Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: FlyFishin Magician on October 06, 2014, 09:10:58 PM
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Stratocaster and I checked out the river this morning with another buddy. The first light bite was fast! Maybe 30 - 45 minutes tops. I was fortunate enough to land a nice hatchery coho of about 6 lbs. Otherwise, we all lost the other coho we hooked (just a handful each). Stratocaster and I even had a double header (coho each) at one point, but both of us lost our fish right at the same time! My other buddy lost 3 coho when his casting thumb bar on his luna failed to disengage when he tried to set the hook. Ouch!
As for other fish, I released a nice chrome jack spring, and Stratocaster released a 25 - 30 lb spring buck. I lost a spring doe as well. All in all, a nice day fishing - but a very challenging day for coho to say the least.
The water conditions were low and clear. We seriously need some rain now. On another note, I saw one guy land a hatchery sockeye doe. He was about to give her the rock shampoo when I approached him and advised that it was a sockeye and must be released. He proceeded to tell me that it was OK because it was a hatchery fish as he started to put his fingers into the gills. At this point, I did something I thought I'd never do. I swatted the fish out of his hands, and the fish fell into the water and swam off! He didn't argue with me, and went back to rigging up his snagging outfit. He looked like a pretty skilled angler, so I think he knew what he was doing.
I saw just one other coho landed and that was it! Pretty brutal right now. Lots of springs and chum now. Good fish pull, but not what I'm targeting. Good luck and have fun out there!
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I swatted the fish out of his hands, and the fish fell into the water and swam off!
Hey Aaron. Do you think you are really smart to do this kind of move on another person's hand. I know you are trying to educate him, but i think you take things a bit too far. Should phone the D.F.O. RAPP line. Don't try to be a hero...It just my 2 cents
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Point well taken. As you (hopefully) know, this is very "out of character" for me and I will not do this again. Yes, I agree with you - make the call to DFO. It was actually quite a "civil" discussion. It's not like we were yelling at each other or anything like that. But when he started to place his fingers in the gills, I just figured he didn't want to get the message. No excuses on my part however. Thanks for the comment.
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Hey Aaron. Do you think you are really smart to do this kind of move on another person's hand. I know you are trying to educate him, but i think you take things a bit too far. Should phone the D.F.O. RAPP line. Don't try to be a hero...It just my 2 cents
Re-read his post, this guy knew what he was doing. He knew that sockeye was closed but tried to argue that it was a hatchery coho. Obviously he didn't know who he was dealing with. It wasn't so much a swat as a push and FFM did not touch the angler, only the fish. The angler did not protest because he knew he was wrong. He probably would have released the fish anyways with a little bit more persuasion. FFM did him a favour and saved him from possible fines. Every situation is different. I wouldn't have confronted someone if I was outnumbered 5 to 1. This guy did not seem to be aggressive and besides, I was there as a backup.
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Point well taken. As you (hopefully) know, this is very "out of character" for me and I will not do this again. Yes, I agree with you - make the call to DFO. It was actually quite a "civil" discussion. It's not like we were yelling at each other or anything like that. But when he started to place his fingers in the gills, I just figured he didn't want to get the message. No excuses on my part however. Thanks for the comment.
Hey Aaron.
No sweat, I know you are a nice guy. just want to do your part. Just stay safe at the river Tight line... ;)
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No sweat here - thanks. Hey Stratocaster - thanks for the backup bud! :)
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I was there as a backup.
That's what buddies are for ;)
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You forgot to snap a pic of him then get his licnec plate number and report him to the dfo as well. Jk but as mentionned be safe. Things will only get more heated as the peak season approaches and long weekend nears.
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Such violent behavior cannot be tolerated on the Vedder. How do you think this other fisherman felt being fish slapped? How do you think the fish felt being caressed by one individual only to be slapped by another.
What has this wonderful river become? ::)
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Such violent behavior cannot be tolerated on the Vedder. How do you think this other fisherman felt being fish slapped? How do you think the fish felt being caressed by one individual only to be slapped by another.
What has this wonderful river become? ::)
Four points:
1 - I get the message, thanks.
