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