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[goodoldays]

Hit the vedder yesterday and today, water from up top is perfect I would have to say. visibility is near crystal clear and water levels were near perfect. Had a spring on briefly yesterday, but spat my hook in a matter  of seconds. then nothing else for the rest of the day. Lots of sockeye surfacing, hooked into a few and all were carefully released in the water away from shallow rocks. Todays report was much the same except that I didn't hook into  any springs nor seen anyone else. There were a handful of anglers at the run I was fishing and they caught some socks but no springs for anyone. Did stop by the hatchery and noticed 5 springs in the hatchery. Usually this time of year would be a lot better but just like the river....she changes every year. I did notice something different, where I would normally hook springs, there seems to be lots of sockeye present and it's getting a little annoying I hate to hook into them but they seem to be everywhere!!! fast water, deep pools you name it. Are other anglers experiencing the same thing or is it just me?

[CohoMan]

Thanks for the info. Did you check out the lower end? How was the condition below the crossing and down.

Thanks.

[Every Day]

Lots of sockeye are around this year. It is crazy, one Sunday we must have seen over 200 jump all in the same run in around 5 hours. They were bright chrome fish that were moving up in schools, sometimes 5 or 6 would jump at a time. Went tubing today from just above the Crossing down to the train bridge. Only saw 1 person fishing and a few fish jumping, including 1 Spring. Water is perfect down there with a good 3 ft visibility. Good Luck if you go out again.

Tight Lines 
Dan

[buck]

    This years sockeye return to Chilliwack Lake is expected to be 8000 fish although the total run may be much larger depending on survival rates. By the number of fish showing I would
expect it to be much larger. Chinook returns thus far appear to be low with few fish showing up at the hatchery. ED water conditions in the low river %$#@ unless you like fishing in milk.

[Every Day]

    This years sockeye return to Chilliwack Lake is expected to be 8000 fish although the total run may be much larger depending on survival rates. By the number of fish showing I would
expect it to be much larger. Chinook returns thus far appear to be low with few fish showing up at the hatchery. ED water conditions in the low river %$#@ unless you like fishing in milk.

I guess I like fishing in milk then, and havn't been doing too bad    And I agree with then run being much larger, I have seen hundereds in the 4 days I've been out this week/last week. Seen quite a few springers too, I guess maybe they like hiding in the milk since no one fishes it 

[milo]

Due to the blackout in Downtown Vancouver I got an unexpected day off today, so I decided to hit the mighty Cheddar for the first time this season.
I was disappointed to see the river in very poor shape for my taste. Still a foot too high, very silty, with visibility around half a foot in the lower and the mid rivers.
This is what it looked like near one of my favourite haunts:



I tried a few casts just for the sake of it, but no joy.

I was with my son, for whom this was the first outing for salmon ever, and I thought that the day would be a fishless one, much to his disappointment.

I decided to try further up the river, above the clay banks, hoping to find some clear water.
Again, much to my disappointment, all of "my spots" looked rather unfishable. The water was simply too high to allow for the formation of those wonderful spring holding pools.

I decided to check one more spot - one that I don't usually fish because of the snagfest that usually goes on in there, but much to my surprise, there was only one car there instead of the usual 10-12. Hmmmm....maybe it is worth it.

So my son and I descended to the river, only to find two guys fishing TOW, all set with bright orange betties and long leaders. 
Not wanting a confrontation, I just sat down and watched for a while. Sure indeed, they were coveriing the wrong water and they hooked into a couple sockeye within ten minutes. Fortunately for me, they were losing their gear quite often, which gave me a chance to position myself in the right spot while they were retying.

Out came a juicy roe bag and a pinch of pink yarn, tied on a #2 red gammy on a 24" leader under a DNE float. I cast a couple of times to get the feel of the bottom and readjust my float to just about a foot off the bottom. Once I was confortable that the weight wouldn't snag, I proceeded to work the seam between the fast and slow waters leading to a nice deep pool - the only truly "springy" looking water I saw today.
On one of the casts, the float went down. I set the hook, but didn't connect. Sure enough, the roe bag was trashed.

Confident that the piece of water was definitely holding a sping or two, I put another bag on the hook and cast again. At almost exactly the same spot the float went down again with a vengeance. This time I was ready and the battle was on!
I nice 26 inch red chinook leaped out of the water trying to rid itself of the gammy.

Once the fish was in the pool holding on to the bottom, I offered the rod to my boy, but he declined saying he'd rather I played it. (He has no salmon fishing experience whatsoever and this is his first time in Canada).
Ok, son, I said, and I proceeded to play the fish carefully, as losing it would have disappointed him tremendously.

Fortunately, I did everything by the book, and the buck pretty much cooperated after a couple of not very long runs.

Once landed, it was quickly dispatched and cleaned.

Here's the fish in the kitchen ready to be cleaned:



And here's the final result: Twelve of these are now in the freezer, plus the head and some trimmings for a soup:



Best part of the day was seeing the two guys quickly switching to float fishing after some consultation with me, and one of them actually landing another spring!

I am still of the belief that many poeple just don't know better, and will try to change their flossing ways once they are taught how to fish alternative methods.

I was very happy to catch a nice red spring for my son, but will be even happier when he catches his own. Unfortunately, the baitcaster doesn't agree with him yet - I guess a lot of practice is in order, as Dad would rather fish that undo birdsnests.

Conclusion?

I was lucky, as the river is really not to my liking yet. If it had been a weekend (my usual fishing time) I wouldn't have fished the spot I was at today. There's just too many people there on a Saturday or Sunday. And with the water levels going down, soon other, better pools will form in the area and it is going to be the gong show it always is.

Anyway, the red springs are trickling in, but you really have to target them in the right water to avoid hooking into sockeye. I didn't hook into a single sockeye today, which means I was covering the right water in the right way. And that, my friends, is almost as gratifying as catching my first spring of 2008. 

Tight lines to all of you and happy salmon season.

Milo

[DionJL]

Nice looking fish Milo. Good to hear you converted a couple fishermen.

I have to agree that the water is not what it needs to be for the fishing to really be hot. I fished all day Sunday and didn't see a fish, Sockeye or Spring.

[Fish Assassin]

Nice report and pictures Milo. Did you vacuum sealed it on a Foodsaver ?

[BigFisher]

Visabilty was close to 3 feet in the lower, and a ton of sockeye rolling. There must have been hundreds of sockeye where we were, they were none stop flipping. Also a few springs were showing themselves and niether spring or sockeye would bite anything we had to offer. I just couldnt believe with so many sockeyes out in the water infront of us not one would bite. Are the small hatchery trout in the river right now steelhead smolts eventually making there way back to sea or are they resident trout?

[Dr. Backlash]

Nice fish and nice report Milo!

[milo]

Nice report and pictures Milo. Did you vacuum sealed it on a Foodsaver ?

That's correct.
Works well for fresh fish and up to six months in the freezer.

[Tinhat]

How can you tell the difference between red and white spring before gutting it?

[Nicole]

Are the small hatchery trout in the river right now steelhead smolts eventually making there way back to sea or are they resident trout?

They are steelhead smolts, and for the most part have become resident fish. Some will still leave late, so use your judgement as to whether to retain them...

I think they are too small to keep, but they are very good for kids and people learning how to dry fly fish.

Cheers,
Nicole

[milo]

How can you tell the difference between red and white spring before gutting it?

My honest reply would be 'who cares', as they are both excellent table fare as long as they are firm and silver on the outside.

However, there is a bullet proof way of checking it out by looking under the gillplate.

For those who'd rather release a white spring but would like to harvest a red, follow this procedure:
Tail the fish firmly and hold it belly up in the water. Then, with the other hand, CAREFULLY lift the gill plate WITHOUT touching the gills. Red springs will show red cheeks in the inside. Whites won't.

You also have the marbled chinooks, whose flesh is a mix of white and red. Those are hard to figure out without gutting them, as they can have either white or red cheeks.

This time of year most chinook in LML rivers are red. In the fall most of them are white.

The above is from my personal experience. Please feel free to add to it or correct me.

[Funeral Of Hearts]

nice fish Milo. congrats!


On a side note.... what pund test line do most people use when fishing the vedder for red springs?