 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 By Rodney Hsu
What can I catch?
Where to go? These coarse fish can be found anywhere on the Fraser River during the fishing season. Ideal places to go are sandbars or jetties, simply because it is more comfortable to fish in these areas. For those who are more adventurous, fishing on rocks or dykes can provide optimal results. Some good areas that I like to fish include:
When should I fish? In the tidal portion of the Fraser River, timing is very important. Choosing the right time can result in a great day of fishing. On the other hand, when the timing is wrong, you will go home empty handed. As mentioned earlier, coarse fish will bite throughout the day, regardless the weather or tide. However, there are optimal times. Low tide is generally not ideal just like any other types of fishing. I have found that fish are extremely active 2 hours before and after the high tide. Ironically, often I don’t hook any fish when the tide is at its highest and stationary. If the high tide corresponds to the time of sunrise and sunset, then this is the time you would like to fish. There have been times in the past when I hit the water just after sunrise and the tide was still rising, peamouth chubs would create boils in the water. On occasions like these, I would have over 100 hookups within one morning, a great way to start a day! Below is a table summary of some of the coarse fish species found in the Fraser River and the optimal time to catch them.
Coarse fishing tackles
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Often
when people talk about fishing in British Columbia Canada, the species
that pop up on their minds are often the 
Every
year between the months of May and September, besides the coastal
salmon fishing and trout fishing in the interior, there are not
much fishing left in Southern BC. Both salmon fishing and trout
fishing can be expensive. Often most anglers don’t know there
are great fishing right outside their doorsteps. During the summer,
the Fraser is filled with many other fish species besides salmon
and trout. These include suckers, northern squawfish, peamouth chubs
and bullheads. I’ve found so far is that fishing for these
species has not been properly documented in magazines or books.
When the water warms up, they can be found anywhere along the banks
of Fraser River, particularly peamouth chubs. These fish are omnivores,
meaning they would eat anything that they can fit in their mouths.
There are some preferred food groups though, and I shall get into
that later on in this article. Like all other gamefish, dawn and
dusk are the periods when these fish are often active, but on a
lucky day they can be caught throughout the day. Peamouth chubs
are usually around 20 to 30cm long, but occasionally one can encounter
the monstrous 40cm fish. Larger fish are usually caught later on
in the season. Squawfish can be excellent on light tackles, these
fish can average between 30 to 40cm long, but it is very common
to hook large ones up to 70cm long! During the summer months, there
are many juvenile squawfish ranging between 10 to 15cm long, which
can be a pest when targeting larger fishing. 
As
mentioned earlier in the article, coarse fishing requires the
lightest tackle there is, simply because the fish are smaller.
Personally, I prefer to use lines between 2 to 4 pound, with minimal
amount of weight and a small hook between size 12 to 16. There
are two types of fishing methods, bottom fishing (also known as
bar fishing in the Fraser River), or float fishing. Float fishing
should be done in shallow waters near rocks and large structures
where fish can hide. The best types of float to use are long,
thin ones, and require only a few grams of lead to balance it.
When balancing the float, add enough weight until only a few cm
of the float tip rises above the surface. This allows you to strike
before the fish feels the weight of your float when biting. The
hook should be 3 to 5 feet below the float, depending on the depth
of your fishing spots (shown in the diagram). When bottom fishing,
I prefer to use a 1-ounce weight at the bottom of the rig, with
two hooks 20 and 40cm above the weight, respectively. This method
is used in faster and deeper water. When fishing with this rig,
keep the line in an angle instead of perpendicular to the fishing
ground. For both fishing methods, I prefer to use a long, flexible
rod, around 8 to 10 feet long. These rods are harder to find,
and very often I would use a fly rod fitted with a small spinning
reel. The fly rod is flexible and has a thin tip, which allows
you to feel every single bite. When fighting these fish, you will
have more fun with a fly rod than a thicker and shorter rod. As
for bait, squawfish and chubs are scavengers, and they will feed
on anything. There are some preferred food of course. Dough, corn,
shrimps are all quite good. When making a dough for bait, be sure
to add some scent to the bait, this will increase the number of
bites tremendously.