Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: chris gadsden on October 06, 2011, 09:16:45 AM
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Quick trip back home to get some garbage bags to cleanup some garbage left on the Vedder, nice op be 5 minutes from the river, sorry to those of you at work. :D Fishing is hot this morning as I have two chinook jacks landed so far and a few misses. Gave up my spot to Lew while I pick up the garbage, always got to give back to the river that gives us so much enjoyment. I will get back at it when the tide is more favorable but hard to beat the action of the Maple Leaf DNE going down this morning. ;D ;D
Also netted a 15 pound chinook for a chap this morning, "good for the smoker" he says but they are still good for the table in most cases.
I see Rodney is out too, will try to talk him in going to Cookies for lunch but hard to pry from the river sometimes. ;D ;D
I think a coho adult salmon is in the offering shortly. ;)
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I think a coho adult salmon is in the offering shortly. ;)
Go get 'em, Chris! :) How are water conditions today?
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Go get 'em, Chris! :) How are water conditions today?
Very good.
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Was out early this morning as well. Started in the canal - only one other fisher in my favorite stretch. No sign of fish at all - fished there for about 45 minutes then went looking for where the fish might have moved to. Drove around to Yarrow and tried the lower end of the river for about an hour. Nothing for me or anyone else there. Headed down to a place on the canal between the 2 I'd already tried and by the time I got there (9:00) the crowd had already arrived. Saw 5 fish (either coho or spring) hooked and brought to shore - all were released. 10:00 headed back to Guildford to work. (Variable mortgage rates going up so several clients wanting to get deals while they can)
Overall, a very good day.
That said, even a smoker spring would have made it better ;-)
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Was out early this morning as well. Started in the canal - only one other fisher in my favorite stretch. No sign of fish at all - fished there for about 45 minutes then went looking for where the fish might have moved to. Drove around to Yarrow and tried the lower end of the river for about an hour. Nothing for me or anyone else there. Headed down to a place on the canal between the 2 I'd already tried and by the time I got there (9:00) the crowd had already arrived. Saw 5 fish (either coho or spring) hooked and brought to shore - all were released. 10:00 headed back to Guildford to work. (Variable mortgage rates going up so several clients wanting to get deals while they can)
Overall, a very good day.
That said, even a smoker spring would have made it better ;-)
Watch for a report from another FWR member. ;D I have some video to back it up too, you will enjoy it. ;D ;D
Will post later when time permits. ;D
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Watch for a report from another FWR member. ;D
He's busy filleting his fish. LOL
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After getting up at 3:30am, spending a few hours processing fish tonight, I am now exhausted so the report has to wait... :-\
I'll just leave a photo up for now. :)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2011/111006-3.jpg)
Yes, that's a bag of milt sacs at the bottom. It's my daily supplement to help me grow a few inches (in height...) so I can feel more confident. :o
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:o I hope the river holds till sunday! Good job rod i see you were able to keep the jack springs of your roe.
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After getting up at 3:30am, spending a few hours processing fish tonight, I am now exhausted so the report has to wait... :-\
I'll just leave a photo up for now. :)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2011/111006-3.jpg)
Yes, that's a bag of milt sacs at the bottom. It's my daily supplement to help me grow a few inches (in height...) so I can feel more confident. :o
wow nice fishes
are those pinks + coho ?
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Just coho. Good job rod :o Always fun to out fish Chris eh ;D
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the first 2's body looks like pink lol
well I thought it's 4 hatchery coho only? or it's combined with friends i guess
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They're all cohos.
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What the heck are you doing with the milt? ???
Nice fish, you will surely sleep well for a couple of nights ;D
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What the heck are you doing with the milt? ???
Feed his cat ? ;)
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wow rod is this the same honey hole i was there till dark only caught one and one miss :D
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Just coho. Good job rod :o Always fun to out fish Chris eh ;D
To busy filming. ;D ;D ;D
Besides I had caught my fish before at a secret spot ;D ;D although not as nice as Rod's and Nina's coho. Today will be different. ;D ;D ;D
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What kind of bar were those coho hanging out at Rod...were they were all males...not that there is anything wrong with that.
Nice Job...looks look Nina and you had a banner week.
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To busy filming. ;D ;D ;D
Besides I had caught my fish before at a secret spot ;D ;D although not as nice as Rod's and Nina's coho. Today will be different. ;D ;D ;D
always with the excuses ;D Hope I can just get a couple of those this weekend :)
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wow nice fishes
are those pinks + coho ?
I'll say it again....bring CORE in for fishing licences. How anyone can think for a second that photo has any Pinks in there is beyond me. None of those fishes have ANY markings that would identify them as Pinks.
