Making the most out of your day - Utilizing online resources

Although Internet forums are a great source of information before heading out for a day of fishing there is a wealth of additional online resources available to increase your knowledge.  I like to make the most out of my time on the water so the more prior knowledge I can obtain the better.

Tides:  BC Tides
Sure, a lot of the lower mainland rivers are a ways from the ocean, but tides still influence water levels as well as fish migration so they are useful to keep track of.  The tide has an influence on all of the tributaries of the Fraser to varying degrees all the way until Hope.

For example, the high tide at Sand heads reaches the portion of the Fraser that the Vedder river flows into.  At this time of year approximately 5 hours after a high tide you can expect the next wave of fish to start pushing into the canal portion of the Vedder river.

River Water Levels:  BC River Water Levels
A number of flows in the lower mainland have their water levels monitored 24/7.  This information can be used to see how much that recent rainfall has effected the river you hope to fish the next day or to determine the patterns of water release from one of the dammed flows like the Cheakamus.

On the vedder for example flows below 1.6 m are very low.  Flows between 1.6 m and 2.3 m are ideal.  Flows over 2.3 m are quite high and many locations will be close to or totally unfishable.  Keep in mind clarity can also be an issue, but having a rough idea of what to expect will make your decisions easier.


Test Nets:  Albion Test Nets
The Albion test nets are a great resource to determine how many fish are currently pushing up the river.  They are used to monitor the movement of chum up the river but springs and coho are also caught.  As you can see from a current report that there has been a marked increase in the numbers of both chum and coho over the past week.

Google Earth:  Google Earth
This is the ultimate fishing management tool IMO.  I mark all of the locations I fish.  The southern half of the province is filled to the brim with my waypoints and information.   You can then add information to those waypoints which can act as a resource for when you want to revisit a given area in the future.  You can also use it to scout out new fishing spots, alternate accesses for spots you already fish etc.

For streams, I mark individual runs, notes on how the flows differ from the images (which are generally a few years old), notes on how runs fish at different water levels (See water level information) etc.  For lakes I include information like elevation, ice off dates, hatches encountered, and the list goes on...

Fish Wizard:  Fish Wizard
This stripped down version of our governments mapping program is of more use to the stillwater enthusiasts among us.  It can be used to find topographical maps of lakes, recent stocking records, historical stocking records, topography, and access.  Always wonder if that pothole you drive by has fish in it?  Fish wizard will have your answer.  Note it does not function too well with some browsers (Internet Explorer)

Hope this helps you get a little more out of your fishing trips in the future.

Cheers,

J

Coho fly primer - a revisit

With the issue of snagging/foul hooking at the forefront of everyone's minds again with the recent sockeye fishery, I decided to highlight a few ways which a similar fly can be tied to reduce the chances of snagging fish on the swing when fishing with heavy tips or when fish are heavily stacked up.  As the chum start showing up in numbers over the next few weeks this becomes particularly relevant.

Recall this fly, tied in a standard way, my favorite coho pattern.  It runs hook point down which is fine for casting and retrieving for coho or chum salmon in relatively slow water, but it can also easily foul hook a fish when fished on the swing.

A simple modification in the way that the pattern is tied can address this issue.  Instead of a normal brass or tungsten bead, substitute a set of hourglass eyes tied along the top of the hook shank.  This will cause the fly to run hook point up and greatly reduce your chance to foul hook fish in most situations.

When using hourglass eyes I prefer to use a straight eye style of hook but other than that no further changes are necessary.  For a budget hook I have been using the new Mustad Signature series Big Game C70SD in size 4 and 6.  The hooks are sharp and strong and relatively cheap.   For size 6 hooks a 1/8" set of eyes is appropriate (Superfly extra small size).  I do not like overly heavy flies so I try to get away with the smallest set of eyes possible that will make the hook ride hook point up.  This technique comes from clouser type flies but it can be applied to most if not all patterns you will chuck for salmon in moving water.  I first saw it applied to flies beyond clousers last year while fly fishing for the heavily stacked pink salmon in the Vedder river in September.

You can also take this one step further and substitute your regular hook selection with a circle hook.  This may be slightly more expensive but for situations where they are lots of big chum or thickly stacked pink salmon it may make your fishing experience more enjoyable.

http://www.mustad.no/products/premium/signature/signature_catl/c71sss_frs.htm

Cheers,

J

A weekend fishing the Vedder

The salmon season is now in full swing on the Vedder river.  Copious numbers of Coho, and Spring salmon are making their way upriver every day and even a few Chum are starting to trickle into the system.  When fishing during salmon season I almost always arrive at the river before first light and hike to my predetermined starting spot.  Sometimes it is a little creepy hiking into spots in the dark solo but it is a great way to avoid the crowds that so many people dislike on this busy system. 

