OUTLOOK
Welcome to July! We hope you all had a great Canada Day and were able to spend some time on the water with friends and family!
The retail team were able to take advantage of the good weather and get out for a day of coho fishing. Our guide team has been out all week and the coho fishing continues to be productive. Jake tunes in this week with an update from our saltwater team.
July 1 marked the opening of the Chilliwack/Vedder system. With current river conditions, fishing has been a bit slow, but it will pick up as we head further into July. Taylor has a quick update on that system in his report today.
Jason had the change to head back to the interior this past weekend to get in some late June lake fishing. He has all the details from his trip in our BC Interior Lake Fishing Report.
For those of you thinking about sturgeon fishing don’t miss out on Jake’s update on that fishery!
Last, but certainly not least, don’t miss out on signing up for our last Introduction To Fly Fishing before we break on our courses for the summer. Check out the dates below!
Enjoy your weekend on the water!
CLASSES AND COURSES
We have one class left for the summer months! If you’d like learn how to fly fish or brush up on your skills this is the course for you!
Pacific Angler Course: Introduction to Fly Fishing
INDUSTRY EVENTS AND UPDATES
District of North Vancouver Firefighters Charity Fishing Derby
Mark your calendars! Tickets for this year's Charity Fishing Derby go live on July 14! This event sells out every year so don’t sleep on this. Also, new for this year, all ticket sales will be online. Don’t miss out on this great event for a great cause.
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Chilliwack/Vedder River Fishing Report
The C/V system opened on Tuesday and is currently running quite low and clear. As is to be expected, fishing has been slow since opening day, though I have heard one or two reports of chinook being caught. Fishing will pick up in the coming week and peak around the middle of the month, though I’m expecting this to be a somewhat tough season due to the already low and clear conditions- fish are going to get holed up in the lower river pools, which will lead to extremely heavy/concentrated angling pressure... and as we all know, heavy angling pressure results in spooky fish.
Bait, beads, blades, yarn and jigs are and always will be good options, just be sure to adjust your presentations to suit the conditions... now is the time for fluorocarbon leaders!
Remember to bring water and some form of sun protection if you’re planning on heading out there and also remember to handle any sockeye that you encounter with as much respect as possible. As was mentioned above, this fishery will be picking up over the next two weeks before rapidly slowing down in early August, so be sure to get out there while it’s good!
Taylor Nakatani
Sturgeon Fishing Report
Fraser River Sturgeon Fishing Report
The water is still running a touch high from the spring freshet, but we expect levels to begin settling in the next few weeks. Sturgeon fishing has been a bit more challenging in these high conditions; however, there’s been consistent action in some of the Fraser’s calmer lower stretches. Once the flow eases, we should see an improvement in productivity and access to a wider range of the river.
Currently, some of the more productive bait options include pike minnow, lamprey, and roe. We’re in that in-between phase right now—just before the salmon start to show up and sturgeon shift their attention to them. Until then, make sure your bait is kept fresh and clean to maximize your chances of success.
A solid sturgeon found in the high water
In just a couple of weeks, we should start seeing pink salmon entering the Fraser. On odd-numbered years, the pink salmon return is a staple in the sturgeon’s diet. They gorge on these abundant salmon, making them an excellent bait choice.
That said, please remember that regulations around using finfish as bait can be a bit vague. You're not permitted to use any edible part of a salmon as bait. Since what’s considered “edible” is open to interpretation, I recommend staying on the safe side by using parts like heads or meaty fin sections.
As always, stay safe out there. The Fraser is not to be underestimated. The tidal portion can change flow quickly, and debris is constantly moving downstream. Check current conditions before heading out and always keep an eye upriver.
Tight lines,
Jake Comrie
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
British Columbia Interior Lake Fishing Report
Happy July 4th to all our American readers and fellow lake fishers. We know if you fish lakes you’re cool. A belated Happy Canada Day as well to all our fellow Canadians!
I was able to get out on the long weekend, and I am glad I did. I found some pretty good fishing on some lakes in Region 3. I was somewhat surprised the water temps were in the low 60’s in the morning and up to 67F at the end of the day. I’ve certainly seen the higher this time of year, but as mentioned in my previous reports, the colder temps have kept the late June lake fishing quite productive.
The first lake we fished, the fish were out in the 15-18 foot area and we caught some fish wind drifting damsels under an indicator pegged at 6-7 feet. The fish were suspended, and we saw the odd damsel moving, no other hatches. Fishing was on the tougher side, but when we found fish, they were willing biters. The Garmin LiveScope was critical for finding these small groups of fish spread out in a large area. I think without it we would have had very little success if any. We had to work hard for them but found some quality fish.
Derek with a nice fish taken on an olive, balanced straggle string damsel, leech, thing (DLT) fished under an indicator.
The second lake we fished, the fish were out in 22-25 feet of water and feeding on chrons most of the day. The bugs were small; I mean like size 22 small. Although we did get fish on chrons, the wind drifted balanced leeches pegged at 21 on the indicator, kept us more than busy and accounted for an excellent double-digit day
Some decent size fish were crushing the leeches last weekend!
Once again, the Garmin LiveScope allowed us to find fish quickly on day one, hour one, on a lake I hadn’t been to yet this year. It also kept us on them all day, resulting in some excellent fishing for the last few days of June. If you are interested in learning more about this, send me an email at jtonelli@pacificangler.ca and I will tell you all about it.
4 trout feeding on chironomids, 1-2 feet off bottom, in 25 feet of water, 25 to 45 feet out from the boat in 64.38F water.
As the days get hotter in July, fishing can be more challenging, but last weekend was a good reminder there is still some excellent fishing to be had in the summer months. Try and focus on higher elevation lakes and stretches of cooler weather and you can be rewarded with great fishing and often less anglers. There were very few anglers on the lakes I fished last weekend and that was on a holiday weekend. As always, keep an open mind this time of year as it can be leeches, bloodworms, chrons, dragons, damsels, or attractor patterns. As you can see from this report, quality electronics are critical for consistent summer success. From entry level units up to the most advanced units on the market, we have the stock and the knowledge, so if you are in the market, give me a call or an email.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Coho Salmon Saltwater Fishing Report
It was another productive week on the water for those targeting coho. With only the occasional lull, feedback from guides and clients has been overwhelmingly positive. The coho are not only around in good numbers, but they’re also putting sizing up and quickly gaining nearly a pound per week at this time of year. Some of the fish landed already have been impressively large for early July, which is a great sign of what’s to come in the weeks ahead.
A quick limit for PA guide Markus earlier this week!
On the gear front, not much has changed. I had the opportunity to take the shop staff out on Canada Day, and the classic white hoochie proved to be our top producer once again. We also mixed things up a bit and had some fun trolling deep-diving jerkbaits on a spin rod out the back. It added an exciting twist to our day.
We also had success running dummy flasher setups—a technique I highly recommend if you haven’t tried it yet. This involves attaching a short mono leash with a flasher directly to your cannonball, while your lure (spoon, hoochie, or bait) is clipped a few feet above. One big advantage of this setup is that it gives you direct contact with the fish, rather than having the flasher between you and the hook. With coho being such fast and chaotic fighters, better control during the fight can really help improve your landing ratio.
The shop crew getting it done on Canada Day!
There’s still a decent amount of chinook bycatch out there as well, so be sure to keep your gaff ready for quick and safe boat-side releases.
Tight lines,
Jake Comrie