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Good job Rod !!! I was out on Wed. with my bro' and we only caught two and one got off after a quick tussle. Very well done to both you and Nina !!!!
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After getting up at 3:30am, spending a few hours processing fish tonight, I am now exhausted so the report has to wait... :-\
I'll just leave a photo up for now. :)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2011/111006-3.jpg)
Yes, that's a bag of milt sacs at the bottom. It's my daily supplement to help me grow a few inches (in height...) so I can feel more confident. :o
Nice fish, however a blatant example of improper fish handling technique as I have ever seen. For your information, laying a fish in the sand removes it's protective slime and slitting the belly makes it very unlikely that the fish will ever spawn. Disgusting.
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I'll say it again....bring CORE in for fishing licences. How anyone can think for a second that photo has any Pinks in there is beyond me. None of those fishes have ANY markings that would identify them as Pinks.
How anyone can think for a second that people are born with 10 years fish ID experience is beyond me.
Last time I looked the photos in the regs are no way clear enough for a beginner to ID fish at all stages of the migration/spawning cycle.
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I'll say it again....bring CORE in for fishing licences. How anyone can think for a second that photo has any Pinks in there is beyond me. None of those fishes have ANY markings that would identify them as Pinks.
I learned day by day ,don't be harsh, just started salmon fishing this year and just start to Fish last year
and yah i'm beyond you now but I will be expert in the future, coz i do love fishing and I will keep learning better
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This is what pink salmon look like now on the Vedder, a little different to the ones in my batch. ;D
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2011/111005-1.jpg)
hookme, yep. ;)
The report has to wait, must take Dad out before the Thanksgiving crowd so he can get a coho fix too.
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Last time I looked the photos in the regs are no way clear enough for a beginner to ID fish at all stages of the migration/spawning cycle.
It is up to individuals to educate themselves regarding fish identification. If you want to fish responsibly the onus is on YOU to figure it out. If you can't identify one species from the next it's simple, you should not be fishing for them.
There are plenty of pictures available online to help beginners sort it out.
Don't be too hard on frozensalmon, he is obviously a beginner and needs guidance, not ridicule. Not one person has said what in those pictures would differentiate a coho from a pink. So frozensalmon, some things that would help you identify them as coho as compared to a pink would be:
shape of the tail... these fish have a very squared off tail, whereas a pink salmon has a "V" shape.
shape of the tail 2.... these fish have THICK caudal area (where the tail joins the body). A pink salmon is noticealby thinner in this area.
spotting.... difficult to tell from these pictures as you can't see the tails... but pinks have "weak" oval spotting, where coho have dark spotting on their backs that extends to the upper portion of their tail (but not lower).
SCALE SIZE.... this is an easy one. You can see, even from these photos, that the scales are quite large. A pink salmon has very small scales, making them far less pronounced.
The "hook" on the nose... also a giveaway. The males get a real "gonzo" nose to them.
Body shape and head shape are markedly different too, this is something you will be able to recognize once you've seen more of them.
hope that helps.
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the way I identify the coho and pink is that, the spot on their tale, pinks has large , a bit oval spot all across the tale but coho only has a s small, a line maybe , of spot in their tale, just 2 sides, not the whole tale, and the mouth of coho, which has white gum. rather than that, the body indeed, is a bit round up than pink,pink is more like slim,
and for male pink....the easiest fish to identify ..
well thx for your infomation!
normally I have no problem identify coho and pinks, but the angle of the Rodney's photo makes me wonder a bit I guess, that's why I asked anyway
It is up to individuals to educate themselves regarding fish identification. If you want to fish responsibly the onus is on YOU to figure it out. If you can't identify one species from the next it's simple, you should not be fishing for them.
There are plenty of pictures available online to help beginners sort it out.
Don't be too hard on frozensalmon, he is obviously a beginner and needs guidance, not ridicule. Not one person has said what in those pictures would differentiate a coho from a pink. So frozensalmon, some things that would help you identify them as coho as compared to a pink would be:
shape of the tail... these fish have a very squared off tail, whereas a pink salmon has a "V" shape.
shape of the tail 2.... these fish have THICK caudal area (where the tail joins the body). A pink salmon is noticealby thinner in this area.
spotting.... difficult to tell from these pictures as you can't see the tails... but pinks have "weak" oval spotting, where coho have dark spotting on their backs that extends to the upper portion of their tail (but not lower).
SCALE SIZE.... this is an easy one. You can see, even from these photos, that the scales are quite large. A pink salmon has very small scales, making them far less pronounced.
The "hook" on the nose... also a giveaway. The males get a real "gonzo" nose to them.
