In the past few months my colleagues and I have been working on a new proposal to improve the salmon fishing experience in the Lower Mainland. In case you haven't noticed, fly fishing seems to have exploded in the past several years. With the introduction of fly fishing films, fly girls, fly boys, fly parties, extreme fly fishing, double handling, fly this, fly that, some of the more accessible river systems are now congested with fly anglers. There certainly is no doubt that the fly fishing cult movement is growing and has raised plenty of money for conservation projects, but the expansion of this user group has made others feel our river systems are now quite unbearable.
Single handers pose a danger to other users by utilizing a large area behind them. The less experienced often do not observe their surroundings and watch their back casts. This results in body injuries at times. Double handers may not utilize the space behind them, but they often occupy the entire run and insist that 50 to 100 ft up and downstream from them cannot be occupied by other fishers. In a populated area such as the Lower Mainland, this expectation is not very realistic. People are out to recreate and relax during their free time, twenty or more people should not have to wait for one person to whip his or her fly line until he or she is satisfied the water is completely covered, or disturbed. This type of attitude clogs up the river traffic and can create frustration among users during peak months like October.
Furthermore, in my own personal opinion, fly fishing for salmon can be a little questionable when fish are being hooked in all parts of the body beside the mouth. The more experienced fly fishermen can do it discretely but the novice ones can often find themselves in trouble, which leads to poor fish handling prior to their release. This uncertainty of whether the fish are biting or not can be eliminated by the usage of roe. More often than not, a hook-up results in the hook being embedded in the fish's mouth, or throat, which suggests the fish are in fact ingesting the offering.
Because October is the peak salmon fishing month in the Lower Mainland, and fly fishermen already have the privilege of seasonal regulations which accommodate their needs (fly fishing only area, etc), we are developing a proposal which recommends the ministry to implement the "roe only" regulation in the month of October for the Chilliwack/Vedder River system. Before you get too excited (or outraged), you should note this is only at the proposal stage so don't expect it to come in effect in October 2014 when we are expecting yet another stella coho salmon return. It is more likely we can see this becoming reality in 2016 or later.
Before the fly fishing purists become enraged by such a proposal, please rest assure that the regulation will only apply to the month of October. You can still freely fly fish in other months on this beautiful river system. Furthermore, fly fishing will still be permitted during October in other river systems where fly fishing is in fact more suitable. Stave River, Squamish River, Harrison River are just three good examples. You should also note that most urban lakes are restocked with catchable rainbow trout in October so you still have lots of opportunities to use your fly rod there.
In fact, this type of segregation should reduce user conflict and improve the experience for all anglers. Roe fishermen can line up along a productive run and rotationally cast and drift their floats without worrying about a stagnant fly line in the water. A run can also be utilized by at least five times more people when fly anglers are not in the equation.
You should also note that we have no intention to see such regulation to expand, nor are we conspiring to eliminate the existing fly fishing only or bait ban regulations which in fact prevent a large percentage of licenced anglers doing what they should be able to. We simply wish to see the angling quality on the Vedder River to improve during the month of October and remove any questionable angling behaviours.
If you have feedbacks, please feel free to bring them up now. The proposal should be completed and submitted in late April.
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Topic: Roe only fishery (Read 7729 times)