Despite the light rain, we ventured out again this afternoon for a few hours of pink salmon fishing. This fishery comes once every two years, so we will go out whenever there is an opportunity.
What a great way to spend the afternoon, spincasting with few of your closest friends, and hooking the odd fish to keep us entertained.
Fishersak phoned me just when I was sneaking out of my house at 1:30pm. It was a race to the spot.
I arrived first, but only to find Perch and his dad already fishing away.
They had been there for over an hour, how sneaky.
Fishersak arrived few minutes after me, followed by Trout Slayer.
Once we settled down, it was fishing time. Perch had already hooked three fish before we arrived, an indication of better things to come.
Soon after I started, I had several hits close to shore but managed to miss them all.
About 15 minutes after the first cast, the first fish was hooked just meters away from shore. This fish came up to the surface, rolled a few times, but didn't perform any runs. It looked exhausted, possibly an escapee of a gill net.
I decided to retain it, as most likely it was not going to make it. A chrome doe around 6lb was on the beach, thanks to Trout Slayer's perfect net scoop.
I proceeded to hook three more, but only landed one of them. It was an energetic male that I released quickly.
Then everything died down.
Trout Slayer managed to land and release one around 3:30pm or so. From then until about 5:00pm, it was rather quiet. I almost thought about leaving, but a few small taps kept me around.
Then fishersak was into a fish!
This fish took a few long runs, we were praying that it would not come off the line.
I walked over with my net, and scooped it up once fishersak guided to shore. It was a chrome looking male, which he decided to keep as this was
his first of the season!
Soon after, Bwi Bwi, LukyYVR, FishOn, badboi arrived to see the action, or the lack of action.
Just after Bwi Bwi picked up a couple of lures from me and left, I was into three fish in 15 minutes.
There must have been a school going by.
I decided to keep one of them, the small female, which was bleeding quite a bit.
Chrome Mykiss later showed up with his dad, who managed to hook two in a row but lost them both.
Overall, I feel that the fishing is still quite slow, the fish are coming in small schools and fairly scattered out. Water clarity is still fair so reducing the chance of a fish hitting your lure.
Day four, hooked 7, landed 5, kept 2. A satifying fishing day in BC indeed.
Few things to remember
- You need a tidal sportfishing licence when fishing in the tidal Fraser River.
- You need to purchase a salmon conservation stamp if you intend to keep your pink salmon.
- Daily quota for pink salmon is four fish in tidal Fraser River.
- Daily quota for chinook salmon is four fish in tidal Fraser River, but only one maybe over 50cm.
- You may only keep four salmon (mixed species) in total per day.
- Only a single barbless hook is allowed on the lure.
- You must release any sockeye carefully.
- Pink salmon have large oval spots on their back and tail. Sockeye salmon do not have spots. Chinook salmon have tiny black spots on its back and tail.
- Complete tidal Fraser River salmon regulations can be found on this page.
- Report all fishing violations to DFO Steveston 604-664-9250.
- Make sure you have a good fillet knife to clean your catch and a cooler with ice to keep your it fresh.
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Topic: PINKS! August 30th (Read 5167 times)