OUTLOOK
It’s been a big week, especially if you are a saltwater angler. With the September 1 regulation change we have been able to fish off the mouth of the Fraser all the way down to the South Arm. Tides are mellowing and for the most part the weather looks great for the weekend but be sure to keep an eye on that marine forecast as the winds may kick up on Sunday. Jason has all of the details in this week’s saltwater fishing report.
With that in mind we know many of you will be putting a couple salmon in the freezer. Why not up your salmon cooking game? Aidan has out done himself this week with an amazing salmon recipe that is sure to impress the friends and family. (Secret – its not that hard to make).
For our river anglers we would like bring your attention to an upcoming Demonstration Fishery organized by the FRSA (Fraser River Sportfishing Alliance) on September 9. The purpose of this event is to demonstrate to DFO and others that the opportunity to fish on the Fraser River can and should be allowed during times of abundance. The chinook numbers were high enough to allow for openings at the mouth as well as gill nets that have taken thousands of chinook with some disturbing incidental catches of sockeye and sturgeon.
Check out further details below on how to participate and also follow along on their facebook page for any updates.
We also have some fun old steelhead footage of Spey Fishing the Skeena area. A little something to get you in the mood for swinging flies, grinding thousands of casts and hopefully getting the rude awakening we are all hoping for!!
Though summer is still holding on for this weekend, fall is just around the corner and with it comes the fall river salmon season. This week Zach has a Salmon Twitching Jig Tying Video. If you are getting ready for fall, check it out in the fly tying feature section below.
Matt has the Video Version of the report where he goes over all the details.
Last but not least here are our Labour Day Long Weekend hours
Friday September 4 | 10AM – 7PM
Saturday September 5 | 10AM – 6PM
Sunday September 6 | 11AM – 5PM
Monday September 7 | Closed – We’ll see you on the water!
CLASSES AND COURSES
Join us in the virtual classroom this month! Matt will be back teaching two classes this month!
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. The dates below show the seminar date first and casting date second.
Dates: Zoom Seminar: Sep 15 Casting: Sep 19
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Casting Time(s): 10am – 1pm or 1:30pm -4:30pm
Cost: $150.00+GST
Fall Salmon River Fishing: Floats, Spinners and Spoons
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: Zoom Seminar: Sept. 28 Guided: Oct 2, Oct 3, Oct 16 or Oct 17 (custom trip dates available)
Zoom 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.
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Capilano River / North Shore Beach Report
Well, it seems like the Capilano has hit a bit of a quiet patch. The peak of the summer run coho has passed and the remaining fish waiting to get up the river are not able to do so due to low water levels. We haven’t heard too many reports of fish being caught recently as a result. The next big rain will be critical for the late summer run coho and early fall run coho and chinook to get into the system. The next week and beyond is showing sun all the way through with temperatures sitting in the mid-twenties, so spending time preparing for the fall river salmon season while we wait for better conditions wouldn’t be a bad idea. We are also gearing up at the shop as our twitching and floating jig selection continues to grow by the day. Stopping by to stock up on jig heads, tying materials, pre-tied jigs, spoons and other great river presentations should definitely be high on your priorities if you hope to get out in the coming weeks and months. We also have a large selection of Coho flies, so make sure to take a look at those as well if you’re more on the fly side.
As for the mouth of the Capilano, you can expect to potentially start seeing some chinook around the area along with the coho. Ideally, you’d like to see low tides in the early mornings when the temperature and light is low, but the bulk of this week will have low tides in the afternoon and middle of the night. One exception to that will be next Wednesday (9th) when the lowest tide will be at 5:11 AM. So, for the early risers, this could be a good time to plan on heading out. Make sure your box has some small blue fox spinners and buzz-bombs for those fishing gear and clousers, shrimp and other attractor patterns for fly fishermen.
Stop by the shop to see our new selection of Tungsten Jig heads from Tasty Tackle. There are lots of cool benefits to fishing Tungsten, so make sure to ask about them!
Tight lines,
Haiden MacDonald
Vedder River Fishing Report
It’s officially September, so we’re now right on the doorstep of the Vedder/Chilliwack fall Salmon runs, the first of which should be showing up in a week or two. A lack of rain in the forecast means we can expect to be fishing in very low, clear conditions, but the right gear and approach can still be rewarding.
The first run to show up will be the fall run white Springs. These fish are similar to their summer run cousins, just bigger, meaner, more plentiful, and easier to catch. Springs are suckers for roe, but they’re aggressive enough to bite anything if it gets close enough to them and they’re not pressured. Beads, wool, shrimp, blades, spinners, jigs, spoons… they all work. Things aren’t much different on the fly front- anything in chartreuse, black, blue or purple will work, and bigger is usually better.
