Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Rodney on November 21, 2017, 11:05:34 AM
-
This year's Boxing Day Chilliwack River Steelhead Derby will be canceled, due to current renovations at Chilliwack Fish and Game Protection Association's club house.
Wally Hall Junior Memorial Steelhead Derby is still going to happen. Tickets can be bought at Fred's in Abbotsford now. I'll have more details soon once they are available.
-
I have entered every year for over 15 years now. Become a tradition. Kind of a shame always looked foreward to it.
-
I have entered every year for over 15 years now. Become a tradition. Kind of a shame always looked foreward to it.
I agree, guess I’ll have to go skiing instead!
-
Sounds like Derby is back on. Details to be posted soon. Freds is taking it on this year. Posting on thier facebokk page.
-
From Fred:
The fresh BC air is a nice change for me after 5 weeks of 30 degree temperatures in Cabo. I like the change for sure. One change that concerns me is hearing about the Chilliwack Fish and Game Club not being able to host the 74th annual steelhead derby on Boxing Day. Apparently the club house is under a huge renovation right now so the derby has to be put on hold for this year. My thought immediately was to jump in and save this historic special event despite time being limited.
So, with the support of the club, Fred's Custom Tackle is going to sponsor a Boxing Day event for all participants of the Wally Hall Junior Memorial Derby this year. If you are already in the Wally Hall Junior Derby, you are welcome to participate on Dec 26th as a bonus to your registration. If you are not registered, simply join the Wally Hall Junior Memorial Derby before Dec 26th to enjoy prizes for every fish weighed in on Boxing Day. All proceeds goes to the Chilliwack/Vedder enhancement programs to help salmon and steelhead. To date the $30K raised from the derby has been levered to over $60K by Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition that goes into enhancement and conservation projects.
I encourage everyone to support Wally Hall this year and it is hopeful to see the return of the club event in 2018.
Fred Helmer
Fred's Custom Tackle
-
Where will the Weigh In Station be located and where will all the anglers meet after the derby finishes around 2 pm to see who won the prizes and draws?
-
It will be in Chilliwack, I’ll be posting all the details tonight.
-
Last year it seemed like the run was early so remember to get out before the derby!
fir those that no the GONG has been rung
anyone have any luck after the derby last year?
-
Yes
-
2017 Boxing Day Chilliwack River Steelhead Derby!
This year’s Boxing Day Chilliwack River Steelhead Fishing Derby will be held at the Tractorgrease Cafe across from the Chilliwack Fish and Game Club (48710 Chilliwack Lake Road).
To register, please sign up for the Wally Hall Junior Memorial Fishing Derby at Fred’s Custom Tackle prior to Boxing Day. If you have already registered in this season’s Wally Hall Junior Memorial Fishing Derby, then you are already entered in the Boxing Day Derby as a bonus day. This event is sponsored by Fred’s Custom Tackle, Fred will be donating all prizes ranging from $50 to $200 for the day.
*** Schedule, Rules & Prizes ***
- You must have a valid freshwater fishing licence and steelhead conservation stamp.
- Derby begins at daylight till 2:00pm.
- Weigh-in opens at 7:00am at Tractorgrease Cafe, closes at 2:00pm.
- Awards and prizes will be given from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.
- Officials: Fred Helmer and Wally Hall.
- Coffee and food available starting at 5:00am.
- Prizes will be awarded to first fish and biggest fish. Every fish will receive a prize for the day!
Prizes to be finalized and we will be announcing the list soon! All proceeds will be used for habitat enhancement and conservation projects in the Chilliwack/Vedder River. :)
-
Of course, now that I’ve already made alternate plans ::)...
-
Can I sign up online with a credit card?
-
Pretty sure it is an 'in-store' sign up at Fred's. If I recall... ya may have to show license and Steelhead stamp at that time too..
-
Ya I assume so too thanks I’ll call Fred’s
-
Registration will also be available on derby day, but only after 7am at the Tractorgrease Cafe and cash only.
