OUTLOOK
It’s Friday and we’re back with another Friday Fishing Report and Video Outlook.
The first big storm of September is coming! If the weather man is on his game there is a ton of rain hitting the coast over this weekend and this will probably blow out our local rivers. This will make fishing a challenge on the Squamish but there is less rain hitting up the valley and the Vedder might not blow out as badly. Watch your river levels and check out the details below on the Squamish and Vedder rivers. If they don’t blow out or you can catch it when they settle, we should see some great salmon fishing and trout/char fishing.
Interior lake fishing is heating up and we have some updates that as well as info on the Stave River below.
On the saltwater front the rain will suck fish up the rivers and make things challenging but there has been spots of great fishing this week and it is still worth getting g out. Jason has all the details in the saltwater section.
Fall is a great time to join us in one of our classes! If you’ve wanted to learn to tie your own flies there are a couple of spots left in Jordan’s Introduction To Fly Tying Class. Matt is also teaching his Introduction to Fly Fishing Course this month as well. You can join Alex in his not to be missed Fall Salmon River Fishing Course.
This week Zach bring’s us a video tutorial on a fly he has developed over the past few seasons which combines his favourite parts of the Popsicle and the Hobo Spey. Check out his video below this week.
Last but not least – MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Our famous Fall Salmon Sale is back, Saturday September 21 and Sunday September 22. More details including the full sale list coming next week!
Stay dry and we’ll see you out on the water or in the shop this week!
CLASSES AND COURSES
Join us for our some of our most popular classes this month! Call the shop today at 604.872.2204 to sign up!
Introduction To Fly Tying
There is no greater satisfaction than catching a fish with a fly you tied yourself. This course was specifically designed to give you the fundamental skills needed to tie proven fly patterns used here in BC for trout, salmon, and steelhead. This course consists of 3 sessions; each session is 3hrs. Students are required to supply their own vise, tools and materials. A 10% discount is available on materials and tools purchased for the course.
Dates: Sep 18, 25 & Oct 2
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Cost: $80.00+GST
Introduction To Fly Fishing
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.
Dates: Seminar Sep 24 seminar & September 29 casting
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Casting Time(s): 10am – 1pm or 1:30pm -4:30pm
Cost: $150.00+GST
Fall Salmon River Fishing
This 3hr evening seminar covers float fishing, spinner fishing and spoon fishing; the three most productive techniques to catch BC salmon in a river. Upgrade your seminar to include a fully guided day on the water, putting into practice your new knowledge with a Pacific Angler guide.
Dates: Seminar: Sep 23 Guided: Sep 28, Sep 29, Oct 12 or Oct 13 (custom trip dates available)
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm | Guided: Full Day
Seminar Only Cost: $50.00+GST
Seminar & Guided Walk’n Wade Cost: $275.00+GST per angler, minimum of 2 anglers per guided day on the water.
INDUSTRY EVENTS AND UPDATES
Get geared up for less this fall. Our Annual Fall Salmon Sale is back September 21 and 22! Save the dates in your calendar and stay tuned for more details including the full sale list next week.
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Chilliwack/Vedder River Fishing Report
We are in for some flowing water this weekend! Lots of rain in the forecast for the next few days (at least as of this moment of me writing this report) and we can expect a pretty good bump in the levels. This is a good thing as we can expect lots of fresh fish to start moving through the system and to spread out a bit. I was out earlier this week scouting out some potential spots. There were a good number of pinks and a couple of chinook showing up down in the lower section but even though some were filtering through the Crossing area and into the mid/upper, most of the water above the bridge seemed pretty bare. I took a gander further up and the few fish I did come across were incredibly skittish.
This is a good time to get out and scout your spots for coho season which is just around the corner. Some of my go-to spots had changed around a bit so you will want to take a peek at your favourite locations to make sure you aren’t taken by surprise when the time comes to hammer down on the fish. There are a fair number of pinks to keep things entertaining right now too. Drifting setups are highly effective at this time of year and you will want to have some good roe, jigs, colorado blades, beads, and/or wool ties to swap between. The first light window is definitely what you want to aim for albeit you can still get them throughout the day.
Alex Au-Yeung
Squamish River Fishing Report
The Squamish River has seen some ups and down lately with water levels, which is expected for this time of year. The September rains always keep us on our toes, and as the month progresses, usually so do the conditions. Colour has also been interesting with certain areas and days being more clear than others as temperatures start to drop in the upper basin.
Pink salmon fishing has continued to be pretty steady, though it is expected to slowly taper off and fade. That being said, there are still plenty of pinks to be had by those who go.
Fishing for trout and char is starting to pick up with all the eggs and flesh being around, so beads will start to become a norm for those looking to drift light rods, whether gear or fly.
Coho salmon are just starting to trickle in, but we haven’t heard any solid reports as it is still just September. The same gear you’ve been using for pinks is will work just fine, though lures and jigs will change.
