Pacific Angler Outlook:
Well, it is another week in paradise for the Vancouver angler. While the rest of Canada is taking out their ice fishing rods we are hooking into chrome salmon, steelhead, feisty bulltrout, searun cutthroat, or absolutely epic sturgeon.
Check out the picture below of Brian, who recently just got into fly fishing this past month. With a little help from the boys at Pacific Angler and some new gear Brian was able to hook into a few nice coho salmon, on his 5 weight fly rod to add. Nice job Brian!
Lets start off by reviewing the forecast for Vancouver as the weather has been a deciding factor over the last two weeks. The rain, over the last two weeks, had basically blown out the river systems, making fishing very unpredictable. As the river levels were going up and down like a Yo-Yo we still heard some decent reports. However, now the weather and river levels are stabilizing and we can expect some great salmon fishing throughout November, namely coho salmon.
The Vancouver weather forecast is calling for sunny conditions from Friday to Saturday, with daily high temperatures of 6 to 8 degrees Celsius. You can then expect cloudy and rainy conditions from Sunday to Tuesday with daily high temperatures of 5 to 9 degrees Celsius. The story of the week is the low night temperatures. We are finally experiencing freezing temperatures at night. This is great news for the river angler as it will tighten up the rivers and bring them into great shape for the weekend.
In terms of fisheries there are 3 prime fisheries to focus on at this time of year locally. They are salmon, trout and sturgeon. The Pacific Angler staff is expecting coho fishing to continue well into November and possibly into December dependent on water levels. Trout fishing should be epic at the moment, especially using egg patterns and large sculpin patterns. Don’t forget those beautiful sea-run cutthroat trout that start to show up in our rivers at this time of year. As well, the boys at Pacific Angler have heard of some amazing sturgeon fishing as of late. Just read the report from one of our good Customers, Dave, who is an avid angler and awesome sturgeon rod who visited the Stave River last week.
“I didnt really get on the river early enough, but it was EXTREMELY high. Coho fishing was slow and I think only one guy we saw got into a fish, and lost it quickly. We were fishing just up river of the mill. We then went to try the toilet bowl and noticed the damn was opened, hence the high water, and the toilet bowl was almost non existent as a result. So we gave up and went to the mouth for sturgeon, which was outstanding! In half an hour I hook a 7-8ft that jumped instantly and snapped the dacron leader… Soon after I hooked into another big fish, that almost spooled me, towed us 1k down the fraser, and after about 1.5-2 hours decided to spit the hook!”
For a detailed look at Vancouver’s river fishing and and update on the saltwater scene please read the reports below. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact our friendly staff @ 604-872-2204 or better yet, drop by Pacific Angler @ 78 East Broadway.
River Fishing Report:
For a detailed look into the local river scene read the river fishing report below.
Chilliwack River: The Chilliwack/Vedder River is settling into prime shape again now since the rains. The river rose and brought in some more coho and a good push of late chrome chums. These fish are some of the best fighting and eating chums of the year. The upper river has a mixed bag of older fish and new fresh fish, where as the lower river has a better abundance of bright, chrome & fresh fish.
Chehalis River: The Chehalis has dropped and is in prime shape. There is usually a solid push of fish entering the river this time of year so if the river can hold these conditions, fishing will be good. The Chehalis is known for coming up in a hurry and droping in a hurry, so it is tough for us to give an up to the minute report. Check on the rains and make your best guess and go fishing. You can’t catch them at home looking at the weather report and river height graphs.
Harrison River: The Harrison was good, and is slowly dropping again. Ron and Andre were doing well there last week, as were some clients and we also had some guided trips in this area. Lots of chrome coho! Fish destined for the Chehalis will stage in the Harrison prior to heading up the river.. If you are using spinners and spoons try covering a lot of water in search of a pod of fish. The same can be said for the fly fisherman. There are still good numbers of chrome chum piling in as well.
