Outlook
Well the trend of heavy rain Wednesday, Thursday, Friday seems to have held off this week and though there is some rain in the forecast for the weekend it looks as though mother nature is throwing us a bone because many of our rivers got low this week. We will see some rain today and then a good dump on Sunday. We expect all rivers to fish well this weekend. We are hearing good reports off the Vedder, Squamish and Harrison so it’s time to Go Fishing! Check out the river reports below for more information!
On the saltwater scene things haven’t been hot anywhere but they have been consistent. Check out the saltwater report at the end of the report for details.
Whats New In the Shop
Andre’s first batch of Epoxy Minnows has hit the floor! – Get them while they are hot! These flies are one of the best imitations of salmon fry. They fish awesome on the Squamish, Stave, Harrison and pretty much anywhere that have salmon eggs hatching.
Andre’s Epoxy Minnows
“A.S. Popper”
Andre has also tweaked his famous “A.S. popper” this is one of the only flies proven to catch cutthroat, bulltrout and even coho on the surface! Come down to check them out!!
Fishing Courses
Special Course Announcements – We have had a cancellation in Matt’s Steelhead Fly Fishing course next week. Feb 29th in-house Sunday March 13th on the water. This course sold out fast but because of the cancellation we have one spot available. First come first serve. This is the best local course for learning how to tackle steelhead fishing with a fly rod. Call today 778-996-0056.
We still have spots in our March “Fly Fishing For Searun Cutthroat” courses. Call to sign up today! 604-872-2204
Fly Fishing For Searun Cutthroat Trout In Rivers
Dates 1: Seminar Mar 9th , Guided Mar 12th or 13th Date 2: Seminar Mar 29 Guided April 2nd or 3rd
This spring make sure you 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. Call to sign up today. 604-872-2204.
Matt’s Black And Blue
his week with the good reports and things picking up on the steelhead scene, we thought to revisit an old faithful. Below is the recipe for Matt’s Back and blue, a very simple yet effective steelhead pattern.
Recipe:
- Spey Blood Quill Marabou, dyed black
- Spey Blood Quill Marabou, dyed brilliant blue
- Rhea Spey Plume, dark blue
- Guinea Fowl Feathers, silver doctor blue
- Fluorescent Chenille, fluorescent fire orange
- 6/0 Uni-thread, black or iron grey
- Soft Wire, medium silver
- Tiemco 7999, no. 2
- Flashabou, dark blue
- Angel Hair, black pearl
Step 1:
Place the hook in the vise and attach the tying thread approximately in line with the hook point.
Step 2:
Select about 8 strands of dark blue Rhea that are just less than two times the overall length of the hook shank. Tie the Rhea in at the hook point and clip the excess. The Rhea should extend back approximately the length of the hook shank.
Step 3:
At the same point above the hook point attach 3-4 strands of dark blue Flashabou with the end extending as far back as the Rhea tails fibres. Leave the long ends of the Flashabou strands hanging.
Step 4:
Attach the medium silver Soft Wire above the hook point and tie it down along the hook shank with thread wraps to a point approximately 1/3 of the way down the shank from the hook eye. Clip the excess wire from behind. Make sure the wire lies flat along the top of the hook shank.
Step 5:
Holding all the pieces of dark blue Flashabou as one, wrap the Flashabou up the hook shank ensuring complete coverage of the hook shank and the silver wire up to the point 1/3 of the way down the shank from the hook eye. Tie in the Flashabou strands and trim the excess.
Step 6:
Counter-wrap the medium silver Soft Wire with even spacing up the hook shank over the dark blue Flashabou to secure the Flashabou. Tie of the medium silver wire at the same point approximately 1/3 of the way back from the hook eye.
Step 7:
At this point 1/3 back from the hook eye, tie in the fluorescent fire orange chenille. Make two or three wraps of chenille to build up an “egg sized” bulb. Tie of the chenille and clip the excess.
Step 8:
Strip the fibres off from one side of a selected brilliant blue Spey Blood Quill Marabou feather. Tie in the tips just in front of the chenille bulb and take two or three wraps. Make sure to stroke the fibres back with each wrap so no fibres are tied down. Tie off the blue marabou feather and clip the excess.
Step 9:
Some tiers may wish to include some black pearl Angel Hair in between the two marabou feathers at this point. Extra flash is up to the individual but a good rule of thumb is that extra flash can be more easily removed on the river bank than added!
