May 17 Fishing Update

Water levels on the Fraser have risen substantially the past week reaching 8.90 meters at Hope this morning, this water level is high for this time of the year but is expected when warm weather arrives and snowmelt begins. There is lots of debris in the water so boaters need to keep an watchful eye on the bow when anchored and when boating up or down river. The good news is that sturgeon fishing is still good and we have a few hot spots that will keep us out of the main flow.

Fraser River Sturgeon fishing continues to be good throughout the lower river, lots of smaller fish in the 3 to 5 foot range with the occasional fish over 6 ft. The best baits have been lamprey and Eulachon but salmon eggs are producing a few as well. Although the water is high and dirty sturgeon will continue to feed through the freshet, numbers of fish landed will drop slightly but size of catch usually increases in June and July.

Our next peak sturgeon fishery will begin in mid to late August and lasting well into late November, we will also be targeting salmon during this time period so if you would like to try both salmon and sturgeon on the same trip, we recommend you book an 8 hour charter. Speaking of salmon fishing, we are currently fishing for salmon around Vancouver and Gulf Islands having some good success for Chinook in the 12-15lb range with the odd fish over 20lbs.

The Vancouver sky line offers a spectacular view of the city while fishing for salmon, we also drop our crab traps on all 6 and 8 hour charters.

Trout fishing on the Pitt will start up next week, we will be targeting sea-run Bull Trout and Salmon on the fly and spin tackle for those that do not fly fish. This trip is a great experience that is only 45 minutes from the city yet thick into the wilderness of Garibaldi Park. This fishery is excellent from early June through until mid August , we highly recommend this trip.

Hells Gate Jet Boat Tours will not be running during freshet, once water levels begin to drop we will get back up the canyon and offer guided tours and sturgeon fishing charters. We are expecting some great water in late July through August and September so book early as we are already getting full.