Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: goodoldays on July 15, 2008, 08:31:12 PM
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Hit the vedder yesterday and today, water from up top is perfect I would have to say. visibility is near crystal clear and water levels were near perfect. Had a spring on briefly yesterday, but spat my hook in a matter of seconds. then nothing else for the rest of the day. Lots of sockeye surfacing, hooked into a few and all were carefully released in the water away from shallow rocks. Todays report was much the same except that I didn't hook into any springs nor seen anyone else. There were a handful of anglers at the run I was fishing and they caught some socks but no springs for anyone. Did stop by the hatchery and noticed 5 springs in the hatchery. Usually this time of year would be a lot better but just like the river....she changes every year. I did notice something different, where I would normally hook springs, there seems to be lots of sockeye present and it's getting a little annoying :o I hate to hook into them but they seem to be everywhere!!! fast water, deep pools you name it. Are other anglers experiencing the same thing or is it just me? ??? ???
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Thanks for the info. Did you check out the lower end? How was the condition below the crossing and down.
Thanks.
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Lots of sockeye are around this year. It is crazy, one Sunday we must have seen over 200 jump all in the same run in around 5 hours. They were bright chrome fish that were moving up in schools, sometimes 5 or 6 would jump at a time. Went tubing today from just above the Crossing down to the train bridge. Only saw 1 person fishing and a few fish jumping, including 1 Spring. Water is perfect down there with a good 3 ft visibility. Good Luck if you go out again.
Tight Lines ;)
Dan
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This years sockeye return to Chilliwack Lake is expected to be 8000 fish although the total run may be much larger depending on survival rates. By the number of fish showing I would
expect it to be much larger. Chinook returns thus far appear to be low with few fish showing up at the hatchery. ED water conditions in the low river %$#@ unless you like fishing in milk.
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This years sockeye return to Chilliwack Lake is expected to be 8000 fish although the total run may be much larger depending on survival rates. By the number of fish showing I would
expect it to be much larger. Chinook returns thus far appear to be low with few fish showing up at the hatchery. ED water conditions in the low river %$#@ unless you like fishing in milk.
I guess I like fishing in milk then, and havn't been doing too bad ;) And I agree with then run being much larger, I have seen hundereds in the 4 days I've been out this week/last week. Seen quite a few springers too, I guess maybe they like hiding in the milk since no one fishes it ;D
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Due to the blackout in Downtown Vancouver I got an unexpected day off today, so I decided to hit the mighty Cheddar for the first time this season.
I was disappointed to see the river in very poor shape for my taste. Still a foot too high, very silty, with visibility around half a foot in the lower and the mid rivers.
This is what it looked like near one of my favourite haunts:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/milivoj/VedderriverJuly15.jpg)
I tried a few casts just for the sake of it, but no joy. :(
I was with my son, for whom this was the first outing for salmon ever, and I thought that the day would be a fishless one, much to his disappointment.
I decided to try further up the river, above the clay banks, hoping to find some clear water.
Again, much to my disappointment, all of "my spots" looked rather unfishable. The water was simply too high to allow for the formation of those wonderful spring holding pools.
I decided to check one more spot - one that I don't usually fish because of the snagfest that usually goes on in there, but much to my surprise, there was only one car there instead of the usual 10-12. Hmmmm....maybe it is worth it.
So my son and I descended to the river, only to find two guys fishing TOW, all set with bright orange betties and long leaders. :-\
Not wanting a confrontation, I just sat down and watched for a while. Sure indeed, they were coveriing the wrong water and they hooked into a couple sockeye within ten minutes. Fortunately for me, they were losing their gear quite often, which gave me a chance to position myself in the right spot while they were retying.
Out came a juicy roe bag and a pinch of pink yarn, tied on a #2 red gammy on a 24" leader under a DNE float. I cast a couple of times to get the feel of the bottom and readjust my float to just about a foot off the bottom. Once I was confortable that the weight wouldn't snag, I proceeded to work the seam between the fast and slow waters leading to a nice deep pool - the only truly "springy" looking water I saw today.
On one of the casts, the float went down. I set the hook, but didn't connect. Sure enough, the roe bag was trashed.
Confident that the piece of water was definitely holding a sping or two, I put another bag on the hook and cast again. At almost exactly the same spot the float went down again with a vengeance. This time I was ready and the battle was on!
