Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fly Fishing Cafe => Topic started by: rides bike to work on August 19, 2010, 08:44:34 PM
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tis the season to catch sockey probably one of the best seasons in resent history but it can get a little boring,almost to easy to floss.So lateley I have been catching all mine on the fly it took a little wihile to diile it in but thats what fishing is about much more fun ont the fly rod and keeps me out on the river a little longer instead of compl aing about crowded bars bouncing take a little walk find some slower water to yourself and cast afly you will be rewarded this could be a once in alife time opportunity take advantage while you can.One tip I found the fish pushed in shallower in the late evenings and more actively rolling in front of me
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:o As Sockeye are relative no biters , Would this be Flossing with a challenge ? ;D
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when this snag fest is shut down for this season and all the flossers go else where, we'll have a one almost every cast on the fly fishery. ;D
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I am one year into fly fishing, and have a 6wt fly rod.
I'm not in the financial position to go out and buy the salmon rod and levelwind reel at the moment, but I am interested if my 6 wt is adequate enough to catch any socks.
If it is possible, what wt leader and tippet woudl I use?
I also have no idea what to put on the end of it, or what techniques to use.
What areas might be condusive to socks on the fly right now. crowded bars are obviously not the ideal place.
any feedback woudl be greatly appreciated, as I really don't want to miss out on this!
Andrew
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sockey are biters how do you think they catch them in the ocean.I have also had many sockey bite in the vedder and now on the fraser as I siad in the late evening when they are rolling I know its not for food but it is a act of aggression and that is the key to getting them to bite one more tip is big black with some silver.
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sockey are biters how do you think they catch them in the ocean.I have also had many sockey bite in the vedder and now on the fraser as I siad in the late evening when they are rolling I know its not for food but it is a act of aggression and that is the key to getting them to bite one more tip is big black with some silver.
no.
whether you want to believe it or not, you are flossing them on the fly just as much as the guys with the betties and 10 foot leaders. Ever checked the stomach contents of a fraser sockeye?
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no.
whether you want to believe it or not, you are flossing them on the fly just as much as the guys with the betties and 10 foot leaders. Ever checked the stomach contents of a fraser sockeye?
Socks stop eating weeks before they approach the Fraser mouth to stage before they enter the river.
...... sigh .... another disbeliever that socks don't bite flies.
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Marmot/bigsnag,
In short nope - you have it wrong.
It matters not that the Sockeye have empy stomachs - Atlantics move into European rivers and from January and February and do not spawn until November time, yet for over 150years they have been proved to take a fly out of aggression and/or curiosity - and yet they too have empty stomachs and are known not to eat in fresh water!
Take a read of 'Salmon Fishing' by Hugh Falkus - Google will soon reveal a supplier, it is truly a work of art (on Atlantics) written over the course of a lifetime of observations and experiments.
It is pretty common for non-fly fishers to be highly suspitious when salmon repeatedly fall to a well presented fly rather than to a gob of roe. ;)
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I beg to differ in comparing Sockeye to Atlantic salmon. The majority of the Sockeye in the Fraser are on a tight timeline to travel through the waters of the Fraser River to their spawning grounds. These fish have limited reserves to expend on the arduous journey they have to make up the Fraser canyon through the rugged rapids of Hells Gate and then on to their spawning grounds. Once these reserves are used up whether or not they have been able to spawn that is it for the fish. IMO it may be possible to get a Sockeye to bite a fly on the Fraser, however the trick would be findng an area where these fish are resting for instance. If you can find those spots then yes I can believe a well presented fly to a pod of salmon can provoke one into biting. However, that is the trick finding water like that on the dark and silty waters of the Fraser. That is why most people will probably be flossing any Sockeye they catch when flyfishing for them on the Fraser River.
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if you want to ethically hook one on the fly, try the harrison, the water is clear and maybe you can get one to bite.. otherwise your flossing them on the mainstem fraser.
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I am also fairly new to fly fishing and love it. I cannot believe I did not get into it sooner! I bought a setup for Coho fall fishing. I "fished" the Fraser for sockeye in the usual method (bottom bouncing with a 2 ft leader) last weekend and thought that it MUST be possible to entice a sockeye to take a fly. I might try this weekend around inflows where the water is more clear and slow... there are many thoughts on fly colors. I hear pink, orange and chartreuse would work. I am dedicated to putting in the time...
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Is this from your personal experience fly fishing for sockeye(or any salmon) on the main-stem Fraser or some one close to you who has spent years or decades pursuing them on the fly?
personal experience and the experience of friends. anyone who has done it and thinks the fish are biting is delusional. They are tough to get in the harrison in clear water let alone brown fraser water.
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Marmot/bigsnag,
In short nope - you have it wrong.
It matters not that the Sockeye have empy stomachs - Atlantics move into European rivers and from January and February and do not spawn until November time, yet for over 150years they have been proved to take a fly out of aggression and/or curiosity - and yet they too have empty stomachs and are known not to eat in fresh water!
Take a read of 'Salmon Fishing' by Hugh Falkus - Google will soon reveal a supplier, it is truly a work of art (on Atlantics) written over the course of a lifetime of observations and experiments.
It is pretty common for non-fly fishers to be highly suspitious when salmon repeatedly fall to a well presented fly rather than to a gob of roe. ;)
I've been flyfishing for over 25 years so I assure you I have no prejudice against the fly. I've never spoken to an EXPERIENCED fly fisherman who will attest to sockeye in the fraser biting. Sooner or later, after enough hookups, you'll figure out what's really going on.
*edit* just read the flybc thread and still find it hard to believe. Maybe the harrison fish are different... clear water might change things up for them. still, I'm skeptical.
