Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: Rodney on October 05, 2008, 07:08:46 PM
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Although management measures for protection of Interior coho salmon in the tidal portion of the Fraser River (http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/xnet/content/fns/index.cfm?pg=view_notice&lang=en&DOC_ID=112020&ID=recreational) ended on Friday October 3rd, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has not issued a new fishery notice for the salmon fishery starting on October 4th. While bait ban for salmon fishing is no longer in effect, officially retention of hatchery coho salmon is not permitted. I have been trying to track people down to get the appropriate notice issued so we could actually start targeting coho salmon in the Tidal Fraser River this weekend, but that has failed miserably. To add fuel on fire, we had some drama this morning while attempting to purchase a tidal sportfishing license on DFO's website, which resulted in a few unnecessary transactions on my credit card (more on this in another post soon). After some scrambling, we ended up purchasing the license at Berry's Bait and Tackle, then spent a few hours in the afternoon fishing in Richmond.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/081005-01.jpg)
The objective today was to simply catch and release whatever we may encounter. This time of the year in the Tidal Fraser River can be quite pleasant. While most anglers prefer to focus on Fraser Valley tributaries due to higher catch rates, angling pressure in the Tidal Fraser River is significantly less and success can be had with good timing and persistence. At any given flood tide, species that one might encounter include chinook salmon, coho salmon, chum salmon, bull trout and cutthroat trout. It is a hit and miss fishery. Some days multiple hook-ups are common, while other days are dull due to a lack of fish bypassing. The key is to fish it during the window of opportunities, which is generally between two hours before and after flood tide. This is also a social game. Since no moving is required, friends can fish together as a group and socialize at the same time.
The gear used is fairly simplistic. Although the usage of roe is allowed, we prefer to cast and retrieve spoons and spinners. There are two reasons behind this preference - 1) Prevention, fish caught on roe have a tendency to swallow bait, which counters the goal of catch and release. 2) Convenience, spincasting requires minimal amount of preparation. A spinning rod, reel and a box of your favorite hardware are adequate enough for our outings. The absence of roe also means a pair of clean hands at the end of each outing.
Judging by the jump of chum salmon catches at the Albion test fishery, I was expecting to see schools of chum salmon rolling by today. Unfortunately because we had a late start, we missed the incoming tide, which was when these dogs tend to pass by. Usually when the tide peaks and water stops moving, fishing has a tendency to slow down. This was quite evident today, as we had no hits for over an hour.
Once the water started moving out, we had some brief success. Mark ended the skunky streak with a small bull trout, which was being greedy by grabbing a rather large Gibbs Croc spoon. The fight was not spectacular on the fast action spinning rod, but any rod dance on a slow day should not be complained.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/081005-02.jpg)
A few minutes after that excitement, I felt a light tug when I was halfway through the retrieve of my spoon. A quick hookset sent a very bright fish out of the water instantly. It made a second leap soon after and I assumed that it was a jack coho salmon. When it approached me, I was delighted to discover that I had just connected with my biggest coastal cutthroat trout in the Tidal Fraser. This bright yet spotty fish was estimated to be around 16 inches long. It was probably chasing a school of juvenile fish that we saw earlier, but spotted something much bigger and couldn't resist the temptation. ;)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/081005-03.jpg)
Seeing that two fish were caught within such a short span of time, everyone was pretty motivated. Even Nina, who was already bored from earlier, got out of the car and began casting her spoon again. :P This must have been Mark's day, because he soon found another fish at the end of his line. Unlike the first one, this fish actually put quite a bend on his rod. It took several fast runs. We guessed that it could either be a coho or a bull trout. Whatever it was, it seemed to hold a fair amount of weight. The fish rolled several times on the surface and showed itself. It was a bull trout and a rather heavy one.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/fishingwithrod/2008/081005-04.jpg)
We ended this typical fall Tidal Fraser River outing at 3:30pm, two hours after flood tide. There were no expectations on what we would catch today, so we were satisfied with three non-salmon specimen. Current water clarity is fantastic. If this continues, we shall see some very good spincasting days in the Tidal Fraser River in one or two weeks from now. Good luck.
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Excellent report Rodney, was thinking about going out barfishing tomorrow but was unable to track anything down on possession. Now that you've answered my question I'll save my barfishing to maybe a little bit later in the week when we get an official notice.
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Rod, I always find your reports on the Tidal Fraser fishing interesting, partly because it's so so much closer to home :) Would you, or others with tidal fraser experience provide feedback on how productive the following areas are to cast spoons for coho, chum or springs: (1) along the fraser down river road past number 6 road, that is towards or past the train bridge (2) brownsville bar for spincasting not bar fishing and (3) triangle road area. Also, while I'm not asking for any secret spots, if there's any other area that can be significantly more productive than the ones mentioned, any hint would be much appreciated. :)
Thanks all and cheers.
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Excellent report Rodney, was thinking about going out barfishing tomorrow but was unable to track anything down on possession. Now that you've answered my question I'll save my barfishing to maybe a little bit later in the week when we get an official notice.
I'm hoping to hear back from the staff who I normally correspond with regarding Lower Fraser River management tomorrow. If that happens, most likely a fishery notice will go out pretty soon. This should have been issued last Friday, I was quite frustrated that it was not.
Would you, or others with tidal fraser experience provide feedback on how productive the following areas are to cast spoons for coho, chum or springs: (1) along the fraser down river road past number 6 road, that is towards or past the train bridge (2) brownsville bar for spincasting not bar fishing and (3) triangle road area. Also, while I'm not asking for any secret spots, if there's any other area that can be significantly more productive than the ones mentioned.