I nice 26 inch red chinook leaped out of the water trying to rid itself of the gammy.
Once the fish was in the pool holding on to the bottom, I offered the rod to my boy, but he declined saying he'd rather I played it. (He has no salmon fishing experience whatsoever and this is his first time in Canada).
Ok, son, I said, and I proceeded to play the fish carefully, as losing it would have disappointed him tremendously.
Fortunately, I did everything by the book, and the buck pretty much cooperated after a couple of not very long runs.
Once landed, it was quickly dispatched and cleaned.
Here's the fish in the kitchen ready to be cleaned:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/milivoj/Firstredspringin2008.jpg)
And here's the final result: Twelve of these are now in the freezer, plus the head and some trimmings for a soup:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/milivoj/Redspringsteaks.jpg)
Best part of the day was seeing the two guys quickly switching to float fishing after some consultation with me, and one of them actually landing another spring! :)
I am still of the belief that many poeple just don't know better, and will try to change their flossing ways once they are taught how to fish alternative methods.
I was very happy to catch a nice red spring for my son, but will be even happier when he catches his own. Unfortunately, the baitcaster doesn't agree with him yet - I guess a lot of practice is in order, as Dad would rather fish that undo birdsnests. ;)
Conclusion?
I was lucky, as the river is really not to my liking yet. If it had been a weekend (my usual fishing time) I wouldn't have fished the spot I was at today. There's just too many people there on a Saturday or Sunday. And with the water levels going down, soon other, better pools will form in the area and it is going to be the gong show it always is.
Anyway, the red springs are trickling in, but you really have to target them in the right water to avoid hooking into sockeye. I didn't hook into a single sockeye today, which means I was covering the right water in the right way. And that, my friends, is almost as gratifying as catching my first spring of 2008. ;D
Tight lines to all of you and happy salmon season.
Milo
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Nice looking fish Milo. Good to hear you converted a couple fishermen.
I have to agree that the water is not what it needs to be for the fishing to really be hot. I fished all day Sunday and didn't see a fish, Sockeye or Spring.
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Nice report and pictures Milo. Did you vacuum sealed it on a Foodsaver ?
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Visabilty was close to 3 feet in the lower, and a ton of sockeye rolling. There must have been hundreds of sockeye where we were, they were none stop flipping. Also a few springs were showing themselves and niether spring or sockeye would bite anything we had to offer. I just couldnt believe with so many sockeyes out in the water infront of us not one would bite. Are the small hatchery trout in the river right now steelhead smolts eventually making there way back to sea or are they resident trout?
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Nice fish and nice report Milo!
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Nice report and pictures Milo. Did you vacuum sealed it on a Foodsaver ?
That's correct.
Works well for fresh fish and up to six months in the freezer. :)
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How can you tell the difference between red and white spring before gutting it?
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Are the small hatchery trout in the river right now steelhead smolts eventually making there way back to sea or are they resident trout?
They are steelhead smolts, and for the most part have become resident fish. Some will still leave late, so use your judgement as to whether to retain them...
I think they are too small to keep, but they are very good for kids and people learning how to dry fly fish.
Cheers,
Nicole
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How can you tell the difference between red and white spring before gutting it?
My honest reply would be 'who cares', as they are both excellent table fare as long as they are firm and silver on the outside. ;D
However, there is a bullet proof way of checking it out by looking under the gillplate.
For those who'd rather release a white spring but would like to harvest a red, follow this procedure:
Tail the fish firmly and hold it belly up in the water. Then, with the other hand, CAREFULLY lift the gill plate WITHOUT touching the gills. Red springs will show red cheeks in the inside. Whites won't.
You also have the marbled chinooks, whose flesh is a mix of white and red. Those are hard to figure out without gutting them, as they can have either white or red cheeks.
This time of year most chinook in LML rivers are red. In the fall most of them are white.
The above is from my personal experience. Please feel free to add to it or correct me.
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nice fish Milo. congrats!
On a side note.... what pund test line do most people use when fishing the vedder for red springs?
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On a side note.... what pund test line do most people use when fishing the vedder for red springs?
15 pound main line, 10 pound leader.
Anything more than that is overkill.
If the fish won't cooperate and goes on one of those runs downstream, nothing short of a 50-pound braided line and a 25 pound test leader will stop it - or, your rod will break.
