Must say I'm a little surprised with your comments. I expected that sort of thing from the general public but not a moderator.
When did it become a "destination river" - Just as you said , when one has a couple of hours to spare. These days in time who can spend more than a couple of hours on a stream?
There is still lots of room for people on the river... As long as they all are respectful.
I'll lay odds the same can be said about a whole bunch of other smaller streams in the Lower Mainland.
The more people on these rivers is a good thing as they are the eyes and hopefully report things when they see them....illegal fishing, soap suds, oil slicks, unleashed dogs chassing and pulling fish out...the list goes on
Why are you surprised? Is a moderator not allowed to have an opinion? Keeping my mouth shut or my fingers in check wasn't part of the deal was it Rodney?
If you've fished the river regularly most your life like I have you might have a little different opinion. This system is ravaged by the two gravel mines that let their settling ponds discharge to the river when it rains. This excess silt suffocates the salmon and steelhead eggs in the river. Add on top of that the massive urban sprawl that has occurred over the past decade (that I've been conscious of it), which now includes a one thousand percent increase in population on Burke mountain (where I grew up). All this added population increases the water run-off that enters the river which carries with it all the containments that humans let run into storm drains. These 'extra' people are now those contributing to the added fishing pressure on the Coquitlam (so I suspect).
The Coquitlam has never had an especially strong run of any species of fish (for as long as I've fished it). All these added 'obstacles' we have caused the fish are not helping. The hatchery on the river has a minuscule budget, and is run by volunteers. More people fishing this river is NOT a good thing in this case. The fact is most of these new anglers I've seen fishing, are new to fishing in general. They have little idea of how to fish properly, how to handle fish gently, or how to clean up after themselves. Then there are those intentionally snagging. The main problem, in my opinion, is the retention of hatchery coho, and springs. This open retention has directly caused the mass increase of anglers on the river.
I realize that this thread will likely attract people to fish the Coquitlam, but I feel it is worth the 'risk' if I am able to educate a few people about the problems that this river faces. I personal have reduced the amount I fish the Coquitlam over the past few years because of both the amount of people that now fish it, and my realization of the affect an individual angler can have on the river.
Author
Topic: Coquitlam River Question (Read 20240 times)