Vancouver Friday Fishing Report, August 17th 2012
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http://www.pacificangler.ca/bc-fishing-info/vancouver-fishing-news.htmlPacific Angler Outlook:Welcome to the Pacific Angler Friday Fishing Report. The staff at Pacific Angler is proud to be your source for fishing information throughout British Columbia.
It looks like we are in for another great week of weather with temperatures in the low 20s. Fishing has been solid on a number of systems and we are seeing better fishing in the salt chuck. Things just picked up off Bell Buoy, Spanish Banks and towards the mouth of the Fraser for Chinook. We expect this fishery to improve over the next 2 weeks and last well into September. Peek migration of Fraser Chinook is predicted for some time in the next 2-3 weeks and with good numbers already in the Fraser this bodes well for our Labor Day Chinook Classic Tournament being held September 1st and 2nd. We still have a few spots available so give us a call at the shop or check out the website for details – It’s going to be an awesome party with big cash prizes.
The Fraser River is still coming down and though the sockeye outlook is less optimistic this week, the Chinook bottom bouncing has been very good. See the river report below for more details. The outlook on the Thompson River is good and with levels getting down into fishable levels we are hearing good reports from fly fisherman on the Skagit and Thompson. This week we have focused a large portion of the report on the flies and rigs for fishing these systems for the next two months. Check it out bellow.
Beach fishing has been solid. With the Capilano River still very low, fish are staging off the north Van beaches and it is definately worth a look on a low tide in the morning.
This weekend the Vancouver forecast is calling for sunny conditions and warm temperatures, with daily highs of 24 degrees Celsius. Looking forward into next week you can expect stable, dry conditions with daily high temperatures ranging from 23 to 24 degrees Celsius.
River Fishing Report:In years past we focused on the Skagit and Thompson fisheries in July but because of the high water levels these fisheries and many like them across the province have not fished well. That is changing. We have missed a large portion of the season but the fish have not seen much fishing pressure so we should have a great late season. In this report we are going to look at the 3 most effective fly fishing presentations for covering the major food sources on these rivers.
This first presentation is the simple “Dry Fly” rig. Use a 9ft tapered leader. For most of our trout fisheries we recommend a 5-6lb tapered leader. We then add a 1.5-2ft section of tippet usually one weight class lower than the tapered leader. 5lb is ideal. You will need some dry fly floatant that comes in a past or powder. We apply this to our fly and back portion of the leader. Do not apply the floatant to the last 4 feet of leader because it will float the line and cut a line across the water that turns fish off. Some anglers will use a Sinking pasteto hide the last few feet of leader but it is not a necessary Flies we recommend for the Skagit are; Parachute Adams in grey and olive in size 10-14. We also like Elk Hair Caddis in the same size and larger Green Drakes later in the season. On the
The key with this presentation is to achieve a dead drift. Mend and manipulate the line to make sure the fly moves without the line dragging against the current. A couple of tricks we recommend are adding a little twitch to the fly especially in the slower moving pools. If you see a fish that is looking at your fly but not biting give the fly a 2inch twitch pause twitch pause, twitch pause. This will usually get a picky trout to come flying out of the water after your fly. When the fish hits set the hook immediately and then get the slack out of your line.
The second rig is the Indicator Rig. This is used for fishing nymphs that are disturbed from under rocks or are trying to swim to the surface to hatch. We still employ a 9ft tapered leader in the same lb test class as the dry fly. Mono-filament line is great but for this presentation Fluorocarbon line sinks faster and is less visible to the fish. We also add a foot or two of tippet. The knot used to tie on the tippet is important because we are going to use it to anchor a small weight. There are 2 great kinds of weight for this, split shot and putty weight. Put the split shot just above you tippet knot or put the putty around the knot so they do not fall off. The key to this rig is in the indicator. This is used to detect a strike but more importantly it helps us achieve a dead drift. We love the Thing-a-Ma-Bobber indicators for faster water and ease of sight and the fish pimp indicators when maximum casting distance is needed. Cast this rig with a wide loop to keep things from tangling and we recommend a 45 degree up stream cast. Mend the line aggressively. I like to see the indicator move or pop just a little bit with each mend.
Our favorite flies are Golden Stones and Olive Stones in size 8-10. For Mayfly imitation use the Hairs Ear and Pheasant Tails in 10s-16s.
A couple tricks with this method are to mend aggressively and be constantly analyzing your drift. If you can mend just enough to pop the indicator off the water we can get an idea of what direction your leader is heading below the fly. This helps us analyze the drift and depth. Remember the water at the surface is moving faster than the water below so you might have you indicator dragging the fly down stream. Popping it up stream 4-8inches will correct this. Oh – And set the hook on anything that looks funny. If the indicator hesitates or dips under, I like to use what is called a set mend. Aggressively try to pop the indicator. If it does not react correctly to the mend (because of a fish or bottom) continue the aggressive lifting motion into a strike. If it pops cleanly off the water drop it back down to continue your drift.
Every January/February we put on the famous Nymphing Course where we take an in-depth look at this presentation and then take you out on the water to prefect the techniques. If interested call the shop to get on the waiting list or keep your eyes open for next years course schedule coming in early November.
The last technique that we fish in these areas is the swung fly strip. This is a great method for catching salmon and steelhead but it is also great presentation for big bull trout and dollies as well as the odd rainbow. We use a sink tip for this method and even if you don’t have a sink tip line you can purchase a sinking poly leader that loops onto any standard dry line. Though it doesn’t cast as well as a full sink tip line it works well to get you in the game.
For the Skagit use large olive and black streamers on the Thompson use large salmon fry imitations.
When you next head out to the trout rivers around the province make sure you can cover all 3 of these presentations and you will put more fish to the bank. If you have any questions come in to the shop and we will walk you through the gear or give us a call and we can help you over the phone.
We expect to see good levels for most rivers across the province with the heat having caught up with the snow melt. Make sure to check the river levels before you head out to your favourite river. For a detailed look into the local river scene please read Dimitri Roussandis’s river fishing report below:
On behalf of the Pacific Angler staff I genuinely hope you enjoyed our Friday Fishing Report. If you have any comments, recommendations or feedback please do not hesitate to contact the friendly staff at Pacific Angler by phone (604-872-2204) or reply to this email.
Tight Lines,
Matt Sharp & the Pacific Angler Team
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Topic: Vancouver Friday Fishing Report, August 17 (Read 2070 times)