If you’re getting excited for chums, now is a great time to start tying jigs and flies so you can be prepared for when they arrive. Though still too early, it doesn’t hurt to start getting your gear together now so you best ready when they show up.
Jordan Simpson
Stave River Fishing Report
The Stave has been very quiet as of late but this is one that you will want to keep an eye on pretty soon as its famed chum run will be returning soon. They typically start showing up in decent numbers in the middle of October and we just got a huge shipment of chum jigs so come stock up before the season gets going! As for right now, the Stave can be a good place to find some solitude for an hour or two to chase resident cutthroat, rainbows, mountain whitefish, and northern pikeminnow. You may find the odd pink in there as well. Scale down your gear for these resident fish as they typically are not big although I have caught relatively large Pikeminnow in there at this time of year. Small spoons, spinners, and nymphs are worth a shot, or bring out the old worm and bobber and that will get them going too.
Alex Au-Yeung
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
Interior Lake Fishing Report
Interior lake fishing is starting to heat up big time. If you’re planning a trip or just a weekend getaway, there are plenty of lakes producing fish as the temperature winds down.
Finally, we’ve got consistently cooler weather for the interior, sub 25 degrees and dropping to 15 or so at night. This bodes well for any lake of course, but it is still suggested to go after big bodies of water or high elevation. Good candidates are Pennask, Hatheume, Roche or any other that fits the bill.
Your approach for this season will be totally different from your spring chironomid fishing. Big flies get big fish, no more size 18 chironomids on angel hair leaders, it’s time for big leeches stripped over weed beds for heavy, aggressive takes. Sure, in the mornings it’s not the worst idea to fish a blood worm or chromie, but when the sun peeks over the hills you better have some leeches or attractors (doc spratley’s, nightmare leech, pumpkin head) at the ready.
Once again as a disclaimer, generally speaking these fish have spent the entire summer in hot water and have been feasting on 18th century medicinal bloodletters and chunks of pond scum. They are good over a barbeque or fire the day of, but filling the freezer is not recommended . Catch and release is advised.
Aidan Munro
FLY TYING FEATURE
Popsi-Ho
The Popsi-Ho is a fly that I have developed over the past few seasons as a do it all fly for the Squamish. This pattern combines my favourite parts of the Popsicle and the Hobo Spey which are both killer patterns in their own way. I tie this fly in White for Bulltrout, Olive and Black for Coho and Trout and really any other colour combination that you can think of for Chum, Steelhead and Chinook. The darker colour combinations contrast with the milky water that we see early on in the season and it makes it easy for the fish to find and destroy. This is a fairly simple pattern that should be a staple in your fly box. I will have some tied up for the shop if you aren’t into tying fairly soon so come on in and grab a few. If you do tie and need some help with this pattern or any other pattern for that matter come on in and we can always help you out!
Zach Copland
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
Well it’s hard to believe its mid September already! The weather is sure letting us know isn’t it? 50 mm is forecast for Saturday and some SE winds as well. Hopefully we will get some nicer days later in the month.
So what does all this rain mean for the fishing? Well if you want to fish the Capilano River or Vedder/Chilliwack River, it is a good thing, but not so much if you want to fish the ocean. This low-pressure system and the rain will definitely get some fish moving up the rivers. For the Cap that means any coho or chinook hanging around the mouth will likely take advantage of the rise in water levels to head up the river. The same can be said for the last of the red chinook hanging around the Fraser and the white chinook and coho that are just starting to show up. They will definitely head up the river. The good news is most of these Harrison and Chilliwack white chinook haven’t even showed up yet. There have been really good reports of these fish coming down the Strait, and they will be showing up at our door step the next few weeks. There are also lots of coho on the way that will be heading to the Vedder/Chilliwack and Chehalis. As you can see, there are still a lot of fish to show up in the next 2-3 weeks, so I would rather get the rain out of the way now. If we have a drier back end of the month, the fishing should be very good.
This past week was a lot slower, we really had to work hard for our fish, but after the excellent season we had, it’s hard to complain. We are sort of in that transition of most of the reds heading up the river but the whites aren’t thick yet. Usually there are plenty of coho around right now to fill in some of the slower chinook days, but for whatever reason they seem few and far between. If you are heading out the next few weeks I would think about 2 locations, the Cap Mouth or the South Arm. We see the bulk of the Cap chinook show up in the 3rd and 4th week of September, so it really hasn’t started to go off yet. If you are looking for a half-day trip or it is too windy to head to the South Arm, this is your best bet. If the winds are good and you have more time, I would recommend going to the South Arm. The big summer crowds are thinning out, there are big white chinook just starting to show up, and there will be some hatchery coho around as a bonus.
Just in case you missed it in Matt’s video outlook here is the link to a quick sneak peak of some filming we did with the crew at Reel West Coast!
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli