Welcome to another steelhead fishing report! Sorry for posting this a bit late, but I was extremely busy yesterday so I had to postpone the report until today. Anyways, I hope all of you guys are having a good holiday season thus far and are getting to spend lots of time out there steelhead fishing.
Having it been nearly two weeks since I last fished the Chilliwack-Vedder, I was eager to get out there this morning considering the rain had held off for a couple of days. The river graph showed the water level was hovering around 2.25 which is quite high, but i figured it could be doable if the clarity was alright. I set the alarm clock for 7 AM the night before. The one problem with fishing (especially steelhead fishing) is the fact that I can't sleep well the night before the trip. I'm to eager for my own good!
Even though I live so close to the river and am able to fish quite often, every trip has me just a little too over-excited. Anyways back to the story. The alarm clock rings at 7 AM and I then quickly rise out of bed, gather all of my fishing gear and swiftly head out for the brief 15 or so minute walk to the river. The weather was cooler this morning, around 3 degrees. I imagine an adventurous day out on the water with the chance of hooking an ever so prized steelhead. I arrive at the lower river around 7:30 AM to find that the clarity was a little worse than what I was expecting. I imagine the clay bank must have given out the day before. Visibility was around 18-24" first thing in the morning. Still fish able, I setup my gear and proceed to start casting through the runs. I had brought my bait cast setup for a change this trip as I usually go with the good old centerpin for most of my steelheading. Shortly after I start, I decide to head further down river to find some side streams or slower moving water as the water in the main channel was too high, fast and mucky for my liking.
I find a couple of nice seams further downstream and start to cast away. I was using some pro-cured prawn tails this morning to change things up a bit. The clarity wasn't too great so I thought the extra colour may help attract some fish. The clarity/visibility improved as I went further downstream. The visibility went from two feet to around four feet which was great. The float ran dry in the first couple of runs. Some of the runs looked very fishy and they looked like places where steelhead would hold in these type of conditions if the fish were around. Unfortunately for me, there were no fish to be had. I continue to work downstream fishing all the fishy looking areas and still, the float remains dry. As I am working my way through a run, I notice a small back eddy and decide to cast a couple times in it. First cast in, the float dips, but there's nothing to pull back on. I was only fishing around 3 feet from float to hook so I couldn't imagine it was a snag. I cast a couple more times but to no avail. I stop fishing for a quick water break and snack, and continue working my way down to the Bergman Rd area. I talked to a couple old timers and they weren't having any luck either.
It was nearing 11:30 AM, so I decided to fish the last couple of runs and then head back home. Quite a few guys were out there. The most I've seen this early in the season. Although I didn't hook any steelhead this trip, being out in nature and enjoying the surrounding makes it all worth while. Having the float go down and hooking a steelhead is just a bonus. Although my record now stands at 0-2. Things will change soon I can assure you!
I now see that another fish was brought into Fred's this morning which makes a total of 5 fish brought in and weighed so far this season which is pretty good to see. Hopefully I'll be able to bring one into the shop soon, perhaps even to take the first place prize. Anyways, I wish all of you a happy holiday season filled with lots of chrome. Tight lines!
Oops I almost forgot, no report is finished without a couple of pics. By the way, the pictures are STRICTLY to show the river conditions and scenery. No "secret honey holes" given
I wonder if you can spot the eagle in this picture
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Topic: Chilliwack River, December 15th 2015 (Read 3771 times)