OUTLOOK
What a fall we are having! We started with a drop in temps and a couple classic west coast storms to get the leaves turning and fish moving and it now looks like it has reverted to summer. This has made for some really cool fishing.
Salmon are running strong in many of our rivers. We have reports on the Stave, Harrison and Squamish this week and all three are worth a trip.
For those of you heading to the interior to do some lake fishing we are going to see some record high temperatures in the interior this week. Last week the interior lake fishing was amazing when the wind and cold didn’t put a damper on things so we are very excited to see how good it can been is the weather is warm and stable.
Though it is slowing down, ocean fishing is still worth a shot and no one will be complaining if we get the weather that the weatherman has forecasted. Lars has some details on what our guide boats have been up to in this week’s saltwater report
If you’re looking for some off the water fishing events be sure to check out our Industry Events Section. We will be hosting a Fair Flies/Lagartun Tying Demo night and are also looking forward to this year’s edition of the Fly Fishing Film Tour to arrive in Vancouver. The first week of November is going to be packed with great fishing events!
On to the report!
INDUSTRY EVENTS
We know its still October but we’re looking forward to some great events coming up in early November. Mark your calendars for both of these great events!
Fair Flies and Lagartun Fly Tying Night
Jeff Coffey from Fair Flies and Ben Gehrke from Lagartun will be here in the shop to do an interactive fly tying demonstration.
They will be demonstrating how to tie Salmon and Steelhead flies using Fair Flies and Lagartun products. They will talk about how and why to fish them. By the end of the night you will know what makes these products unique and why they work so well together.
This is going to be a fun and interactive evening where we will encourage you to ask questions. There will be some prizes up for grabs so be sure to get your spot reserved now!
Date: Monday November 5, 2018
Time: 7PM – 9PM
Location: Pacific Angler, 78 East Broadway, Vancouver BC
Seating is limited so be sure to reserve your FREE spot by getting a ticket online here!
Fly Fishing Film Tour
Don’t miss out on this years Fly Fishing Film Tour. It is always a great night to get together with friends, check out the films and dream of your next adventure. Get your tickets online or at the shop for $15. $20 at the door. We’ll see you there!
Date: Tuesday November 6, 2018
Time: Doors at 6:15PM, Films Start at 7:00PM – 8 films with an intermission
Location: The Cinematheque – 1131 Howe Street Vancouver
Tickets: Online at www.flyfishingfilmtour.ca or at the shop for $15 (cash only)
CLASSES AND COURSES
There are just a few spots in Andre’s Fly Fishing For Salmon in Rivers Seminar. While the on the water dates are sold out we can definitely work with you to set up a custom guided day on the water.
Introduction To Fly Fishing – SOLD OUT! Call the shop to add your name to the waitlist
This course was specifically designed to give the new fly fisher the basic knowledge, casting skills and fly fishing strategies to effectively fish our local BC waters. This course is comprised of two sessions; 3hr evening seminar and a 3hr casting session.
Seminar: October 17, 2018
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Casting: October 20, 2018
Casting Time(s): 10am – 1pm or 2pm -5pm
Cost: $125.00+GST
Fly Fishing For Salmon In Rivers
Fly fishing for salmon is one of the most exciting fisheries in the Lower Mainland. Let us teach you the techniques and the hot spots to catch salmon on the fly in our local rivers. In the 3hr evening seminar you will learn about rod, reel and line, sink tip, and fly selection. Then put the skills into practice during a fully guided day on the water where you will learn how to read water and swing the fly!
Seminar: Oct 24, 2018
Guided: Oct 27 or 28, 2018 SOLD OUT
Guided: Nov 3 or 4, 2018 SOLD OUT
*Custom Trip Dates Available*
Seminar Only Cost: $45.00+GST
Seminar & Guided Walk’n Wade Cost: $250.00+GST per angler, minimum of 2 anglers per guided day on the water.
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Chilliwack/Vedder River Fishing Report
Expect low and clear conditions to prevail through this coming week as we will be getting warm temperatures and blue skies for at least the next 7 days. Lots of fish are in the system now but they are skittish and holing up in certain spots, making for some tough fishing that definitely can account for the mixed reports we’ve been hearing. Some anglers are hitting the jackpot and getting easy limits while others are struggling to find a few bites and not seeing much happening around them. Definitely give yourself the advantage of first light/last light and keep moving. If there’s not any action then chances are you should move, as there probably aren’t many fish in that run. The fish are spread out now so don’t limit yourself to just the lower section; there are plenty of fish in the upper now too.
There are a lot of different presentations that will produce right now and some are better suited to certain situations than others. Drifting is the most applicable and both coho and chinook will readily take roe, Jensen eggs, or colorado blades especially at first light, while chum favour jigs. In slack water or tail outs where coho like to hide you can throw Blue Fox Vibraxes, Gibbs K4 Wobblers, and Gibbs Kohos for a vicious reaction strike. Twitching jigs can also be fun in slower water or slack water where fish are stacking. These recent low water conditions are also when a lot more fly water opens up and when the flies are an advantage as they are finesse and can get down to depth without the addition of extra weight. Don’t get too caught up with the fly selection per se. The traditional ones still work meaning anything flashy like christmas trees, california neils, and rolled muddlers are your go-to’s for coho and bigger colourful intruders in the chartreuse, pink, purple, and blue colours for chum and chinook.
