Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum

Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: deepcovehooker on July 12, 2009, 08:35:51 AM

Title: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: deepcovehooker on July 12, 2009, 08:35:51 AM

Headed out mid morning to just hit the river and relax.  Spent most of my time putting on new roe bags as the small trout seemed to be very hungry.  Someone said that they had released about 100,000 at the beginning of the week.  Is that true?   Fished by the railway bridge and then moved down to the south side of Lickman.  Did not see any fish on in the four hours I was out there.

 ;)

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: jeff on July 12, 2009, 08:58:20 AM

I feel your pain about the little guys stealing roes I could feel them nibbling away as I was drifting But wouldn't set the hook out of fear of deep hooking , but everycouple cast my roe was gone, but i wasn't fishing them in roe bags so maybe that made it to easy for them.

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: buck on July 12, 2009, 09:55:51 AM

Deepcovehooker

120,000 steelhead smolts released from hatchery the first week of May. Fish were trucked from hatchery site and released in lower river.

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: drh on July 12, 2009, 10:40:10 AM

I haven't gone out for reds yet this summer,but I'm curious on the 120,000 smolts what numbers would we expect to come back in 3 or 4 years[educated guesses of course]

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: kingpin on July 12, 2009, 07:42:03 PM

1000? 1500? something like that.

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: Steelhawk on July 12, 2009, 09:56:46 PM

That is not a very good number for spreading out 4 months of steelheading. ;D

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: Scott on July 13, 2009, 10:09:01 AM

The steelhead run in the Vedder/Chilliwack varies quite a bit, but it is usually between 6000 and 10000.  There is a good site with the numbers somewhere and I can't remember the link.  Someone on this forum will know it for sure.

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: BigFisher on July 13, 2009, 11:54:31 AM

I heard theres about a 50/50 hatchery to wild number. Approx 5000 of both.

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: Dave on July 13, 2009, 02:32:11 PM

Unfortunately there is virtually no stock assessment numbers for adult steelhead in the Vedder-Chilliwack, so any numbers you hear or see printed is only speculation. What is available is extremely unreliable punchcard data and very limited and sporatic  float count data.  Trying to extrapolate adult returns from juvenile releases is also impossible as there are too many variables (poor ocean survival, freshwater anglers and the fact many juveniles do not smolt and become merganser food).
As I said, it is guesswork but having fished the Chilliwack for 50 years and live counting spawners for the past 15 years, I feel confident to say there are FAR, FAR fewer than 5,000 wild steelhead.
The sad thing is I believe the Province believes numbers like that.

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: BigCoho on July 13, 2009, 06:38:21 PM

Stats

http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/facilities/chilliwack/fish_prod_e.htm (http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/facilities/chilliwack/fish_prod_e.htm)

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: deepcovehooker on July 13, 2009, 07:17:37 PM

Thanks Bigcoho.  You here all sorts of numbers but I believe yours are quire reliable. 

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: younggun on July 14, 2009, 09:32:36 AM

i had a long and heated chat about recent steelhead survival and so far the predicted survival number is between 7-9% which is HIGH! the past few years it was at about 4%. So maybe we're gonna have a good year or 2 to come

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: Tex on July 14, 2009, 10:32:51 AM

Where'd you get this information, young gun?

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: younggun on July 14, 2009, 03:07:24 PM

reaction fly and tackle, sunday evening

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: fish_on on July 14, 2009, 10:55:44 PM

Quote from: BigCoho on July 13, 2009, 06:38:21 PM

Stats

http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/facilities/chilliwack/fish_prod_e.htm (http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/facilities/chilliwack/fish_prod_e.htm)

The hatchery layout shows only the Coho channels #1 & 2 and the Steelhead channel, where are the chinook and chum rearing channels located?? just curious...

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: buck on July 15, 2009, 08:14:14 AM

FISH ON

  White chinook are reared in the cement raceways as you enter the hatchery. Red chinook are reared in the last section # 6 of the steelhead channel.

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: Every Day on July 15, 2009, 12:55:57 PM

Don't chum go out to the ocean right away  ???

Title: Re: Chilliwack River, July 11th 2009
Post by: younggun on July 15, 2009, 01:45:41 PM

E.D. - yea they do