OUTLOOK
It’s tournament weekend! Over Saturday and Sunday, the Vancouver Chinook Classic is running. As we write this report the chinook fishing has been nothing but spectacular and we are super excited to see what happens in the tournament. If you are heading out, you will see all the competitors on the water, so we ask that everyone plays nice and gives space.
There will be a little shift in weather coming Saturday with overcast skies, a touch of rain and calm seas. On Sunday it goes back to sun and cloud with the standard unpredictable winds you see after a front pulls through. This could make the fishing better or send the fish up the river it’s hard to tell.
This catch and release tournament is designed to showcase the best anglers in the local trolling fleet so they shouldn’t have a problem dealing with the changing weather but keep your eyes on the marine forecast and we wish everyone a safe, fun time out on the water this weekend.
Check out Jason’s saltwater report for details on the tournament and details on the chinook fishing.
This weather change should be good for most of our other fisheries as well. Temps will remain warm and overcast skies will help our river fisheries and beach fisheries. A little rain will also help keep river temperatures cool in the Fraser.
The pinks have definitely arrived in numbers this week. We have been hearing sold reports from Squamish and we have some, “ok” reports from the beaches.
They have shut down pink salmon retention on the Squamish. This is due to lower than hoped early numbers, but the river is still open to catch and release so don’t hesitate to get out there. The closure raises some conservation discussions and management concerns but catch and release fishing for pinks has a very low mortality if done correctly so overall it makes for a great catch and release fishery. With this in mind, make sure to release all fish with care. Even if there are a ton of fish, don’t use that as an excuse to be rough with them. The pink run is complicated. There are different populations of pinks that travel from different waters even if they are all going to the same home river. The early component for the Squamish was not strong this year and we need to be careful to protect these fish.
Zach has featured one of his favorited pink patterns in this week’s report. It can be adapted for the beach or the river so if you are looking for some inspiration at the vice you will not want to miss it.
We have also heard pink reports from the Capilano mouth. This is a fun spot to go pink fishing but these reports also que us for other fisheries. It is usually a safe bet to wait until reports come from the Capilano mouth to start looking at the areas off the mouth of the Seymour and up Indian Arm.
Aiden has a piece on lake fishing in August. Normally this is not a focus in the warmer months of the year but we have had a fairly temperate summer and there are still good options to be had. He lays these out in the report and touches on the need for care when releasing trout in warmer conditions.
Finally, the Skagit is still fishing well. Sean has a report and Brendan has an article on bull trout flies and strategies that you might find interesting.
On to the report!!
https://www.pacificangler.ca/pacific-angler-friday-fishing-report-august-16-2019/
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Topic: Pacific Angler Friday Fishing Report: August 16, 2019 (Read 3793 times)