Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: gman on July 22, 2004, 09:53:39 PM
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Went out to the Fraser below Hope today. My Dad and I hoped that it would be a quiet day as the sockeye were not yet open. Went out to our favourite walk in bar, and were surprised to see only one other car at the parking lot when we arrived. We brought both bar and bb gear as we were unsure what approach we would try.
There were about 6 guys at the bar, with some arriving by boat, and all were BB, so we did the same. Within 10 minutes my Dad has a spring on, but after it showed itself in one big swirl it was gone. After that it was quiet for a while. Very windy conditions made things a bit challenging. I was getting a bit fustrated with the wind and snags and had just suggested we think about changing to bar fishing when FISH ON :D- I had on a spring. After a longer than usual battle had it to the beach. About a 25 pound red. Bottom bounce a bit more, and my Dad had a sockeye on briefly. Doesn't seem to be that many sockeye around yet.
We then went for a walk to another location and there found a half dozen guys all bar fishing. We set up the bar gear so we could relax with some lunch. Within minutes I had a hit on my rod. Ran to set the hook and ... nothing. Was it really a fish or did my gear just drift? Settle down with lunch and my Dads bell starts to ring. He sets the hook and fish on! :D One of the other guys bar fishing ran over with a net and hands it to me. I thank him, then start to wonder how to use it? I've netted plenty in the salt but none in the river - should I do it head first? I decided to take the cautious route and ask for advice. The guy who loaned me the net educates me a bit - bring the net up behind the fish, then the guy with the rod can drop the fish in. I tried it and it worked out great. This spring was nearly the same size, but turned out to be a white.
All in all the day was windy, hot and great. We enjoyed both types of fishing but I must say the bar fishing was very relaxing, and got us our fish faster. In general I did not see a lot of fish hooked by others, and not very many sockeye.
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A tip. It is usually best to net the fish from the head end as a fish always swims ahead. ;D
A good day for you and your dad. ;D
Congratulations. ;D ;D
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Thanks for the report Gman, youve got a IM , instant message
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Congrats Gman and SeniorGman :).
With that report and Chris n Max's success I'm tempted to start my holiday one day early as it sounds like another push of spring has entered the Fraser. Maybe I'll hike past the sockeye crowds to a quiet spot for some NTOW action.
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Nice fish! Sounds like a great day. When is the FWR bbq?
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Don't net 'em from the back unless you want to watch a 25lb Spring explode as you accidently touch it's tail. Good way to lose them...I've done it :-\ Always come from the head. If they explode, they go right in the net :D Congrats on a great day!
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Chris and Grumman,
Thanks for the advice about the netting. Netting from the head is of course the obvious way, and I understand your points. I was uncertain how to do it in this case as the rod was upstream, and the big fresh (not tired) spring was downstream. The water was deep and fast right near the bank. In such water fish can swim "backwards". So if I netted from the head I was concerned I would be coming at it from the upstream side and possibly htting the line before I netted the fish. I probably could have (should have?) netted it from the head and just been aware that I better not knock the line before netting the fish. Hopefully I'll get some more practice at these techniques in future! ;)
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Fish cannot swim backwards unless it's dead or dying. Another tip: lead the fish into the net. Don't go chasing after the fish.