While I can't fish with extreme crowds, that like saying close Coquihalla because of the excess speeding that is happening. I really don't think it is about education, I would like to see enforcement everyday on the rivers, 1000 dollar fine and all fishing gear confiscated, fines would more than pay their salary . No second chances.  Assuming most people get their licenses online.  Have a couple of statements at the bottom before you can hit the purchase button that you must respond to.  I will not snag fish, keep more fish than my limit, I will keep fish in the water as much as possible, and what ever other statement they want to add.  Only then the purchase bottom is activated.  Problem solved.  No excuses for stupidity.  Education is too slow and people don't care.  Would love the here a person go home and explain to their other half that they got a 1000 dollar fine and all fishing gear taken away.  Fixed in one season..

those are very good suggestions.

In the GVRD if you have an indoor wood burning appliance or fireplace you now have to agree to a best practices agreement to use it. Not much different and little or now "education" required. Easy peasy.

Still maintain that they should close the Canal to fishing altogether, whats happening there now is not considered fishing .

While I can't fish with extreme crowds, that like saying close Coquihalla because of the excess speeding that is happening. I really don't think it is about education, I would like to see enforcement everyday on the rivers, 1000 dollar fine and all fishing gear confiscated, fines would more than pay their salary . No second chances.  Assuming most people get their licenses online.  Have a couple of statements at the bottom before you can hit the purchase button that you must respond to.  I will not snag fish, keep more fish than my limit, I will keep fish in the water as much as possible, and what ever other statement they want to add.  Only then the purchase bottom is activated.  Problem solved.  No excuses for stupidity.  Education is too slow and people don't care.  Would love the here a person go home and explain to their other half that they got a 1000 dollar fine and all fishing gear taken away.  Fixed in one season.. 

well DFO has certainly closed sections of the Vedder/Chilliwack in the face of flagrant snagging of wild populations of sockeye let alone what's happened on the Fraser so I don't think it's unreasonable or dumb to suggest closures. Problem is those people will just move  to some other open part of the river.

Much of this is of "our" own making. The massive enhancement far beyond what's needed to support tidewater and freshwater fisheries of all type plus the over promotion of those same fisheries. It's no longer a 'sport' in the old sense of the word and just a money making machine.

Still maintain that they should close the Canal to fishing altogether, whats happening there now is not considered fishing .

This is the dumbest thing I've read on the internet this morning and we're barely past 9AM.

I cant even drive by an look at this gong show without becoming angry .

And of course the follow up of what the real underlying issue is.

Still maintain that they should close the Canal to fishing altogether, whats happening there now is not considered fishing .
Agree with others here about the behaviour , I cant even drive by an look at this gong show without becoming angry .
They should even institute a aptitude test about the species and hold a draw similiar to hunting .
 Enforcement is almost impossible with the lack of resources and sheer number of violators .
This resource must not be wasted on people who have no respect for it .
The hatchery workers go through a lot of work to produce these fish plus the time and effort that the fish take to mature in the ocean to become this great resource .

I first fished the Vedder in the early to mid 80s and it was crowded then though the average distance between anglers on the prime runs was 10 to 20 feet. A few years ago some commented that the upswing in pressure was also associated with closures on the Fraser and the Thompson but no doubt population increase particularly in the Chilliwack and Abbotsford area is the major factor.  Both the City and the local real estate people promoted the area partly based on the angling opportunities in the river.

I am seeing lots of FB posts where people are driving 5+ hours to fish the Vedder and posting pictures of themselves.  Instead of the 2 Million potential fisherman, we're now looking at 4 million.  At least it's not as bad as New York.  Once the run slows down and the chances of catching decreases, then those really long trips may not be as worth while to make.

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9 foot, 8-12 lb line rating.

pm me if you are interested, and I would be happy to send you some more info.


Cheers

I would say that I did not see anything racist sentiment in Roe Man's post either overt or implied. He didn't identify any particular group other than those who tote lawn chairs to the riverside. BTW that occasionally includes me and I don't find it offensive.

You are absolutely right, I did not mean to include the OP in the description. He, in my opinion, did not include any hint of race. Sorry to suggest that you were included by omission roeman. It was the person who said "Their strength in numbers makes them utterly brazen and tough to intimidate. We've moved past a conservation issue and into a cultural one, where blatant harvest is not just accepted, but celebrated with a digital round of applause." that I would have problem with. WTF,"tough to intimidate"? I have not had the opportunity to meet up with these guys but others that have found them to be respectful and fun to be around. As the busiest river in the province it is nothing new that people complain about crowding. But as someone who has fished as far away as the Bella Coola/Atnarko (where I had a great encounter with some Philippinos from Williams Lake) and the Nass/Meziadin in the last year I can say that fishing the Vedder is pretty darned good in spite of the crowds.

Thanks for those genuine and heartfelt words Gord and there is not much to disagree with in them.

I would say that I did not see anything racist sentiment in Roe Man's post either overt or implied. He didn't identify any particular group other than those who tote lawn chairs to the riverside. BTW that occasionally includes me and I don't find it offensive.

Prejudice by experienced anglers who have lived here has a long and checkered history. I carry some of those prejudices. Those are often not based on race. Like Roe Man I have been "crowded out" after trying to find a small place to myself on a crowded river. Happened to me many times and one case was years ago - perhaps 30. I had gone to the Chilliwack in early November, often when the crowds thinned a bit. After some driving and walking I found such a place mid-river where there was a bank side log jam and some moderately deep frog water. I could see some coho in there. I tied on a mickey finn and hooked a few coho, a nice buck, a hatchery doe and a smaller hatch male of a few pounds. By that time some younger guys were lining up around that small backwater. A few more clambered onto the logs. The salmon in the pool moved into the logs. Game over! I was happy with my catch and headed home. By the the way Gord those guys looked like me, they might have been 5 or 10 years younger but they were white! They spoke pure Canadian eh! It's an old story. I could tell many more but who cares.

I can remember a time way back in the 20th Century when a little guy was just starting to post about his love of fishing. He had a funny accent (Australian?) and didn't fit the picture of an outdoorsman because of his heritage and he was constantly abused by a racist crowd. Hell, he introduced me to a the presence of something called a Pea Mouthed Chub. But he persevered and made a very big impact on the BC fishing scene as he incorporated tech with passion and even some of the racists came to appreciate his efforts. Fast forward to today where a new crowd of tech savvy non-white fishermen are making waves in the local fishing scene and on the site that the funny little guy soared the same barriers are being put up. I find this to be so ironic. And, just for the record, there have been lots of guys fishing in a manner that is less than sporting for a long, long time on Lower Mainland rivers. The big difference is merely that gumboots, spark plugs and trebles (the old-timers will get this)  have been replaced with modern and more subtle methods. But targeting Asians is still popular with the bigots. Try looking at the Kasnaggers as an avid, enthusiastic bunch of young people who will help keep this sport relevant in the future. I spend quite a bit other time camping/fishing in BC and I am in my 70's and often the average age in camp. There are no young people there. We need youth to get out in the wild to preserve the resources or they will end up being paved over and fishing, hunting and camping will be history. And, yes, these guys/gals look different than us but we looked different than those we displaced.