Quick look at local fishing conditions.
Fishing in the Valley has been good this past week, quite a few more chum have moved into local rivers which is great to see. Coho fishing remains very good in most of our tributary river and main stem Fraser. Chinook fishing has slowed but we are still hooking 1 to 4 fish per day on the Fraser, tribs are fishing well. Sturgeon fishing has been good, we are averaging 6 to 10 fish per trip with some very nice fish, our largest this week was 8 ft 7 inches.
Fraser River.
We have been fishing for both Chinook and Coho salmon on the Fraser, fishing has been good to excellent. Each day tides bring in fresh runs of salmon up the Fraser, most of these fish are heading up the Vedder, Harrison, Chehalis, Dewdney Slough and Stave rivers. The bulk of the Coho and Chinook are heading up the Vedder and Harrison rivers. We have been mainly targeting the Harrison/ Chehalis runs fishing just below the confluence. Although we are seeing this fishery slow, we should have at least another week targeting Chinook and 2 to 3 weeks for Coho.
Methods- We have been using 3 primary methods, casting spoons and spinners, fly fishing and plunking T-Spoons. If your planning on casting spoons or spinners, our best lures has been the Gibbs Croc in 3/8 Hammered Brass /Red fire Stripe. The most effect has been to start at the top of the bar and walk and wade while casting across the current. Fish the Fraser the same way you would the Vedder or any small stream, taking a step with each cast.
Plunking Tee Spoons
This method of catching Chinook is one of my favorite, much like bar fishing , plunking Tee -Spoons is very productive. The set up is much the same, you could just replace the Tee-spoon for the Spin n Glo but I like scaling down the terminal tackle and using a lighter rod. I use the 9 ft Berkly Air IM 8 Extra Heavy with a Penn International 965 or 975 reel. You could easily use the same rod you would use for float fishing the Vedder, 10ft drift rod with Abu Garcia Reel.
Instead of using a bar rig I prefer a 3 way swivel , tie the mainline to the top of the swivel, a 4 to 5 ft leader to the T-Spoon using the center swivel. For the bottom weight , I like using a 2- 2.5 ft leader with 6 to 8 ounces of lead, the lead weight should be heavy enough to hold the gear on the bottom but light enough to still be able to walk the weight 10 to 30 ft behind the boat. Once your set up in the right place, it’s just a matter of time. The hits are hard hitting smashes that will get your heart pounding.
This Chartruse T-spoon has been one of my best producers, it’s a Gibbs #6 Tee-Spoon, I have also done well with the same spoon in a # 5 1/2 silver 1/2 brass.
Fraser Sturgeon
The Fraser River continues to produce some great fishing for sturgeon, this past week we have been working hard for fish in the mornings with best bite coming later in the afternoon. Salmon eggs, salmon flesh/meat and eels are all producing fish. Incoming tides are late afternoon but soon they will switch to early morning so next week should be good.
This monster sturgeon was one of our biggest caught this year, although we never got a tape measure on this fish, I estimate it’s size between 9-10 feet. The battles was intense with 3 incredible jumps .
November Sturgeon fishing can be some of the best sturgeon fishing of the season, larger sturgeon are getting ready for winter and smaller sturgeon can’t stop eating as food supply is getting thin. Sturgeon become aggressive feeders during this time periods and fishing can be spectacular.
November Sturgeon Special
6 hour sturgeon special – Fill the boat for $560.00 ( Save $120) max 4 anglers
8 hour sturgeon special – Fill the boat for $700.00 ( Save $120) max 4 anglers
Harrison River/ Chehalis.
The Harrison River has not fished up to expectations this past season, although the Chinook and Coho runs have been good, the Chum run has been disapointing. A few more fish are still expected to arrive so hopefully we see some greater numbers in November. The Harrison /Chehalis both have late winter runs of Coho and Chum so lots of fish are still expected to arrive to these rivers. You can fly fish or casting spoons and spinners for Harrison and Chehalis salmon. November can offer some of the best fishing so don’t put them rods away quite yet.
Vedder River
The Vedder is producing some great Coho fishing, fish are spread throughout the river in both upper and lower reaches. Float fishing with cured eggs is probably your best bet but wool and spinners also work well. STS guide Gerry Dewar has been out the past few morning hooking 2 to 5 fish in the first few hours. As the morning progresses, fishing does slow. Anglers are also targeting Chinook, most of these fish are not great table fair so unless your planning on eating these fish, please release them unharmed. The Chum run on the Vedder has been very poor, please handle all fish with repect and remember retention of Chum is not permitted on the Vedder.
What to expect over the next few weeks
We still have lots of great fishing in the valley, Coho fishing will last well into mid November with Harrison, Dewdney and Fraser producing best results. The late run Chum are starting to show so we could have excellent late season Chum fishing as we normally would in both the Fraser and Harrison systems. Sturgeon fishing will continue through to the end of November so we still have lots of great fishing and I am still confident that the largest fish of the season has yet to hit the beach.
Come join us for the last month of the 2011 season, we will offer some great deals on guided packages and day charters, just call or e-mail me for pricing.
Vic Carrao
STS Guiding Service
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