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[iblly]

Great memories for me as well. First steelhead. Countless hours there with my dad.

[RalphH]

earliest winter steelhead I caught was in the Alouette - Nov 19th. The guys in what is now the ARMs hatchery used to collect cutthroat brood stock in November by electro-fishing. They ran into the odd steelhead then as well.

[VAGAbond]

Interest perspective on the wild coho this year.  Personally I haven’t seen a wild fish yet and most of fish I have observed brought ashore were immediately bonked.  Go figure.

[Hike_and_fish]

Lots for me. I tried it again this morning for the hell of it and had the same result. 5 coho ALL wild. Again. Time to get into a more exciting fishery. Spey for Chum on the Harrison. If I'm catching and releasing, I'd rather do it with Chum.

[DanL]

I've tried keeping note of hatch vs wild in a log. Going back 8 or 9 years, it's roughly 50:50 if I recall. Maybe slightly more hatchery, historically for me.

This year is pretty much 50:50 again, maybe 'slightly' skewed towards wild. My sample size is overall too small to really be significant, but it doesnt look too unusual so far...

Lots for me. I tried it again this morning for the hell of it and had the same result. 5 coho ALL wild. Again.

If hatch v wild is 50/50, then the chances of getting 5 wild in a row is 1/32. Really not that unusual, easier than hitting a single number at roulette. Probably happens to multiple people daily.

Recently I watched I guy right below me get 4 hatch to start, while someone else a bit above me get 5 wilds, while I was about 50:50. All in the same run.
Individually we probably dont see enough sample size. Maybe the creel survey people have sufficient numbers for more meaningful conclusions.

[bigsnag]

Individually we probably dont see enough sample size. Maybe the creel survey people have sufficient numbers for more meaningful conclusions.

You got that right.  Personal statistic of wild vs hatchery is meaningless,  especially if it comes from a guy who regularly catches 8 - 10 lb. pinks.
Sorry DanL, I can't help but rub this in.  Cheers

[clarki]

Not the Vedder, but as of yesterday the Semiahmoo Fish and Game Club hatchery on the Little Campbell River has had 271 coho return: 268 wild and 3 hatchery. Interesting...

It's early in the season; normally the hatchery gets a return of a couple of thousand. I forget, from past visits, the mix of w/hy returns, but I do know it wasn't 90 to 1.

Will have to see how it shakes out as the season progresses.

[Last Cast]

Just thinking .. do hatcheries clip 100% of the coho they raise/release or are some released unclipped?

[milo]

With so many skilled anglers fishing the Chilliwack/Vedder system and harvesting virtually every hatchery coho they catch, it is no surprise that some people find there are more wild fish at the end of their lines, especially when fishing further up the river.
In fact, I'd be willing to put money on the assertion that the higher up you fish, the fewer hatchery fish you are going to catch.
The same holds true for steelhead.

There is some insanely good pocket water in the upper river a fair bits away from the meat holes and crowds. Fishing there is good and peaceful. But the chances of getting a hatchery coho there are almost the same as scoring one on the Squamish river.

[RalphH]

Just thinking .. do hatcheries clip 100% of the coho they raise/release or are some released unclipped?

Yes they are all supposed to be clipped though some small % may get missed. There are some hatcheries in remote areas that they may not have enough seasonal staff to get all fish clipped but at least here in the LM and on most of the Island both the DFO and community hatcheries are suppose to clip all hatchery coho before release.

In the case I mentioned above I asked that question as some anglers think they don't clip all the fish but the people I talked with said all the fish are clipped.

[DanTfisherman]

Fished below the Highway bridge 2 days over the weekend.  Landed 9 coho.  One Hatchery.
Pretty sure one may have been a hatchery mis-clip, but it went back to swim away.
My buddy and I have about 4 other days in together, and he has a few extra ones on me.
To date, all below the highway bridge, we are looking at maybe 5 hatchery fish between us.
He has had some multiple fish days on days I have not been out.

I have been watching many fish being released.
My personal take is lots of wild fish this year.
Some really large ones too.
I had one in the net this weekend hovering at about 10 lbs.

Very happy about this.
Is this a one year blip?
Hoping not, but it is nice to see, and my perspective is there are a lot of wild ones this year.

Dano

[Cyanescens]

I was out Saturday and got into 5 wild coho. They were all spectacular fighters and were safely released. Monday I went out and got 4 hatchery coho. they all scrapped for about 10 seconds then slid right into the net. 

[Knnn]

I guess YMMV.  Out twice, mid river, 3 hatch and 2 wild so far.

[bigsnag]

Hooked 7 today.  All males and all hatcheries.  Now that's unusual.

[Winston Air]

Seen equal Both wild and hatchery so far this year, loads of people bonking them yesterday