Alex Au-Yeung
Capilano River Fishing Report
The Cap is low and clear. Some fish are still moving through however most of the fish are spooked at this point. It is very hard to entice them to bite in this conditions.
Since there is a bait ban combined with the fact that there isn’t enough current to use a float rig the best method to targeting these fish is to toss spoons, spinners and flies at them. Twitching jigs is also a viable method, but it is important to keep the movement of the jig subtle to not spook the fish. It is quite important to trigger the fish with these methods and it is much like teasing a cat to attack.
Please respect all the other anglers on the river and please don’t bottom bounce or fish with roe when there is bait ban.
Release all wild coho and any steelhead you encounter.
See you out there,
Dustin Oh
Squamish River Fishing Report
The Squamish has started to finally drop in to shape. This past week saw favourable conditions throughout the system. Coho fishing has continued to remain steady with anglers finding success on both gear and flies.
With the water still not extremely low, one of my favourite lures is the K-Wobbler: it allows anglers to swing tight in to the often shallower tail outs of a run. It’s a medium-weight, wide, wobbling spoon that you can swing and lead. That said, I often carry multiple rods and the QuikShot from Fishpond is one of my key accessories when carrying a second or third rod. Being able to cover a wide range of water height and colour can often be part of the key to success. Some other great spoons are Crocs – especially in slower water.
A chrome coho taken on the fly. Nice fish Ben!
Just remember to be safe as water conditions may change depending on weather and temperatures, and to be bear-aware.
Jordan Simpson
Harrison River Fishing Report
We heard the first good reports from the Harrison this week. The river is at a good level to hike and both chum and coho are in. They have closed retention for chinook, so make sure you identify your catch and watch the DFO announcements for any updates. Anglers with boats were finding coho and many anglers hiking the river encountered schools of chum. It is still early for this system but it is worth the trip and the best is yet to come.
For coho use spoons, twitching jigs or sparse flies like the naked muddler or olive flash bugger. Look for deep spots of slow water. Come down to the shop and we can help pick a spread of options. If its chum you’re after float fishing jigs is very popular in the slow walking speed water. Again stop by the shop and we will show you the setup.
Good Luck!
Stave River Fishing Report
More waves of fish are showing up at the Stave River and it won’t be long until we see bigger schools staging throughout the river. Some people were also rewarded with coho salmon. It is still a little early but it is starting.
When float fishing with a jig is you only need 8-10 inches of leader as jigs have weight themselves and will sink. Change your depth to see where the fish are and find the most successful area for fishing.
Fly fishing with a marabou popsicle fly can be just as effective. Make sure to use sink tip line so you can get the fly down where the fish are.
It is very important that you use a proper set up for this fishery. Good durable m power float fishing rod will get you in the game. Fly rods should be at least an 8 weight. Come in the shop and we will gladly set you up with proper gear!
Coho are starting to show up! Fishing the toilet bowl area on the east side of the river is best as there is close to no current and coho like to sit there. Spoons and spinners, and fly fishing with a sparse fly will get you in the game. Twitching jigs is also a very good method to trigger these fish.
See you out there,
Dustin Oh
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
We are getting blessed with some amazing fall weather and lake fishing in the interior has been excellent. When the weather is warm and stable the fishing has been something to write home about. If you haven’t gone it is not too late. It might hit 20 degrees in Kamloops this week! I don’t need to list off a ton of lakes because any productive interior lake will be fishing well with the temps and time of year. We have had reports that Corbett fished really well when the wind and cold was not hitting the lake. Roche had some excellent numbers this week and the Douglas Lake area lakes are on fire as well
Come down to the shop and let us get you prepared. We don’t always get a warm late fall like this!
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
As we are nearing the end of the saltwater season our guiding team is slowly shifting their focus to our freshwater trips. There is always a last wave of chinook showing up at the Cap mouth this time of year and while there are fewer chinook around, if you get a hookup its usually a trophy size this time of year.
The forecast calls for sunny weather for the next 10 days, so any chinook that shows up will likely stage off the Cap mouth waiting for the next push of rain. So there is still a good chance to catch that big chinook. I guided a yesterday today and while we marked 2-3 fish on the sonar, they were not on the bite. We pulled our chinook gear, and put on the coho gear, went up on the flats and did well on coho.
A nice late season coho landed by Lars’ guests yesterday.
For chinook, this time of year I use the Bon Chovy flasher and Glow No Bananas teaser head, fishing right at the bottom. For coho, my go-to is the Silver Betsy flashers paired with any flashy UV spoons. Yesterday I was fishing 47 on one rigger and, either 37 or 57 on the other rigger depending on where I saw bait.
We also opted to drop two traps for crab, setting in 75 feet of water just off the 2nd mile marker. There were 7 keepers waiting for us at the end of thee day which together with the coho we picked up made a great trip and very happy guests.
Aside from the Cap, it’s also worth venturing south to check out the South Arm. While I haven’t heard any significant coho reports from down there, historically, the next two weeks is when the main chunk of coho and chum show up down there.
Lars Akerberg