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The angler
walked into the shop shaking his head. He had been given directions
to
one
of the
many
good
trout
lakes
in
the
Bulkley
Valley.
“How did you make out?”
Still shaking his head he
replied “I just had the best trout
fishing I have had in my life, and had it to myself. Doesn’t
anybody fish around here?”
“
Yes they do, but most of the anglers around here have a real bad
case of ‘bigfishitis’ and as soon as the salmon are
hitting, they forget about trout.”
Trout water
Northwest BC has a wealth of trout water that offers
some world class fishing. Hundreds of lakes containing rainbows
up
to the
4 kg mark, brook trout in some of the stocked waters that reach
the 3-4 kg range, loads of cutthroat lakes with fish in the
20-50 cm size, and lake trout (char) in the 10 kg plus range.
The great
thing about all our trout lakes is that there is very little
pressure on them. If you see a couple of other anglers you
will think the
lake is getting too crowded. We take it for granted but visitors
marvel at the choices of fishing we have in the area. Up the
Stewart-Cassiar Highway from Dease Lake north, we also have
access to the Arctic
watershed species of pike and grayling.
Many of our lodge operations
have guests returning yearly to enjoy our beautiful scenery,
abundant wildlife, photo breaks,
and the
willing trout. From now until the end of October many of
our airport arrivals will be carrying fishing rods and all the
necessary gear
needed.
Hatches
Trout lakes right now are at the peak of the summer
hatches. Damsels, dragons, mayflies, caddis and chironomids
can all
occur at the
same time. The trick is to give the trout what they want
at that particular time. That can be tricky when those
multiple hatches
happen. The best way to find what the trout want is to
check the stomach contents with a stomach pump or by cleaning
a recently
caught fish. Trying to duplicate color and size should
ensure
success.
Sharp
Hooks should always be sticky sharp. Sticky sharp
means the hook will catch on your inclined fingernail. Sharp
hooks
are the single
most important thing an angler can do to improve
your catch ratio. Hands should be free of all offensive
odors.
(All previous issues are stored in the ARCHIVE for
your convenience)
Bob's
Weekly Fishing Report is back
|
That
includes gasoline, insect repellent, food smells, tobacco etc.
Clean hands with a biodegradable soap to remove these odors and
you will have more luck (read skill).
Skill
Whenever I hear the word
skill, I think of a visiting angler who has come here every fall
for 14 years, for a month of steelhead fishing. John
is a very good angler and when anybody asks John what he caught
his fish on John answers, “Skill, and a wee bit of luck.” The
more skill we have the luckier we seem to get.
Clean rivers
Rivers in the Northwest have cleaned up faster than
we have seen in a long time. We are at least a month ahead of
last year.
The
Skeena tributaries above Cedarvale opened on June 16. Springs
are being taken in the Bulkley, Kispiox and Morice Rivers right
now.
Although it is the start of the runs, more salmon will show up
each day. In the Terrace area all popular bars have anglers hoping
for
a giant spring to ring their bell. There was a report of a 105
pound spring taken in one of the test nets. That would be a new
world record if caught on tackle.
Kitimat
The Kitimat River is in good
shape and in the next couple of weeks the peak of the run will
come through. The Kitimat is also
expecting
an oversupply of chum to return.
Ocean
Ocean fishing has, as expected,
been great. Many limit catches of spring are being taken and
coho are already becoming a
nuisance for those anglers targeting the springs. Coho
out of Prince
Rupert are in the 5-kg plus range. That is huge coho
for this time of
the year.
Sardines
Part of the reason for the great returns and
size of the fish has been attributed not only to the abundance
of herring
but
also to
the huge number of Pacific sardine who have made
their way north. The salmon are having a feast. If you are
planning a charter
trip for the coast, book early as the word is out.
It is going
to be
a banner year.
Saltwater licences remain the same as last year but
be prepared as freshwater licences took a price hike,
especially
for
the non-resident of BC on our classified rivers.
Let us know your thoughts. Click on discussion
group or email
me and
give us some input.
Check for new photos on the Photo
page
....................
and past photos on the Slideshow |
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