Body shape and head shape are markedly different too, this is something you will be able to recognize once you've seen more of them.
hope that helps.
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Don't mind the negative comments frozensalmon. Some people just think they are born knowing all.
It's good that you ask on the forums when you have doubt what specie those photoed salmons are.
It'll make you better in ID'ing fish.
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No point hitting the vedder this weekend, Rod has cleaned the river out of all the coho....again
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So Rod, did Nina caught most of the fish? ;D
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Had a nice day too....
(http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k95/steelieman/fish.jpg)
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So Rod, did Nina caught most of the fish? ;D
Rod -1 , Nina - 4 ;D ;D ;D
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Ok, here's the report/story from yesterday. ;)
Since Chris introduced the fall coho salmon fishery on the Chilliwack to me in 2002, I have experienced many other fisheries across this province. Most are much more remote than this "urban" salmon stream, yet I keep returning each year to this crowded fishery. It is difficult to explain to people why I spend hours curing roe, building spinners, getting up at 3:30am, driving 1.5 hours and waiting in the dark by the river bank where salmon carcasses stink up the air, only for a few opportunities to see that orange top of the float disappears. The simplest explanation is fun. It is fun, not in the way that searching for trout at a remote stream by yourself, but in more of a competitive aspect. It is fun to challenge yourself to catch many fish when there are hundreds of others who are seeking for the same thing. It is fun to be able to bring home some fish to eat.
A perfect fall day on the Chilliwack River is when I am able to figure out where a school of coho is, avoid being disturbed by too many anglers, entice them to bite at first light, hook them when the float goes down each time, and land these acrobatic fish which so often make my hook seem rubbery. Before each trip, I always believe it is that perfect day. Most trips end with a pair of droopy eyes on the way home, from a lack of sleep the night before and hours of float staring. Sometimes the fish are simply not there. Sometimes they simply are not biting. Sometimes the bite is on but the hook is not sticking. Those perfect days come rarely because it is hard to have all the elements working at the same time. Yesterday was one of those rare days.
After being outperformed by Nina on Monday and using the crowd as my excuse, I was determined to bring in some coho salmon yesterday. The weather forecast looked great, Cloudy and rainless. River level has also risen slightly but not too much, so the possibility of fresh fish moving in was big. Both of us knew that the fishing could be hot, so the outing was followed by another restless night. We got up at 3:00am, hoping to arrive earlier so we could fish at the spot where we wanted without much disturbance.
We stood by the river at 6:15am in the dark. There is something quite special about listening to salmon splashing in the dark, watching the sky gradually brightening up and being the first one to wet a line in a run that is untouched for almost 12 hours. Once it was bright enough to see the orange top of our floats on the water, we baited up and started our drifts. A few people arrived at the same time and chose to fish further upstream so we had plenty of space to work the run.
After several drifts, Nina's float took the first dive and she definitely was wide awake because her swift hook-set resulted in a coho salmon dancing at the end of her line. The bend in the rod suggested that it was a very good fish. I walked out of the water to give this fish some room to run. After doing its rolls and dives for a few minutes, Nina carefully slid it up into the shallow water where I identified it as a hatchery coho buck, which weighed in at 9lb. I grabbed his tail and slid him up the beach. While bleeding her first catch, I thought, "Not again, I'm going to be outfished!"
Once we rebaited and started fishing again, my float took the next dive but the hook-set only sent the entire float rig flying back to me again. It made me feel better when Nina did the exact same thing soon after. This repeated itself a few times until I brought in a small coho jack. Around the same time, Nina also landed another unusual catch, a largescale sucker. We were having a problem with small fish pecking on our roe. I quickly released this jack without bringing it to shore and decided to switch to my spinning rod so I could work with the spoon.
One problem with spoon fishing at a tailout, especially in low lighting at an unfamiliar run, is the likelihood of foul hooking a pink salmon or snagging up on the bottom. At first, I had that exact problem because I couldn't see the school of pink salmon that I kept bringing my lure through. After foul hooking a couple of pinks, I had a hard tug in the middle of the run. When I set the hook, this fish bolted downstream like a snagged chinook salmon. I held onto the rod as the fish left like a freight train. Assuming that it was a foul hooked fish, I was about to point my rod straight and give up but changed my mind when I saw a large silver body splashing in the horizon. It was a large coho salmon! At the same time, this fish had stopped running. I started walking and gaining line on my spinning reel while the fish stayed at the same spot. When I reached the the spot, I was surprised to see a big hatchery coho buck, which weighed in at 10lb later, laying on his side in the shallow tailout. He had run himself to death! The spoon hook was firmly embedded in his tongue. I never had a fish that runs without a head shake right after grabbing a lure. I dispatched this fish, grabbed onto his tail, walked back up with a big grin and made sure Nina knew that mine was bigger than her first. ;)
As if it were a competition, Nina was into another fish not long after I wet my line again. This time, she played the fish into the shallow water pretty fast. Before she brought the fish further in, I quickly stopped her when I spotted the adipose fin on its back. I reached down and easily removed the hook from the mouth of this wild coho salmon, which was roughly 5 or 6lb. It turned around and darted back to the run without being touched.