2 - "fisherman"? You mean poacher.
3 - "other fisherman felt"? - He deserved to be called on his poaching (I didn't touch him at all, just the fish).
4 - "fish caressed"? The fish was about to have its gills ripped out. I didn't wind up and punch it for goodness sakes. The fish is in much better shape than if I didn't intervene.
Now can we get back to the fishing part please?
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Such violent behavior cannot be tolerated on the Vedder. How do you think this other fisherman felt being fish slapped? How do you think the fish felt being caressed by one individual only to be slapped by another.
What has this wonderful river become? ::)
Rieber, you have to use more smiles to show your tongue in cheek intentions. :) ;) :D
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dont worry about what other people think. some people only learn the hard way. good on you. if we had more people that stood up for the fisheries their would be less of this happening.
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A few years ago I was fishing the Abbotsford side of the canal downstream from KWB. I had a great location and fishing roebags in a sweet spot where springs were holding. I hooked up and landed a number of large springs that were dark but finally landed a 28 lb chrome spring that I kept. One of my best days ever on the Vedder - Chilliwack.
One of the guys fishing below me came to see the fish and find out what I was doing to be so successful. He spoke limited english but after a few seconds I asked to see his hook. As I had guessed the barb was still on the hook. I explained to him that since the barb was still on the hook, the fish could see it and would not bite. I also mentioned he could not fish with barbed hooks for salmon according to regulations. There was a scramble with him and 4 others to share the one pair of pliers to pinch the barbs. They were not fishing roebags or fishing in that sweet spot, so I doubt they had any success. They were however fishing according to the rules. There was no confrontation, just information about the rules and maybe a little white lie.
Cal
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Four points:
1 - I get the message, thanks.
2 - "fisherman"? You mean poacher.
3 - "other fisherman felt"? - He deserved to be called on his poaching (I didn't touch him at all, just the fish).
4 - "fish caressed"? The fish was about to have its gills ripped out. I didn't wind up and punch it for goodness sakes. The fish is in much better shape than if I didn't intervene.
Now can we get back to the fishing part please?
Two, three or four wrongs don't make it right - but sometimes you just have to do what seems right at the time. Look, I get where you're coming from but man that situation could have turned ugly for you. Props to you for having the balls to do what you did but honestly, don't confront poachers in that way. These guys are probably well aware that they are doing wrong and may not have the morals to not slug you or worse yet, stab you.
Like you said, you get it. We all get it - but poachers are criminals and they don't get it because they don't care. I'm glad it didn't escalate into something more serious and that you were able to go home to safely your family after a nice day out on the Vedder.
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Your a magician and you made his fish dissapear....for free
BN
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Good on you for educating someone on their illegal activities and calling them out like they deserve. We need more people standing up for what’s right instead of just shrugging and turning a blind eye though I would not support physical confrontation. Observe, educate, and if required, record evidence and report it.
Having said that, the idea of literally slapping the fish out of a poachers hand made me laugh out loud.
At least in my experience, the taking of non-retention fish is usually a result of ignorance of the regs or species misidentification. Not a valid excuse of course, but once pointed out to the violator, they have always expressed surprise and regret, then return the fish to the river (post mortem) with a lesson learned. If they just shrugged and kept it anyways, I would hope that everyone following this thread would at minimum report it properly.
Thanks for the report. I was out last weekend and it was even slower. Glad to see some people having at least some modest success.
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Two, three or four wrongs don't make it right - but sometimes you just have to do what seems right at the time. Look, I get where you're coming from but man that situation could have turned ugly for you. Props to you for having the balls to do what you did but honestly, don't confront poachers in that way. These guys are probably well aware that they are doing wrong and may not have the morals to not slug you or worse yet, stab you.
Like you said, you get it. We all get it - but poachers are criminals and they don't get it because they don't care. I'm glad it didn't escalate into something more serious and that you were able to go home to safely your family after a nice day out on the Vedder.
we are beating a dead horse.
Your a magician and you made his fish dissapear....for free
BN
lol
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That's some good karma coming your way fly fishing magician.
