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This past year was a good one for those anglers lucky enough to
have made some trips to the saltchuck. Chinook and Coho were abundant,
hungry, and great catches were reported. Coho at times proved to
be a nuisance. In some areas. You could not get the lures or herring
down to the Chinook without a small Coho picking it up. Sockeye
and Pink salmon numbers were not good.
2003?
What can we expect for the 2003 season? DFO has looked into the
crystal ball and released their outlook. As with all things government
nowadays, their crystal ball may be as/or more clouded than your
stock market advisor or the weatherman's predictions. To be fair,
there are many circumstances that can affect salmon returns. They
include habitat degradation, fall floods on spawning beds, ocean
predation, climate change, El Nino etc. In other words there are
a lot of excuses if DFO isn't correct.
Average
DFO says that fishing is expected to be average, or slightly above
average, providing a variety of fishing opportunities for all sectors.
Chinook and Coho fishing this year are predicted to at least equal
last year's catches and that is good news. Catch limits will probably
remain at four Coho per day in the North and Central Coast and two
per day for the Chinook. Aggregate limits are expected to remain
at four salmon per day. Those are liberal, fair limits as long as
escapement requirements are met.
Inland
Inland fisheries are expected to equal last year's numbers and
as Coho rebuild we will continue to have more chance at targeting
the once great numbers of Coho we used to have. Inland Chinook should
be good especially if we don't have to contend with the high water
conditions of the past year. Chinook start to come into our rivers
as early as March, with peak runs coming into the Kitimat and Skeena
through June and July. Coho enter the rivers in August-September.
Sockeye
Sockeye returns in the Nass River are likely to be average to below
average. Unfortunately, sockeye numbers returning to the Babine
are likely to be low. The sport fishing for sockeye has a strong
following, as sockeye are great fighters and provide some of the
best eating salmon available. We would be very disappointed if there
were no sockeye for sport anglers on the Babine.
(All previous issues are stored in the ARCHIVE
for your convenience)
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Look
for further announcements as we come up to the season. Over the
last couple of seasons, DFO has allowed extra commercial openings
on sockeye in the ocean, much to the detriment of the Steelhead
which gather off the mouth of the Skeena at the same time.
Last year there was to be no opening for Sockeye.
Then DFO opened it for a few days, then more and continued the openings.
Upstream users including First Nations were unhappy with the returns
on the sockeye and sport anglers saw Steelhead numbers plummet.
We hope DFO considers all users, not just the ocean first to intercept
groups.
Pinks
Pink salmon in the North Coast may be average to above average.
That is good news as the Pinks in the inland fishery are a super
way for the youngsters to get their chance at a salmon. Tourists
without the heavy equipment also enjoy the Pinks or Humpies as they
can be easily fished with trout gear. Pinks readily take red and
green flies and can be fished with a light fly rod and put up a
great fight.
Lingcod
As we have seen on TV, the Lingcod numbers in the Strait of Georgia
are in terrible shape. In North Coast waters, we do have some good
fishing for Ling. However, those bigger Ling are the egg laying
females and we should limit our take of them to ensure our future
fishing. Ling, much like the rockfish, are territorial and stay
in their home area. Once you harvest the Ling and rockfish out of
that area, there are no others moving in to repopulate and the area
can be permanently ruined.
Coast
When it comes to fishing, not much beats the coast of British Columbia.
Five different types of salmon, huge Halibut, many varieties of
rockfish, Lingcod, greenling, sole, flounder and other fish you
may have trouble identifying swim our waters. Add to this incredible
scenery, eagles everywhere, possible dolphin, Humpback and Killer
whale sightings and the abundance of life of our Pacific coast,
will make any ocean trip memorable.
Trips should be booked well in advance for the best times. A list
of guides can be found on the newsstands in BC Outdoors Sport Fishing
magazine. Tackle shops may also have some recommendations or brochures
available. If references are given please make sure to check the
references. Most guides have to be good if they want any repeat
business, but caveat emptor is the best policy.
(We are changing to a new publish day - Monday
of each week)
More of Bob's photos on the Photo
page
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