The Biggest fishing & hunting show is only a week away. The BC Boat & Sportsman Show is going to be bigger and better than ever this year. Lots of great products, new vendors and a 50ft Fish tank with live fish that i get to cast to while doing seminars. I did this once at the Calgary Bass Pro Shop Grande opening and had a blast until one of the fish wouldn’t let go of the Berkley Scented worm. We will have to wait and see what fish are in the tank before I decide what to cast at them.

Vancouver Saltwater Fishing

We have been working on our 28ft Kingfisher all winter doing some minor repairs and upgrades and are now ready to put it back into service. We will be moving the boat back to our Delta Airport Hotel location this week and should be ready for spring Chinook fishing early next week. Our associate guides have been out a bit this winter with typical mixed results, some great days followed by "where did all the fish go".

Chris was out fishing Howe Sound a few days ago and caught this 9lb feeder Chinook, pretty typical of what you can expect this time of year. Over the next month we should start to see some larger Chinook around the harbour as well as the Gulf Islands. We offer daily trips out of Vancouver & Richmond area so please don’t hesitate to call us if you are looking for information or a last minute charter.

Fraser River Trout

The Fraser is in great shape with good visibility for trout fishing. Heard of a few small Cutthroat caught this week in the main flow but we are still a few weeks away from the spring salmon fry hatch. Once the fry start to hatch the Fraser will begin producing some great trout fishing for fly anglers. Using patterns that imitate salmon fry will be your best choice. We have an extensive fly tying gallery on our website for those of you looking to tie up some patterns before the season get going. http://www.guidebc.com/flypatterns.asp

Here is one of my favorites

Epoxy Chum Fry Hook: #6-10 Thread: 6/0 Olive Body: Silver Diamond Braid or Mylar Tubing Tail: Olive Mallard Back: Olive Mallard Head: Olive Thread Eyes: 2/2.5 mm Stick on Eyes

Tying Instructions: Start by tying in the diamond braid at the bend of the hook and wrap forward ¾ way up the hook. Build up a large enough head using your thread so that the eyes can be later put on. Tie in mallard with tips pointing forward. Whip finish. Restart your thread at the bend and pull mallard over the back of the hook and tie off mallard. Tail length can be ¼ to ½ the shank length. Coat the fly in a thin coat of epoxy, add the eyes at this time.

Fraser River Sturgeon

Although we don’t do allot of winter sturgeon fishing we did have 1 group out last weekend. Fishing was fair but we still prefer to let sturgeon rest a bit longer while water temperatures remain quite cool. Once we begin to see some warming trends we will get back out and begin offering daily charters. Usually Middle to end of March things begin to pick up so it’s a good time to begin booking your spring trip. Best fishing in spring is between April 10 to May 30 when the Eulichons are in the river.

Spring Specials

• "Fill The Boat" Spring Special. 6 hours for $560, 8 hours for $700, up to 4 anglers. Total Savings – $120 off our regular price. Trip must be taken before July 15.
• Sturgeon Seminar – book 2 seats on our Spring sturgeon seminar and receive a 3rd seat for Free. Total Savings – $175
• Jet Boat Seminar – book 2 seats on our Spring Jet Boat seminar and receive a 3rd seat for Free. Total Savings – $195

Vedder River

The Vedder has been fishing good this week, several of our guides have been out with some excellent results. Water levels have been stable but raining pretty hard today so not too sure what that will do to the water clarity. We are expecting more rain so it will be a hit/miss fishery over the next few days. Overall the season has been good with average run size returning to the Vedder this year. Over the next few weeks we should see the largest push of fish so now’s the time to be out on the Vedder. Salmon eggs, roe bags and small wool ties have all been producing fish. I would start using sand shrimp or even table shrimp as water temperatures begin to warm.

Nice fish landed by STS guide Dan Macleod this past week.

Here’s another beauty chrome doe to hit the beach.

Chehalis River

I drove over the Chehalis River this morning, the river is in good shape but was on the rise as the rain was just pouring down. We are getting snow in the higher elevations so it should not blow out for the weekend unless air temperatures rise above 8 or 9 degrees. There are a few nice steelies been caught on the Chehalis but overall fishing is a bit slow. Hiking into the canyon is a good bet or try fishing one of the larger runs below the main bridge. I would suggest using smaller offerings such as roe bags or table shrimp for best success.

Harrison River

Water levels continue to be very low on the Harrison, water clarity is excellent. For those of you that fish this river regularly, the boat ramp under the Harrison river bridge is closed until the water comes back up, kilby, on the other hand is still open and there is enough water to easily launch any boat up to 18′.

STS Guide Casey Martin was out a few days ago and it was the first day he has seen salmon fry in the river this year. The fish should start really start keying in on these but they will also still be looking for alevin so Make sure you have a good selection of both patterns if you are planning on heading out fishing. Here are a few of the ones we like to use.

Fishing was slow for us for the first half of the day but managed to land a number of fish by the late afternoon. The fish we have been catching lately have been on the smaller size with the odd fish in the 14-16 inch range. Due to the low clear water most of the spots we like to fish are too shallow to hold fish in them at this time. The fish that we are catching are coming out of spots where the deeper than 6 feet and you can’t see the bottom so try to focus on those spots if your out there on the water . Above are two photos of my largest cutthroat from yesterday it measured in at 16"

As more fry start to emerge in the coming weeks more fish will start to move into the system so expect this fishery get really good really soon. If your intrested in doing some winter trout fishing with us or if you have any questions. feel free to give us a call, Local 1-604-671-3474,
Toll free- 1-855-223-5453, or email us at info

Hells Gate Jet Boat Tours

Our big 28ft twin engine boat will be at the Tradex Show parked near the front doors. We are offering a show special which must be booked at the show so make sure you drop by our booth inside the show to get the details. Our next available tour is April 30, we still have a few seats so please feel free to e-mail or see us at the show.

For more information on our jet boat tours, please visit http://www.hellsgatejetboattours.com

West Coast Salmon & Halibut Fishing – 2013 Dates released for West Coast newest lodge,

Whales Reach Lodge at Coal Harbour has teamed up with STS and we are now offering our guests spectacular salmon & halibut fishing through the summer when salmon fishing is not available in the Fraser River. Our location offers calm water fishing for both Chinook & Coho and we don’t have to run 30 miles off shore for Halibut.

2013 season schedule

Our 4 day 3 night package is just enough time to fill the coolers with salmon and halibut for the year. Calm water fishing with opportunity to head out to sea for those like me who like to fish big west coast water.

Trip details – All inclusive packages with 2 – 4 anglers per boat, 100% guided, all gear provided. Arrival day begins with meet & greet then head out onto the water for an afternoon salmon fish, returning for a crab feast by the fire. Day 2 & 3 are full days fishing for salmon and halibut followed by dinner and post fishing activities. Wrap up this incredible trip with a morning fish before heading home with your cooler full of salmon, halibut, snapper, cod, bass, crab and some prawns.

Trip Dates:

1. July 18 – 21
2. July 21 – 24
3. July 25 – 28
4. July 28 – 31
5. Aug 1 – 4
6. Aug 4 – 7
7. Aug 8 – 11
8. Aug 12 – 15

The above dates are Thursday – Sunday or Sunday to Wednesday

Weekend and longer stays are available, maximum group size of 6 anglers per date. Combination package including Fraser Sturgeon are also available.

2013 Rates:

• 2 anglers – $2770 p/p
• 3 anglers – $2100 p/p
• 4 anglers – $1875 p/p