BIG REMINDER – IT IS A NEW LICENSE YEAR!
You can purchase your 2016-2017 license HERE!
Outlook
What an awesome week of weather! I think spring is here. My only concern is that we might skip spring and go right into summer!
For a number of fisheries that would not be a bad thing and this weather is awesome. For a couple, the heat will cause some issues but let’s focus on the good news first.
Saltwater salmon season is in full swing and the guys enjoying the weather are also catching fish. The harbour had some good fishing again late this week and we also heard whispers of good fishing on the hump. The South Bowen Island “Hump” fishery historically kicks off in about two weeks but from the reports we have heard, it is worth taking some exploratory trips out that direction. Check out Jason’s saltwater report for more details and if you want to get out this spring season you will want to book your trip with us as soon as possible. Prime time spots for the Hump salmon fishery and Thrasher Rock are booking up fast!
The cutthroat fishing is also picking up with the heat. Matt, Andre and Sam were out at different spots over the last week hunting for cutthroat and though fishing was not hot they found fish. This heat will really get the fry moving and we expect the best to come. This is probably a great weekend for cutthroat fishing. Check out Andre’s cutthroat report for more information.
The Vedder and other valley steelhead rivers are also fishing well. The heat might bump them up in color and height but we expect things to be great for the weekend. Check out Sam’s Vedder River report for more info.
Ok, on to the bad news. The main-stem Squamish blew out with the heat and will be high until we get some cold nights. All is not doom and gloom though. Read Matt’s Squamish River Report for more details.
On a product front we have a very cool new saltwater spoon hitting the floor this week. O’Ki, our favorite flasher company, has a very cool color spread of Titan saltwater spoons. These spoons are made in Canada and because of this the paint jobs are easily the highest quality on the market, the glow, though maybe not as intense as our Pesca spoons, are far superior to the other overseas made spoons and they come in some colors that you can’t find from anywhere else. We fished them last year and on a number of days they out fished everything else in the boat. They also lasted longer than other spoons. This is a great spoon to add to your arsenal along with our Pesca spoons for fishing Vancouver local waters. Check out Jason’s feature on them in the saltwater report.
O’Ki Titan Spoons
The Fly Fishing Film Tour is coming to Vancouver May 3 at The Cinematheque on Howe Street. Come into the shop to grab your ticket or buy online here!
ON TO THE REPORT
Chilliwack River Fishing Report
The fishing this past week has been consistent. I wouldn’t say it’s lights out but it is definitely still worth a look. Tweaking your set up slightly can make a big difference late season as the fish have become quite accustom to gear. Lengthen your leader a couple inches, switch from mono to fluorocarbon, and switch from pencil lead to split shot to make your presentation less obvious. With the warmer temperatures expect fish to be more aggressive and willing to move more to a fly or a swung spoon. At times the warm weather will trigger some snow melt which will cause the river to rise and colour, so keep an eye on the water graph before you head out. Don’t forget that you now need to purchase your 2016/2017 license and remember to include your steelhead stamp. Now get out there and enjoy some spring steelhead fishing. Steelhead roe and ghost shrimp are the worst late season baits for the Vedder (April Fools!).
Cutthroat Fishing Report
I went out on the hunt again last Monday and finally it was sunny and warm on my day off. The fish were happy and popping their heads on the Harrison.
There were a lot of fry to be had by the hungry cutthroat. The water levels were a bit too high to get close to them but never the less it was cool to see them. There was also a hatch of mayflies happening at the same time. The river is dropping and shaping up perfectly for the rest of the season. Make sure you have plenty of fry patterns. There were ones with really dark backs, ones with light olive backs and a few with jade green backs. So far I haven’t seen any stone flies but I am sure it is happening up river as the structure of the bottom is different than the lower river. Although there were fish, we still had to work hard and figure out how they wanted their fry served so don’t just swing and hope for the best. Try different strips and dead drift presentations. The Harrison river was really good so we didn’t end up going anywhere else. Like I always say “Once you find them, you don’t leave them”.
Happy fishing.
Andre
Squamish River Fishing Report
Wow, we didn’t see this coming – the heat this week obviously hit the snow pack in the mountains hard. The river rose dramatically over the last 3 days. Snow melt is a little different than rain runoff. You will find the river goes green brown instead of brown grey. It is actually one of my favorite colors to see on the squamish but too much water is still too much water. The levels we are seeing right now are not good and the main river is blown out but the river should be in awesome fishing shape when we see some colder nights to keep the snow pack from melting. Keep your eye on the water levels. It will pay off to get out there the second it starts coming into shape.
With hot weather today it will be hard to call how soon we will see enough cold to stop the melting. It may not happen this weekend but a good bet will be early next week.
A nice bull trout Max caught on a spoon
We were fishing just before the heat and we started seeing good numbers of fry on Monday. On my trip we gambled and focused on steelhead and unfortunately didn’t find one. We did hook some bulltrout and I know if we had focused on bulltrout with large streamer patterns and fry we would have hooked quite a few. The conditions were perfect for hungry trout. When we get bumps of heat the bulltrout go on the feed hard as long as there is enough clarity. If you are heading out, fish large streamer patterns in the dirtier water and look to the tributaries where water clarity will be better.
Good Luck
Matt
Vancouver Saltwater Fishing Report
Well, spring has sprung! We are starting to get solid reports from chinook out on the Hump off South Bowen, a sure sign spring is in the air. There have also been some nice winter chinook taken up Howe Sound as well as a few fish off the Bell Buoy.
Yan with a nice Howe Sound chinook
Without a doubt, the place to be in the next 6 weeks is going to be the Hump. As early as April 4th we have had good to excellent fishing in this spot. Usually it takes until around April 10th, but it seems more and more anglers are tying this spot earlier and earlier and finding some fish for their efforts. You may have seen us on BC Outdoors Sportfishing TV this winter as we did a show on the Hump last spring. We were getting double headers on chinook. That day was April 28th and the fishing had been good for a week and a half prior to that. Take advantage of this good weather, get the boat clean and get your gear set. Chinook season is here!
When fishing the Hump fish 60-180 but for the most part 90-120 is the kill zone. When the water is clear and it is sunny the fish are deeper and 120-180 is hot. When the water is dirty from Fraser run off or it is overcast the bait and the fish are shallower, usually around 90-120. Sometimes when there is really heavy run off in the area and it is a dark, gloomy day, 60-90 is hot. As mentioned though 90-120 zone is usually key. Note I am talking about what your downrigger counter is reading and we also use 18 pound cannonballs. The depth of water you are in will vary from 420-560 depending on where you are on the Hump.
For gear you want to run some flashers with some glow. The new Salty Dawg flasher is perfect for this fishery. A Green Onion Glow or Chartreuse Glow is also very good. Spoons and bait are the top choices. The new O’Ki spoons are perfectly sized for the local bait and the new finishes have lots of glow and lots of green. If you are a regular on this report, you know those are the killer colours for spring time chinook. Check out the photos of the new O’Ki spoons. These spoons are made and painted locally and the new finishes were specifically designed for our local fisheries and they glow like crazy! These have been hot in Howe Sound lately and will be top producers on the Hump as well. Other productive spoons are the Pesca in Gut Bomb and Leprechaun as well as the Kingfisher in Irish Cream, Homeland Security, and Kitchen Sink.
If you want to book a trip for chinook, now is the time as the Hump will get good very soon. Don’t wait for the report, book in advance so you can request the best dates and tides. Call Jason at 778-788-8582 to book your trip.