OUTLOOK
Spring is almost over but summer isn’t nipping at her heels. Again, we are going to see a mixed bag of weather with rain, cloud and a bit of sun right across the province. This has put the lake fishing off a bit and the reports from the interior this week have been mixed. The team was out on different lakes throughout the week so check out the lake reports below including the one from Brian Chan.
Saltwater fishing was solid this past week and though there might be clouds and some showers in the forecast, the winds don’t look bad and the tides are good. Jason will have more info on what to expect on the saltwater front in this week at the end of the report.
On another front, we know that many of you lake fisherman enjoy a shore lunch or a fish or two for the dinner table. This week Aidan, who is a damn good cook, shares his favorite simple trout recipe.
As always, Matt has all the details and a few extra tidbits in the video version of the Friday Fishing Report on our YouTube channel here:
CLASSES AND COURSES
Join us in the virtual classroom this month! Matt will be back teaching two classes this month!
Introduction To Fly Fishing Trout Streams
Stalking trout on mountain streams defines fly fishing. In this course, we will teach you the fundamental techniques for fly fishing trout streams; dry fly fishing, nymphing, and streamer fishing. This course will get you as close to being Brad Pitt (River Runs Through It) as you will ever be! This course is comprised of one 3hr evening seminar. Date: June 23, 2020 – Zoom Seminar
Time: 6:30pm
Cost: $50.00+GST
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. The course is comprised of two sessions; 3hr evening seminar and a 3hr casting session.
Dates: Zoom Seminar June 22. Casting June 28
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Casting Time(s): 10am – 1pm or 1:30pm -4:30pm
Cost: $150.00+GST
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Capilano River Fishing Report
Now that we are almost halfway through the month of June, it is serious go time for the Capilano River. Up until this point, I have been egging you guys to get out there to scout the river and to fish over the few early fish that were trickling in. However, the back-end of June is when we see the accumulations of these early fish really start to build up and bigger schools of coho start moving in on the high tide when the water levels are still sufficient. With the rain this week the water levels have bumped and conditions for travelling fish remained optimal, so fishing should be good leading into next week.
With the water levels up, most techniques will be applicable. Drift fishing roe or fly fishing with small olive buggers and flash flies are definitely going to be producers moving throughout this month. Spinners, spoons, and twitching jigs with some variation of black, blue, orange, and copper or gold for the blades are also worth using for those of you wanting to chuck lures.
Alex Au-Yeung
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
Sea to Sky Lakes Fishing Report
The sea to sky region has been a bit hit and miss as of late. This is mostly due to the flip flopping weather. When the barometer is all over the place it can make fishing a bit more difficult. Add in some warmer water temperatures and the fish can tend to “disappear.” They are still there and, generally when this kind of thing happens, they head for deeper more oxygenated water. Fishing the bottom with power bait is a great tactic for this time of year. All you need to do this is to have a weight and about 1-2 feet of leader off a swivel to your hook and add a bit of floating power bait. This will float your hook off the bottom and those finicky trout will be cruising around and most of the time will eat that presentation. For the fly guys, I would recommend having a full sinking line in either a type 3 or 6 sink rate. With a short leader, cast and retrieve leech patterns or blobs and boobies and hang on. These takes can be sudden and aggressive on these presentations and can turn a tough day into one to remember. This weekend looks a little dreary weather wise but the rain can sometimes turn fishing on. If you don’t want to get soaked, we have some excellent rain shells from Simms that are worth adding to your fishing gear as well as a bunch of waterproof bags and hats. If you decide to not fish this weekend, visit us at the shop and we can go over gear to get you ready for your next outing!
Zach Copland
Interior Lake Fishing Reports
I spent a few days up in 100 to 150 Mile this past week, looking for those big triploid Pennask fish. Although we did have a few flurries of activity, for the most part fishing was tough on the lakes we were at. It was cold and windy and in the higher elevation lakes of 4000 plus feet it got down to 0 C at night. There were multiple fronts coming in and this kept the fish activity and hatches to a minimum. When we did get a break in the weather the fish cooperated, but unfortunately those moments were few and far between.
There were some chironomids coming off and also localized hatches of mayflies and damselflies. So, if you are heading up, make sure you have the ability to adapt from indicator fishing to casting at a moment’s notice.
It looks like the back end of June is forecasted to have a warmer and more stable weather pattern. The lake fishing should pick up later in the month with the warmer weather, as this cold weather has definitely made it tricky, but it has also extended the season.
