Fishing Report

We are entering into the second week of June and we are now in full swing with our summer fly fishing program and sturgeon. The Upper pitt river is where we will be spending many of our days this summer guiding for trout and hopefully salmon this season. The fishing this past week has been a bit on the slow side this week as the river drops into its regular flow and the glacier starts to give it some color.  The fish that we have been getting so far have been good ones. This pristine river is only boat access and takes a bit of skill to navigate. The river sees very little pressure and the scenery alone is fantastic. This river will fish right into august

Sturgeon fishing has been Fair considering the
Fraser is in full run off currently. It is very high and lots of debris being flushed out of the tributaries. The fishing has been good when we find the fish and the size of fish we have been getting has been good. The sturgeon are currently feeding very well and super active. Bites have been aggressive and most fish are jumping multiple times throughout the fight. The fraser is scheduled to crest this week and with the cooler weather this week its a good chance it will now start to drop. This really is the beginning of the summer sturgeon fishery.

Local saltwater fishing has been very good lately. It will taper off a bit now during the remainder of June but with July the first real push of Fraser migrating Chinooks and early capilano Coho will begin to show up and the fishing will get right back into normal. We are anticipating good returns of Chinooks this season back to the Fraser and if the current Chinook fishing is any indication of what this summer will be like it should be a great season.

If you are interested in any information or to book a trip feel free to call us any time.
Take care and remember to be safe.
cheers
Oliver

Fishing report

This is the best time of the year to get out and experience good fishing for winter steelhead. We have been on the water almost daily for the past month and the fishing has not been disappointing. This season has certainly been a bit different than other seasons. The average steelhead for us has been over 10 lbs. and some really nice fish upwards of 16lbs. This season has been more of a low water year with colder temps than what we have seen in the past few seasons. Its been challenging at times to predict how the fish are traveling through the system. We would normally expect to see pods of fish travel daily upwards of 5-7 kilometers of river at a time. This year with lower water they are travelling through on a slower rate and in smaller groups.
 We typically have been finding fish from the bottom of Tamihi rapids and throughout the system to lickman rd. We cover a lot of water in a typical day and it has been paying off with good results. We generally find fish somewhere throughout our drift and then focus our efforts in that general area. Typically you will find more fish in holding water up or downstream of that area.

I typically use a lot of artificial baits when guiding. Its not because bait doesn't work, I find fish with artificial baits because its faster and more time in the water. Once we find some fish I will slow down and focus on running baits to get the fish that may not take an artificial. we use anything from beads to blades to find them and then the best baits lately have been  cured shrimp and roe.

The beginning of this week is forecasted for decent amount of rain, this should bring in another push of fresh fish and the river should stabilise by Tuesday. Wednesday through Sunday are looking promising for conditions if you want to get out and catch some of these great fish.

Sturgeon fishing has been slowly picking up as the temperature of the Fraser is starting to get a bit warmer now and the fish are perking up a bit. Its still a bit on the early side but within the next two weeks we should start to see the fishing get significantly better. We have been getting most of our fish lately on lamprey and roe with a few already eating eulichons.

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable time on the water this week, Good luck and if you see us on the water be sure to say hello. If you want to get out on the water and fish with us in the next few weeks
 Please call at 1-604-852-0744 or oliver@oliversfishing.com
 Cheers
 Oliver

Fishing report

The Chilliwack river is now coming back into shape. After the rain we had on Thursday the river rose to its highest point this year. Fishing was consistent before the rise with the conditions we had. The river was dropping and visibility was great. We found fish all through the system from the upper river right down to the bottom end. We were focusing on the mid river section during last week as this was where we were finding the most willing fish and the pressure seemed a bit lighter in those areas.
The weekend was slow fishing due to the high water andpoor visibility. There were some fish caught but not the best fishing we have experienced.

This week should be consistent fishing throughout the system as the river is now dropping into perfect conditions. There are a few minor changes to the river which is always a good thing.
The weather pattern for this week should contribute to slow drop which will keep fresh fish moving and maintain a bit of color in the water. It looks like we will be getting a bit of rain through the week which will be good.

Sturgeon fishing has been ok from what I have heard although we have not been out lately. It will start to get a lot better once we get into the month of march. I personally don't like to fish for sturgeon too much until at least the middle of march as the water temps are still a bit cold. We have a couple trips booked for the end of march and early April and we should start to see some better fishing for these giants coming up.

Good luck on the water and see you out there!
Oliver

Fishing Report

This week has been fair for steelhead. We saw a few great sized fish show up at the end of last week. We followed them up the river with some decent success. The river conditions have been low again for most of this week. I really like when we get these low water periods, It condenses the fish into very defined holding areas and makes them a bit more predictable. Pressure on the river often dies down a bit when it gets challenging.

When the river drops you really need to focus your efforts on water that offers security for fish. I prefer deep pools and faster water edges that will hide steelhead. These places will always hold a few aggressive fish and sometimes you have to get a bit creative. Many anglers believe you need to tone your offerings down and this will certainly yield a few fish. I will always start with something small and see what the fish want. If this doesn't work it time for a bit of shock and awe. Large worms, big Colorado blades or a brightly cured prawn Will often get a bite.