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After bringing three fish to our hands, the bite suddenly tapered off. A few more people showed up but it was no where as busy as Monday. Everyone spaced out comfortably so crowding was not an issue. I switched back to my float rod, hoping that roe will produce more fish. About two hours after we started, there were once again signs of life. That float began to dive again. For some reason, 8:00am or 9:00am seems to be when the bites usually come on. Perhaps that is when fish start moving into and holding in new runs from shallower waters. After a few misses, I finally connected with another fish. This fish didn't come up to the surface right away, but the head shake suggested that it was another coho salmon. It leaped and ran a couple of times before being guided in easily. It was another male coho salmon without an adipose fin, weighing in at 7lb. :)
With three fish taken, this was turning into a rather satisfying day. I could stop without complaints, but the morning was young. I kept focusing on the float, which I now had a lot of confidence on. There were biting fish in front of us and it didn't take long before the orange top disappeared again. I briefly hooked one after a few more casts, followed by another 6lb male hatchery coho salmon brought to shore.
By this point, Nina was slightly frustrated by the lack of dives of her float. I told her that she needed to drift a little further, because I was spotting some fish finning slightly further away from where she was casting. Sometimes if your drift isn't in their travelling lane, your bait would be untouched. With three hatchery coho salmon under my belt while seeing no action among a couple dozen anglers around me, I must say that I was pretty excited. ;D
Chris showed up to see all the excitement after I phoned in my result. Just as he was arriving, I lost another under the float. For some strange reason, many of my fish this season have been lost just a second or two after they were hooked. I told him what had just happened and be prepared for another one. Sure enough, the float took another dive while we were chatting and this time tension remained at the end of the line. I fought the fish while Chris stood by with his video camera rolling, adding to his home video collection. When the fish reached the shallow water, it made a couple more runs and Chris' legs almost got in the way. ;D While guiding the fish in, I could see the presence of an adipose fin so I told Nina to hold my rod while I brought the fish in by hand lining. When it tried to make another run, it snapped the leader but ended up almost beaching itself. I quickly grabbed its tail with one hand and cradled its stomach with the other so I could hold it up to show Chris before the release. It was another coho salmon in the 6 to 8lb range.
With a snapped leader, I became a bit lazy and decided to clean up our catches and possibly end the morning outing. Nina continued looking for more coho salmon, but her float simply did not want to swim today. ;D Meanwhile, Chris could not resist after seeing all the catches so he made a few drifts with my rod, but he was just as lucky as Nina.
After all the fish were gutted, I decided to try something a bit different. I tied a spinner with a #3 nickel French blade to my leader. In the past, my lure fishing has always been done without a float. I've heard from many who always have successes by fishing with a spinner under the float, so I was hoping to do the same. I cast the float out, held it back so the current would make the spinner spin as the float swung downstream, before slowly retrieving it. Luck was obviously on my side today, because another coho salmon rose to the top and swallowed the spinner while I watched the blade spinning behind the float. I enjoyed every moment of fighting this fish while others looked on with disbelief. After several minutes, another bright hatchery coho salmon was on the beach. This one weighed in at 7lb and completed my quota of the day.
We finished the morning at 11:30am. The best part of the outing was seeing the face of guys when they constantly brought foul-hooked fish downstream to us and saw our coho salmon on the beach. One would think that it is not difficult to put two and two together. Perhaps a change in technique is needed if every single fish at the end of your line is foul hooked. What I noticed was that people tend to look at our fish, but hardly anyone would even look at what we were using. There's too much focus on the catching instead of on the fishing for some. The worst part of the outing was probably carrying our gear and over 30lb of fish back to the car. I must say that I'm glad to be a meat fisher once awhile. ;D Mornings like this will keep me waking up at 3:00am in many more October days. :)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2011/111006-2.jpg)
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Did you secretly swiped Nina's nail polish? ;D ;D
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Nice pic! Sounds like a awesome day.
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There's too much focus on the catching instead of on the fishing for some.
This is such a great comment Rod! I couldn't agree more! I seem to be getting more and more frustrated by the actions of others (snagging, bottom bouncing, ect)!
