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[catch22]

Has anyone been up that way yet ? Any reports on fish numbers ?  thanks...

[bkk]

Squamish chum returns todate have been very poor. The local Sport Fish Advisory Concel had a confrence call with DFO on Wednsday and the news is bad. Johnstone Straight chum test fishery catch have been bad and all commmercial fisheries have been closed. Squamish chum migrate with Fraser chums when in the marine approach areas so if Fraser chum are poor it can be assumed that Squamish will be bad as well. Chum have crashed everwhere on the BC coast this year as the juvenile migrated to the ocean in the spring of 2007, the same year as last years no show sockeye. Fishing in the system has been very hit and miss with a few small groups of chum moving thru the lower river followed by long periods of nothing. A far cry from what should be happening at this time of year. My advise is that if your looking for chum be prepared for a whole lot of nothing or very little. Hope that things improve next year with the increased marine survival of fish that entered the ocean in the spring of 2008.

[tmilley]

That's devastating.  Last year there were loads of them.  I was there a bit late in the season so they were zombies, but there was no shortage of them.

[purplehelmet]

Isn't the big flood of 2006 the reason?

[bkk]

That's devastating.  Last year there were loads of them.  I was there a bit late in the season so they were zombies, but there was no shortage of them.

Actually last year was poor! What data there is on the Squamish suggested that the return was about 30% of "normal" and the majority of the run came in one week and that was it. That return was consistent with the year before, both poor. This will now be 4 years in a row without a good escapement. The nice thing is chum can bounce back quickly as there are a fair number of groundwater chum spawning channels on the system. All we need now is some improved marine survival as were still getting good numbers of juvenile chum out of the Cheakamus ( thanks to CN Rail for removing most of the cautids from that river  )

[hamster]

Reading the reports it states that

"...the daily limit for chum salmon is reduced to zero (0) effective one
hour after sunset, Sunday, October 24, 2010 until December 31, 2010 on the
Harrison River, Stave River and Nicomen Slough."

Is the Squamish river still open for chum retention?  If not, is there a possibility it could close, too?

I have to admit, I'm not too familiar with rivers other than the Vedder.

[Rodney]

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/fresh-douce/region2-eng.htm

Retention for chum salmon is closed on the Squamish River.

[fishseeker]

On the bright side.  Retention closure means quieter fishing conditions [...and the Sqaumish sure was quiet compared to previous years]

[hamster]

Rodney - Thanks for the link.  It is most helpful.