Outlook:
With the gorgeous weather over the last 2 weeks it does not look like it will be changing anytime soon as well. Rivers are falling back into shape again and fish are showing up!
With a steady higher barometer in the interior you will want to be sure you are watching the elevation of lakes you are fishing.
The long-term forecast calls for a 48hr heavy rainfall of over $50k in cash and prizes, YES it is the Labour Day Chinook Classic is coming SOON!!
LABOUR DAY CHINOOK CLASSIC is the premier catch & release salmon fishing event hosted annually on Vancouver’s North Shore. Held over the Labour Day long weekend, this 2-day event (Saturday Aug 31 & Sunday Sept 1, 2013) awards the largest cash prize ($25K first prize) of any fishing derby in Vancouver.
Labour Day Chinook Classic is presented by PACIFIC ANGLER and MOSQUITO CREEK MARINA along with THE WEST COAST FISHING CLUB and CELEBRATION ON WATER. Read more and register here! Or call Bryce at 604.872.2204 at Pacific Angler.
Whitecaps Salmon Charter!
Whitecaps Team Salmon Charter!
Pacific Angler was proud to host a Vancouver Whitecaps FC team bonding salmon charter on Wed, July 10th! The guys stepped away from their current 5game winning streak on the pitch and continued their winning ways on the water! All 4boats got on the bite and boxed some great salmon. One group landed a beautiful 21lb spring!!
Jordan’s 21lb Spring!
The boys with a few of the salmon heading to the BBQ!
With Andrew, Ivan, Phillipe, Todd and Eddie guiding the group it was a huge success and we say thanks to Ocean Adventure Centre for helping us pull this off. No charter like this happens without a team working together and a special thanks goes out to Nigel Reo-Coker for spearheading this event and working closely with Bryce at Pacific Angler to make it happen!
Thanks to Nigel for helping pull this off!!
Lets get this charter going!!
The Whitecaps had Zack, their team videographer on the charter as well so stay tuned for an amazing video montage of the afternoon! We will be posting on the Pacific Angler FB page as soon as it is completed!
Stillwater:
Lake reports tend to slow down around this time of year with the heat coming on and the elevation of lakes that are producing getting higher and higher. Look for lakes at 4500ft and higher. Fishing in the morning and evening’s will be productive while lakes from 5000ft and higher can still produce throughout the day.
Have your dry-fly selection stocked at this time of year. You do not want to miss out on a day where the sedge hatch happens! Stay on the lakes later now as well. The evening fishing can be explosive with fish coming up on the shoals and into the weeds for their evening forage.
River Reports:
Chilliwack/Vedder:
Dimitri: After a few months of high water, the vedder/chilliwack river is back in shape. Reports of sockeye and chinook salmon have been good. With good clarity and slightly high water levels, fishing should continue to pick up in the later parts of the month. Presentations such as roe, prawns, jigs, larger blue fox spinners, Gibbs Koho and Kitamat spoons being the ticket items so far. Look for water 4-8ft deep with walking pace flow and some surface disturbances to hold the large bodied salmon. Success comes with the right bait and covering the water in order to find the fish.
Fraser River: Opens in late July!
Capilano: Fish are stacked up in the Cable Pool and fishing the low tide at the mouth has been producing fish as well with gear or Andre’s special flies which, of course are available in store!
Saltwater:
Beach Fishing by Andre: The first day of the season on the beach with the low tide at 1pm and I saw a lot of fish being caught by gear guys as I was walking towards the beach. I knew the fish were fresh and deeper as there were no jumpers so I started casting blind which is not my preferred way. Then I saw a couple of fish roll 20 ft. from me so I quickly made a cast and with a couple of twitches my line took off from my hand and I missed the fish!
Andre with a nice coho!
I knew there was a school going around so I started doing 80 ft. casts to cover more water, waited for the fly to sink and started to slowly strip, finally I felt an aggressive take and I set the hook, the fish was on and took me into my backing twice. I landed another one after the majority of the fisherman had left. The beach fishing has started at Ambleside. HE-HAAH!!! I went to the Cable pool for an hour in the evening and broke one off after a few chases.