This past Saturday was no different.  I arrived at my spot to see the water was quite a bit higher compared to when I fished it the previous weekend so I sat down on a nice comfy rock and waited to see where the fish would show themselves.  Sure enough a few coho and spring jacks were rolling and moving around just downstream of where they had been last week.  I moved to a rock lower down to make sure I was in a proper position to cast to them when it was light enough and waited.  The moon was nearly full and very bright, so it was light enough to fish faster than I expected.  I saw that the water clarity was around 3 feet which was perfect.

I started the day chucking the last of my roe left over from last weekend.  A few float dips later with nothing to show for it but a 7" rainbow I decided to switch to a colorado blade.  Last Sunday, at the same spot, I saw three adult springs taken on brass/gold colorados so I figured I would start there.  I tied on a #4 brass colorado and started casting.

At about this time a couple other folks arrived, now about an hour after first light.  After about half an hour with nothing to show for my efforts I decided to change up slightly, and put on a #4.5 gold plated colorado which was significantly flashier than my previous offering.  Sometimes all it takes is a change up to entice the fish to bite.  Midway through my first cast my float disappears and I set the hook.  Immediately a large fish breaks the surface and starts dancing out in the main flow.  After seeing the fish on the surface I knew it was a big fish, but I assumed it was a spring since I had seen so many come out of this particular piece of water, particularly on colorado blades.  Once I got the fish closer I saw for the first time that it was a very large wild coho!  I asked one of the fellows above me to help me tail the fish without removing it from the water since all wild Coho are to be released.  Two photos later the fish was on its merry way.

After a fish like that the rest of the day is pretty much a wash.  It will be remembered fondly regardless of what happens after.  I showed the gentleman who helped me land the fish what I was using, and then got back to it.  20 minutes later the float dipped again and after a solid hook set I was playing my first spring jack of the day. As I was landing that fish the fellow above me also connected with a spring jack.  

After our double header more people started arriving and I decided I had already had my fill of that particular spot for the day.  In my three years of fishing the Vedder I find it surprising how much of the river I have still not thoroughly explored.  I decided to scout/fish a few locations that I had never previously ventured too.  After a little driving and a lot of walking I found a number of nice looking pieces of water, most with only a few or no folks fishing but I did not find any willing takers as I briefly fished through a few of them.  I was content with the fish I caught already that day, it was already a great day on the river.

 

When I left the river early Saturday afternoon the sun was still shining and the conditions were perfect.  Unfortunately some major rain fell overnight.  Combine heavy rain with  the clay banks on the upper river and some particularly dirty runoff entering the river from a few of the creeks and you get a tough day of fishing.

I put in an hour and a half of fishing large blades like the previous morning at first light before leaving to attend the annual river cleanup but did not find any willing fish. 

After finishing with my assigned area for the cleanup I moved down to the lower river and found the conditions to be a little murky but fishable.  There were a number of folks fishing in the area I arrived at but they were all fishing along the head of the main run leaving a lot of water devoid of any angling pressure.  After sitting on the rocks for a few minutes I started noticing coho splashing about in some slack water against a steep bank where the river makes a moderate turn.  After determining that I could safely wade and reach a position where I would be able to fish for them with the fly rod I quickly returned to my vehicle, grabbed the fly rod and got right to it.

Over the next hour there were plenty of coho and even a few chum moving into this small piece of water before proceeding on upriver.  Unfortunately none were cooperative but I will certainly be back, most likely at first light to try to find some more willing fish.  Although the day resulted in no fish, it was still nice to be out on the river.  It was good to see the 240 participants helping to clean up the garbage left behind by inconsiderate users and be able to get in a few casts as well :)

Cheers,

J

Shortfloating Jigs for Chum Salmon

As we creep towards October the chum salmon start moving into most of the lower mainland flows and they are readily catchable on the fly or with gear.  Fresh chum tend to be quite aggressive biters and although you may see people flossing or snagging these fish it is entirely unnecessary.  Short floating for chum with blades or jigs generally results in hookups with cleaner/fresher fish and decreases the risk for lost and broken gear that can result from foul hooking these large strong fish.