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LOL - thanks for the posts guys!
One thing I noticed about the coho bites is that they were ultra subtle. On the handful of fish that I hooked, my float didn't really move - hardly even a twitch! In fact, I think the float just started to slow down or even stopped moving in the slow current. There were also times when I completed my drift without a bite, and when I reeled in my roe was gone. Gotta love the coho bite in low/clear conditions.
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dont worry about what other people think. some people only learn the hard way. good on you. if we had more people that stood up for the fisheries their would be less of this happening.
x2
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FlyFishin, what gram weight float do you use? Thanks.
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when fish are biting soft you need to use a light float that can detect smaller bites. coho can be very soft mouthed. i like 20gram or 25gram floats personally.
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20 g Drennan Piker is my go to float. I'll also use a 20 g DNE as a back-up.
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20 g Drennan Piker is my go to float. I'll also use a 20 g DNE as a back-up.
20g?? No wonder your float doesn't sink... ;D I've been using 11g Pikers and that doesn't even get pulled down much, actually considering going down to the 6g tomorrow.
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LOL - thanks for the posts guys!
One thing I noticed about the coho bites is that they were ultra subtle. On the handful of fish that I hooked, my float didn't really move - hardly even a twitch! In fact, I think the float just started to slow down or even stopped moving in the slow current. There were also times when I completed my drift without a bite, and when I reeled in my roe was gone. Gotta love the coho bite in low/clear conditions.
Couldn't agree with you more. I noticed this too, very frustrating.
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I've never caught a coho float fishing, only jigging, and spinners/spoons. Everytime I've caught one it was like a freight train hit. This roe business seems like it's more work than it's worth lol.
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Aaron buddy !!
I wish I was there to see you do this. So out of character, just like the once or twice I've heard you swear LoL
We need to hit the flow in the coming weeks and catch up :D
You still on holidays after the long weekend ? Looks like I'll be headed to afternoon shift for those 4 days and plan to fish
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20g?? No wonder your float doesn't sink... ;D I've been using 11g Pikers and that doesn't even get pulled down much, actually considering going down to the 6g tomorrow.
Yeah, that should do it but consider a 2g for the fine work :)
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From my personal experience, catching them on hardware is a lot easier than float fishing for them with roe. Guys who stick to float fishing and trying to get them on the subtle takes because it's addicting. With that said, I haven't had a single fish grabbing the hardware except the coho jack this morning. The rest have all been on roe.
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both ways have their rewards. to be honest i dont know which one i like better.
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Aaron buddy !!
I wish I was there to see you do this. So out of character, just like the once or twice I've heard you swear LoL
We need to hit the flow in the coming weeks and catch up :D
You still on holidays after the long weekend ? Looks like I'll be headed to afternoon shift for those 4 days and plan to fish
Hey bud! Yes, I'm off the week after the long weekend. There's quite a bit of rain in the forecast, so that might give us some interesting options. I'll send you a message on FB.
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20g?? No wonder your float doesn't sink... ;D I've been using 11g Pikers and that doesn't even get pulled down much, actually considering going down to the 6g tomorrow.
So - that's your secret!!! I'm going to run out and buy some 11 g Pikers right now. ;D Actually, I do have some, but I'm also matching the weight to the water conditions and casting distance. But your "suggestion" is intriguing.
I got to admit - I love fishing roe, just like I love chironomid fishing with indicators. It is very addicting. As for spinners, I only became successful with them last year using Colorado's under a float. I guess I never really used them until recently. Then there's the fly which is very fun as well. But the roe "take" keeps me coming back for more. Thanks in large part to Stratocaster's instruction on how to cure "coho crack".
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Maybe Stratocaster should change his name to "Heisenberg"...is his roe blue?
BN
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I think the key is to start out with good roe in the first place. Take care not to get blood on the skeins and wipe away any that do get on. I also get the blood out of the veins of the skeins by cutting them and dabbing with a paper towel.
Sometimes the fish will take almost any roe, even store bought but during conditions like we are seeing now, attention to details may be the difference between hooking into a few coho or not hooking any at all.