Water on the Fraser is extremely high but despite that Thomas is still pulling in some nice sturgeon. Lots of debris in the water so if you are planning on heading out this weekend, be sure to use some caution, better yet, let us take you out and show you some high water fishing.

Great shot taken this morning by Thomas while out high water sturgeon fishing.

Vancouver Salmon fishing continues to produce good results for Chinook Salmon and the Upper Pitt Se-run bull trout fishery is just getting started. Over the next few weeks we will be targeting salmon, sea-run trout and sturgeon so if you are looking for a great way to celebrate Fathers Day, give us a shout.

Fathers Day Special – book any one of our guided fishing trip for 2 people and bring 2 more anglers at no charge, trip must be taken on fathers day week. Or purchase your fishing father an STS Hoodie and we will ship it for free.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Vic Carrao

Best Salmon returns in decades are expected to return to the Fraser this summer/fall

2014 is starting to look like it could just be one of the best salmon seasons in decades. The preliminary pre-season forecast for 2014 are indicating strong runs of salmon throughout British Columbia. When looking through the forecast there are over 90 specific reports ranging from a rating of 1 ( stock of concern) to 4 ( abundant).The good news is that many of the reports are indicating surplus fish and in the case of sockeye everyone is excited to get the season started.

Vancouver Salmon Fishing

The salmon Fishing in the Gulf Islands has been on fire for the past two weeks, lots of Chinook in the 15 to 25lb range being caught as well as some Ling Cod and even a few Halibut. One of the most overlooked and ignored fisheries along the coast is the salmon fishery right outside Vancouver near the confluence of the Fraser. Once this area is opened to salmon retention we offer some of the best local salmon fishing you will find. From early July through to middle of August we will be offering salmon fishing charters for Chinook and Sockeye out of our Delta Hotel location, until then the Gulf Islands is only a 1 hour run so we will target these fish as long as the weather allows us to cross over to the Island.

West Coast Vancouver Island Adventures

Along with these huge runs of sockeye, the Columbia river is expecting millions of Coho and Chinook which travel down the west coast of Vancouver Island. We will be targeting these fish from our west coast location near Port Hardy where the salmon and halibut fishing is legendary. STS will be on the Island targeting Salmon and Halibut from late June through to early August, if you would like to join us we still have a few dates available. If you can’t make it to the Island we will also be offering daily charters out of our Vancouver locations.

We offer any combination of nights/days but our most popular is our 4 night 3 day package.

4 nights at Whales Reach Lodge
Breakfast each morning
Lunch each day of Fishing.
Dinner each night
3 Full Days of Guided fishing (8 to 12 hours per day)
Fish for Chinook, Coho, Halibut, Snapper, Ling Cod

2 – person – $2640.00 per person
3 – person – $2200.00 per person
4 – person – $1995.00 per person
Fishing License & tax not included in above price

We are 95% full for July, please call or e-mail us for available dates.

Fraser River Salmon Fishing

As i mentioned above the Fraser River is expecting 10’s of millions of sockeye salmon during the summer of 2014, these fish will begin migrating up the Fraser in early July but the bulk of fish will be in the river by early to middle August. My early season prediction is that fishing on the Fraser will be consistent and predictable between August 15 to September 10, if you look at the 30 million run that returned in 2010, these time periods are similar.

Salmon/Sturgeon combo trips will begin producing excellent results once the salmon fishery is opened on the Fraser in early August. Most years it takes about a week once the rec fishery is opened. Sturgeon will begin feeding in the main stem river and on and below popular sockeye fishing bars along the Fraser. If you are looking for some great eating salmon to take home and would like to include a Trophy Sturgeon Picture for the wall, book between August 15 & Sept 10 for best chances in summer.

Fall salmon and sturgeon fishing is also very good on the Fraser, Harrison and other local tributaries. The Fall has always been considered the best fishing of the year for both salmon and sturgeon. Many of our guests who fish the Fall time period come mainly to catch Trophy Sturgeon but salmon fishing on light tackle and fly can be epic. During Fall ( Sept 15 to Nov 15) we fish for Chinook, Coho and Chum Salmon as well as Sturgeon.

Looking for some great local fishing in June & July

If your are looking for some great local fishing over the next 2 months, there are several fisheries that should be considered. Although the Fraser River is high, there is still some good fishing for sturgeon in side channels and main stem river behind islands. The Vancouver Salmon fishing is fair to excellent during this time period and one of our premier fisheries, the upper Pitt River will be fishing at it’s best through both June and July.