-
Registration will also be available on derby day, but only after 7pm at the Tractorgrease Cafe and cash only.
7pm? So this is how you’re gonna win it eh? ;D
-
Yeah pretty much lol... The best of the rest. ;D
Corrected.
-
I am thinking it might of been a good thing not to have the derby this year. Social media is already questioning the dead steel head pics being shown for the derby.
We want the avg public to care about steel head but we’re flashing dead steel head on social media being held up on a wall.
I understand the hatchery put and take but good luck convincing the avg joe.
Might want to keep the hero pics to your self this year. especially if it’s a dead one hanging from a rope
It’s not far fetched to think the Provence might just do a blanket ban to all steelhead fishing.
-
::)
-
I am thinking it might of been a good thing not to have the derby this year. Social media is already questioning the dead steel head pics being shown for the derby.
We want the avg public to care about steel head but we’re flashing dead steel head on social media being held up on a wall.
I understand the hatchery put and take but good luck convincing the avg joe.
Might want to keep the hero pics to your self this year. especially if it’s a dead one hanging from a rope
It’s not far fetched to think the Provence might just do a blanket ban to all steelhead fishing.
Don't bother those. There are steelhead fillet in Safeway, save on food and people ignore what so ever.
-
Best of luck and be safe out there for those fishing in Derby. I only fished once in Boxing derby and that was long time ago.
Silex user
-
Don't bother those. There are steelhead fillet in Safeway, save on food and people ignore what so ever.
Lois Lake trout. I went to the restaurant at Grouse mountain and they claimed to be serving wild steelhead.
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=26401.0
-
Time for your predictions for the weigh in, I’m going with 8.
Hope over 15 tho
-
Heading out soon as Fred has asked me to help with the derby and take pictures etc.. Also will be submitting a story to the Chilliwack Progress, like i did for a number of years. Not too windy this Am but around -4 right now, very little snow in the Lower reaches, more up towards the hatchery. Dress warmly and I will see a few of you later.
Due to renovations to the Chilliwack Fish and Game Protective Association's clubhouse this year, Fred's Custom Tackle will be hosting this year's Boxing Day Steelhead Derby at the Tractorgrease Cafe (48710 Chilliwack Lake Road).
To register, please sign up for the Wally Hall Junior Memorial Fishing Derby at Fred’s Custom Tackle prior to Boxing Day. Registration is also available on derby day at the Tractorgrease Cafe starting at 7:00am but it is cash only. If you have already registered in this season’s Wally Hall Junior Memorial Fishing Derby, then you are already entered in the Boxing Day Derby as a bonus day. This event is sponsored by Fred’s Custom Tackle, Fred will be donating all prizes ranging from $50 to $200 for the day.
*** Schedule, Rules & Prizes ***
- Derby registration fee is $20.
- You must have a valid freshwater fishing licence and steelhead conservation stamp.
- Derby begins at daylight till 2:00pm.
- Weigh-in opens at 7:00am at Tractorgrease Cafe, closes at 2:00pm.
- Awards and prizes will be given from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.
- Officials: Fred Helmer and Wally Hall.
- Coffee and food available starting at 6:30am.
- Prizes will be awarded to first fish and biggest fish. Every fish will receive a prize for the day!
-
An early derby story from the Chilliwack Progress. http://theprogress.newspapers.com/image/80898022/?terms=Boxing%2B%2BDay%2Bderby
-
Believe that first fish was weighed in roughly around 1:30-1:45pm for anybody wondering.
-
Fred's Custom Tackle added 10 new photos.Like Page
25 mins · Chilliwack ·
Thank you everyone for participating in this year's Boxing Day Steelhead Fishing Derby in Chilliwack. Here are the results. A total of three fish were weighed in by 2:00pm.
