The Vedder is our prime steelhead river in the Lower Mainland where the population is most concentrated. Yet the steellhead fishing is dismal compared to the Stamp. Why should this be? Fishery folks, how do you justify such a poor stocking of steelhead compared to the Stamp. We are not even trying to compared to American rivers. It is a shame that fishing reports on the Vedder steelhead are consistently dismal. And yet the Stamp seem to be full of steelheads. Ironnogin just reports that 25 steelheads by 4 rods in 3 hours. It makes me wonder why Vedder steelheaders often go skunked repeatedly. Why does it have to be like this? I mean, if the population density reflects in the bigger number of licensed fishermen in the Lower Mainland, why don't fishery folks put more resources in stocking the most important steelhead and salmon river of the Lower Mainland where the population is? If the Vedder can have steelhead fishing like the Stamp or even better like the American rivers, I don't mind paying special stamp or tag for the privilege to fish the Vedder (much like a classified water concept). Why do you guys think?
Year | Chilliwack River | Stamp River | Somass River |
2006 | 113,825 | 11,303 | 90,353 |
2005 | 116,641 | 16,916 | 79,390 |
It's a pity that some don't bother to research before whining year after year.
In the States, the hatcheries are funded by the dams. Their governments forced the power companies to actually put some money back into the rivers that they affected (not sure why BC Hydro has gotten off scott-free?). They are pumping out millions of steelhead, not 100,000 like here in BC. The province has a "wild" fish first policy on our Lower Mainland rivers, that's why the hatchery numbers aren't huge going into the Cap or Seymour, there are still some wild fish left. In general, hatchery steelhead in Region 2 come from wild parents (there are exceptions - which I'm getting to), if there aren't many wild fish - there won't be many hatchery fish produced... Unfortunately there isn't enough money (see Olympics/health care/education) to actually do any assessment of our steelhead populations. In essence, the only data the province gathers anymore is the punch card that is mailed out randomly. As far as I know, the Seymour is the only river that is float counted anymore and there used to be many done every year (ie: Vedder, Chehalis, Alouette, Coquihalla, etc...). In my opinion this is a shame but I'm not quite sure what we could do about it...
Now, the only river in our area that has actually been deemed a "hatchery" river - no remaining wild population - is the Stave. Broodstock is collected from hatchery females returning to the Stave crossed with milt from wild Vedder males. This run was started using donor Vedder river hatchery winter runs and as such they can still be used for brood. If you believe that all it takes to have great steelhead fishing is to produce more hatchery steelhead to catch then this would be your opportunity. The Stave currently receives about 23,000 smolts each year - not very many. The opportunity is there to push that number up significantly.
My questions are: - Do you fish for steelhead at the Stave? Why or why not?
- Would you fish for steelhead at the Stave if you had a good chance at catching fish?
Judging by the number of people pounding this river for Chum, I would guess that there is a lot of potential to direct some of the pressure from the other steelhead systems in the region to this "hatchery" river at this time of year. It's definitely closer to home for many people who currently leave the city to hunt for steelhead. Let's hear what people have to say:
- Do you have any other ideas for improving steelhead fishing in the Lower Mainland?
- Are more hatchery fish really the answer?
- Do we really want more "combat steelheading" which may be the result of increased success?
Nog... a few more guests this weekend ;)
Hope it works out.
But there is no need for verbal attack of a good intent.
And every year I hear about the vedder hatchery struggling with getting enough brude stock.
100,000 or so steelhead are put into the Vedder and 1%, maybe 2% come back, There will be attrition all along the way but I wonder if something inexpensive might yield results. Other rivers have been enhanced by simply thowing a few sacks of fertilizer into the headwaters each year. Our fisheries biologists are well aware of this. Has it been considered, tried or rejected for the Chilliwack-Vedder? If it is just the cost in the way, lets pony up the few thousand $$ that would take. It could be a good project for a club.
My club, Vancouver Angling and Game is looking for a cause. We don't have many members or much money but a cause might change that.
Now correct me if I'm wrong but wasnt the harrison sockeye run quite healthy this year compared to the other fraser run stocks which were what 2 mil on and expected 12mil? the only differnece is the water ways paralleling the island (and the fishfarms on the inside passage).
is the opinion that the bait ban on island rivers is a sham, are the fishing reports from these rivers a sham?
River | Stock trend | Stock status |
Chilliwack (Vedder) River | Stable | Routine Management |
Keogh River | Relatively Stable at a Low Level | Extreme / Conservation Concern |
Cluxewe River | In Decline | Conservation Concern |
Nimpkish River | Relatively stable at a low level | Extreme / Conservation Concern |
Kokish River | In Decline | Special Concern |
Tsitika River | Stable at low level | Special Concern |
Eve River | Likely Declining | Conservation Concern |
Salmon River | Stable with some recovery | Routine Management |
Amor de Cosmos Creek | Stable at a Low Level | Conservation Concern |
Campbell River | In Decline | Extreme Conservation Concern |
Quinsam River | In Decline | Conservation Concern |
Oyster River | In Decline | Extreme Conservation Concern |
Black Creek | In Decline | Extreme Conservation Concern |
Puntledge River | In Decline | Extreme Conservation Concern |
Trent and Tsable River | In Decline | Extreme Conservation Concern (Extirpated?) |
Big Qualicum River | Relatively Stable at a Low Level | Extreme / Conservation Concern |
Little Qualicum River | Relatively Stable at a Low Level | Extreme / Conservation Concern |
Englishman River | Relatively Stable at a Low Level | Extreme / Conservation Concern |
Nanaimo River | Relatively Stable at a Low Level | Extreme / Conservation Concern |
Chemainus River | Relatively Stable at a Low Level | Extreme / Conservation Concern |
Cowichan River | Relatively Stable at Moderate Abundance | Conservation Concern |
Koksilah River | Relatively Stable at a low level | Conservation Concern |
It seems to me even though the release of more steel head smolts on the vedder has not resulted in more returns... Obviously the stocking is not working ,mabey because of ocean conditions...
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The chart shows ~15000 steelhead per year from the Chilliwack. Wow. I would have guessed more like 30/day for 120 day season resulting in <4000 as a maximum.
Rodney, your information on the VI rivers situation is very interesting. I often want this sort of information and can seldom find it. Could you post similar information on some of the other VI rivers: Caycuse, Nitinat, Quatse, Gold,Tsolum, Nahmint, Muchalat, Heber?
The Vedder is our prime steelhead river in the Lower Mainland where the population is most concentrated. Yet the steellhead fishing is dismal compared to the Stamp. Why should this be? Fishery folks, how do you justify such a poor stocking of steelhead in the Vedder compared to the Stamp? We are not even trying to compare to American rivers where 20+ hookups per day is common. Most Vedder steelheaders will be happy with 1 or 2 hookups per day. It is a shame that fishing reports on the Vedder steelhead are consistently dismal. And yet the Stamp, the prime steelhead river of the island, seems to be full of steelheads. Ironnogin just reports that 25 steelheads by 4 rods in 3 hours. It makes me wonder why Vedder steelheaders often go skunked repeatedly. Why does it have to be like this? I mean, if the population density in the Lower Mainland reflects in the bigger number of licensed fishermen here, why don't fishery folks put more resources in stocking the most important steelhead and salmon river of the Lower Mainland where the population is? If the Vedder can have steelhead fishing like the Stamp or even better like the American rivers, I don't mind paying for a special stamp or tag for the privilege to fish the Vedder (much like a classified water concept). What do you guys think?