There will also be a few early coho showing up when the springs push into the river. These fish are usually fairly timid compared to the springs, but float fishing bait such as roe or shrimp, or artificials such as beads or wool on size 4-1 hooks will work if these fish are around. Twitching jigs, casting spoons and spinners can also be deadly. Fly guys will want to try smaller patterns with a lot of flash, such as Cali Neills, Coho buggers or Christmas trees. Olive also works well, so bring a few wooly buggers or grab a few of Andre’s custom Coho flies before they’re gone. Keep in mind that when springs and coho occupy the same pool or run, the springs will usually take the deepest water and bully the coho out into the shallower, less ideal stuff, such as tailouts or close to shore… so don’t just go clomping up to the rivers edge, because those coho might just be a few feet off the bank in shallow water.
Please keep in mind that springs and coho are very “bitey” fish, so there’s no need to floss or snag them. It’s unethical, illegal, and ruins the run/pool for everyone else. There will also be Cultus Lake Sockeyes pushing through, some of which will be missing their adipose fin, so please identify your catch before dragging it up on the rocks and smacking it upside the head with a rock. Alex wrote a very detailed run down on this fishery in last week’s report, which can be found here.
Good luck, tight lines and stay safe out there.
FLY TYING FEATURE
Cotton Candy Twitching Jig
1/2 or 3/8oz twitching jig hook
Thread: 140 denier fl. Pink
Tail: fl. Pink zonker
Body: Fl. Fuschia UV Polar Chenille
Wing: Opal Mirage Flashabou Blue
Collar: Fl. Blue Crosscut Rabbit Strip
As we have discovered over the past few years of twitching, for the most part colour doesn’t matter when it comes to salmon fishing. The erratic action caused by this technique turns even the most tight lipped fish into biters. One thing you will want in your jig arsenal is to have more jigs than you think you will need with a variety of colours. The cotton candy colour combo has been one of our favourite colours to start with when we hit the water. Try this combo out and let your imagination take over to come up with your own killer colour combos!
Zach Copland
FEATURE RECIPE
Salmon Are Open So Let’s Put on the Chefs Hat!
Salmon En Croûte
This dish is a fantastic way to prepare your new found salmon supply. It easily enters the million-dollar plate club while still being a quick and easy dinnertime option. Whether cooking for a crowd or feasting on this dish yourself, you can be assured moist, flavourful salmon with a textural contrast that is unmistakable.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter (room temp)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped basil
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 bunch spinach
1/2 red onion
1 clove garlic
1 sheet puff pastry
2x Salmon fillets / steaks – skinless – boneless
- Prepare your spinach filling.
Sautee your onions until translucent and fragrant, add in a finely chopped or crushed clove of garlic for 30 seconds, and add in the leaves of your spinach until fully wilted and the pan is dry underneath. If your mixture is too wet it can cause a gummy texture to your puff pastry and cause major leakage.
This spinach filling is my favourite in this dish, however, feel free to replace it with a multitude of different green veggies like asparagus, green beans, etc.; be creative!
- Mix together your soft butter along with basil, minced garlic, the zest of one lemon, and olive oil. This should give you a soft, spreadable compound butter. For a bit of a different take on this dish, replace your butter with a soft cream cheese for added richness.
- Lightly flour your work surface and roll out your puff pastry to roughly the thickness of a toonie.
- Start by placing your spinach filling in the shape of your salmon fillets, leaving an even layer. Place your first salmon fillet on top and cover with the compound butter mix, doing the same with the second piece.
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Well finally the forecast is co-operating, and we have been able to fish off the mouth of the Fraser all the way down to the South Arm. Although there have been fish hooked at the North Arm, Iona, and T-10, the South Arm seems to have the edge on number of fish, which is pretty normal. It also has the edge on number of boats, VERY busy down there, so it might be better to get a little less action but see less boats in other spots.
Bait has been good, as usual, and productive depths have been 35-75 on the riggers with my top two depths being 47 and 57. Chrome flashers like the Betsy or Herring Aid in chrome have been good up top with chrome teaser heads. Further down, green or chartreuse UV flashers have been good with UV green teaser heads. The deeper rods have been doing well on chartreuse or green glow flashers and glow teaser head in the same colours.
There are some bigger fish showing up, so make sure you gear is perfect. There will be some tyees caught this week and next and there was a 50 caught yesterday. I got a 30 a week or so ago (DNA sampling) and yesterday we landed a 26 and a 23.
We haven’t been to the Cap Mouth lately, but it should start to see some fish in more consistent numbers next week. If you are booking a trip I would recommend booking an 8 or 10 hour so we can head to the South Arm if that is where the bite is on.
See you out there!
Jason Tonelli