The sockeye salmon run is coming to an end soon but there is still no shortage of fish flooding into the Fraser River during incoming tides. If you have the chance, head down to the Fraser River mouth and watch thousands of sockeye salmon leaping on the surface in the next couple of weeks.
After this week’s 32 hour Lower Fraser commercial sockeye fishery opening, we headed down to Steveston yesterday and bought some to enjoy. In this video blog, I demonstrate how we like to fillet and prepare our delicious sockeye salmon. This may not be the only and correct way to do it, but it is more of a generic guideline that shows how simple yet tasty fresh wild salmon can be.
While the Fraser River is experiencing a record return of sockeye salmon, that does not mean you cannot fish for something else while the river is choked with them. Here is a video blog of our recent pole fishing outing around Steveston.
I went fishing this evening, at Garry Point Park of course. A couple of days ago a pretty big pikeminnow greeted my 4wt, which was nice. I wanted to see if I could get another one on the tiny fly, but also had my sockeye gear with me (not betties but spinning rod, spoons etc) just in case because they have a tendency to hang in the shallows just after high tide to avoid the strong outgoing current.
The southeasterly wind was a bit strong so most of the spots were unfishable with the fly rod. I reached almost the end of the park and was greeted by Al. While chatting, he told me that there were people snagging on the other side, where I was just about to go. It’s a side canal where salmon have a tendency to stage back once the tide starts going out to avoid the strong current. I went over there after we chatted, sure enough, a few individuals were going at it and sockeye salmon were jumping once awhile in the bay.
Out came the cel phone to file a report at RAPP of course, then the camera followed.
Some were obviously aware of what they were doing. No need to keep turning around and look at me for approval.
Too bad, with a few fish holding that bay, there was a good chance that one of those would hit a fly or lure. I’m sure the same people, if not more people, will be back tomorrow if anyone else wants to go check it out. Just walk to the far end of Garry Point, can’t miss it.
Update: It appears that this video has stirred things up a bit, but the wrong person has been taking the heat. Somehow, people are assuming Marco at Nikka Fishing and Marine was behind this video. Not sure where that idea came from, but it is completely false. I encountered people who were trying to snag sockeye while fishing, was not pleased with it, took the video myself and decided to point out an existing problem in this area. I work hard to promote and improve recreational fishing in this community in many projects so I take personal offence when I see people choose to break the rules.
I do not know who the individuals are in the video so to think there is a personal agenda behind this video is absurd. I’m curious why some have chosen to make this a problem with Marco or the store. Just so it is clear, neither Marco or Nikka Fishing and Marine has anything to do with it. If you have a problem or concern with the video, you are welcome to email me at info@fishingwithrod.com to discuss this further.
Since over a century ago, commercial fishermen in Steveston BC have been harvesting sockeye salmon when they return to the Fraser River. In recent years, the stocks have experienced low returns, resulting in no harvest during some seasons. This year, the return has been abundant and openings have been provided for commercial fishermen. Today we watched these commercial fishermen netting in front of Garry Point Park for several hours.