British Columbia Fishing Blog

It has finally begun! We often associate spring with the cherry blossom, disappearance of frost and emergence of ducklings. While life goes on as usual on land, little do people realize that an extraordinary event is happening in the Fraser River. It has been happening since the last glacial period. It’s an adaptation that some salmonid species have developed in order to grow bigger. Millions of salmon fry are currently outmigrating from their natal streams into the ocean.

Taking advantage of a rare sunny spring day, I made my way down to the edge of the Tidal Fraser and checked out what was happening. Fry movement was the first thing I noticed. I sat motionlessly by the edge, watched hundreds of fry passing by every minute and mesmorized by this natural occurance. During the three hours while I spent down there, tens of thousands of fry must have passed by in front of me.

It is not a safe passage for them. Travelling too far from the shoreline increases their chance of being eaten by trout, char and pikeminnow. Travelling to close to the shoreline increases their chance of being pecked away by birds. The balance of safety is hard to find, therefore most of them will not make it past Georgia Strait.

The fishing? It was good while it lasted. After spending some time casting in an area, I noticed a rise several hundred feet further upstream. I decided to ignore it and continued fishing. Ten minutes later, another rise appeared at the same spot. Another ten minutes went by and the third rise appeared. Finally I was tempted and walked over there. The first cast immediately produced a strike, but a soft one. Being unprepared, I gently set the hook and the line began peeling off the reel while a rather big cutthroat trout leaped highly. What a catch! I played it carefully while it made a few more jumps, eventually it made its way into the shallows. Just when I was ready to celebrate because I was going to collect a DNA sample for the hatchery, the unthinkable happened. The fish spit the hook without much pressure being put on the line, probably because of the poor hookset as usual.

This is an absolutely fantastic time to be fishing the Tidal Fraser River. Instead of casting blindly, one can spot fish on the surface and aim for them. It would only take a couple of casts to trigger a bite if fish are present, because they are in a feeding frenzy mode. The water clarity remains very good, but that may not last long if forecasted warm days mark the beginning of this year’s freshet.

Happy new year everyone! Welcome to 2009. I hope to bring more exciting stories and photographs this year so please check back often.

Here are some nature photographs that I took in the last couple of days in Denmark. The weather remains calm and sunny over here, which is excellent for beach fishing. More stories will come soon!

Since my arrival in Denmark just under three weeks ago, I have put in around 30 hours of fishing and all I can say is that the result has been disappointing beside the few sea trout that I connected at a slough over a week ago.

Miles of coastline have been covered and they have not yielded a single bite. The sub-zero wind chill hasn’t made the experience that enjoyable either. Fingers were constantly numb and the breathable waders have been too breathable. The scenery has been pretty nice. Crowding is definitely not a concern. I can fish for miles without seeing a single person. Perhaps everyone else is just smarter and staying indoor and getting drunk during these dark days.

While walking in anckle-deep water along the beach yesterday, I startled a sea trout that was easily in the 5 or 6lb class with my foot. It was resting in the shallow thick algae bed just several feet from shore. That pretty much ruled out the “no fish” theory.

Wind is the biggest nemesis for beach fishermen. Luckily, being on an island, we have the option of choosing the side of the island where it is not facing the wind. Occasionally the wind turns and strengthens in the last minute, which spoils the entire day’s of fishing, like today. The above photo was taken from the south end of Køge Bay, with Copenhagen in the far background. Køge Bay can be clearly seen when you fly into Copenhagen. The fishing is supposed to be pretty productive, at least from the photos of sea trout that I have seen. These sea trout have much larger girth than fish produced in other parts of the country, probably because their diet is mostly herring than shrimps.

I became so bored from the beach fishing, I started taking underwater photographs of snails.

The weather has constantly been overcast, which is not that unusual in Northern Europe. The poor lighting makes the short winter days even shorter. From first light to last light, I have about six hours of opportunities to find a fish. A few days ago, the sun finally showed itself for the first time since I arrived. I took a shot of the sunset from a beach near our apartment.

Although the days have been fishless, the food has been very good as usual.

While fishing around Steveston in the last several weeks, we have seen hundreds of snow geese flying above us in the evening times. If people recall, last year they had taken over school grounds around Richmond and Ladner by early November. This year they have stayed around the marches and wetlands between Sturgeon Bank and Ladner. Perhaps the difference in weather trend is the factor that determines what land they would occupy. The last few days they have started using school and park grounds again. This morning I found them at a school near our place so of course I rushed back home and grabbed the camera to capture some shots.

One of the projects that I have been involved in this fall is a video presentation of snow geese by the Richmond Nature Park Society, which should be available in early 2009. Occupation of snow geese at school grounds is a classic example of the effect of urbanization on wildlife. They are not endangered, not according to the Species at Risk registry. In the 20th century, the populations declined significantly like many other species, but have since recovered. Some consider the recovery too successful as they have reached carrying capacity in their breeding grounds in the tundra region, which affects other species in the area.