1st place - Valdy widera 6.908lb
2nd place - Mike Roberts 6.347lb
3rd place - Ryan Hutchinson 6.261lb
All three winners went home with a very nice fishing rod each. Valdy will be having his Lamiglas custom built with all the components that he is picking out. :)
Thank you Wally for making it all happen as well. Both Fred and Wally were out very early this morning at the cafe setting everything up and patiently waited for fish to come in. ;)
We also want to thank Tractorgrease Cafe for supplying the venue to host the event. The turkey stew and beef sandwiches were awesome, we highly recommend you all to try out this little diner when you're out steelhead fishing on the Vedder!
Thanks to Chilliwack Fish and Game Protection Association for supporting and letting us host this year's Boxing Day Derby while their club house undergoes renovations!
We also like to thank Lamiglas, Seaguar Fluorocarbon, Owner Hooks, Gibbs Delta Tackle, Smith Optics, Pure Fishing for supplying all the great prizes for today's event!
Once again, thank you, your support means more money has been generated for habitat restorations on the Chilliwack/Vedder River. Great work everyone! :)
Fred's Custom Tackle
https://www.facebook.com/fredscustomtackle/?hc_ref=ARSQ4c_AisfDPxA5RqDSHs7oWih96AXVJmev03-JyF6xOpQmudMDxAvqyATZKbiNAuI
-
I have pictures I took on the Fraser Valley Salmon Society FB page, will have some video up there soon.
-
3 fish....... hmmmmm?
-
Pretty dismal. Every spot we fished looked fishy but no fish for anyone we saw all day, fished hard from first light till dark, not a sniff
-
A video I filmed not the quality of Rod's but here it is anyway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxEwZbt8mc&feature=youtu.be
-
Nice video. Very good fishing community thought less fish than before.
-
Only 3 small steelies on Boxing Day Derby. Is it the worst on record or at least for the last 20 years or more. None of the fish bigger than 7 lbs. The ocean has not been kind to these fish. Hope things will improve.
-
Video 2 I filmed.https://youtu.be/-OaPNmTCd9c
-
How many participants?
-
Just talked to Wally Hall and he said around 175.
-
Glad to see Valdy win. Stand up guy and a hell of a fisherman.
-
Glad to see Valdy win. Stand up guy and a hell of a fisherman.
I am working on a story for the Chilliwack Progress could you PM me where he lives, i forgot to ask when I talked to him, thanks.
-
Pm sent
-
Pm sent
Thanks, i have completed a story for the Chilliwack Progress, if they do not run it I will post here. Here is a wrap of the derby with Fred and Wally, a few more videos to post too. https://youtu.be/LTdY-o65agY
-
Thanks Chris, great work
-
Only 3 small steelies on Boxing Day Derby. Is it the worst on record or at least for the last 20 years or more. None of the fish bigger than 7 lbs. The ocean has not been kind to these fish. Hope things will improve.
Are you kidding? You must be a man of strong faith.
With the amount of chemicals and microplastics making it into the ocean food chain, it is a miracle that some salmon and steelhead still make it.
Give it a couple of decades or so and everything will be gone. The only fish our grandchildren will ever know will be farmed.
-
Are you kidding? You must be a man of strong faith.
With the amount of chemicals and microplastics making it into the ocean food chain, it is a miracle that some salmon and steelhead still make it.
Give it a couple of decades or so and everything will be gone. The only fish our grandchildren will ever know will be farmed.
Of course that is why we have our cleanups, since 2001. like this past Hot Spot cleanups. https://www.theprogress.com/news/volunteers-pitch-in-to-clean-up-big-mess-in-chilliwack-river-valley/
Thanks Milo for attending a lot of cleanups, next one is in April on the Fraser River.
-
I think it was 2006 that there weren't any Hatchery Steelhead caught so they rebooked the derby for the following February.
-
Partly because it was very cold and I think a small one was caught but they decided to reschedule, I could find my write up one day for you. :-\
-
Yes I recall there is one year which was super cold and icy to fish with such dismal result that they rescheduled it.
