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[fishingbuddha]

i was walking along the river by my house the other day and noticed a lot of guys fishing from a dock. upon investigation i noticed they were catching herring. i have fished in steveston for 30+ years and i don't ever recall being able to catch herring in the fraser. as a kid the oddest thing we caught from gary point were undersized dungeoness crab (probably trying to make their way back to the ocean after being sorted from a crab boat)

is this a recent fishery or has there always been a fishery for herring in the fraser?

the other question i have is...can you still catch tommy cod around gary point. we used to catch tons of them as kids but i haven't seen one caught in ages.

[Fish Assassin]

This very subject was discussed several weeks ago. The "herrings" were actually shad

[Rodney]

Here is the fishing report where we had a discussion about herring and shad in Steveston. I didn't have enough information to conclude that they were definitely shad, or herring. Must see them myself to determine that. Either way, it'd be a blast to catch I think. It's pretty common to reel in a dungeoness crab at Garry Point between fall and spring. I think they actually move in due to the higher percentage of saltwater in the winter months. Tomcod, there are probably some down there too. The only way to find out would be to throw some bait out there and see what happens. I've always wanted to try that again but have been too lazy to mess with bait.

[VAGAbond]

I just checked the river in the last few minutes, # 3 road wharf, London Landing and Garry Point.  Nobody fishing but the water seems clear.

[Rodney]

The floating dock of the No. 2 Road Pier at London's Landing is closed right now as it requires repairs. There is another new floating dock between Garry Point and London's Landing, I think that's where fishingbuddha saw some catches of those fish.

[mig1]

just wondering what you would use to catch these shad. would a herring jig work?

[fishingbuddha]

the guys down on the wharf were using herring jigs that looked like 6 small minnow flies.

i have caught shad at the mouth of the fraser but they don't look like the ones being caught in the fraser by the wharf. the fish in the fraser definately look like herring, just a bit larger. i would be interested in finding out if they are shad because they would be fun to catch with a fly rod.

[fishingbuddha]

i will go down to the wharf on sunday and take some pictures of these fish.

[gman]

I saw the fishing at that dock today. It was pretty crowded, and everyone was using a sturdy rod and a herring jig with about 6 hooks. I saw some caught and they looked like herring to me. There were some tangles, and curious walkers who came to check out the fishermen were in danger of getting snagged. I've lived by the river all my life and trhis is the first time I've seen anyone jigging for herring from shore.
Makes you wonder if the herring are just in the harbour or spread throughout the river now?

[speycaster]

I am surprised that there are not shad in the Fraser, the Columbia has a run that is in the 10's of millions. They moved north out of California where they were stocked in the Sacramento river, all the major rivers in Oregon have them. Always wondered why they had not shown up in the Fraser or the east coast Vancouver island rivers.

[Sam Salmon]

I am surprised that there are not shad in the Fraser, the Columbia has a run that is in the 10's of millions. They moved north out of California where they were stocked in the Sacramento river, all the major rivers in Oregon have them. Always wondered why they had not shown up in the Fraser or the east coast Vancouver island rivers.

They are around but not in numbers maybe the Fraser isn't a good place for them to spawn?

[gman]

This link tells a bit about shad.
http://www.psmfc.org/habitat/edu_shad_fact.html
Seems when the dams went in on the Columbia most fish declined, but the shad boomed as they do well in reservoirs.


This site gives fishing tips.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/fishing/shad/shad.htm
The Columbia river is the place to go.

[Sam Salmon]

This link tells a bit about shad.
http://www.psmfc.org/habitat/edu_shad_fact.html
Seems when the dams went in on the Columbia most fish declined, but the shad boomed as they do well in reservoirs.


This site gives fishing tips.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/fishing/shad/shad.htm
The Columbia river is the place to go.

Cool links-Thanks!

[VAGAbond]

I have a reference that says American Shad were first reported in the Fraser in July of 1891.    They have had plenty of time to expand the population.  Obviously it is not to their liking.   Too bad.  It would be a fun fishery early in the season.

[Nick78]

To me it looks 100% like a herring. Caught a lot of those in Norway and the typical sign is the mouth,the Tarpoon got a similar one. The pic is not the best also...