Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Dr. Backlash on April 11, 2009, 06:32:19 PM
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I live close to the lower Fraser and I was just wondering if anybody knows if its safe to swim in that part of the river, or is it too polluted? And if it is too polluted, how far up river would I have to go before its not too polluted to swim in the Fraser - Hope or even further north?
Thanks for any insight you can provide!
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I wouldnt swim in it but have seen several people do it in the lower.
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I used to water ski off the beach at Barnstan Island back in the 70's It was no big deal back then. ;)
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You will be fine as long as you don't dip your head in the water.
So yes it is that polluted you could get and eye infection or ear infection. There was Fin Donnelly that swam the fraser in 1995, to bring attention to the pollution. He said the pollution in the lower river was so bad that he was told not to stick his head under the water. I believe in the beach at Steveson there are no swimming signs.
If i remember correctly every little town above hope uses the Fraser as it toilet.
But yes i have seen people swimming in stevston..
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on a changing tide you can have water on top going out and the water below coming in. can be pretty dangerous if you ask me.
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sshhhh don't discourage people from swimming in the fraser, Mr. Darwin is always looking for candidates. ;D ;D
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I would worry about the currents. It's alot faster than you think.
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I also remember a news report last summer about someone drowning while swimming in the Fraser in the Triangle Road area around the movie theatres.
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I wouldn't go near it when the tide is running. Even at slack tide, you can get a vicious undertow.
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Just don't swallow any water. :-X
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I think the unpredictable currents of a river in that size are the main thing you have to worry about. Absolutly nothing for " nice weather swimmers", but a well trained swimmer should be fine. And the polution... Well, i don't know. I was walking right next to Portmann Bridge last week and saw a little "stream" flowing into the Fraser... DISGUSTING! dark yellow water with foam on top :-\ :'( Maybe the toilet of Coquitlam...
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(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/081112-01.jpg)
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That's bad! That was the reason why all the salmon disappeared back in my country. There was a big headline in the newspaper last year when a fisherman caught 1 (one!) salmon...the first in 25 years. As the rivers get clean they seem to make it back (after stocking programs of course). Hopefully it doesn't come that far here but I am not very confident about that...
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Humans are the stupidest animal on earth, they on purpose dump their excrement into the water they need to drink. They destroy the air shed they need for breathing, then they they destroy the land they need for food crops. The sooner they become extinct the better off the earth will be.
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Humans are the stupidest animal on earth, they on purpose dump their excrement into the water they need to drink. They destroy the air shed they need for breathing, then they they destroy the land they need for food crops. The sooner they become extinct the better off the earth will be.
That about somes it up. ;D
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Not worth the risk to swim in the Fraser River.... pollution plus under tow currents.... 3 or 4 teens a few yrs ago went over to Steveston Is. on low tide.... when they wanted to return the tide had come up.... so they decided to swim the very short distance across... more than one of them drowned... Also in Steveston harbour I know of 2 guys in recent yrs either fell off their boat or went for a swim ??? 2 guys drowned... Yes Ja like you posted there was a teen who decided to go swimming with his friend up there by #5 or 6 Rd Richmond last year & he drowned. They found his body a few days later...... ------------ But talk about doing dangerous things on the Fraser R --- last summer a young couple with their 2 very young girls ( looked like 4 & 5 yrs old) were in the middle of the channel on high tide... with ships tugs etc passing by them within 60 ft !!!!! They were in a 8ft aprox. size air boat with plastic oars. ---- We went over & slowly towed them closer to Steveston Is. or I think some people call Shadey Is. ---------The man resisted the tow at first as maybe he did not trust me ....possibly tow him too fast (my guess) Returned to him & said "You can trust me" ....then he gave me a line......................... But swimming in the Fraser in most areas is just not worth the risk.
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i remember one of my friends years back swimming in the fraser river off of wellington bar...aheem...he might even be on this forum somewhere....i believe he may have swallowed abit too much fraser water that trip...never the same since...lol...
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Having waded the Fraser a bunch I don't remember many places where I would want to swim, not the pollution issue so much as the currents there are some heavy fast cold currents in some places and you don't know how strong they are until......... :o
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Every year i do a tonne of wading and swimming in the Fraser without having any issues in the Chilliwack area. In fact i have done so my entire life. Obviously you need to pick and choose the spots to due such a thing, common sence has alot to do with it.
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I would stay above the outflow pipe in Mission (that's from a sewage treatment plant). However even at Scale Bar the water smells bad so I wouldn't be swimming anytime.
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The Tides in the lower fraser are very big and there is alot of current, it may look like its ok from the surface but there are many many undercurrents and such that it would be stupid to do such a thing. Last year we were on the lower fraser during a native fishery watching them pick there nets and one of the fisherman fell off and was drifting with the current very fast .During a big flood or ebb tide no person is strong enough to beat the current. So I recommend NOT swimming. The man was rescued from another fisherman. The boat he fell off was no bigger then a 14ft lund .pretty stupid imo
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Just remember reading an artical in the local rag a few years ago about a fisherman fishing the upper fraser targeting sockeye ad waded into the water with no waders on, he had an open wound on his leg that got really badly infected! They showed a pic of it in the paper and it got to the point it was similar to flesh eating disease!
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I'd be more worried about currents than pollution, Ive never hesitated to dip into the Fraser on a hot summer day.
