Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum

Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: chris gadsden on October 12, 2012, 06:29:17 AM

Title: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: chris gadsden on October 12, 2012, 06:29:17 AM
Rain now falling on the Vedder River, please be careful as you drive to work and to the river as the roads will be very slick after the long dry period.

Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: chris gadsden on October 12, 2012, 05:30:25 PM
Very hard now, heading for the evening bite, will file a report along with some video footage of "The Master" at work under fishing reports later this evening, stay tunned. ;D

Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: arimaBOATER on October 12, 2012, 06:44:08 PM
In all my yrs living in the Vancouver area I never have remembered such a dry spell from basically July to the present date Oct 10-11.

Cowichan watershed hopefully will also get a lot of rain.

Salmon surely will be on the move in local rivers.

Super cloudy / showery Spring & then dry sunny summer into the fall so it all evens out.
Are we in for cloudy skies till June 2013 ????

All the best on your fishing outting.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Fish Assassin on October 12, 2012, 08:11:40 PM
Nature has a way of balancing things out.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: troutbreath on October 12, 2012, 08:51:06 PM
I was dragging the prop on the bottom of the "blown out" river. :-\ The ground is so dry it's going to suck up lots of the rain.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: dcajaxs on October 13, 2012, 01:27:30 PM
roads are slick and lots of hydro planning on the highway too.   
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Every Day on October 13, 2012, 08:02:40 PM
We still haven't started seeing rain out here... only a grand total of just over 4 mm so far  :'(
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: troutbreath on October 13, 2012, 09:53:28 PM
Ankle deep on the way to "walley ring road" today. :P
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: rickjames_2 on October 13, 2012, 11:17:57 PM
Borderline monsoon right now in Sardis  ;D
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: BigFisher on October 14, 2012, 10:16:18 AM
All the Rain is gonna do is trigger the fish to shoot upstream, Good luck with the bite.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Dennis.t on October 14, 2012, 02:02:04 PM
All the Rain is gonna do is trigger the fish to shoot upstream, Good luck with the bite.
;D
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: chris gadsden on October 14, 2012, 07:17:44 PM
I guess those that wanted rain have now got their wish and along with that you have mud and unfishable conditions except for flossing and long linning. ::) I got the garbage bin out in time at KWB before it washed away tonight. Thanks to all that used it as I cleaned it out several times and have a few hundred pounds now to dispose of. See pictures of what it looked like at KWB at dark on the FVSS facebook page..

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fraser-Valley-Salmon-Society/111769675563789#!/media/set/?set=a.373830826024338.85007.111769675563789&type=1
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: milo on October 14, 2012, 08:53:03 PM
I guess those that wanted rain have now got their wish and along with that you have mud and unfishable conditions except for flossing and long linning.

I wanted the rain for the sake of the resource. The situation had gotten critical and the rain was badly needed.
So what if the conditions are unfishable for a few days?

As for the flossers and long liners - I didn't see low water conditions keep them away.
Beeks will be beeks regardless of the conditions.

All I know is this rain might be life saving for a good number of fish and their offspring.
Paraphrasing Spock: The need of the many (fish) outweigh the need of the few (anglers).  ;)


Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: gilbey on October 14, 2012, 09:10:21 PM
Well said Milo, I agree
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Fillibert on October 14, 2012, 09:24:36 PM
Went to the capilano today and man it's fast, what lures do you put under your floats for fast water conditions, be it here or someplace else like the vedder
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Dave on October 14, 2012, 09:49:02 PM
Bang on Milo!
Steelhead, coho, char and whitefish parr have all been devastated by this drought, mainly in the off channel areas like Peach, Salwein, Borden, Liumchen and Deer Creeks.  I suspect other coho rearing streams like Paleface, Depot and Post have also been hard hit and expect near zero survival of salmonid parr from most, especially Peach Channel.

The next issue to be addressed is the beaver dams stopping upstream migration of chums on a few of these so important off channels.

Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: chris gadsden on October 14, 2012, 10:03:55 PM
Bang on Milo!
Steelhead, coho, char and whitefish parr have all been devastated by this drought, mainly in the off channel areas like Peach, Salwein, Borden, Liumchen and Deer Creeks.  I suspect other coho rearing streams like Paleface, Depot and Post have also been hard hit and expect near zero survival of salmonid parr from most, especially Peach Channel.

The next issue to be addressed is the beaver dams stopping upstream migration of chums on a few of these so important off channels.


Good points, who is dealing with the dams?
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: milo on October 14, 2012, 11:16:13 PM
The next issue to be addressed is the beaver dams stopping upstream migration of chums on a few of these so important off channels.

Dave, let me know if something is being done in that respect.
Wouldn't mind driving out to Chilliwack to help wreck a few damns.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Polaris on October 14, 2012, 11:31:55 PM
Went to the capilano today and man it's fast

Fast enough to wreck and wash away all the stone weirs Indians constructed near Park Royal?  When I was there a few weeks ago, nothing could get through...
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Fish Assassin on October 14, 2012, 11:56:47 PM
Fast enough to wreck and wash away all the stone weirs Indians constructed near Park Royal?  When I was there a few weeks ago, nothing could get through...

