and explore the back channels. I did see a couple of fish chasing fry on the main stem Harrison but it was on the opposite side of the pilings. Since the back channels are all dry right know it is easier to spot them, as they have no choice but to sit in the main stem. There were also a few bugs hatching as well so make sure you always have some dry flies on you and not just fry patterns.
My usual last stop at the Stave didn’t pay off but I did see fry for the first time on the lower west side, as they open up the dam and the strong flow closer to the dam pushes all to the much calmer part of the river. I did have a look at the back channels from up top on the east side but I could see there was hardly any water so did not venture down for a closer look. If you have a car topper boat or a pontoon you can put it in from the west side and hop on the islands and try your luck there from there. Hopefully I will have some cutthroat pics for next weeks report!
Andre Stepanian
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
Local Lake Fishing Report
Me and a couple of friends have been out scouting the local region 2 lakes hoping to be the first to get on those stocked trout but on the whole they have not been very cooperative; we have seen one or two caught on bait but they don’t seem to be in the mood for chasing moving targets. More than likely the water still needs to warm up a bit. As of this moment that I am writing this lakes have not been stocked yet but they were scheduled to be stocked this week. It is possible that they will delay introducing the fish (if they haven’t already put the trout in) due to the cold snap we are going to be getting this weekend.
GoFishBC won’t be able to update their website until the week of March 26 so be sure to check their Facebook page for any updates until then. Once we get some warmer weather these fish should start to get more active.
Alex Au-Yeung
Interior Lake Fishing Report
COMING SOON as things warm up! We can’t wait!
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
There was a lot going on this past week. Eddie had the week off so Jason, Tom and Lars were all out on the water as things are starting to pick up both in terms of the fishing but also how many boats we have out each day.
It seems we are about 2 weeks into a decent fishery now from the Bell Buoy out to the QA. There have been some fish out on the Hump as well. So that is a lot of water to cover and as a result it can be tough to be in the right place at the right time but I think we did a pretty good job of that on our trips this week with multiple keepers hooked on each outing. Some of you might remember this fishery from 2 years ago. It never really happened last year, but 2 years ago it ended up being some of the better fishing we had all year so it will be interesting to see how the next few weeks pan out.
Lars’ guest with one of three nice fish landed that day on a 5 hour trip
The fish have been anywhere from right off bottom in the shallower waters close to the Bell all the way up to about 60 feet when out in deeper waters off the QA and SE corner of the Hump. This is where good electronics really pay off as we were clearly marking bait balls and arcs on all our trips and adapting each day based on how deep the bait and fish were.
Some bait just off the bottom about a third of the way out to the QA from the Bell.”
We fished some bait this week but spoons were the clear winner and some bigger sizes have been the most productive for us such as 3.5 and 4.0 G-Force and Kingfisher Spoons. The water has some colour to it so spoons with some green and glow on them have been best. Colours like Irish Cream, Outfitter, Homeland, and Kitchen Sink are all good choices. The brighter flashers have been working well too. Green or chartreuse blades with glow tape have been good such as Green Onion Glow, Salty Dawg, or just a green blade or chartreuse blade with glow tape on one side and reflective tape on the other.
We did fish Thrasher and Porlier a bit but the fishing has been much better on our side, so we don’t think it is worth running over there quite yet. We also haven’t heard any reports off S Bowen yet, so it is still too early to say if that fishery we have enjoyed the last 2 springs will materialize again.
Crabbing has definitely picked up the last few days, it’s not on fire, but it is worth dropping traps. Prawning has been a bit lack luster as most of the spots that are open have been hit pretty hard now. April 1st this will change as more spots are scheduled to open.
Chinook, Dungeness, and Spot Prawns from a trip with that Tom guided this past week!”
On a final note, look out for the seals and sea lions. On Monday I lost 1 fish to a sea lion and the proceeded to lose 3 more to seals. There were over 7 fish lost to seals that day among a small number of boats. If a seal is following you, you might as well pick up and move because if you do hook a decent fish you will immediately “get sealed” so pick up and relocate before this happens.
Jason and Jana with a nice chinook, one that the seal didn’t get that day!