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Humans are the stupidest animal on earth, they on purpose dump their excrement into the water they need to drink. They destroy the air shed they need for breathing, then they they destroy the land they need for food crops. The sooner they become extinct the better off the earth will be.
Although I do agree with you on most of your points, I challenge you to find a better way to dispose of treated sewage or better yet tell me exactly what is wrong from taking drinking water from a source such as the Fraser River.
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Unless your name is Michael Phelps I would leave the swimming to swimming pools.
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A few years back I swam off wellington bar and a few other bars around chilliwack. I didnt think too much about it.. I am still alive but I guess it will probably be a few years before all the chemicals from farmers, greenhouses and our waste water will affect me if it was going to lol.
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The currents are way worse than the pollution. Most of the brown colour is not pollution, its natural sediment
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i aggree...currents would scare me more than the pollution. most of the brown is natural sediment.
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I definitely would not recommend swimming in there because of the currents. Some areas may look safe on top but I am sure its not safe underneath!
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A few years back I swam off wellington bar and a few other bars around chilliwack. I didnt think too much about it.. I am still alive but I guess it will probably be a few years before all the chemicals from farmers, greenhouses and our waste water will affect me if it was going to lol.
hey awurban...the wader on that trip i wqas talking about that hasn't been the same since was Hutch...its matt, hows it goin?? been hitting the lakes or the vedder lately??
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CLENCH EVERYTHING.
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Are you nuts???That river is so polluted.Try standing in it with no waders on and see what happens to youre legs,You will get a rash.
I have worked on log booms on the Fraser for close to 25 years, arms in the water all day long, fallen in plenty of times, jumped in plenty of times on hot summer days ( always with a PFD on of course ), never got any sort of rash ! No glowing green skin, no third nipples growing ! It's certainly not a fresh mountain stream, but it's not as bad as you make it sound. I also grew up beside the river and swam in it lots as a kid, no issues !
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Are you nuts???That river is so polluted.Try standing in it with no waders on and see what happens to youre legs,You will get a rash.
I have worked on log booms on the Fraser for close to 25 years, arms in the water all day long, fallen in plenty of times, jumped in plenty of times on hot summer days ( always with a PFD on of course ), never got any sort of rash ! No glowing green skin, no third nipples growing ! It's certainly not a fresh mountain stream, but it's not as bad as you make it sound. I also grew up beside the river and swam in it lots as a kid, no issues !
Good point, while there may be some raw sewage that gets into the river after a hard rain via storm drains the effluent that flows into it normally is treated-someone already pointed that out but it's worth repeating.
I rarely use waders in summer as the water close to shore is quite warm, launch a skiff in shorts @ Deroche all the time and I've never had a rash nor do I know anyone who has.
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Don't do it it's cold as well as polluted. Remember that Sienfeld episode about shrinkage ;D
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I know in the lower fraser the currents can get extremely strong... I wouldn't risk it. I know there's been a couple of deaths there in the last little while.
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Just a little advice on wading the Fraser when the water warms up.Wear wading boots.You can not see the rocks and it is not good to slip and fall in the current.Based on my experience.
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When I was a kid swimming out to Carey Island was a right of passage in the summer, all the kids on my road did it at one time or other, it was cold and scary out there in the current but none of us drowned, you learn realy quick that you can't fight the current if it wants to pack you downstream you just reivaluate your place of departure from the water. I'm guessing that being raised on a farm and being knee deep in cow poop at least once a week raised my tolerance to fecal matter. I'm sure that there was more pollution in the river back in the 50's anyhow, at that time every community along the river from New West to Prince George dumped their raw untreated sewage directly into the river and thought nothing of it and the pulp mills and other industrial complexes just dumped everything with no regulations whatsoever. If you are not a strong swimmer with experiance in swimming in the current I wouldn't recommend it to anyone and if you happen to see a bit of toilet paper or a sanitary napkin floating by you while you're out there, oh well, keep your chin up.
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I WOULD NOT EVEN STICK MY TOE IN THE WATER. PESTICIDES FROM ALL UP THE VALLEY ARE IN THE WATER. YOU MAY EVEN BE ABLE TO MORPH INTO SPIDERMAN AFTER A SWIM.
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I like to forgoe the waders in summertime when casting for salmon on a scorching hot summer day,quite refreshing to feel the cool water rushing past my legs,I constantly dip my ball cap into the water and put it back on to keep cool,and yes on occasion swim in the mighty fraser around the Chilliwack area! Can't wait for those hot summer days casting for salmon and getting into the water to cool off! Have never gotten a rash or any other medical concern from the waters of the Fraser. My answer... yes go swim in the fraser and enjoy,but be careful with the currents,one doesn't want to get swept away,respect the river and it will respect you.
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I WOULD NOT EVEN STICK MY TOE IN THE WATER. PESTICIDES FROM ALL UP THE VALLEY ARE IN THE WATER. YOU MAY EVEN BE ABLE TO MORPH INTO SPIDERMAN AFTER A SWIM.
the majority of people eat them....
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eat what?
Pretty sure he means the fish out of the Fraser.
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eat what?
Pretty sure he means the fish out of the Fraser.
I sure hope he doesn't mean toes
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If the river is so polluted why would fishing even be open at all.
Its true the fish don't taste the same as WCVI but that is because they are
heading upriver to spawn.
Currents would be big concern.
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PESTICIDES
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I think i would rather swim in my toilet......wait a minute if i swim in the fraser i will be swimming in everyone's toilet ???
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Just imagine the public pool..... ::)