Fraser River: We have heard of some great coho fishing in the Lower Fraser River on brightly colored spinners and spoons or bar fishing roe. There seem to be a lot of coho around in the 5-7 lb range, a good mix of hatchery and wild fish. Tough to say where these fish are going, but likely some are destined for the Chehalis and Harrison and of course the Vedder River. Regardless, there are more fish than the locals have seen in a few years, so that is exciting! The coho seem to be pretty small this year though, much smaller than last year, but most would agree the numbers are way up! The sturgeon fishing continues to be solid as well. This is typical of this time of year, the sturgeon put on the feedbag in preparation for a long cold winter. Sturgeon fishing from Chilliwack down to Fort Langley has been good to awesome. This time of year roe bags (chum roe is often best) are the ticket. If you would like to give sturgeon fishing a try, give us a call at the shop and we can set you up with one of our sturgeon guides. Our sturgeon guides do one thing for a living, fish for sturgeon, and this time of year we can pretty much guarantee you are going to have multiple hook ups, and maybe a double header or two for good measure!
Squamish River: The Squamish is finally coming in again. Thankfully the weather has taken a turn for the best, and the temps are falling and the river is dropping. Pink and purple flies or chartreuse and purple flies were producing well for chum in the lower before the blow out. The same colored marabou jigs were also producing well. If you want to focus on coho try a silver Koho spoon with fire orange back in size 35 or 45. Some of our custom spinners with the fl. red and fl. chartreuse blades have also been working. The upper river has changed drastically with two major floods this fall. If you can find a slow run or back channel there are usually a few willing coho around. The same spinners or spoons previously mentioned will work, as will brightly colored flies or flash flies. The fish are in the river finally in good numbers.
Capilano River: The Pacific Angler staff has not heard much from the Capilano River this week. The runs of chinook and coho for the fall are pretty much over. It won’t be long though until we hear of the first reports of winter steelhead being caught on this river. So stay tuned!
Stave River: The Stave has definitely seen some good numbers of coho show up last week and this week. The river will be in decent shape despite the rains last week because it is dam controlled. There are a few chrome chum rolling in as well. To target the chrome chums try and fish lower down by the mouth. Short floating pink and purple marabou jigs has been producing some nice fish. If you are swinging flies, pink and purple or chartreuse and purple flies have been working for the chum. The coho anglers have been doing well on the typical smaller coho flies like flash flies in copper or copper/olive, rolled muddlers, and Mickey Fins. We have a good selection of custom coho flies for the Stave and Harrison or your favorite slough. You don’t want to go too loud if you are fishing spinner or spoons in this system for coho. Try brass and copper finishes. We have some awesome custom coho spinners in stock right now, from larger bright coloured ones to more subtle brass and copper ones in smaller sizes. They are lacquer coated as well, so no tarnishing after a day of fishing.
Skeena Region – Nicholas Dean Lodge Report
The boys at Nicholas Dean Lodge have officially shut down for the season. Pacific Angler would like to give Chad and the rest of the Nicholas Dean Lodge for contributing to the Pacific Angler Friday Report and giving us the most up-to-date Skeena Reports available.
While there are some opportunities for late season steelheading, on those odd milder days, most anglers have put their rods away for the season. For the northern BC steelheader it is fly tying season!
We can’t wait until the spring and look forward to hearing from the guys over the winter. If you would like to make that trip of a lifetime for knuckle busting spring steelheading or chinook salmon on the spey give Pacific Angler a call @ 604-872-2204. Nicholas Dean Lodge has limited availability for prime-time spots in 2013 so call today!
Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing locally in the saltwater has been slow overall, which is to be expected at this time of year. While you will hear of a report here and there of winter chinooks being caught locally, fishing won’t really pick up until New Years. So stay tuned!!! As soon as Jason hears those first reports he will be out there.
On behalf of the Pacific Angler staff we wish you the best in your fishing endeavours 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.
Happy fishing,
Jason, Matt, Dave, Dimitri, Andre and Ron