This week the water is not really going to rise much so the fish wont be traveling very far. best bets in low water conditions will be in the lower sections of the river. Steelhead will actually bounce in and out of the river depending on water height. Most will hang around for a few tides and then move. Lickman rd to the highway bridge will see some consistent action this week.

We have some great dates still available for this season. We offer a great day of instructional steelhead fishing to help you become a better angler on the water. This will boost the learning curve of steel heading very quickly.
Give us a call at 1-604-852-0744  or email at Oliver@oliversfishing.com
Cheers and have a great week

Fishing Report

The winter steelhead fishing is now heading into the best time of the year. January is always a bit unpredictable. The water level this season has been very low which has lead to inconsistent fishing. January is traditionally a slower month for steelhead in our river, There is usually a lull in the fish moving into the system from the 5-20th of the month. This season so far has been right on track.

We had a good rain weather pattern last week which has basically brought the river up for the first time this winter and a lot of new fish have entered and spread out. This will be a good week for fishing most of the river. It was good over the weekend and hopefully this trend will continue this week with the next bit of rain forecasted for the end of the week. This should bring another good wave of fresh fish into the system. Best areas this weekend were between Peach rd. and Wilson rd. I would focus on the areas a bit upstream of Wilson this week, Essentially chasing the wave of fish from the last rain up river. We have caught fish on all the usual baits, my favorites are BC orange gooey bobs, wool and roe, wool and prawns or spawn sacks.

I will begin guiding at the beginning of February this season for steelhead, I've found that January is a bit too early to be really successful. We have some dates still available for guiding in February. If you want to experience the Chilliwack river steelhead fishery now is the time to get on our schedule. We are offering full day floats for up to two angler per day again this season. This is a unique way to fish the Chilliwack and enables anglers to cover large amounts of water in a day.
Give us a call at 1-604-852-0744 for dates and pricing, I would love to hear from you.
See you out there
Oliver

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 

 

Fishing Report March 28, 2015

I can't believe its already the end of March, time just seems to speed up at this time of the year for us. We are into one of my favorite times of the year, April is one of those months where there are seriously too many fishing options to choose from-Salmon, Sturgeon, spring Steelhead and interior Trout. How does one decide what to do? Easy, do them all!!

Salmon fishing  is now getting into one of the best times of the year for our winter Chinook fishery, during this time of year we have a mixed bag of transient feeder Chinooks and early migration mature Chinooks. This is a very enjoyable salmon fishery that is close to home and yields some of our best local salmon fishing of the year. We are pretty fortunate to be able to offer all these different fisheries for our clients at this time of year. Best areas are still in Vancouver harbour and around the north west end of Bowen island.  As we begin April, it's time to start thinking about the hump and over towards the gulf islands. I would also advise you to start adding a bit of bait into your mix of gear being towed along. My favorite is herring in teaser heads, I know its a bit on the big side but I always seem to find a fish that wants a bigger bait. We drop crab traps on these trips as well so there is almost always a nice crab feast to look forward to afterwards as well.

The sturgeon fishing is just starting to get going and the fishing is still a bit on the spotty side but this is going to change as we get some warmer weather. The river is starting to bump up a bit now and this should start to trigger the fish as well as the Eulachons. This annual run of small smelt are really the key to getting the big sturgeon moving and aggressively feeding. We will be seeing these start any day now as the river is rising and temperatures start to warm up a bit. I look forward to this time of the year the most. It is always exciting and after chasing steelhead all winter its nice to get out and experience the big game aspect of our area. The fishing has been the best currently around the mouth of the Vedder and down towards the gravel pit. Right around the mission bridge has also been good for a few fish each day. We are getting multiple hook ups each day in these areas and we will also be venturing down below the mission bridge in about a week from now to target the fish moving up river. We are currently using Eulachons, Lampreys and still a bit of salmon eggs right now.

Steelhead fishing has been very good lately, the river is in prime shape and now that new licences are up there will be fewer people on the river. This has to be my favorite time of the year to fish for steelhead. Warm water temps and aggressive spring steelhead will keep me interested any day. I prefer to fish for early spring steelhead on the fly but will also use conventional gear if I don't have a full day to target these fish. My favorite areas to fish are always as low in a system as possible at this time of year. Spring steelhead enter a river and hang out in the lower sections for a few days acclimatizing themselves before running up, They are generally very fast traveling fish once they have been in the river a few days. These fish are usually a bit more aggressive than earlier fish so the bite is pretty hard.

This season we have added a few new lakes to our program in the interior, these will remain unnamed because I believe in secrecy! I take only groups of two anglers at a time into these lakes. It is way more enjoyable if the group is small and we can fish out of the same boat. We provide everything you will need for our trip. We stay in a local hotel and then drive to the lake each morning, this gives us all a good nights sleep.  We fly fish on these adventures, if your not into fly fishing, no problem we can teach you! We generally fish with chironomid flies during this time of the year and its a fairly easy way to catch rainbows at this time of the year.

If any of our fisheries interests you or you are planning a trip for later in the year feel free to give us a call and ask us what is going on right now. I'm sure we can put together a trip that will create memories for a long time .

cheers
Oliver