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[psd1179]

Great Milo! Hope you have been able to come out here again since we saw each other a few weeks ago.

The fishing yesterday morning was pretty unreal... It was busy, but I fished the tailout below a big crowd and in 1.5 hours from 7am I managed to released three wild coho, lost two more, and hooked another dozen silver chinook like the other photo. Two were adult chinook and the rest were jacks.

Definitely the fish passed the run I fished too quickly. They probably stopped right in front of you.

[blueback]

Any word on water conditions? Where's Chris? Duck hunting?

[Rodney]

Any word on water conditions? Where's Chris? Duck hunting?

River is in great shape today.

[blueback]

River is in great shape today.

Thanks Rodney; water higher but holding it's shape? I hope it can withstand the incoming rain and remain fishable!

[Rodney]

Yep bumped up a bit and colour is good. If I didn't have to be on the computer I'd be down there right now..........

[blueback]

Hope to be there tomorrow. All I've gotten so far have been wild Coho; hoping for a clipped one (or more) tomorrow if it's not blown out. 

[DanTfisherman]

Had an decent morning fishing yesterday.
Fresh pinks, come Coho, and a beauty spring that measured in at 60 cm.
Super shiny, while belly and a bit of sea lice on it.
Buddy looked and at the base of the tail, it had a small little gash, got us thinking it was a red.
When I ended up cleaning it, it was a white.
Eating it for dinner tonight.

So, I have caught these springs from the Harrison stock and to date, have not really had an exceptional or "good" tasting one.
This one did not have the Harrison River white smell, and I am hoping for a different experience.
Does anyone here have positive "taste" experience for Vedder whites for flavour, and any secrets in what you look for?
Over the years, I have caught a few, and learned.  It is only in the last few years I have tried a few once again, wheras I have stuck to the jacks and looked for fresh fish.  Still, I think I had one which my family enjoyed and would rank up there with a red.

On a somewhat related note, has anyone caught a Vedder red once September rolls around?
I did catch one about 12-14 years back at Borden Creek, and was quite certain it was a red, so released it, hoping it would breed and pass on it's genes.
Someone suggested this fish could possibly be from the original red genetic strain that did return to the Vedder traditionally late summer/early fall.

With there being 2 million fish released, was any thought or research done into possibly finding a strain of red springs and trying them?
Whites are introduced, so not sure if there is another strain from a Fraser tributary at this time that could work?  Thompson destined fish?
I do know for example, many fish returning to the Robertson Creek hatchery on the Island are reds.  Could they be brought over?
My past experience has been from 15 to 20 years ago, when I think the output of springs were more and the Vedder had much larger returns of White springs.
They seem to have done well in the past when released in numbers, and it looks like now that their numbers and being increased once again, such as the increase in the past few years, the numbers are do well so far.
I am being selfish, but if large numbers of introduced springs are going to be released, is there options/opportunities to release more reds?

Dano

[Lunk Louie]

Just a heads up

My vehicle was keyed along it's entire length within the last week. This has been the first time in 20+ years it has been vandalized  (since  somebody last smashed the side widow in just for kicks) but with the massive numbers of vehicles there these days they are easy prey for the vandals and thieves. I thought with all the foot traffic everywhere and noticing the little bit more police presence past few years, this stuff was on the wane....wrong... 

[DanTfisherman]

I can only laugh.

I did a bit of key word search to research and answer my own questions, and look what I found from back in the day:
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=18363.0

As I remember from this post/time, this was a time when the springs were pretty heavy in numbers.

The time corresponds quite closely to the time I was talking about 12-15 years ago, and at that time, the common complaint were the springs were so numerous it made it challenging and not very fun to track down and find coho to catch.  Next year could be an interesting year with 2 million fish released.

So, a few points with regards to fish and taste recommend scrubbing the slime coat completely off of the fish, as well as possibly skinning it.

Dano

[fic]

Just a heads up

My vehicle was keyed along it's entire length within the last week. This has been the first time in 20+ years it has been vandalized  (since  somebody last smashed the side widow in just for kicks) but with the massive numbers of vehicles there these days they are easy prey for the vandals and thieves. I thought with all the foot traffic everywhere and noticing the little bit more police presence past few years, this stuff was on the wane....wrong... 

Sorry to hear about your car.  Where were you parked ?

[milo]

Does anyone here have positive "taste" experience for Vedder whites for flavour, and any secrets in what you look for?

Dan, My experience is if the fish is silver with sea lice still in it, it will taste great any way you prepare it.
Many of these earlier fish caught in the lower river in September are like that. I find they taste just as good as, if not better than, the reds. I think the red colour in chinooks is more of a psychological thing than a real flavour issue. Salmon racism, if you ask me. I myself am partial to marbled springs, don't ask me why.

On a somewhat related note, has anyone caught a Vedder red once September rolls around?

Yes. I caught one  adult last Thursday. And a red jack  yesterday. I find there have been more red and marbled chinook in the system in recent years than there were in years past.

I am being selfish, but if large numbers of introduced springs are going to be released, is there options/opportunities to release more reds?

Curious request. With 95% of the world chinook salmon being red, I see the Vedder whites congregated in one place as a blessing and hope the numbers stay high.

IronNoggin tells me that out in the ocean 30-40 years ago, commercial fishermen used white chinook for bait and fertilizer or even tossed them overboard because the lack of pigmentation was thought to be a negative. Today, the narrative has changed. White springs are considered an exceptional delicacy and many guides and commercial fishermen will keep the rare white chinook catch for themselves.
I subscribe to that philosophy. Ivory kings taste superbly!
Just make sure it's a chromer fresh in from the ocean.
Check this out for more info on the delicious ivory kings:
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=244
Short article:
https://www.savoryalaska.com/blog/2018/11/20/ivory-king-salmon-the-salmon-you-never-knew-existed

[RalphH]

I've never found it necessary to prepare or cook white springs any differently than reds. However white springs loose their eating quality quickly as they color from ocean bright to river grey. Take the shiny ones, release the dark ones.

[glfish88]

I am being selfish, but if large numbers of introduced springs are going to be released, is there options/opportunities to release more reds?

Dano

I doubt it, I think what it comes down to is 2 things: why are we increasing hatchery production? And why do we even have a hatchery program for an introduced strain of chinook?

The reason why we are increasing hatchery production of chinook salmon on the Vedder is to provide increased food for Southern Resident Orcas, studies have shown that they rely on white chinook that are destined to return to the harrison and vedder river. Other food sources are relatively scarce during the fall when the whites return. Not to mention that the whites spend alot more time in local waters than other strains do.

I believe white chinook as the choice of stocking for the southwestern BC streams comes down to one thing: Cost. White chinook don’t spend 1-3 years in freshwater like their red counterparts do, if they did we would have terrible survival rates. Southwestern BC’s streams are low in nutrients naturally, industrialization of the lowermainland does not help either. Because whites only spend a small portion of their lives in freshwater, they have much higher return rates. At the end of the day, a dollar spent on raising white chinook has a higher return on investment than a dollar spent on a red chinook.

[Lunk Louie]

Sorry to hear about your car.  Where were you parked ?

Not exactly sure which run but I'm guessing lower canal

[Rodney]

Just a heads up

My vehicle was keyed along it's entire length within the last week. This has been the first time in 20+ years it has been vandalized  (since  somebody last smashed the side widow in just for kicks) but with the massive numbers of vehicles there these days they are easy prey for the vandals and thieves. I thought with all the foot traffic everywhere and noticing the little bit more police presence past few years, this stuff was on the wane....wrong... 

That's terrible... Were other vehicles vandalized too or did this appear to be more targeted?