I wasn't going to post about this but I couldn't keep this good news to myself any longer. This project has been planned for many months now. The Fraser Valley Steelhead & Trout Urban Angling Society wanted to create more fishing opportunities in the Lower Mainland beside catching only 12 inch long rainbow trout. We all want to catch bigger fish, more frequently, without any challenges.
Finally after some convincing, and with this season's over-abundant
winter steelhead run from the
Chilliwack River, we have started planting spawned out adult steelhead at
Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam! Once spawned at the hatchery, the survival rate of these fish are pretty low anyway so it only makes sense to release them into a lake for more fishing opportunities instead of releasing them back into their natal stream with so many environmental uncertainties.
The first batch, around a dozen fish, were trucked out to the lake yesterday early morning so the release wouldn't generate too much attention. These fish, ranging from 5 to 15lb, have just finished spawning and are recovering quickly so they will definitely put up a good fight.
Here are some photographs of the release.
Here is the first batch that went into the lake.
Here is one in close-up. You can clearly see that she has just dropped some eggs due to the snake-like body.
Here is fishery technician Steve (Bederko on the forum), holding up one of the bigger fish in the batch. Look at that smile on his face as this is only one of the few steelhead that he has touched this season.
Here is the release. It was easy work for the staff as one scoop into the lake and the truck was off to the hatchery again.
If you plan to target these fish at Lafarge Lake today, please consider the followings. You are allowed to keep
one trout (in this case I guess these steelhead are considered as trout) over 50cm long per day in Region 2 lakes, but since there are only a dozen fish, people should consider releasing them when caught. They will not be too good for eating as these fish are still kelts. You will also provide other anglers the opportunities to catch these trophies, especially when many have not had a chance to connect with a steelhead this season yet.
Just like river steelhead fishing, some etiquettes do apply to steelhead fishing in lakes. Anglers usually move from right to left when working along the shoreline. You should always start from the right of an angler who is already fishing. If you wish to start from the angler's left side, please be sure to ask the angler first. Please also leave some distance between yourself and the other anglers. 10ft is too close, 20ft is reasonable but ideally 30ft is more acceptable at these urban fisheries.
Krill, ghost shrimp, prawn, dew worm, roe sacs, artificial eggs, rubber worm should all work well as these fish will be very hungry after not being fed too much prior to spawning.
You should also consider purchasing a steelhead conservation surcharge on your freshwater fishing licence (don't forget to renew your licence, it's April 1st!). Although steelhead fishing is typically done in rivers and these fish are found in a lake, conservation officers may decide to fine you when they determine that you are in fact targeting steelhead at Lafarge Lake. You should also bring two sets of gear, one for steelhead and one for trout. Once you retain your steelhead (again, not recommended), you must stop fishing for steelhead so you should switch from using your steelhead gear to trout gear.
Good luck and we hope you enjoy this new fishery! If successful, the program will possibly be expanded to other urban lakes so anglers no longer have to make the long drive to Chilliwack.
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Topic: Lafarge Lake's new steelhead fishery (Read 8007 times)