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[Blood_Orange]

Can anyone tell me if the Stave is still outrageously high below the Ruskin dam? It was a lake in early, mid and late June. Tried again in early July and you couldn't get to the bridge above the spawning channel without getting your feet wet. Went again towards the end of July and levels were down about a foot but still 4 or 5 feet higher than normal. Weird year...

I brought an inflatable kayak on the late July outing and paddled around. Hardly any current below the dam... held the boat in place with a 1.5 pound anchor! Looks like the underwater clay cliffs at the north end of the big island have collapsed but will need lower water to say for sure.

Any intel is appreciated. Thanks!

[RalphH]

The lower section is pushed up by the level of the Fraser which is much higher than normal for this time of year. Last Friday I drove up the valley past Hope to do some fishing and of those sections of the Fraser I could see there was no gravel bars visible... totally covered. The Vedder Canal is also high.

You can check the river levels. Here is the graph for the Hope gauge on the Fraser. It has come down about a meter (green line) in the last couple of weeks:

https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/report/real_time_e.html?stn=08MF005&mode=Graph&startDate=2020-07-28&endDate=2020-08-11&prm1=46&y1Max=&y1Min=&prm2=47&y2Max=&y2Min=

[typhoon]

I use the graph at Whonnock as my guide. Here you can see how tidal it is in this area. The Stave can be a raging river in the AM and a lazy lake in the PM, for example.
Try to time your trip so you are coming back up with the incoming tide for less paddling
https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/report/real_time_e.html?stn=08MH044&mode=Graph&startDate=2020-07-03&endDate=2020-08-11&prm1=46&y1Max=&y1Min=&prm2=-1&y2Max=&y2Min=

[Blood_Orange]

Thanks for the replies! I figured the water was backed up due to the high levels on the Fraser, plus the effects of the tide. Just never seen the high water levels persist so far into the summer. Looking at the Whonnock graph, it seems to be down 1-1.5m since the end of July. Probably fine for shore fishing now. Heading out with my dad later this week so the easy access is always a plus

On a side note, I had no idea where the trout where when the water was high... tried twice from shore and once from boat. Tried worms, krill, lures, and flies. Tried drifting deep and shallow, tried casting and retrieving. Tried fast water, slow water, many different spots. Caught a couple of pikeminnow but it was tough fishing every time. That's assuming that the trout came to the Stave this spring. I have no idea how the flood conditions affect their behaviour but I've had great fishing days in mid-late June in previous years.

[clarki]

Similar to the Stave, I have a favourite piece of water that is heavily influenced by Fraser water height and over the years of fishing there in in different water conditions, and correlating that with the Fraser River gauge, I can pretty confidently predict water conditions and access before I leave the house.

Under x metres on the guage, the shoreline is very walkable and the water is too shallow to pontoon. Above x metres, there is enough water to boat but the shoreline is still walkable.

A little bit higher a y metres, it's still walkable but wading becomes sketchy, so a boat is definitely the way to move around.

I stop fishing at z metres. At that point it is so backed up and the water is out of the channel and well into the grass and trees. Fishing becomes a needle in a haystack exercise and so I wait until the water drops below z metres. Unfortunately this year it was above z metres for most of the summer!  I'm glued to the guage for the better part of the spring and summer, and referring to the notes in my journal, in order to assess: do I go or don't I, do I need my boat or don't I, and would I feel safer with a wading partner

My unsolicited advise is to visit the Stave at all stages of the freshet, correlate your observations to the guage, and journal your observations. Over time you will be able to predict water height and access from your couch.

 

[RalphH]

A few comments on tidal effects. When the Fraser is high(er) tidal effects will be reduced.

If I am fishing somewhere the river is affected by tide I refer to the tide charts for New Westminster:

https://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/eng/station?sid=7654

tides of course vary with moon phase etc so needs to be checked before each trip out.

bearing in mind the tide will be delayed the higher up the river one goes; around 2 hours at Dewdney Slough, 3 at Vedder Canal, or so I have heard. My own observations match those closely. Much above the mouth of the Sumas there is no noticable tide effect on the Fraser.

[Hike_and_fish]

A few comments on tidal effects. When the Fraser is high(er) tidal effects will be reduced.

If I am fishing somewhere the river is affected by tide I refer to the tide charts for New Westminster:

https://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/eng/station?sid=7654

tides of course vary with moon phase etc so needs to be checked before each trip out.

bearing in mind the tide will be delayed the higher up the river one goes; around 2 hours at Dewdney Slough, 3 at Vedder Canal, or so I have heard. My own observations match those closely. Much above the mouth of the Sumas there is no noticable tide effect on the Fraser.

Compare the hight in Mission ( at the bridge ) to New West and its on average 2 hours. Its never really consistent but 2 hours is the safe bet. Tack on another 20min for the mouth of the Sumas. Ive been going by that model for over a decade and it never fails.

[Blood_Orange]

My unsolicited advise is to visit the Stave at all stages of the freshet, correlate your observations to the guage, and journal your observations. Over time you will be able to predict water height and access from your couch.

Good advice but sounds suspiciously like homework

I'll make a couple of notes for myself in the future. Last time fishing at the Stave was July 16 at 9:00am and the Whonnock graph was 6.145m. Water levels tomorrow should be 4m when we go out, based on the tidal cycles at Whonnock. That's a drop of 7 feet so hopefully there will be some shoreline this time!

[RalphH]

Regarding the water level gauges - be aware one may not compare to the another. Relative water levels over time are only comparable for the same gauge location. Even then they may vary year to year depending on stream bed changes. Comparing Hope to Mission - today - Hope is 5.88 meters, Mission is 4.336.

FWIW I also record the gauge in my fishing journal and note the relative height of the water I am fishing. I use the Hope gauge as my reference and have noticed season to season there seems to be some difference how deep the water is for wading and other access.

[typhoon]

Regarding the water level gauges - be aware one may not compare to the another. Relative water levels over time are only comparable for the same gauge location. Even then they may vary year to year depending on stream bed changes. Comparing Hope to Mission - today - Hope is 5.88 meters, Mission is 4.336.

FWIW I also record the gauge in my fishing journal and note the relative height of the water I am fishing. I use the Hope gauge as my reference and have noticed season to season there seems to be some difference how deep the water is for wading and other access.

Yup. They often reset the gauge standard so you have to be aware of the relative levels over time.

[Blood_Orange]

Yup. They often reset the gauge standard so you have to be aware of the relative levels over time.

Good to know! I wouldn't have thought of that.

Hopefully it'll be another many years before I have to check the graph before fishing the Stave in July!

[clarki]

Good advice but sounds suspiciously like homework

It will count as credit towards "Understanding the Effects of Freshet on Local Tributaries 201" which can be applied to your Fraser Valley Angling diploma. It's time well spent    

[Blood_Orange]

Just got back and the water level is now slightly lower than average for summertime

Last time the water was about a foot from the bottom of the spawning channel bridge. Today it had dropped 6-7 feet. That corresponds about exactly to the 2.1m drop in the graph at Whonnock. Thanks all for the advice!

PS- Didn't catch anything, lol.