But believe me, there is nothing more "beeky" than using braided line on the Vedder. I cringe when I see people using it there, as there is usually a bouncing betty and a long heavy leader attached to it. Yuck! :-\
In fall, when I decide to target the larger white spings, I may go with a 20-pound main line and a 15-pound leader.
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15 main and 10 or 12 leader. If u do go up to the bigger gear the fish seam to shye away. Remember they get pounded all season and see a ton of gear, so u could go 2 ways, u could hook alot of fish and land a few, or u could hook a few and land alot. Most of the springs on the vedder are inbetween 15 and 25, they can be handled on the 10 or 12leader, sure u have the odd 35 or 40 but its not like ur hooking 1 an outing. My spring fishing is done with my steelhead gear. The vedder isn't a raging river either, u can almost always chase a fish, places to beef up on fish, Thompson.
my 2 pennies
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Why all the confilcting report?? Some guys report the lower end has 3' visibility and now we have a 0 visibility. I noticed the water dropping drastically each day too.
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I noticed the same. Think I'll stick to Chris' reports.
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Chris hasnt posted any probably because he doesnt need to since others are posting... and I go every day. I wouldnt try to screw people from Vancouver over by making them drive out here and them finding it unfishable. Last weekend was also just bad luck because visi was good on Friday (last day I went) and then a clay side overnight/early morning dropped water to less than a foot visi for 2 days. And if you still need more proof on my reports being accurate you can ask BigFisher (from Sunday.... he also posted 3 foot vis) and a few other guys (off of BCFR) that I went with last night. Water is def 3 feet vis (at least) at Peach Road. I've been going out every day for the last week and have had 4 hook-ups, 3 were Springs for sure. I guess its all about personal opinion. I love the water the way it is right now, but most guys won't fish it.
Good luck if you decide to go out ;)
Dan
Ill take some pics tonight when I go to prove water clarity, Ill even pull out a measuring tape if you want.
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Thanks "Everyday" for your report. I think most people are reporting truthfully about the water conditions. I am going out tomorrow hoping to catch my first of the year.
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really good fishing today
saw 1 person bonked a 8+ pound dolly
a forum guy gives the guy really good sh*t and the guy got scared haha was funny !
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What do you mean by really good fishing? Sockeye or Spring?
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Chris hasnt posted any probably because he doesnt need to since others are posting... and I go every day.
Been away fishing last three days. ;D
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What do you mean by really good fishing? Sockeye or Spring?
I think he means trout
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Was good for EVERYTHING yesterday ;)
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if u stand in the river up to your knees and u can see ur feet, then thats when its good water clarity, atleast for me.
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Well you can Definately see your feet up past your knees now. I love the clarity the way it is right now, keeps lots of people off the river but still is easily fishable where you can get lots of hookups.
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Well, we went out to fish the lower end of the Vedder River. Lots of sockeye jumping around but did not see any Spring.
We were using roe so did not touch any sockeye at all.
Water was at least 2-3 visibility. I think its just perfect.
Oh yah..lots of little trout hammering those roe.
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Well, we went out to fish the lower end of the Vedder River. Lots of sockeye jumping around but did not see any Spring.
We were using roe so did not touch any sockeye at all.
Water was at least 2-3 visibility. I think its just perfect.
Oh yah..lots of little trout hammering those roe.
yeah cohoman i fished your area before the one in the picture that you posted few days ago
those trouts are hungry especailly if you use prawn you will hook them crazily i just feel bad for them if i use size 2 or 4 i am scared i might kill those future things just can't avoid them really
well thanks for the report !
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Well, we went out to fish the lower end of the Vedder River. Lots of sockeye jumping around but did not see any Spring.
We were using roe so did not touch any sockeye at all.
Water was at least 2-3 visibility. I think its just perfect.
Oh yah..lots of little trout hammering those roe.
Yeah, Sockeye in the Vedder don't like roe ::)
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y are having a 3 day opening?
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YG things are getting a little sidetracked here, but I believe you are referring to the FN opening on the Fraser River in General Discussion.
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We were using roe so did not touch any sockeye at all.
Pobably because there weren't any holding in the area.
I landed two today and they slammed my roe bag both times. They are so aggressive you wouldn't believe it.
Never seen such healthy and strong sockeye on the Vedder before. :)
Whowouldathunk... ???