Fly Fishing Vancouver and Upper Pitt River

Vancouver fly fishing offers some of the best fly fishing in Vancouver area. Locally within 30 minutes from the city of Vancouver you can experience fly fishing for salmon, fly fishing for trout, and fly fishing for steelhead. We fish 7 river systems & 50 lakes including fly fishing the Upper Pitt River and fly fishing the Fraser River, all of which are within 90 minutes of Vancouver including several remote rivers. Fishing with Fly Fishing Vancouver you can experience some of the most beautiful scenery and most spectacular fly fishing for 5 species of salmon, sea run bull trout, cutthroats and steelhead.

Harry Graham of County Atrim, Ireland caught this 30 plus lb Chinook Salmon while fly fishing the Fraser River.

Fly fishing in the Vancouver region is a year round fishery with calm open waters. We fly fish during winter months for trout and steelhead on both the Fraser River and Vedder River, once spring arrives we continue to fly fish for steelhead but turn our trout fishing to the Fraser River where millions of salmon fry are migrating to the ocean. Steelhead fly fishing is one of the most challenging and rewarding fisheries in our region. We offer both guided day trips and instructional fly fishing lessons.

June & July provide some of the best fly fishing for sea-run trout on the Upper Pitt River. We spend most of the summer fly fishing this river for trout up to 10 lbs. This fly fishing adventure begins only 40 minutes drive from Vancouver with a spectacular boat ride across one of the largest tidal lakes in North America. Once we arrive at the north end we begin our adventure into the remote region known as the upper Pitt River Valley. You can read more on this adventure on our trout pages.

This 3lb trout was caught during the month of June, all fish caught on this river are released unharmed.

Salmon fly fishing begins in late summer and lasts until well into the month of November. Each river system has it’s own unique fisheries and best times to fish. We offer fly-fishing for salmon on the Fraser River, Harrison River, Pitt River, Lillooet River, Stave River and several other local rivers. For day trips we would choose the best river at that time period, for those looking for multi-day trips or week long fishing holidays, we would fish several rivers for a variety of salmon species. see our salmon fly fishing pages for more detailed description as to when and where we fish.

It’s been an up and down weekend out on the flow, The Fraser water level has increased from 6.0 to 7.1 meters at Hope Station in the last 5-6 days but looks like it may be stabilizing for the weekend. Local and interior lakes are producing some very nice fish and the Vedder steelhead fishery is still available for a few more days before closing to gear fishing on April 30. See below for detailed report.

Fraser River Sturgeon

Sturgeon fishing has slowed from last week but catches are still very consistent considering the rising river. A fair amount of logs and sticks in the river so keep an eye out on your bow for larger logs floating into your anchore line. Average catch has gone down slightly but we are still managing some great days. This weekend should be good a water levels have stabilized and we are expecting some sun for Saturday and Sunday. Best Baits have been Lamprey eel, salmon eggs and Eulchon, all can be purchased at Freds Custom Tackle in Abbotsford.

Sturgeon don’t need to be 8 feet to be fun, these 4 to 6 footers are plenty of a challenge for most anglers. Sure 8 footers are great if you’re in shape and have been preparing for your trip to the Fraser but there is nothing like a scrappy 6 footer to test your fitness level.

Congratulation to Ray & Deloris on their 50th wedding anniversary . They are no longer sturgeon virgins.

Vancouver Salmon Fishing

Fishing out on the salt has been good all week, all of our charters caught fish, we managed a couple beauties over 20 lbs and some nice Chinook in the mid to high teens. As usual the Gibbs/Delta Guide Series Flashers are kicking butt in Howe Sound and Southern end of Bowen Island, trolling spoons and anchovies from 70 to 120 feet is a good bet. Weather looks good for the weekend so might be a good time to hit south end of Bowen Island as it should be really turning on anytime.

Looking to get out and do some saltwater salmon fishing, we still have some boats for this weekend and next week, great time to get out. Give us a call. 604-671-3474

Come join us in the Fraser Canyon this summer for some great sturgeon fishing and whitewater jet boating. We still have some great dates in August and September.

Looking for some tropical fishing? Vic has the place for you. How about Costa Rica

Speaking of warm weather and great fishing. Vic Carrao of STS Guiding rents out his winter home in Costa Rica to friends , family and of course fisherman. His home is located on the Pacific Coast where sport fishing for sailfish, roosters, mahi mahi and marlin is world class. June through to October is prime fishing time and our good friend from Vancouver Rick Graham runs Dream On Sportfishing https://www.facebook.com/DreamOnSportfishing/?pnref=story.unseen-section

Vic’s home is the perfect place to spend a week or two while enjoying the great fishing, No car rental necessary, all guided fishing trips include transportation. This home is suitable for 4 anglers, has all the ammenities of home and your own private pool. Call Vic or check out his Home Away page at https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p4119487?flspusage=fl

Teresa Carrao with just one of many beautiful Rooster fish caught in Costa Rica.

Hope you have a great weekend

Vic Carrao

Sturgeon Fishing on the Fraser continues to produce some great results, lots of fish being caught in the 3 to 5 foot range and good numbers of fish between 5 to 7 feet. Vedder steelhead is slowing down and local and interior trout fishing is picking up. Vancouver salmon fishing has been fair to good so lots of choices right now. See below for detailed reports

Sturgeon fishing has been excellent all week and should continue into the weekend. Weather is changing a bit and the warm weather this week might bring down some debris and higher water conditions. Lamprey, salmon roe and Eulachon have all been working, Freds Tackle in Abbotsford sells bait if you are looking for good bait, incase you haven’t heard the Freds Custom Tackle in Chilliwack is closed down but Abbotsford Store is open 8am 7 days a week.

I was out for a few hours this week doing some scouting for the weekend, I don’t fish much in the lower river these days so it was nice to get out with a few friends and enjoy this great weather. We are now booking our Fall Season for both salmon and sturgeon, this is a great time to book as our guides are now starting to get booked up by their regular clients. We have some great day rates and packages for out of town guests, drop us an e-mail.

We have been fishing all over the place recently and finding fish in a variety of locations depending on the day. The South End of Bowen Island and Vancouver Harbour have been where we have spending most of our time. Most days we are seeing consistent results with enough action to keep our guests well entertained. As per usual in late April a lot of the chinook salmon are out in the deep water. In particular areas like the QA Marker, The Hump, Cape Roger Curtis, Cowan Point and the outer reaches of Vancouver Harbour are proving to be some of the more consistent producers over the last week. Howe Sound has also had some very good days and the fish we have been getting up there are being caught pretty close to bottom like in the winter months.

We have been running a good mix of bait and spoons over the last couple weeks. Our best producing spoons have been the Outfitter and Bon Chovy Skinny G’s. We have been running mostly green/chartreuse glow type Rhys Davis teaser heads. The STS, Bon Chovy, and Lemon Lime Guide Series Flashers have been treating us well as always.

Our Pitt River Fly Fishing trips will begin in late May, this fishery offers some great fly fishing with some amazing scenery, we are now booking for June and July Pitt River trips so if you are looking for a great trip, this is the one that should be on the bucket list. We offer fly fishing for sea run Bull Trout and Salmon as well as light spin tackle for non-fly fishers.

Here is a nice3 bull trout caught on light spin tackle using a Gibbs/Delta Ironhead lure, these are killer for trout and salmon

Hope you have a great weekend

Celebrating 22 years of providing quality fishing charters 1994-2016.

Vic Carrao

STS Guiding Service

604-671-3474