Fishing Report

Steelhead fishing report

  

Its been a bit of a crazy winter so far with a never ending fluctuation in our river levels. The Chiliwack River was fair early in January with super low water conditions and then February brought high water and some good steelhead fishing. It’s been a challenge to stay on top of the best fishing. The river seems to be constantly changing and with it the fish kept moving around. We caught fish in nearly all conditions thankfully. The key to success this season has been the raft. It has allowed us to stay mobile on the water and fish areas that are typically inaccessible to the beach bound anglers.

Currently the river is in prime condition and we don’t see that changing too much looking at the long range forecasts for our region. Small systems of weather will continue to bring good amounts of fresh fish into our river and will move the ones currently residing around. March and April are two of the best months of the year to fish for steelhead in our river and most trips should now be hooking fish. We have had some absolutely fantastic fishing the last week with multiple fish hooked most days out. We are heading into some great fishing in the next few weeks.

We are targeting our steelhead right now with both fly and gear methods and are seeing successful trips on both methods. March and April are the best months to attempt catching steelhead on a fly rod. The water is a bit warmer and the fish are becoming more aggressive as they get closer to their spawning times. These two factors give the fly angler a much better chance at success.

Trout fishing

I saw the first few salmon alevins swimming in a soft eddy on Monday. This is the key to start looking at our spring time cutthroat fishery. These aggressive trout prey on young salmon heavily at this time of the year and they get a bit easier to find. This is such a fun fishery that is virtually untouched. Many local anglers are focused on steelhead so the trout get left alone. It’s not uncommon to be completely alone on the Fraser chasing trout. It’s a wonderful way to spend a day in the spring.

Sturgeon fishing

The sturgeon fishing has been fairly good this winter from what I have

heard. I do not typically guide for sturgeon until the middle of March when the Fraser begins to warm up.  Ethically i believe these fish should be left alone to winter in peace. It’s hard on their systems when their metabolism is so slow. They will start to get feeding now as we head into the beginning of spring. By the beginning of April the sturgeon fishery will be in full swing. The first eulachon will begin migrating up the Fraser and the sturgeon will be gorging on this high calorie food source. The most popular baits during this time of year are eulachon, lamprey and of course some good quality salmon roe.

Salmon fishing

I have not done any salmon fishing since the middle of January for some winter springs. It’s been decent from what I have heard; I just have not had the time or any requests to get out there. This is partially due to the fact that I have been busy with steelhead trips and not focused on any salmon fishing.

There are a few fisheries that are coming that you should consider though, during the latter part of April we begin fishing an area off the south side of Bowen Island that has some fantastic fishing. These are early Fraser and Squamish run Chinooks that stage for about 4 weeks in this area before heading up their home rivers. It is one of the most consistent fisheries we have for early saltwater salmon fishing.

The second one is our early freshwater Chinook adventures. This is a remote river adventure that takes you into one of the most stunning regions of the south coast. We target these Chinooks with a fly rod and can average about a fish per angler per day. Some would say this is slow fishing but when you add the scenery and the ride to this area the fish is just a bonus for the day. I can guarantee you one thing for certain- this will be the most unbelievable Chinook you have ever seen in fresh water. These fish are extremely fly responsive and lack the lock jaw many Chinook exhibit upon entering freshwater. Many experienced fly anglers will encounter multiple hook ups in a day. There is also steelhead and trout present during this time as well so you never know what is going to give you a tug. Peak timing for this will be around the middle of April.

If any of these adventures interests you please give us a call and we will assist you in setting up a day or more on the water.

I look forward to hearing from you and discussing you options with us.

Good luck and great fishing always

Oliver