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Its not that the Harrison fish are different just a matter of water clarity combined with the fact that they are in their spawning stream. Had them take on the Vedder and the Stamp. The stamp was on the strip in and you could see the fish get activated and strike out of aggression. Clear water = biting sockeye.
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On the Fraser I've caught sockeye hooked inside the mouth both on the fly and typical gear with shorter (5 feet or so) leaders. Back many years I kept tabs a couple of seasons and I think around 20 to 25% had the hook in the mouth not in the hinge of the jaw or underneath the lower jaw as is typical with flossed sockeye. I 've talked to lots of guys who feel they do bite but flossing is dead easy so that's what everyone does. The origianl '92 93 test fisheries were done with 3 feet of leader. Some guys claim that Early Stuart fish and Horsefly fish are more prone to bite than Adams fish for example. Get's better if the water is a bit clearer late summer early fall
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Sporties on the troll used to catch sockeye salmon in Sprout Lake near Port Alberni. They called them "Red Trout" but they weren't supposed to keep them because they were swimming around the lake ripening up to spawn. Anyway, they weren't feeding in the lake obviously but they would still strike a spoon, fly or flashtail out of aggression. So they will "take a fly" so to speak if they are in quiet water. Doubt they would swimming up fast water though.
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I don't know wether they bite or not because I haven't tried but if clarity is the issue, the fraser is as clear as i have seen it and besides, pinks seem to bite no matter water clarity and their stomach contents are empty as well. Socks definately bite in the salt just outside the mouth of the river as trollers and yet the fish we catch out there have nothing in their stomachs either so even out there it must be aggression or opportunity. Could it not be possible that in the river they may act the same way? The fish often will stage out in the mouth for a while moving in and out with the tide waiting for who know's what (cooler temp, fresh rain, west winds) to trigger them to move up.
I guess it is possible we are all simply flossing pinks as well but it sure feels like they hammer the fly even while the swing is over and the fly is sitting there. But it seems we would catch more so they must be biting and obviously with the amounts that are moving it must only be certain ones that decide to bite. Maybe socks are the same only more selective. When i start foul hooking pinks on the fly i often bend the very end of my fly and then every fish is caught in the mouth.
when are we going to get some underwater cams to solve this great mystery! I think most are flossed (pinks and socks) and many bite out of instinct. I like sitting on the fence for this one!
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Pinks are different, they will bite, I've seen them chasing the flies out of the dirty water into the clean, caught lots on lures too, a lot of pinks are flossed though just because of their numbers, like comparing apples to oranges, just because a fish has the hook on the inside of it's mouth doesn't mean it wasn't flossed alls that it means is the hook missed the outside of the lip as it was being drug through.
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I think most are flossed (pinks and socks) and many bite out of instinct. I like sitting on the fence for this one!
pinks are very aggressive biters. I've seen them chase down flies actively... plus, fishing the fly a couple of inches beneath the surface pretty much solves that "mystery". Also, pinks actively hit spoons...pretty tough to floss with a spoon running a couple of feet beneath the surface and most of your line out of the water.
Try to get a sockeye in that clear water on a floating line with short leader and see what happens... the water in many spots where they can be found is plenty shallow enough to do that effectively, if only they were biting.
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none of the 5 species of pacific salmon feed once they have entered fresh water and in most cases they cease to feed some days or weeks before they leave saltwater. None of them strike from a feeding response once they are in the river. The fish taken in the sport and commercial troll fisheries out in the Banana and in English Bay do bite despite the fact they are not feeding. There is also a sport fishery in Lake Washington just down south. Its done trolling from boats with flashers and even chrome propellers. Typically lure is a red octopus hook. Those fish bite as well.
A few years back FV guide Rod Toth claimed he caught sockeye on jigs when the Fraser was unusually clear one summer. I have heard sockeye are caught on bar gear with sin and glos in the Skeena and there have been claims this has happened this year on the Fraser.
If you can catch pinks and cutthroat on flies in the murky Fraser above the Harrison why not sockeye?
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I have caught soks back trolling plugs on the Harrison quite frequently and in sprott lake they take a fly for sure cause I have done it and on the Babine lake I have also caught socks on a flasher and 2 small beeds trolling so why not I have seen Rod Toth use his jigs with sucsess a fly should have no problems doing its job just have to put the time in and figure it out
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I have only fly fished for sockeye on the Skeena, spey fished actually. You do catch allot of fish on the swing and the line goes tight quickly which would suggest they hit the fly instead of you having lined them. I have also caught several fish at the end of the swing as the fly dangles below you in the seam. The take is a peck peck then tight which in my mind is absolutely a strike. So I would say sockeye definitely hit a fly.
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I believe catching Sockeye on the fly would be a tough feat in the Fraser.
The Fraser is running at a pretty decent clip and the fish are on the move.
They are not really looking to scope things out and bite at them, even in aggression.
I have caught sockeye in some slow water on the Pitt.
They tend to pool up in these waters, rest, get aggressive with each other, and compete with each other for the best water to hold in.
In these conditions, I was having fish bite a stripped fly.
On the occasion when I was fishing, my intended target were bull trout and not sockeye.
Just in case any were wondering if the plan was to target Sockeye on the Pitt.
Dano
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Well - despite Sockeye apparently not taking flies in the Fraser - we managed several from the hope area. All fell to a bright green and white Clouser Minnow fished in slower water close in on a sinktip line. ALL fish pulled hard on the fly line and ALL were hooked fair and square in the scissors - just as well from the fights and aerial acrobatics! We missed lots more which were really fast aggressive pulls - too quick for us!!
So it can be done - have faith in your flies!
Not saying it is easy and likely less 'productive' than eggs - but the fish didn't have hooks in their chins ;D ;D ;D