Listen up winter steelhead anglers! Here is a great opportunity for you to catch a winning fish and support a good cause that will benefit the Chilliwack River. The third annual Trophy Hunter steelhead derby will take place at the Chilliwack River on February 15th.

What was once a casual get-together fish-out has become a popular annual event in the Fraser Valley sportfishing community. Not only it brings passionate winter steelheaders together for a day, fund is raised to benefit the river. Each year, organizer Rick Lewis chooses a project where the money would be donated to. This year, all proceeds generated from the derby will be donated to the new Chilliwack River Cam, which is in need of funding due to its growing popularity.

The Chilliwack River Cam project, operated by Kids in the Nest, aims to show children around the world what a beautiful river looks like in the Pacific Northwest. What BC anglers often take for granted, is often unknown to the rest of the world. Watching the seasonal landscape changes is truly an educational experience for many students in the tropics. In addition, the river cam generates world-wide attention on our precious freshwater resource, which hopefully brings public awareness to freshwater conservation and habitat protection.

Having a realtime cam can generate high operational cost, which a not-for-profit society can barely afford. Rick sees this as an opportunity for the sportfishing community to save the project so this free educational tool can remain available for the public.

Derby tickets are currently available at Highwater Tackle, Sea-Run Fly and Tackle and Reaction Fly and Tackle. On February 15th, the steelhead derby begins at Reaction Fly and Tackle, where anglers are required to check in. The derby weigh-in ends at 2:00pm at Cedar Run (just upstream from Alison Pool), followed by lunch and prize presentation.

Beside prizes for top ten placers and the largest fish on the fly, there are many fantastic prizes in the draw. To continue the grassroot spirit, a communal potluck BBQ will take place during the prize presentation. Rick has asked all participants to bring one food item for the BBQ lunch. Please email him for more information.

Winter steelhead fishing has finally picked up this week on the Chilliwack River. If condition remains favourable, the derby will most likely see the highest number of fish being weighed in since it began three years ago.

For more information about the derby, please go to the official derby website.

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