Step 10:
Just in front of the blue marabou feather, repeat step 8 but using the black dyed Spey Blood Quill Marabou feather. Advanced tiers may prefer to experiment with tying both colors of feathers and wrapping them simultaneously for a more blended effect.
Step 11:
Select a silver doctor blue Guinea Fowl feather and strip the fibres from one side. Tie in the tips just in front of the black marabou from step 10 and wrap 2-3 turns with the Guinea Fowl feather. Tie off and clip the excess.
Step 12:
Build up a neat head with the tying thread, whip finish and apply head cement…
…and you are ready to hit the river. If you have any fly tying questions please do not hesitate to give myself of the rest of the boys a shout at the store (604-872-2204).
I hope to see you on the water,
Matt
ON TO THE REPORT!
Squamish River Fishing Report
The Squamish is sitting in the low 2 meter range right now and we expect this to bump up a little with the rain. This is a good thing because it is on the low side but low is way better than blown out and with water coming it should be in good shape for the weekend.
Streamer patterns are starting to be the go-to presentation. Make sure to have a good selection of olive, black and white streamers. The first steelhead sightings are trickling in. We consider mid March the time to start targeting Steelhead on the Squamish System but do not be surprised if it happens over the next 2 weeks. If you are getting ready for the season, tie flies in pink, orange and purple. You can change up Matt’s Back and Blue by simply using different colors of marabou. That said if you like a challenge and you missed Dimitri’s Stinger Prawn fly video, his pattern is also awesome and can be tied in a couple different color combinations. Check it out here!
Good Luck, respect your fellow angler and follow the rules. The Squamish is a 100% single barb-less, bait ban, catch and release fishery.
Chilliwack River Fishing Report
The Chilliwack fished well this past week. Ideal weather conditions paired with a good numbers of fresh fish entering the system was great to see. This should continue into the weekend and next week. Keep an eye on the weather this weekend as the forecast is calling for 20-30mm of rain Sunday. This might affect your plans for Sunday and Monday. Make sure to have a variety of presentations with you because you will come across wary fish that have been in the river since December and might need a bit of coaxing to bite. Fluorocarbon leaders and a handful of smaller baits such as Trout Beads and Jensen Eggs should be on every anglers leader board. Colorado blades should also be on your list as they are a great change up presentation as we start to see salmon fry hatching on the system. Cast often and keep moving.
Harrison River Fishing Report
We are hearing the first good cutthroat reports off the Harrison but walking access with higher water has made covering ground a little challenging. That said there are some salmon fry hatching as well as insect hatches that fish are keying in on and if you can find fish in spots that are accessible, fishing has been great.
Finding fish is always the biggest challenge with cutthrouting. When you find them you can usually get them. As the water drops this week we should see more bank space open up and thus give you more ground to cover. This should make the likelihood of finding fish more consistent. The epoxy fry are in-stock at the shop and Andre is heading out next week to scout. Weather permitting, we should have more information in next weeks report.
Stave River Fishing Report
Unfortunate the last couple reports that we had of the Stave was that the dam workers were trying to drop the water levels of the lake to work on the dam and the river was too high to fish. This system is an awesome little spot to hit for cutthroat, bull-tout, white fish and steelhead this time if year as long as they are not pumping water out of the dam. We still recommend hitting this system but you might want to have a back up plan for heading to the Harrison or Vedder if you arrive in the morning to find the Stave raging even though all the other rivers in the area are low.
Vancouver Saltwater Fishing Report
Consistent has been the word that best describes this years winter chinook season. When the weather has permitted anglers usually find fish but we have not had any epic reports. Anglers have been finding fish in the harbor, up Howe Sound, down towards the mouth of the Fraser and across the straight but no spot has been a go to “hot spot”.
Minus a little rain, the marine forecast looks good for fishing Friday with high slack tides early. Tomorrow and Sunday may see some wind but it is suppose to calm down for Monday with a 9 am morning slack tide.
Historically the best fishing is still ahead of us so we are looking forward to seeing how the winter chinook fishing will fair into March.
Good Luck out on the Water and call in any hot reports!
If you would like to get out on the water and enjoy the sun and some tasty winter chinook this week, give us a call at 778-788-8582.
Or for any questions on the report call Pacific Angler at 604-872-2204.