British Columbia Fishing Blog

After taking the day off yesterday, I thought that I should get an early start this morning with the improved water conditions. I awoke around 6:30am and noticed that we had a few degrees of frost here in the Valley so the warm blankets won out over getting to the river at first light.

It actually was close to noon before I reached the river. Upon my arrival, the river was looking mighty fine as did a lot of other people as most of the runs had an angler or two hard at it. In talking to a couple of them they said one hatchery had been taken in the area. Good, I had not missed much.

I decided to head up river a tad, to the scene of the action I had 11 days ago. Since then I had fished 5 days, put in 13 hours and seen only one fish taken but of course I heard of some others. We all had been challenged by less than desirable condition, in the Lower anyway. Even the prospects of better up river conditions did not beckon me to go there. I do not really know why but I always like the Lower, maybe because it is closer to home and to Tim Hortons.

When I reached the river, the first thing I saw was one of the brood capture boys bringing a tubed fish up river. I crossed a small stream and gave them a hand. I packed their rods so they could carry the water filled tube closer for hatchery staff to pick up. They said that they had been into a couple of others or had missed them, I have forgotten what they actually said. I was glad that they had got one for the brood program as I believe we are a bit behind so far this season.

Needless to say that got my spirit up some and maybe by staying in bed early this morning was not such a bad idea after all. The lovely spring-like weather along with the improved water visibility had brought out more anglers as they dotted a good number of the runs in the area.

I started by fishing a small side stream but I wondered if steelhead would come up it. The entrance to the side stream, further down river, looks OK. I then moved to the main river and fished one very nice looking run but it was quite big, so many places for a fish to be. I tried to cover it the best I could before I moved to where I got the fish 11 days ago but no one was home today. I quickly fished the big run again; one angler was fishing part way down so I left it to him.

I headed once again to the side stream and work the spot where I had started as it looked so fishy but the Maple Leaf DNE stayed dry. Two anglers were fishing another run of the side stream about 150 feet below me but they did not fish it too long before heading over to the main part of the flow.

I decided to work my way down to it. I crossed a little bit of quick water, watching I did not trip on a rock, nice to be able see bottom with the clearing water conditions. As I reached the other side, onto a bit of an island I noticed a little slick below a drop off. Experience told me even though it was small it was plenty big enough to hold Iron. Many new comers to steelhead fishing will walk right by a spot like this. I am sure I did when I first started out but seeing “The Master” pulling a fish out behind me in the past were lessons well learned.

Anyway on the first cast into this spot the Maple Leaf DNE acted a bit strangely. I was not sure if it was actually a take or not but I sort of just tightened up a bit, not actually striking properly. As I applied the tension the tell tale headshake of a steelhead followed by a silver flash convinced me that it was indeed a fish.

It took off right away heading to a run below, where the others had been fishing and I hastily had to cross another side stream to reach dry land. I am hoping it was a wild for the tube.

The fish was not big but what the heck, it was a steelhead and after 5 skunked days I was pleased to have one of any size on. As usual the steelhead was strong, their size never seems to matter. They put up a good tussle and it gives one pleasure feeling it on the end of your line. I do not think a true fisherman ever gets tired of that feeling.

As it got closer to shore, it started to twist and turn, trying to get rid of that hook. I had picked a nice spot to bring it onto shore if it was a hatchery, or to tube it if the adipose fin was intact.

Unfortunately I saw some blood coming from its mouth so now I hoped that it was a hatchery. I have over the years seldom had a bleeding steelhead. I searched now for that fin; good there was not one so ashore it came, a hen close to 8 pounds.

The two fellows that were fishing the run where I landed it come racing over and the questions followed.

I marked the fish on my license and I was glad that I had two pens as one would not write. It had been in my pack too long I guess.

I headed for a snack to reward myself as once again my wife will be pleased to serve fresh fish. I am not sure how many casts it took between my 2 steelhead for 2009 but maybe it was getting close to a thousand.

The count starts tomorrow again but I do not think that I will bother counting them as it does not really matter in the whole scheme of things. Just getting out on the beautiful Chilliwack Vedder River is enough of a reward, to me anyway.

I took a tour of the Chilliwack River Valley Monday evening to see if the the “tough new measures” mentioned in the article below would actually happen this May Long weekend. The area up to Tamahi looked good but from there up things were near the worse I had ever seen, as the pictures relate. Pictures were taken showing some of the sites including by the washout, “The Cedars” and by Borden Creek where the bears were getting into some of the bagged up garbage. The other pictures were on the Bench Road which was a disaster area with shotgun shell casing every where.

If we are really serious about dealing with this destruction of this area we must have a stronger support from the RCMP and the Province with both providing enough personal to deal with this stain on our environment. Sometimes I think these law enforcement people are stretched too thin to cover areas like this.

Once again, from what I observed today and what was mentioned in this recent newspaper article I have posted below it appeared to have little impact on these thoughtless campers that have no regard for our ONCE beautiful Chilliwack River Valley, shameful.

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I got a call from Yu last week inviting me to join him and The Master for a lake fishing trip today. I met Yu at badminton last year and found out he was a very keen angler, Yu had been out with Nick for a few Fraser River trips the last couple of years, no wonder he is keen then.