Although I have had numerous trips without fish and see people "catching" fish all around me, I know over time I will have more success as I continue to learn river fishing techniques, read the river better, fine tuning my set-up and spending more hours on the water.
As my Dad says on the coast, "We just go for the boat ride and if we get a fish it's a bonus!" ;D
Great report Rod
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Great report Rod. I always find reports like this very inspiring hoping that i can duplicate it one day.
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FFM, Another buddy and I had a nice day yesterday as well!
(http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/2332/1000102t.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/35/1000102t.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
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hopefully more then just you and your buddy.
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I am going to have to follow these guys, to find the hot spot. No coho for me yet just floaats, ducks and jacks.
PS
Video #1 of Rodney in action up in about 30 minutes, don't go to bed yet as the action will give you coho fever. ??? ;D ;D
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hopefully more then just you and your buddy.
umm, I said FFM, another buddy, and I
= 3
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umm, I said FFM, another buddy, and I
= 3
That's a lot of dead coho for 3 guys in one day of fishing.
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Video now up of Rodney and Nina putting on a coho fishing clinic.
Video of more action tomorrow.
http://youtu.be/sNCQJaO-gUg
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That's a lot of dead coho for 3 guys in one day of fishing.
Yep, It was a great day (actually the whole week was great). All caught on freshly cured Spring, Coho and Pink roe with small hooks, light leaders. Just have to find good roe water where the fish weren't being spooked by too much pressure. Actually, one was caught with a tiny Dick Nite 50/50 Spoon. Tons of pinks mixed in with the Ho's but managed to hook only 2 of them all week. If you use good bait, you can pick off the coho without touching a pink. ;) My yarn box stayed in my vest as I had no use for it.
btw, I see far too many people fish with too big of a hook and too heavy of a leader. With water conditions as clear as they were all week, you need to finesse fish in order to get a Coho to bite consistently. #4 hooks is the max that I would use. I run 10lb ultragreen main line and 8lb flourocarbon. I don't remember breaking off any fish with this setup and the fights usually did not last more than a minute or two.
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umm, I said FFM, another buddy, and I
= 3
In that case, you are missing one ;)
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In that case, you are missing one ;)
Don't know what happened. That darn Seal must have taken one of them! :D
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Someone had to go home early to a beautiful wife and two little princesses!
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Someone had to go home early to a beautiful wife and two little princesses!
More important than catching a fish, there is always another day to do that.
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Cheers Chris...you bet!
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Someone had to go home early to a beautiful wife and two little princesses!
And today I am having a day with one of my grandsons, you saw him in my video at the fishermans wharf. We went to church, lunch and then tot he Chilliwack River Hatchery where we saw lots of nice coho salmon..
I say this as I know you are all waiting to see video 2 of Rodney catching more coho ;D, it will have to wait until grandson goes home. Should be up around 10.
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Rodney takes a coho salmon on a spinner, see what they look like. http://youtu.be/I3OBwKnBsCU
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You're giving away all my secret! ;D
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You're giving away all my secret! ;D
There is no secrets in fishing these days. ;D ;D ;D
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Nice Chris (and Rod). Now I know your secret spinner! LOL. Don't worry - I can't catch a fish on hardware to save my life!
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There is no secrets in fishing these days. ;D ;D ;D
Apparently NOT NOW!. Based on the feedback I'm getting from the rived today the PegLeg crew (and more) have all move to the Vedder. Not only that, they' brough tons of fast food and coffee with them any leaving way too much litter behind. >:( >:( >:( >:(
I still strongly believe we need a pre-licensing course. Not only does it need to include fish identification, but some worthwhile ecology and conservation sections as well. Major course before first license the a continuing education class at regular intervals.
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Nice Chris (and Rod). Now I know your secret spinner! LOL. Don't worry - I can't catch a fish on hardware to save my life!
I've caught lots on spoons and spinners with a spinning rod, but this fish was the first one ever I've gotten by drifting with a float. :)
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Apparently NOT NOW!. Based on the feedback I'm getting from the rived today the PegLeg crew (and more) have all move to the Vedder. Not only that, they' brough tons of fast food and coffee with them any leaving way too much litter behind. >:( >:( >:( >:(
I still strongly believe we need a pre-licensing course. Not only does it need to include fish identification, but some worthwhile ecology and conservation sections as well. Major course before first license the a continuing education class at regular intervals.
I agree but it will take a lot of lobbying to get it started and I donot know who would lead it. ;D
I was going to go back out fishing but I think I will do some cleanup instead and give back to my first coho salmon adult I have landed this year, hatchery too. ;D ;D