Outlook:
FINALLY we get some more October precipitation! Now, how often does a long suffering Vancouverite get the chance to say that? The driest October in years is getting drenched again this week and the rivers need it!
Be sure to keep checking in on the different hydrometric data graphs to see what the water levels are doing on the various river systems. You can view full list of hydrometric graphs and select which river system you want to track.
The local saltwater has produced some more good fishing as of late as well and if you are out there it will probably only be you, a couple seals and maybe another boat or two! Check out Eddie’s report below for details.
This last week produced some more good lake fishing and while over on the Sunshine Coast near Halfmoon Bay there are still some good schools of coho off some beaches!
We have been getting requests for the release of our 2014 Pacific Angler Course Schedule. We will have this completed towards the end of November so please keep an eye for it. We will publish the 2014 schedule in the weekly fishing report, on FB and on our blog as well.
Want to WIN $100 gift card to Pacific Angler? Contact Bryce at Pacific Angler with your IDEA on a NEW course for us to teach and if we are able to create the course we will give you a $100 gift card!! First come first serve on those ideas!!
There are limited spots available for our Fall Salmon Fishing Trips which have been a reel screaming success this year!! Call Bryce @ 778-788-8582 to book now!
Corporate Team Building/Bonding Charters for 2014!
Pacific Angler is featured in this falls edition of Business in Vancouver’s magazine called “Meeting Places BC”. The magazine will be hitting offices in greater Vancouver starting this past week.
Local salmon fishing charters can be an amazing way to bring a team together as proven by the successful bonding had by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC when Pacific Angler took the team of 30players out for an afternoon of salmon fishing or when SAP Inc. asked Pacific Angler if we could pull together a 70person team bonding charter!
In 2014, if you are organizing a small or large corporate team building event or you simply want to show your gratitude to some great clients, call us at Pacific Angler and let us take the “fishing” out of the decision of who is the right company to work with and “hook you up” with an amazing and memorable experience!!
Stillwater Fishing:
Ivey Lake:
I left Vancouver at 9am and was pulling in to Ivey Lake in Pemberton at about 1130am. I soon realized that I would be having to drag my punt down a narrow trail about 200yards in order to get to the lake. Dragging down was easy, going back up, not so much!
This is a gorgeous little lake in the shape of a horseshoe. The shoals in this lake are long, wide and sloping gradually from 2ft down to 10ft. After that the lake drops down to 17-20ft with some spots getting a little deeper but not much. For the fall fishing I was using a type 4 sink line with a 10-12ft leader and a olive deer hair dragon/gomphus type pattern. The fly would get pulled down by the sinking line as it dropped towards the bottom then as I stripped in it would dart towards the surface and the fish loved it!
I was getting hits on the strip set and the also when I would stop stripping so the fly would slowly raise through the water column.
The sun came out around 1pm and there was a small hatch but not enough to stir up any dry-fly action. I also got some hits on a micro-leech under an indicator which I would leave sitting in about 5ft of water as I would cast into the 12-15ft range and strip in my other fly.
In about 4hours of fishing I hooked 7fish and landed 4. The Ivey rainbows have gorgeous coloring to them and while they were not reel screamers and jumpers, they put up a good fight and I cannot wait to get there again!
Squamish River:
The upper Squamish is getting low but the rain should help. If the forecast holds true the river should jump nicely over the weekend, though be prepared for it to drop fast with cold temperatures early in the week.
The chum and eagles showed up in force over this last week. The number of chum tripled and the number of eagles has done the same. The chum fishing in the upper river is not very good because most of the fish are in poor shape by the time they make it up the river and we don’t recommend actively targeting them. Still it is an amazing sight to see hundreds of them mulling around in pools and runs.
Father / Daughter Success!!
The coho are still fresh and active. In spots, weeding through the chum is a challenge but well worth it. We have had good success on copper, chartreuse and olive flies and the same colours in spoons. Egg fishing for bull-trout is a great change up plan. Look to use larger eggs with the influx of chum or float-fish small wool or plastic presentations.
We had solid reports off the lower river though the chum are getting older and with lower water we did not see big numbers of coho. That should change with the rain and the entire system should fish well for another 2 + weeks.
Harrison River:
The Harrison is going lower and lower which means the fish are still going to be holding in the channels and can’t go up. The main stem is fishing well on the French creek side as it is part of the main stem Harrison. You can still fish the golf course side but it is pretty low to fish off shore, it is better to anchor your boat and cast towards the moving fish. Fish really sparse and small flies using 12lb Fluorocarbon tippet and an intermediate sink tip line.