Yu has just opened a Mr. Mikes Steakhouse here in Chilliwack so now he has limited time to get out so he along with me was anxious to get into some fish. I had spent all day out on the river one day this week with Rodney without a bite and then to make matter worse Steve told me at the FVSS meeting last night he had got 3 steelhead to the beach after work, in the same spot Rodney and I had fished the day before. The Master said I would get lots of bites today, well I know he would anyway.

The game plan this morning was to meet for breakfast at Bridal Falls Restaurant at 8:30 and then we would decide the lake we would be going to.

I was just on my way in the Leaf Mobile, heading to the meeting place and the cell phone rings it Yu. “where are you guys”?. I tell him it is just 8 o’clock and we agreed we would meet at 8:30, “I thought it was to be 8 he says”, I told you he was eager. ,

Anyway we have an enjoyable breakfast with lots of fish talk of course and we are on our way to the lake, shortly after 9. The Master tells us we are heading to – Weaver Lake (I know you the readers are anxious to know where we were going to be fishing  ) on the North side of the Fraser.

In no time Agassiz is left behind us, then over the Harrison River we motor, past the Sandpiper Golf course on Morris Valley Road with golfers on the links already, they are crazier than anglers. Then we are passing over the Chehalis River Bridge, with the river being very low by the way. That will change shortly as the snow melt will begin in a few days.

Our next mile post marker is the Weaver Creek Hatchery, just before the turnoff for the road that leads us to Weaver Lake. I think of the sockeye alveins that are now stirring in the Weaver Creek hatchery channels that were alive with their parents just a few months ago. It is always a nice place to visit to see this spectacular in the late Fall. Thousand of tourists, by the bus load take in this salmon spawning ritual each year.A 10 minute drive off Morris Valley Road sees us arrive at this pretty lake, sitting below still snow capped mountains that are mirrored today on it flat calm waters. Its a local Fraser Valley gem to those that like to fish it. The only thing that spoils the scenery is the usual garbage scattered around, disappointing to see this all the time. I can never get over it. You would think that these vistors to the great outdoors would be people that enjoy being in the wilderness setting so to speak, how can they be so careless. The garbage bins have not been emptied for a while either and some are over flowing. I clean up a bit while the boys launch the boat and I retrieve about $7 worth of bottles and tins. I see numerous tins on the lake bottom too.

We quickly load the boat up with the gear and Nick puts on the electric kicker and we are on our way to the “hot spot” on the lake which The Master tells us was where they filmed a fishing show this week for the Chilliwack Shaw TV station. He is confident the fishing will be as good as it was that day. They will not be big fish Nick says “the biggest we have taken in past years are 16 inches long but most today will be in the 9 to 12 inch range”. “Years ago, 30 years ago there was some 6 pounders but they are gone now”, he added. I ask him if the lake is stocked and he says the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC stocks about 6,000 each year into Weaver. They are Blackwater stock I believe he said, as well as some triploid fish. Also there is natural reproduction as well. If interested one can go to the Go Fish web site for lots of information about all the FFSBC programs. You can find it on their website.

We reach the chosen spot and I lower the anchor into about 15 feet on water. I see fish dimpling the water all around us as we rig up, it looks promising. We will be using single eggs today, fishing on the bottom.

I decide to do some filming first. Yu is the first to get his line into the water and he has the first fish on, about 2 seconds after his line reaches bottom. Its not a big fish but is fiesty for its size, close to 10 inches. Yu returns it to the lake.

Nick says the best method is to throw your line out, let it settle to the bottom then reel it in a few feet, every few seconds.

We have hit the bite as the boys are into fish after fish, I get some good footage but I finally I can not take it any more as they have brought around 12 to the boat. I finally bait up and it takes me a bit but finally I am into the fish too.

We are keeping the odd bigger one, for a fish dinner but most are released. The fishing dies off a bit so we just kick back and enjoy watching the swallows, the first I have seen this year. Is Spring finally here? The swallows are skimming across the surface looking for the odd chironomid that are hatching, the same ones the fish are feeding on, maybe we should have brought our fly rods. I know some of you are thinking that.

What a beautiful setting we are in, not one other boat is on the lake that I believe is around 200 acres in size. We see an osprey, a few ducks paddling along the shoreline, and a lone eagle. As well throughout the day we hear a ruffed grouse drumming out its mating call, on his favorire fallen log, deep in the forest. From above the lake we hear another grouse, this time a blue who is hooting for a mate too, yes Spring is here.

The only foreign sound we hear is the odd jet passing high above, out of sight, above the clouds.

As I said the bite has died off a bit so we move to another spot and we find more of these fun little game fish that at times can be hard to hook, but thats the great part of fishing. We have landed close to 50 of these rainbows when we decide to call it a day, like I said not big but a good warm up for the lake fishing days ahead. We will then be packing our fly rods and the fish will be a lot bigger than today. But remember what The Master says “a fish is a fish” and just getting out with good friends, seeing the best scenery in the world and hooking the odd fish is what makes fishing one of the best pastimes in the world.

Give Weaver Lake a try one day, the fish are there, The Master guarantees it.