After a good nights rest, and finding out all my classes were cancelled today, I took advantage and headed to the Vedder.
With the rain we had yesterday I was skeptical on water clarity and hoped to read an early morning conditions report from Chris. I figured by 10am he would have already been back in bed after bonking his fish for the day.
But unfortunately the
Chilliwack River Water Conditions thread had no recent posts. So I checked the hydrograph and saw a slight increase in depth but nothing significant. I then tried the
Vedder River Cam to see what the water looked like but the camera or site wasn’t working for me. At this point I considered the gas costs, the late start and whether I would be better off staying home and working on some past due assignments and applying for some scholarships. Screw that! I’m gonna fish!
Pack up the gear and I’m out the door and on the road in 10 minutes. I realized why I normally leave before first light; traffic is bad in Vancouver any time other than between 1am and 6am. I decide since I’m being held up anyway I’ll stop at Pacific Angler and pick up some leader and chat with the guys. After a slightly longer stop than usual I’m back on the road.
I arrive at my destination after crossing the river and noticing very few vehicles out I am again suspicious of the water clarity. Oh well. I throw on the gear as quick as possible and head down to the river. It’s murky, but not unfishable. I look up river and see 3 guys. Across river there is one guy. So I start on my side fishing the water with a 6” bubble gum pink worm. After a couple dozen casts or so my float takes a suspicious dip in the tailout of the run. I pull back hard, but nothing to show for it but a worm barely holding on. “Hmmm, was that a fish?” I wonder. I throw on a deli shrimp and make a few more casts making sure to cover the area where my float went down. No love so I continue on down river.
I fish through the next few runs fairly quick thinking there is no chance of catching one with only 8-10” of visibility. I get to a run I know holds fish and decide to work the water good since it’s only a short run. I start graphing out the run in my mind making sure to cover the water right in close to shore as I know they can be found here when they feel safe because of low visibility.
I make my first few casts with nothing to show. On my fourth cast which is about half way across the run in a nice looking slick, my stealth float starts to tip. I figure I’m hitting bottom so I pull back slowly, but the feeling is weird so I accelerate the set a bit. Sure enough I feel some head shakes, and up splashes a beautiful looking fish. As I nervously play the fish I realize it is the first fish hooked on my new GL3 12’ rod. I look up and appreciate the arc it has and how nice it feels to be playing a fish on such a sensitive light rod. Anyway, back to the fish. After a short battle I figure I have her under control so I ease her into shin deep water and attempt to tail her. This proves to be more difficult than expected with a 12’ rod. A few failed tries later and I have her in my hands. I pop the hook out and pull out my camera for a quick photo op. Couple shots and I send her on her way as she still has the adipose fin.
I sit down and reflect on what has just happened. First steelhead of the year landed in the lower mainland. First steelhead hooked here, for that matter. After a quick rest to let my nerves settle I’m back to it. I fish through the run again but I can’t find her lover so I move on.
I continue down river working the water for another two hours, and I see neither a fish nor a fisherman. After getting back to my truck and grabbing lunch I figure it’s time for a change of scenery. I head to the upper river hoping to find clearer water. As I pull into my spot another fisherman is leaving. We chat for a bit and he tells me he had no luck but he did see one roll. That leaves me anxious to fish more so I bid him adieu and head down to make a few more casts. As I reach the river I realize that I have not moved high enough up river; it is still murky. I fish it anyway for an hour or so with no luck.
I climb back into my truck and decide to call ‘er quits rather than trying to find better water. I’ve had a good day, and I wouldn’t mind catching the Canucks game if I can. It was a good day on the water. Only had a little rain, and didn’t have snow or wind, plus a caught a fish.
Author
Topic: Chilliwack River, April 2nd 2009 (Read 1645 times)