Jason Tonelli
We continue to have unsettled weather and fluctuating barometric pressure over much of the interior regions of BC which has had an effect on fishing success in many lakes. Still lots of chironomid emergences as well as more callibaetis mayfly hatches beginning to show up. Also a few damselfly nymph migrations starting to happen on some lower elevation lakes. Those migrations are always found best on waters with abundant stands of long stem bullrush or cattails as that is where the nymphs are heading.
Still seeing erratic emergence timings of chironomids on a lot of lakes so anglers need to be prepared for all sizes and colours of emerging pupa. I guess that’s what keeps it interesting.
Hopefully more stable weather comes in for the coming weekend as rainbows and brook trout are in prime shape right now.
Cheers,
Brian Chan
Pan Fried Trout Cooking Feature
Pan Fried Trout – Great Easy Trout Recipe
Trout is an underrated fish in a culinary sense, many people look down on it as “not as good as _____” but to me, it is an extremely versatile and delicious ingredient to work with. This recipe is just a basic pan fry, the quickest and simplest way to eat your trout either at camp, or once you get home.
Ingredients :
Skin on trout filet (pin bones removed)
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon Old Bay
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
canola oil
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- Salt your fillets and let them sit for 15 minutes. This helps draw some of the moisture out of the meat and will give you a crispier skin & coating. It also helps firm up the fish to make it easier to work with.
- Mix up your coating mixture. obviously the spices you use are open to interpretation, however the old bay is really the star of the show. It’s seafood’s best friend.
- Once your fillets are firmed up a bit, make shallow scores along the flesh side in a criss cross pattern. It helps hold onto the coating for an extra crisp cook. I like to cut the whole fillets up into more manageable pieces, but you can easily do this preparation to whole fillets.
- Dry your filets with a paper towel, taking extra attention to keep the skin dry, and transfer to your coating. Make sure to get full coverage with the coating mixture and lightly shake off any excess. Place on a cooling rack to let the surface dry out.
- Preheat a cast iron or other non-stick surface pan on a medium heat, and cover in a shallow layer of neutral oil. I generally use canola or grapeseed.
- Once your oil is hot & shimmering on the surface, lay in the trout SKIN SIDE DOWN. You should hear a light sizzle. Cook skin side down for roughly 75% of the cooking time until golden brown & crispy. Flip your fillets over and continue until the coating is golden brown & delicious.
My fish was roughly 3lb, and I cooked it skin side down for 5 minutes and flesh side down for 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on it as you don’t want the fish to overcook.
- Just as the fish is out of the oil, place it on a paper towel lined plate and dust with salt.
- Serve with some lemon wedges, tartar sauce, or remoulade.
Enjoy!
Aiden Munro
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
I am pleased to report that once again this year we are seeing some really nice size fish. This time last year we got into some fish in the twenty pound plus category, a lot of them hatchery, and I wasn’t sure if that pattern would repeat itself. Well it did, and some of the spots that produced last year are producing these hefty fish again this year, almost to the day and tide. That’s why you keep a detailed journal, it pays off with big fish like this in our local waters.
For the most part these fish are suspended, and we are seeing then on our sonar from 80-140 feet and are adjusting our depths on the riggers accordingly. There are few spots where we are in shallower water and we are fishing 35-75 on the rigger. Each spot is a little different, so stay focused on the sonar screen and adjust as needed. This is yet another case for having good electronics. We are literally marking the bait and chinook and then catching those chinook. I can’t imagine fishing without that kind of information; it obviously plays a huge role in our success. Also, just as important is you can tell when the fish aren’t there, so you don’t waste time fishing empty waters. If you aren’t seeing this kind of information on your system, give me a call at the shop and we can see if we can tweak it for you or let you know what it would take to upgrade.
We have been fishing bait and spoons for the most part. Some of the productive spoons have been Irish Cream, Herring Aide, Trailhead, Pink Sink, and Homeland Security. For bait we have been using 5.5 and 6.0 inch anchovies or Green size herring. Productive flashers have depended on depth. Some good ones for the mid water column are Green Onion Glow, and Purple Onion Glow. These have a nice combination of flash, UV, and glow.
We didn’t make it across to Thrasher this week so we don’t have much to report from there, but the fishing is likely pretty good as per usual these past few years. Crabbing continues to be good and we aren’t dropping prawn traps as the commercial season is underway.
If you would like to experience some of this chinook action, give us a call at 778-788-8582.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli