OUTLOOK
We wish everyone a great Remembrance Day long weekend and once you have had time to pay your respects it looks like a good weekend to get out on the water! We will see a little rain on Saturday and that should help colour up the waters of our local rivers. This is a good thing because as it stands the river are getting low. There is more water coming up the valley than the Squamish but we do not expect things to get too dirty. Check out the details on the Vedder and Squamish in the report below.
Over the last week we have seen improving chum numbers. Though the numbers are still concerning there have been some positive reports and when looking at the Albion numbers we are seeing much more positive late season numbers. This has made for some good fishing on the Stave and Harrison. We have details on both below.
We have something a little different in this week’s report as well. With the lower Fraser open for coho we have a fun piece by Aiden on how to bar fish. He has been out and it has not been great fishing but the tides look better for Monday and it is relatively easy fishery close to home.
On the YouTube front we have another Fly-Tying video from Zach this week. It is a beautiful steelhead fly that we used on the Dean river this year and it had excellent success. We expect it will be a go to fly for the local winter steelhead season so if you are preparing your steelhead box you will want to check it out here:
With fly tying and steelhead box preparation in mind we want you to “save the date” for our Steelhead Tying Jam Session! This is a super cool event that we have put on for almost a decade where we can all get together, have a few beverages, watch some amazing tying and if you sign up early and reserve a “tying spot” you can bring down a vice and follow along with some of our pro tiers. Official details on how to sign up will be released next Tuesday but in the meantime save Tuesday November 26 in your calendars!
Lastly, we have Jason’s winter chinook update. While it is not a popular time for many to get out on the water now is the time to get out on the water and start your winter chinook scouting.
Just a friendly reminder that we will be closed this coming Monday November 11, 2019 in honour of Remembrance Day.
As always check out the video version of the report on our YouTube channel here:
INDUSTRY EVENTS + UPDATES
STEELHEAD JAM SESSION
SAVE THE DATE – our 2019 Steelhead Session will be held on Tuesday November 26. The event sells out every year so watch your inbox next week for details on how to reserve your spot for this FREE event.
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Chilliwack/Vedder River Fishing Report
We are closing in on the end of the salmon season on the Vedder. There are still some fresh fish moving in; we have heard some half decent reports of chrome coho, chum and even a few chrome springs in the mix but as a whole things are slowing down on this system. The water has been low and clear but we are getting a little bit of rain and overcast skies this coming week so that should alleviate the tougher conditions.
The key right now will be to find where the fish are stacking. This will most likely be in the mid and upper sections of the river. This late in the season is not the time for fence-posting; you will want to keep moving until you find some active fish. Roe, colorado blades, jigs, spoons, and beads have all been producing for gear anglers while fly anglers should find success on small flash flies for Coho and larger streamers for Chum.
Alex Au-Yeung
Fraser River Bar Fishing Report
Although it’s been a slow start to bar fishing, we can expect things to heat up a bit with more favourable tides for next week.
The rig is very simple, all you need is a basic T bar setup, some hooks with spin n glo’s or corkies, a heavy weight (I use 4 ounce dime weights due to the low current in my area, size up if need be) and some roe. In reality you really only need to cast out roughly 20-30ft as the majority of fish will be pushing through the shallows.
Don’t forget to bring some liquid encouragement, it’s tradition.
Aidan Munro
Squamish River Fishing Report
This past week saw conditions continue to be interesting, with some anglers experiencing beautiful hikes while others experienced some decent fishing. This is common for this time of year where lower water can make fish pickier and harder to find.
Between the char, coho, and chums, it appears fishing has improved slightly compared to last week.
All the usual suspects put fish on the board, including spoons, spinners, flies, and jigs. Beading has continued to produce char, trout, and salmon, so it’s always a good idea to have some of those rigged up as well. Even with low conditions, it isn’t a bad idea to get out as it will allow you to scout and see structure you may not have known existed before. This will help you when the conditions become ideal again.
This week we will see some rain on Saturday, and it should make the inconsistency of the fishing improve. As we write the report, they are forecasting only 10mm so it shouldn’t blow out but should colour things up a bit. This is a good thing and we expect good reports.
Stay barbless,
Jordan Simpson
Harrison/Chehalis Fishing Report
The early season on the Harrison was a challenge because of water levels and a very poor early chum run but the river has dropped and though still a concern, the latter portion of the chum run has been noticeably stronger that the early component. This has made for some good fishing over the past handful of days. We heard a number of good coho reports and more good chum reports.
We expect this to continue into the weekend. The rain may bump up levels a bit but this will make the Chehalis and the sloughs in the area fish better. If you are getting out, small flies are very effective for this system and the gear anglers will want to have medium to small spoons and witching Jigs. Sterling was out this week and had excellent coho fishing and chum fishing on twitching Jigs. If you want to learn how to tie jigs check out this video.
If you are looking for some fly ideas Check out Matt’s video on what’s in his fly box. Matt and Andre fished the Harrison a bunch back in the day and a number of the patterns in his box are specifically for the Harrison area.
Good Luck!
Sterling Balzer
Stave River Fishing Report
The bulk of the chum run seemed to have shown up over the past weekend and there was some decent catch and release action over those three or four days. It has tapered off fairly quick this week however and, while there are still some clean chum pushing into the system, the fishing became a little spotty as many of the fish are turning to their spawning phase. Coho fishing has been hit or miss with the numbers of chum currently in the river although they are still around and can be caught, especially at first light.
For those targeting chum, a purple/pink jig tipped with prawn under a float will give you a fair number of float downs. Similarly, coloured streamers will work for catching them on the fly. This fishery should still be viable for another week or so before the run is finished for the most part. Please remember that the chum are catch and release only so treat them with care. Coho fishing should continue to be good over the next couple of weeks and they can be targeted using a multitude of methods be it drifting, casting lures, or swinging flies.
We have everything you need to hit this river, so come into the shop and talk to us if you want to get out there!
Alex Au-Yeung
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
Not too much to report this past week. As usual there are pockets of feeder chinook, aka winter chinook, cruising around in Vancouver Harbour and up Howe Sound. This past week seemed a little slower, there were some nice fish caught, but you really had to put your time in. Of course this can change in literally one tide change, so as you know, just head out there if the weather is good.
Speaking of weather, it does look good for this weekend. The winds are minimal and we have daytime temperatures in the double digits, so should be pretty comfortable out there. Likely even calm enough to head across and check out the Gulf Islands.
We did some test sets for crab the other day, pretty quiet on that front, as usual for this time of year there are lots of smalls in the traps. Prawning has been decent but there has been a lot of pressure in the usual spots, so you might need to do a bit of exploring.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli