Fishing the mighty Fraser River

jansom

Fishing the mighty Fraser River One of the largest most fertile rivers in the world, the mighty Fraser River.

The Fraser River starts at the base of the Rocky Mountains near the Alberta / British Columbia border. The river cuts it's way through 970 miles of British Columbia's most rugged country ending up in the city of Vancouver. Approximately 100 river miles before the Fraser reaches Vancouver the Fraser Valley begins.

The Fraser Valley offers many unique fishing opportunities, river fishing for salmon and sturgeon, carp fishing in our local sloughs and fly fishing for trout and whitefish in lakes and rivers. All these fisheries provide excellent opportunities for those willing to put in the time to learn, how, when, where to fish them. The angling opportunities the Fraser Valley offers are world class. I spend most of my time guiding anglers from around the world. I have never yet heard someone say where they live the fishing is better or the scenery more beautiful. You soon realize what we have is very special, even on a slow day; our quality of angling is much higher than most places in the world

The Fraser River is one of the largest salmon bearing rivers in the world with an average of 10 to 30 million salmon returning each year. The Fraser is also home to one of the largest freshwater game fish on earth, the White Sturgeon. Sturgeon can grow to lengths of over 15 feet and weigh as much as 1800 lbs. Sturgeon on the Fraser are famous for making tail walking leaps and tackle breaking runs that put even the fittest anglers to shame.

The salmon migration in the Fraser Valley begins as early as March with the first and largest species of the salmon family, the Chinook or Kings as our American friends call them. Although the runs of salmon begin migrating in March, the river is not open to retention of salmon until May 1 when the majority of fish are in the river. The early run of Chinook or what we call the summer run will last well into August with prime fishing between mid June and mid July. The great thing about fishing the Fraser is that once the salmon runs begin they continue to improve all summer and well into fall with the other 4 species of salmon following close behind. Most of salmon are staggered into 3 or 4-week intervals, nature's way of keeping animals feed with fish until the harsh winters set in.

Sockeye Salmon are the second species of salmon to enter the Fraser River and are fast becoming one of the most popular sport fish in freshwater. The Fraser River hosts the one of the largest sockeye migration anywhere in the world; on a high yield year over 30 million salmon will swim the Fraser to their spawning grounds. These fish are fresh from the ocean and are Chrome silver.

Sockeye begin their annual migration in early June and continue through until mid September. There are several distinct runs of fish that we target, early Stewart River Sockeye, Weaver Creek Sockeye on the Harrison River, and the late summer, Adams River Sockeye. Some of the best action is early August through to September. Because of the shear quantity of fish many methods work well, Bottom bouncing with corkies and yarn and fly-fishing are the two most popular. Many 100 fish days per boat can be achieved using either method.

Pink Salmon are the 3rd species to enter the Fraser River but return every second year on odd years only, 2001 is our next return. Pink Salmon start their migration in mid August and continue through to the end of September. Pink Salmon are one of the more easily caught species of salmon for two reasons. First there sheer numbers, between 5 and 10 million Pinks return each year and second, they are very aggressive towards predators such as lures and flies and spinners. The timing of the Pink Salmon's migration coincides with the annual migration of the Sockeye salmon which can reach as high as 30 million fish add the two species together and you have one of the largest salmon bearing rivers in the world.

Coho Salmon are fished on all of our river systems. Starting in early Sept on the Fraser River and continuing through to Nov in the tributaries. Coho salmon average size varies from river to river; 6-10 LB is an overall average. We fish many methods for Coho, fly-fishing, spin fishing, float fishing and bar/plunking. Each river system has it's own unique characteristics, some river systems fish better with one method preferred over another

Most of the river's and sloughs in the Fraser Valley have good numbers Coho returning each year to spawn, like all the other salmon species, these fish are chrome bright and ready to put up a battle. The Coho begin to arrive in the Fraser Valley rivers and sloughs in late August continuing well into October, fishing for these great fish lasts well into November.

October is one of the best months to fish for Coho in the Fraser Valley, by the first week in October most of the rivers in the area have good numbers of Coho. The great Coho fishing is not only a big attractor to our area but also the world class Chum Salmon fishing. In October you can fish for several species of salmon, Coho, Chum and this year Pink Salmon that return every second year (odd years only). Combine the 3 species of salmon and add a day of sturgeon fishing and you now have a fishing experience that you'll never forget.

Last but not least is the Chum salmon, Chum were once considered a commercial fish, but as more people started sport fishing for them, anglers soon realized that they are one of the hardest fighting fish there is pound for pound. We fish for Chum with spinners, float fish, and fly fishing for these brutes.

