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It is a time of great beauty in the valley of the Bulkley. Spring
came early, and although there is still some snow on the top of
the Telkwa and Babine Ranges, and the commanding presence of Hudson
Bay Mountain, most of the runoff has come and gone. The Bulkley
is dropping daily, and clarity is unbelievable for this time of
year. In just under two weeks {June 16} the Bulkley river opens
for the salmon season.
Large runs
Expected large runs of Chinook and Coho
have
the
avid anglers stocking up on Spin-n-Glos, weights, and filling
their reels in anticipation of catching those bright early fish.
Further
down the river, on the Skeena below Terrace, many of the bars
are already accessible. Most locals are saying conditions are anywhere
from 3-5 weeks ahead of last year.
Trout
Trout fishing here in the valley has been very good. A month
of incredible weather has had many anglers rediscovering trout
fishing,
it’s like deja vu all over again. The excellent trout fishing
we have available often gets lost when the salmon’ bigfishitis’ hits.
Perhaps it is the price of gas or the warm, calm days but we are
realizing just how good our trout fishing is.
Babine Lake
Babine Lake has been producing well. Rainbows from 1-3 pounds
are bending most rods and we heard of a nine-pound rainbow. That
is a nice catch. Most char have been in the 3- 8-pound range with
an occasional double digit fish. In most cases fish are in the
top ten feet {3 meters} of water. I enjoyed the story from a lady
angler who came in this week. All the men in the boat went deep
to get Walter. She fished the top with no weight. Guess who got
all the fish? She will repeat the story many times and you know
that the women always get the last word.
Francois Lake Over on Francois Lake, a derby there produced a winner of a Lake
Trout. The fish was 24.6 pounds. The lure was a Swim Whizz. It
is a lure not generally used around here but very well known on
the east end of Francois where it wins many derbies. Funny, how
there are local favorite lures handed down through generations
of anglers. We use them because they have a proven record, but
we also know that somewhere in the tackle box, there is probably
a lure that works better. Your favorite spends more water time,
therefore, it catches more fish.
(All previous issues are stored in the ARCHIVE for
your convenience)
Bob's
Weekly Fishing
Report is back.
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Somewhere
around a coffee table, an angler is telling the story of a fish
they took on Lure X. Another
angler is saying they have one of those lure X’s that has
not produced. When asked they usually say “Tried it once
for a few minutes but caught nothing.”
Wildlife
Wildlife
and young are everywhere. The rapidly expanding colony of Canada’s
lands on the lakeside lawn, and loudly announces their arrival
to anybody who wants to listen, and to those who don’t, every
morning at 4:30 AM. Walking down on the lakeshore is getting slippery.
Whoever penned the saying “Like sh.. through a goose knew
of what they were talking.” Some of the young goslings are
sometimes seen but momma usually keeps them close to cover for
the first couple of weeks. The bittern in the bay is chugging his
water pipe love call and the bears are filling up on clover and
grasses.
Kispiox
This weekend a famous and fun rodeo takes place in the beautiful
valley of the Kispiox. Some great riding. roping, barrel racing,
horsemanship and wrecks in a beautiful spot and a superb family
event. Times for the lovers of rodeo to meet again, to swap old
stories, and perhaps meet some young and future legends. Prices
are very reasonable and camping is available on site. Besides watching
the contestants it is a great place to watch people and see some
of the old timers who have lent so much character to the valley.
The Calgary Stampede is nice but here at the Kispiox you are right
down there with them. You become part of the rodeo. You can taste
and smell it. A participant not a viewer.
Steelhead
The Bulkley Valley is blessed with some great fly fishing waters.
Whether trout or the epitome of fly fishing- the Steelhead we have
world class fishing. Every fall anglers worldwide travel to fish
our waters.
Fly casting
If you are interested in learning to cast the fly you
can register for one of the evening or weekend courses available.
Use your own equipment or tackle will be provided. It is a short
cut to learning properly and can eliminate a lot of those self-taught
errors. A person once said, “learning to fly fish with no
help is like doing brain surgery on yourself, your chances of success
are remote.” Contact Oscar’s at 1 250 847-2136.
Let us know your thoughts. Email
me and
give us some input.
Check for new photos on the Photo
page
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