The high water has rid of the weirs.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Dave on October 15, 2012, 08:06:07 AM
Good points, who is dealing with the dams?
It is always a grey area as no one agency has ever taken full responsibility for beaver dam removal but in past years the staff at the Chilliwack River hatchery have stepped up, including paying for trapping.
In most cases if the animals aren't removed (killed, as the Province does not relocate beavers), the dams are simply rebuilt the next day.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: arimaBOATER on October 15, 2012, 11:19:03 AM
That's a fact .
Tore apart a beaver dam at the south end of Ten Mile Lake because 100's of big trout were trapped down stream of a small creek.
Barely any water in the creek ( big ditch really) as fish were gathered in various pools.

It took me at least 3 hrs of ripping & pulling.

Next day the beavers built a big dam back & it looked like the very same way before I ripped up the 1st one.
Busy as beavers slogan is true.
These suckers had to work very hard over the night.
This dam was aprox 12 meters by 7 meters at least.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Fillibert on October 15, 2012, 06:42:10 PM
So isn't that the best solution instead of killing them. Destroy the dam once a week or so to let the fish by and then they put it back and have a home. Kind of like a draw bridge that opens temporarily to let boats by
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: dennyman on October 15, 2012, 07:05:01 PM
Doing a beaver cull is probably the best thing to do. Unless the population gets thinned out, the number of beavers expand along with the dams they would create thereby affecting some of the small creeks and tributaries along the river.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: milo on October 15, 2012, 07:11:45 PM
Doing a beaver cull is probably the best thing to do. Unless the population gets thinned out, the number of beavers expand along with the dams they would create thereby affecting some of the small creeks and tributaries along the river.

X2

Besides, beaver meat is very tasty, so they needn't be wasted.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: mzmann on October 15, 2012, 07:18:03 PM
Besides, beaver meat is very tasty, so they needn't be wasted.

Mmmmmmm, Beeeeeaaaaverrrrrrrrrrrr *homer drool*....we may be talking about something different here though  :P
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: CohoMan on October 15, 2012, 07:30:30 PM
You guys are hilarious!!!!! ;D :D :o
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Every Day on October 15, 2012, 07:31:22 PM
Mmmmmmm, Beeeeeaaaaverrrrrrrrrrrr *homer drool*....we may be talking about something different here though  :P

HAHAHAHAHAHA awesome!

Milo is it actually tasty to some people?
When I went trapping we always got rid of it or used it as bait for bobcat because it has such a bad fishy taste.
You can get a decent amount of money for the pelts though  :P
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: milo on October 15, 2012, 09:16:15 PM
When I went trapping we always got rid of it or used it as bait for bobcat because it has such a bad fishy taste.

I'd venture to guess that you didn't get rid of the scent glands and the fat, eh?
Failing to do that will indeed make the critter taste unpleasant. It happens with many animals.
But if you get to trap a young one (ideally not more than two years old), remove the glands and the fat, you are left with a few pounds of delightful, deep red wild meat.

I only had the chance to try it twice, both times it was prepared by expert hunters and cooks. Both times it tasted superb.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: Dave on October 15, 2012, 09:18:54 PM
HAHAHAHAHAHA awesome!

Milo is it actually tasty to some people?
When I went trapping we always got rid of it or used it as bait for bobcat because it has such a bad fishy taste.
You can get a decent amount of money for the pelts though  :P
Actually Dan, that's the problem ... beaver just aren't worth that much anymore, and any one who has skinned a few, like me, knows they take considerable time and effort.  At $20 a large, last price I heard, it's just not cost effective to trap them.
These animals can be a big problem on the lower river where beaver activity can have a significant impact on salmonid productivity.

Sadly, these lower river beavers are now urban animals and in the sight of hundreds of people and .... dogs.  In the water.  Lethal trapping, really the only practical solution, comes with liability issues that few registered trappers are willing to address.
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: troutbreath on October 16, 2012, 06:51:46 AM
They say when you run out of ponies to eat, beaver is next on the menu.

http://raincoaster.com/2009/11/11/beaver-shots-how-to-eat-beaver/
Title: Re: The Rain, Has Come
Post by: alwaysfishn on October 16, 2012, 06:59:06 AM
Actually Dan, that's the problem ... beaver just aren't worth that much anymore, and any one who has skinned a few, like me, knows they take considerable time and effort.  At $20 a large, last price I heard, it's just not cost effective to trap them.
These animals can be a big problem on the lower river where beaver activity can have a significant impact on salmonid productivity.

Sadly, these lower river beavers are now urban animals and in the sight of hundreds of people and .... dogs.  In the water.  Lethal trapping, really the only practical solution, comes with liability issues that few registered trappers are willing to address.
You are right about it taking a lot of effort to trap a beaver, skin it and preparing the hide. 45 years ago I used to get $30 plus for a large hide.