The Harrison, Vedder, Chehalis and Stave Rivers are well known for their large numbers of Chum. We mainly fly fish for Chum on the Stave River and use all three methods on the Harrison, Vedder and Chehalis. This fishery has become very popular with fly fishers from around the world, average size of Chum are 12 to 20 lbs with good numbers of fish over 20 lbs reaching as large as 30lbs. The best time is Oct 1st - November 15th. Rivers of the Fraser Valley

Harrison River
The Harrison River is one of the more scenic rivers in the Fraser Valley. Although this river is not long, it does offer some great fishing for all 5 species of salmon in late summer and fall, Steelhead and Cutthroat in spring and Sturgeon.

Chehalis River:
The Chehalis River is approx 15 miles long, 12 miles of this river is pristine canyon wilderness with white water rapids and hundreds of water falls. This river has good runs of Steelhead, Coho, Chum, Chinook and a small run of summer run Steelhead. Because of the rugged canyon most of the angling is done in the lower section of the river. Crowding is a problem on this river as hundreds of angler squeeze together in hopes of that big salmon.

Vedder River:
The Vedder River is one of the largest tributaries to the Fraser. It is approx 35 miles long with good shore access throughout the entire length. This river has large runs of steelhead in the winter and spring, large runs of salmon in late summer and fall. This River gets a bit crowded during peak Steelhead and Salmon season but if you know the river you can easily find a quiet place to catch some fish.

Stave River:
The lower Stave River offers some good salmon angling opportunities in the fall and trout opportunities in the spring. This river gets large runs of Chum salmon as well as good numbers of Coho salmon. Stave Lake and Upper Stave River both offer good angling in the spring for Cutthroat Trout and Dolly Varden Char.

Lilloet River:
This river offers a unique opportunity for those looking for adventure. Getting there is half the fun, we either run jet boats across Harrison Lake then jet boat up this narrow shallow river or we fly you in via Helicopter. The Lilloet offers good angling for Cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden Char in the spring and fall with some opportunities for salmon in the fall.

Skagit River:
The Skagit River can be compared to many trout streams in the Colorado region. Lots of good quality rainbows ranging from 10 to 18 inches and Dolly Varden Char to 8 lbs. This river is a non- guided river, many of our clients will spend a day on their own on this little gem that offers great fly fishing opportunities from July 1st to mid August. If you plan on going you might want to checkout our fly patterns

hailizi

reading........

kengao

Sorry,I just back from Calgary.So very nice to here from you, have you been vancouver before?How long you've been here?Where do you live right now?Anyway nice to meet you.

jansom

kengao, just wait, i 'll try to help you ,my old friend name jessy living here too.

i 'll ask him go fishing with you if he have time.

Lawrence

glad to see some canadian friends here..... i am from vancouver.

kengao

Thanks. I living here and i LOVE fishing very much.I do want to find a friend who living here too.

jansom

yes,sometimes in my dream. hehe .just a fun

kuku

it is really a good place,but it is too far to get there.
If i have the opportunity to get there,i must visit it and fish there.

jansom

Coho fishing remains solid in many Puget Sound areas .
The American Museum of Fly Fishing, a nationally accredited, nonprofit, educational institution dedicated to preserving the rich heritage of fly fishing, was founded in Manchester, Vermont, in 1968. The Museum serves as a repository for, and conservator to, the world's largest collection of angling and angling-related objects. The Museums collections and exhibits provide the public with thorough documentation of the evolution of fly fishing as a sport, art form, craft, and industry in the United States and abroad from the sixteenth century to present. Rods, reels, and flies, as well as tackle, art, books, manuscripts, and photographs form the major components of the Museums collections.
     The Museum has gained recognition as a unique educational institution. It supports a publications program through which its national quarterly journal, The American Fly Fisher, and books, art prints, and catalogs are regularly offered to the public. The Museum's traveling exhibits program has made it possible for educational exhibits to be viewed across the United States and abroad. The Museum also provides in-house exhibits, related interpretive programming, and research services for members, visiting scholars, authors, and students. The Museum is an active, member-oriented nonprofit institution.
     The American Museum of Fly Fishing was established to preserve and exhibit the treasures of American angling. Since then we have gathered more than twelve hundred rods, four hundred reels, thousands of flies, almost three thousand books, and countless other rare or unique items. Permanent headquarters were purchased in 1983 in Manchester, Vermont, and our new exhibition galleries first opened in the spring of 1984.
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      It is yesterday, and as long as you are here, enjoy it! Remember, we can only preserve this rich heritage of fly fishing as long as we are supported by our members.
Spin fishing is an ideal way to begin trout fishing as the skills involved are easily mastered. A basic outfit of rod, reel and line, plus a few lures are all that is necessary to give the novice a chance of catching trout. Watercraft and knowledge of trout habits learned while spin fishing are equally useful in other forms of trout fishing such as fly-fishing.

Spin fishing, or to use its common name, threadlining, is fishing for trout with lures that imitate small fish. These lures are cast with a threadline outfit consisting of a mixed spool reel loaded with suitable monofilament line, and a short, single-handed spinning rod, ideally between 1.80m and 2.40m long.