Tight Lines
Andre
Todd Sweet: I put down the gear near fisheries and right away started hitting coho. Very steady pace for 2 hours. Had 10 fish on. Got 5 to the boat for release. Guests preferred to C&R. Hits were 15-45 feet. White hootchie and green ace high hootchie. One small spring released.
Nice Coho near Fisheries.
Eddie Matthei:
Well what a difference a few weeks of no rain have made on our local fishery. Last week we where getting a couple here and there and lately we are getting multiple fish on!
The West Vancouver fishery has finally got a good number of cohos as well as the odd nice Chinook just past the 20lb mark.
Nice fish ladies!! 22lb Chinook!
Yesterday we took the entire Whitecaps soccer team and every player had shots at a few fish and one lucky player got a 21lb!
Initially small spoons were working to match the small herring we found in the stomachs but lately they have started dining on crab. Very small crab larva that can best represented with white hoochies. I did find the a 2.5″ Ghost Rider spoon has also been working very well. Sometimes they with start biting hoochies and switch to spoons or hit both.
These boys soaked up the sun and got ready for the BBQ!
Most action is found from 50′ up with 37′ being my best depth. It’s also a good idea to have an anchovy on the deepest line for the few chinooks lurking around. Hole in the wall has also been producing a good number of nice chinooks up to and just past the mid 20’s if you put your time in. It’s also producing it’s share of large cohos and pink salmon as well.
The first one was taken by Todd on one of our boats and will be the first of many this year! Anchovies is the way to go but there is some small bait so small spoons will also do the trick. Ghost riders, Cop cars, Green Glos etc.
I still have that beat up, chipped, slightly bent 4″ Homeland Security with teeth marks and something big left a few more teethmarks on it yesterday. The rod shook harder than the 22lb’r we got. That one spoon has hit fish on the Bowen Island, Thrasher, West Vancouver and Hole in the wall fisheries. 87′ feet was working for that spoon but fishing any depth 120′ up is a good bet over there.
Another Happy Fisher!
Although the fishing has slowed down a bit a across the strait some of the locals there are still hooking a few nice chinooks and cohos as well. I sure don’t miss the long commutes across the strait especially in rough water but I will miss the awesome fishing we had. It’s great now to have less time travelling and more time for fishing!
Tight Lines,
Eddie
Pacific Angler Courses
The last Beach course sold out in 4days and with a current 7 customers telling us we had to have another “LAST” beach course we have agreed to do one more!! This is the last seminar covering this topic this summer and it is right before the beaches light up. Sign up now as we limit participants to 20 people and it sells out every time. Details below.
Fly-Fishing on Beaches: (20ppl per class and 13spot left!!)
- Beach caught coho by Andre
Time/Date: Monday, July 29th from 6:30pm-9:30pm at Pacific Angler
Cost: $30pp
This one night seminar will cover the basic principles needed in order to be an effective beach fly fishermen in British Columbia, such as gear, flies, tides, and other environmental conditions. Andre Stepanian will be the instructor for this course who has been chasing salmon and trout on our local beaches for over two decades. You will be sure to gain lots of valuable information to help you become a effective beach fly fishermen on this once a year seminar.
MASTERING LOCAL SALTWATER SALMON FISHING:
Date & Times: (1spot available)
Theory: Wed Aug 7th is theory portion of course from 630pm – 930pm at Pacific Angler store
On-the-water: Saturday Aug 10th & Sunday Aug 11th (time TBA) 4per per day for maximum learning.
Cost: $225+tax
Over 50 million salmon migrate past Vancouver annually. Learn how to catch these fish with 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. The course includes a 3hr evening seminar and a fully guided day on the water in our 27ft Grady White.
Pacific Angler is proud to be your source for fishing education. Call Pacific Angler today, 604-872-2204, to book your spot. All classes have limited availability.
On behalf of the Pacific Angler staff we wish you the best in your fishing endeavors 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.
Jason, Matt, Dimitri, Andre, Dave, Eddie and Bryce