-
Here is a story I wrote in 2006, 345 anglers entered only 4 fish entered so all is not gloom and doom.
http://theprogress.newspapers.com/image/81442252/?terms=Steelhead%2Bderby
-
345 Anglers on 63rd Annual Boxing Day Derby
Posted on December 30th, 2006 by Chris Gadsden
Maple Ridge angler Wade Gienow tops 345 anglers in annual Boxing Day Steelhead Derby held on the Chilliwack Vedder River.
Derby winner Wade Gienow accepting trophy from Chairman Don Kozak (photo: Gordon Gadsden).
The 63rd annual Boxing Day Steelhead Derby held last Tuesday on the Chilliwack Vedder River drew 345 anglers but the number of steelhead was near a record low level as only 4 steelhead were entered.
This is below the number of fish that were entered by a comparable number of anglers that participated in the last 3 derbies. 10 steelhead were entered in 2003, 13 the following year and last year 11 fish were brought to the weigh scales. At the derby deadline of 2 pm Wade Gienow from Maple Ridge landed the biggest steelhead of the derby, a fish weighing 13.48 pounds.
Don Kozak, the Chilliwack Fish and Game Protective Association chairman for the derby and combined fund raiser, said after the event, "we had a feeling the catch would be low this year because the anglers had to fish for the most part in less than ideal fishing conditions," he said. "The recent flood during November in the Chilliwack River Valley has created several new clay slides that are creating silty and unfavorable water conditions, especially in wet and mild weather conditions that we have had post flood," Kozak stated.
The winning angler, Wade Gienow from Maple Ridge who is a guide on the Fraser River most of the year beat the odds stacked against the anglers in this derby as he coaxed a 13.48 pound doe steelhead into taking a liking to his roe and wool combination.
Gienow's fish was well ahead of second place finisher Todd McIntyre's 10.66 pounder.
Rod Toth, another Fraser River guide was the only Chilliwack based angler to enter a fish, a 8.24 pound steelhead. Toth took his third placed fish on one of the jigs that he manufactures.
Ed Stanley from Coquitlam took first fish weighted in honors; he caught his 6.88 pound steelhead shortly after nine and had it to the scales at 9.35lb.
Gienow is no stranger to catching a steelhead in the derby as he finished in 7th place last year and has taken part in about 8 derbies over the years.
Gienow who connected with the Kingfish around 10 am described in a post derby interview and after receiving the coveted age old Ferguson Furnell perpetual trophy how he found his winning steelhead.
"I threw out a cast behind this boulder, in about 2 feet of water; my float went about 1 foot and to my surprise a steelhead swirled at my float," the now relaxed Gienow said. "I even saw the whole body of the fish from head to tail, I also saw it was a hatchery fish" which was good news to Gienow as only hatchery steelhead can be retained. "The steelhead then disappeared under water grabbing my bait a she went, I set the hook real hard and the battle was on," Gienow said.
"The fight did not really last that long, maybe one minute and after a couple of decent runs I had it near to shore, saw it was indeed a hatchery so I quickly pulled it ashore, it sure was one hungry fish," the smiling Gienow concluded.
Gienow weighed in his fish at 10:24 and he then crossed his fingers, paced the floor of the clubhouse until the 2 o'clock weigh-in deadline, hoping that his fish's weight would hold up to give him top boasting honors among his fellow anglers.
Kozak was very happy with the support the derby received, not only from the anglers but the business community who donated close to $20,000 in prizes. "I was overwhelmed by the support of so many, including the volunteers from our club, we could not have made it happen without them," he said.
"The best news is the derby and fund raiser made a total profit of $13,873.42, this total included a donation made by Art Decker from Westform Metals who donated $1,300 he won on a draw back into the derby coffers,"Kozak added.
"This means we will have money to use for habitat restoration projects in the Chilliwack River Valley that will include some money hopefully donated to the Chilliwack River Action Committee for their ongoing work the last 10 years to repair the clay slides on the Chilliwack River", Kozak said.
-
Where’s the “Like” button!! :) :)
-
Happy New Year, catching up on more Boxing Day Steelhead Derby videos. One more to go.https://youtu.be/6WcMGolh4jI