Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum

Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: DanL on October 24, 2016, 08:58:10 PM

Title: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: DanL on October 24, 2016, 08:58:10 PM
Hit the C/V this morning trying for some first light coho and was able to get into 4 or 5 and land one hatchery before the bite shut completely off after an hour or so.
 
Not a particularly notable day otherwise except that I landed the cleanest chum I have ever seen from the C/V on a purple/black jig. We all thought it was a coho until we got it in the net and saw the head and some very faint bars that dont even show up in the pic. And a buck as well, though quite skinny. Never seen a chum in this condition from this system in all my years. I usually just laugh to myself when people say they caught a 'chrome' chum but now I'm a believer ...

(http://i.imgur.com/8T5B66S.jpg)
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: bigsnag on October 25, 2016, 06:16:15 AM
did it have any sea lice still attached to its body ? That'll indicate the length of time from salt to the spot where he met your jig.
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: Tex on October 25, 2016, 08:32:32 AM
That chum is MINT! Incredible, I too have never come across a chum even close to that chrome in all my days fishing the Vedder. Very cool.
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: clarki on October 25, 2016, 09:19:02 AM
It's not often that a Vedder chum and coho are almost indistinguishable in pictures!
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: spoiler on October 25, 2016, 10:30:05 AM
got a chrome Chum doe this morning and it did have sea lice!
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: sbc hris on October 25, 2016, 11:28:25 AM
Funny how the chromer chum seem to be the later running fish too. Usually late Oct/early Nov is when I see and hear of the majority of them. Maybe water temp plays a role too?
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: Rodney on October 25, 2016, 12:18:06 PM
My own theory is that early fish tend to hold outside rivers longer due to the low river level, whereas late season fish can travel into rivers immediately from the ocean due to higher water therefore they retain the silvery body for awhile in freshwater.

DanL, I forgot to come over and see that fish before I left yesterday!
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: spoiler on October 25, 2016, 03:51:46 PM
of some the brightest Chum I have caught in the Vedder River were in early December.
A few years ago I was in the lower river searching for early Steelhead when I came across a spot with a huge school of chrome bright Chum rolling everywhere.
I quickly tied on a purple and cerise jig under my float and managed to hook 7 before the bite fizzled out!
that was around December 7th.
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: NiceFish on October 25, 2016, 04:34:38 PM
Have caught ones like that in the vedder and stave.... usually on incoming tide.....not super often, but usually get a handful of them once you get into one...
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: Drewhill on October 25, 2016, 05:41:18 PM
The stave will get a lot of 'fake' chrome chum. They're totally chrome on the outside but they've already spawned out or are shooting singles and the meat is no good.
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: bigsnag on October 25, 2016, 06:25:02 PM
(http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah318/jack_lam2/DSCF1015%201024x576%20800x450_zpsmiboznbi.jpg) (http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/jack_lam2/media/DSCF1015%201024x576%20800x450_zpsmiboznbi.jpg.html)

Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: DanL on October 25, 2016, 08:36:21 PM
did it have any sea lice still attached to its body ?

Didnt really notice but I dont think so.

Maybe there is something to the late run=cleaner fish theory. The only other 'clean' chum I have encountered on the C/V have all been in November though none remotely close to the appearance of this one. I think Rodney even posted a video of some very very nice looking chum caught in November a couple years ago.

DanL, I forgot to come over and see that fish before I left yesterday!

No problem, now you can see the photographic evidence :)
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: RalphH on October 26, 2016, 05:07:19 PM
I caught a chrome doe chum in the Harrison mid Oct many years ago. Just green backed & silver sides - no bars or a touch of any other color.

I've never caught a 'fake chum' but I have noticed some fish will turn a light color after then expire post spawn and look sort of pale (not white with fungus) - could be ghost chum, that swim at night - SPOOKY!
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: trootn on October 26, 2016, 07:11:58 PM
The stave will get a lot of 'fake' chrome chum. They're totally chrome on the outside but they've already spawned out or are shooting singles and the meat is no good.
Have seen a coho like that too, totally chrome but the meat was orange and mushy. Would like to know why this happens
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: chris gadsden on October 26, 2016, 10:26:04 PM
I posted this a few years ago, I caught 2 chum in the Chilliwack while fishing for steelhead in January, they were so bright when I hooked them i thought they were steelhead.
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: NiceFish on October 27, 2016, 09:44:57 PM
The stave will get a lot of 'fake' chrome chum. They're totally chrome on the outside but they've already spawned out or are shooting singles and the meat is no good.

Haven't really seen this, but I always look my chum over before deciding to keep. No sea lice = no keep. I also run my hand down the belly and see if any single eggs shoot out, also = no keep.
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: 243Pete on October 28, 2016, 07:19:03 AM
Last pink season I hooked into a super early chum on the squamish, when it first humped out of the water I thought it was a spring but after getting it to shore I noticed the very very light purple bars on the side. It rained earlier that morning fairly heavily and the water went up a bit and got colored that day, most likely it was enough of a push to get some chums to swim in at that time.

So far this year I've hooked quite a few chum on the C/V which still had a fair number of sea lice on them, and then some fish you could tell had been in the river for a little while with that almost clean look but if you pushed down against the stomach it either shot out singles or didn't really rise back up quickly.
Title: Re: Chilliwack River Oct 24, 2016
Post by: Tenz85 on October 28, 2016, 07:57:27 AM
Got a chrome chum with sea lice the other day but after bonking and gutting noticed it was shooting singles. Good tip about running hand down belly to check in the future.