Fraser Canyon Fishing and Jet Boat Tours will be available beginning August 1, most weekends are already full but we do still have a few seats on tours for August 9 & 23 and we have a full day canyon adventure for August 24. If you are looking for a unique experience, this trip is one that should be considered. We will also be offering a shorter 2 hour tour from Hope to Sailor Bar departing from Hope in the afternoons.

For those of you who are looking for a private lodge atmosphere our Above & Beyond Anglers Retreat is the perfect getaway, we still have some dates available for end of August and October which are both great times to fish and Golf at the Sandpiper. Our 2 night 3 day golf/fishing packages start at $1150 per person based on 8 people and offer private accommodations, all meals, private chef and 2 days of guided fishing and 1 day of golf.

We really look forward to what should be an excellent summer /fall season, all our guides are ready to go and we are excited. We hope to see you and please feel free to call or e-mail us with any questions or concerns.

Celebrating 20 years of Guiding Fishing Adventures 1994-2014

Vic Carrao

STS Guiding Service

www.guidebc.com

Local 1-604-671-3474

Toll free- 1-855-223-5453

This past week has been fair to excellent for both salmon and sturgeon, the weather is looking great for the next week or two so looks like we are going to have some great fishing weather. This would be a great weekend for some salmon fishing as the Gulf Islands are heating up, see below for detailed report.

Vancouver Salmon Fishing

Salmon fishing has been excellent this past week, lots of Chinook Salmon in the 10 to 25lb range being caught over at Thrasher Rock and around Nanaimo area. Most of the guides are trolling with the new Gibbs/Delta Guide Series Flashers with either spoons or hoochies with UV glo. This combination seems to work the best but fishing has been on fire the past few days so as long as you find them, you should be able to pick them up on spoons, hoochies or anchovi.

If you are looking to get out over the next week or two, give us a shout, Gulf Island fishing is red hot

Fraser River Sturgeon

The Fraser River is steadily rising and I would suspect that this warm weather we are about to get is going to bring it up even further. There is some debris in the water but not too bad so far. Sturgeon fishing has been fair to good this past week, most of our fish are coming on Lamprey eel but we are also picking up some fish on Eulichon and salmon roe. Covering lots of water seems to produce good results so lots of drops is the key right now.

Walt and Audrey with her first ever sturgeon, nice job Audrey.

Over the next few weeks we will see the Fraser rise due to the expected warm weather and snowmelt, this might make fishing the Fraser difficult but we will continue to offer daily sturgeon charters until the river becomes unfishable. If you are planning on going out, watch out for logs and partial sunken trees drifting down the river, best is to fish close to shore, back waters and side channels. The salmon fishing in the Gulf is hot so if we can’t do sturgeon we have options.

Upcoming Fisheries

As I mentioned above the salmon fishing is red hot right now and should remain that way for another 3 to 4 weeks, all Gulf Island trips are 8 to 10 hours but well worth the run over to the Island. We will continue to offer daily charters from Richmond and Granville Island so just give us a shout and we will hook you up. Another great fishery about to begin is the Upper Pitt River Bull Trout, this fishery begins last week in May and runs well into August.

For the month of June we are mostly targeting Bull Trout with fly or light tackle spinning gear, then as the sockeye and chinook move in we will be catching all 3 species. We are expecting a big run of sockeye on both the Fraser and Pitt this summer so this would be a great opportunity to experience the Upper Pitt River catch & release fishery, if you are looking to keep some sockeye for the table, the Fraser River is August/September will be your best bet.

West Coast Salmon & Halibut fishing is heating up, June through to August is best for Chinook , Coho and Halibut out of our Coal Harbour location on Vancouver Island. We will be operating 3 boats from last week in June through to first week in August so if you are looking for that trip of a lifetime, this is the trip for you. Our rates are reasonable and all charters are guaranteed a boat load of fish. Last season was amazing and we are anticipating an even better season for 2014.

Beautiful Yellow eye Snapper which are abundant in the waters we fish.

We still have 1 trip available for 4 nights 3 days for up to 4 anglers, cost is $1875 per person, includes accommodations, meals and guided fishing. We also have one 3 night 2 day and several day trips. If you are wanting to experience some of the best fishing on the coast, shoot me an e-mail.

In summary, if you are looking for some great salmon action, now through to middle of June is excellent in the Gulf Islands, then we move to West Coast for month of July where we are expecting over 1 million Coho and Chinook then back to Fraser River for August through to November where Department of fisheries has predicted up to 70 million sockeye salmon to return. During this time period will continue to offer daily sturgeon charters out of our 3 locations, Delta Airport Hotel, Mission and Fraser Canyon and don’t forget about the upper Pitt River Bull Trout Fishery.

Hope you have a great week, see you on the water.

Vic Carrao