Your best bet for hooking up is early in the morning or cloudy days if you are going to fish shallow water. If you have a boat go up the river and look for deeper pools where the Coho will be sitting comfortably waiting for the levels to come up. Choose your path up the river carefully as you might hit bottom so be careful.
Vedder/Chilliwack:
We did not get any NEW detailed reports on this area the past week although we did hear that some nice fish continue to be getting caught. The river is still low and all the “good” reports have come from early in the morning. Anytime we see sunny days and lower water conditions the fish will become picky. Look to fish before the sun hits the water and then in the middle of the day look for deep shaded holes. However, the weather this week will hopefully bring the river up a bit and make the fish move around and be a little less spooked. If it continues to be low/clear remember to tone down your presentations and use drab colors. Small roe presentations, small spoons and small drab flies are best. Look to use fluorocarbon leaders as well to minimize your presence and keep the fish from spooking.
Stave River:
We received reports that the Stave has a few anglers around checking things out and there are some fish in the system and getting caught. Definitely a place to keep on your radar and check out. Remember, being dam controlled the water flows can fluctuate quite heavily, which in turn can influence fish movement. One thing that people may consider is when the tides influence the river. This can help decide when and where to fish effectively – High tide and after has been the most productive.
Fraser River:
Sturgeon fishing continues to be fantastic. These ancient giants are feasting on the dead salmon and their roe as well. You can find them in throughout the Fraser River in the regular hot spots!
There are lots of fresh coho being caught as well from people tossing spinners/spoons off of various bars on the Fraser. These fresh waves of coho showing up in the Fraser bodes well for fishing in the Harrison and other tributaries off the Fraser!
The spinners we sell in the store have been working extremely well and some customers came back in and picked another dozen for their next day on the water!
Saltwater Report by Eddie Matthei
Typically by this time of the year most the fish are up the rivers. However we have had 24 consecutive days of no rain but a lot of fog. The fog lifted briefly and I did manage to get out on a charter last week. With the long lack of rain I was curious to see if there where any fish that had not made it up the mouth. As the slack tide approached we had a fish on that peeled line like a chinook but unfortunately we lost it. Shortly after we released at nice wild coho before the tide started ebbing again. It seems there were fish still out there!
The next chance I had to get out was with my good friend Ian on his boat for a little fun fishing last Sunday. We had sunny skies, warm temperature and just enough breeze to keep the fog away. As we approached the high slack we had a good hit and run that got away and soon after had another fish stolen by a seal. From the jaw bone we got back we could tell it was a nice coho. The only other boat out there also fed a second seal. We continued to troll for another hour or so until the start of the ebb when we fought and landed a good sized coho we slipped past the seal. No sooner did we put the gear back down and we had a nice chinook on. Again we hoped the seal wouldn’t notice. Luck was on our side and we landed a chrome chinook in the mid teens!
I was amazed at the nice condition of the fish so late in the season. I’m also amazed at the amount of large coho still out there. They should provide great action up the rivers as well once the rains start. The tide started running and so we got back in time to fire up the barbecue for an awesome meal. Both whole herring with no flasher and anchovy with flashers worked. I had a chartreuse clear teaser head for the herring and glo green head for the anchovy rig fished just of the bottom. Both chartreuse double glo and purple flashers are my favourites.
What a nice way to cap off the fall fishery and I can’t wait to start catching feeder chinook in our winter fishery due here soon! On behalf of Pacific Angler I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our guests for all the memorable adventures we shared and look forward to seeing you next season.
Tight lines,
Eddie
Pacific Angler Courses for the remaining 2013 schedule are completely SOLD OUT! We have had an amazing year growing the educational part of what we offer to our customers and in 2014 we hope to continue to grow this segment of the business!
Our source of motivation here is the amazing feedback and responses to the courses we teach. Our students continually send pictures and tell us stories of how they caught their first coho on the fly after taking a course or learning how to fish the local saltwater with success! Learning how to tie flies that work is another great one as there is such a high level of satisfaction that comes from catching a fish on a fly you have tied!
We will be releasing the 2014 Pacific Angler Course Schedule in late November and we plan on adding new courses to the program!
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, Andre, Max, Eddie, Jordan and Bryce