Jigs are a great lure to use for short floating because they are durable, ride hook point up which reduces hang ups, and are very effective in any system that you can find chum residing in.

Do it yourself jig kits are available in most lower mainland tackle shops and if you already tie flies for salmon you will most likely have all of the materials you need to tie up some jigs.

Basic jigs can be tied with a strip of crosscut rabbit wrapped forward along the shank from the hook bend to the head and finished with the webby portion of a Schlappen feather.  Purple and pink are the most popular colors associated with targeting chum, but you really have unlimited options when it comes to color combinations.  Think about orange, red, chartreuse and black combinations as well.

Flash can be added to patterns in several ways.  The easiest way is to add 10-20 strands of crystal flash, flashabou accent, or flashabou along the hook shank so that it extends beyond the end of the rabbit strip.  This addition is subtle and if you do not like it, you can simply cut out the flash without impacting the jig in any way.

 
Material substitutions add to the flexibility of these patterns.  My favorite substitution is dropping the crosscut rabbit and using UV polar chenille palmered forward with all of the fibers pulled backwards with each wrap.  Crystal hackle, normal polar chenille, and large palmer chenille will also work well for this application.




Try a few of these out in the coming month and you will be pleasantly surprised at how well they work.


Cheers,

J

Coho Fly Primer

With the first few extended periods of rain each September the coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) start returning in earnest to the lower mainland rivers.

Described bellow are the three basic patterns that I would never be without when targeting coho in freshwater:

Olive Palmer Chenille Bugger
Hook: Tiemco 5262 size 6-12
Thread: Red Uni 8/0
Bead: 1/8 gold or smaller
Tail: Webby olive marabou with 4-8 strands of pearl midge flash
Body: Olive Palmer chenille wrapped forward with all fibers facing backwards
Alternatives: This fly tied with a silver bead,  straight pearl midge flash tail, and pearl palmer chenille has been extremely effective for coho jacks.

Olive Rolled Muddler
Hook: Tiemco 5263 Size 6-12
Thread: Red Uni 8/0
Bead: 1/8 gold or smaller (bead optional)
Tail: Olive barred mallard flank
Body: Medium gold tinsel with medium gold wire counterwrapped over tinsel
Underwing: 4-6 strands of pearly midge flash
Overwing: Olive barred mallard flank
Head: Spun olive deer hair
Alternatives: Natural mallard and deer hair or brown mallard and deer hair can be substituted

Sparse Christmas Tree
Hook: Tiemco 5263 size 6-10
Thread: Red Uni 8/0
Bead: Silver 1/8 or smaller (bead optional)
Body: Medium silver tinsel counterwrapped with medium silver wire
Underwing: Blue crystal flash
Overwing: Blue/silver Flashabou
Alternatives: Various Flashabou blends can be used including gold/green, silver/green/blue etc.


My advice for targeting these fish on the fly is keep the fly selection simple and invest your time in getting to sleep early so those 5:00 AM alarms are a little less jarring :)

Cheers,

Jordan

Summer Paradise

With the sockeye bonanza occupying everyone's time over the past month and a half the pressure on the Skagit river has been well below average.  Pair the low angler pressure with a later than normal spring runoff and the river conditions in late August and early September and what you get is some truly great days on the water.

Following the trends observed by many anglers there were abundant populations of bull trout already present throughout the lower river in mid August.  Careful observation when approaching any of the deeper holes would allow you to see the bull trout flashing.

A carefully presented streamer swung near the bottom would generally result in a solid take, assuming the fish were not previously disturbed.

Most bull trout present in the river are between 16" and 22" but occasionally they can reach much larger proportions.

My favorite streamers to date for targeting these fish is a simple Clouser minnow tied on a size 4 stainless steel salmon hook.  Olive over white, black/gray over white and black/chartreuse over white each with some red crystal flash added along each side are my personal favorites.  I have also begun experimenting with egg sucking leech patterns tied with 1/4" orange brass beads which tend to snag a little more due to the hook point running down rather than upward on a Clouser type pattern.

Occasionally the bull trout will even fall for a well presented nymph.  I have found this is a viable alternative when you are trying to hook fish that have already been fished over and potentially disturbed.

The pressure decreases substantially after the Labor day weekend, but if you are looking for a quiet getaway and some excellent fishing think about making the drive out to the Skagit on a nice sunny day even into October.

Cheers,

J