I cannot comment much regarding sections upstream of Annacis Island (ie. Brownsville Bar) since I do not fish them regularly.
The other areas, as well as Dyke Road between No. 4 and 5 Roads, Dyke Road between Gilbert and No. 3 Road, Garry Point Park can all be productive for coho and chum salmon. After all, every salmon has to pass through these sections during the incoming tide. I personally feel that timing is the factor at each location. Take River Road between No. 6 Road and Westminster Hwy (North Arm) for example, I have done well at several spots downstream from the train bridge during the early part of the incoming tide (while water remains fairly low), while it tends to fish better during the outgoing tide further upstream.
Chinook salmon - To be honest, I have never had great success on specifically targeting them in the Tidal Fraser River. The peak of the run takes place in July and August, when water tends to be dirtier so spincasting is not productive. Using bait to target them can be frustrating since there are many minnows around. The only time when we had substantial amount of success on chinook salmon was in September 2005 when we targeted pink salmon. Quite a few adult chinook and jacks were caught, including a 30lber on a light spinning rod.
Coho salmon - They are my main target species in October. I like to choose spots that lack strong current. I find outgoing tide just after flood fishes well.
Chum salmon - I find they are definitely not location dependent. I see them at just about all the spots where I visit during the incoming tide. Quite often I've also seen them just after low tide. Their presence is most evident, because they always roll or fin on the surface. Even though they are easy to locate, I find it hard to get them to bite on artificials.
The only section of the river that I do not recommend is Middle Arm (Terra Nova to Gilbert Road). I enjoy fishing it in the summer because it is quiet and alternative species are plentiful. When it comes to salmon, they just don't seem to come through there that often. The first 100 feet from shore along this section is quite shallow, making spincasting quite difficult.
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Thanks Rod...much appreciated!!
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not bad at all, rod. finally u r posting something other than northern pike minnow ...lol (yeah i know u caught a spring last week) :P
i would get a hold with u there sometime soon!
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Nice cutty!! And the bulls are not bad either...
:)
Nicole
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Nice report Rodney, and great photos too ;) :)
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The resource manager emailed me this morning and a fishery notice will be available shortly. I will have it posted when it becomes available.
not bad at all, rod. finally u r posting something other than northern pike minnow ...lol
Pikeminnow season has ended. ;) That was just a warm-up for the bigger stuff down here in the next couple of months. ;D
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Nice fish!
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Nice fish Rod. I'll have to watch out for noon hour high tides and leave the office to get out at lunch time! ;D
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Excellent report Rodney, was thinking about going out barfishing tomorrow but was unable to track anything down on possession. Now that you've answered my question I'll save my barfishing to maybe a little bit later in the week when we get an official notice.
Got some clarification on the coho
Just got off the phone with DFO.
There will be a notice out today sometime.
The Fraser is open for 2 hatchery Coho per day as of the 4th of October.
Above Mission bridge to Hope and below Mission bridge in the tidal portions of the Fraser.
So go fishing,there`s fish out there.
Rando
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The Fraser is open for 2 hatchery Coho per day as of the 4th of October.
Above Mission bridge to Hope and below Mission bridge in the tidal portions of the Fraser.
That was the plan after the period of management measures but the notice was not released on October 3rd as it should have, so anglers had no way of knowing, especially the daily quota for hatchery coho salmon was (still is) listed zero in the Tidal Fraser River section of the saltwater regulations website. We wanted to play it safe and I did not like the fact that stores told customers that retention was allowed starting on October 4th. This would have created a big hassle if a DFO officer (who are not up-to-date on notices at times, especially on notices that have not been released) had decided to issue a fine to someone who kept a hatchery coho salmon. We are somewhat paranoid about this because once a DFO officer decided that we were illegally targeting pink salmon in the Tidal Fraser because he was not aware of a notice that extended the opening had come out the day before.
The non-tidal portion of the Fraser (Mission to Hope) was NOT opened for hatchery coho retention on October 4th because the management measures did not end until yesterday (October 6th) (http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/xnet/content/fns/index.cfm?pg=view_notice&lang=en&DOC_ID=112370&ID=recreational).
Anyway, the long weekend tides look ideal for this fishery. :) With the degraded Chilliwack River water condition, this will be an excellent alternative.
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Here we go. Time to fish in peace. ;D
http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/xnet/content/fns/index.cfm?pg=view_notice&lang=en&DOC_ID=112874&ID=recreational
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Thanks for the real posting Rod. :)
I meant to mention the 7th for the non tidal.
Time to hit the river now.
Rando
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Rod,
Thanks for clarification, taking my 81yr old dad out Thursday. He still loves to fish and he's the one that got me into it, so its the least that I can do.
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Has the bait ban been removed as well?
David
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Hey Rod - may have missed this in the post, but when is high tide for the area you are fishing on the Fraser? I was thinking about heading to the location I used to fish at my old job (if you remember where it is), but can only get out in the evenings.
Does high tide come slight after high tide for Vancouver? What sort of delay should I be factoring into my timing?
Thanks!
:)
Tex
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Has the bait ban been removed as well?
Bait ban is removed, see latest fishery notice in my previous post.
Does high tide come slight after high tide for Vancouver? What sort of delay should I be factoring into my timing?
I usually delay it for a couple of hours.
I use this tide chart for reference, much easier to see the tidal difference with a graph.
http://www.dairiki.org/tides/daily.php/van
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Bait ban is removed, see latest fishery notice in my previous post.
Whoops :o totally missed that line when I read the notice the first time. Thanks :)
David