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[chris gadsden]

Started my day by touring the boat launches along the Fraser, Island 22, Peg, Jesperson, Gill and Agassiz Rosedale Bridge (both sides of the river).
Needless to say the sockeye opening had spread quickly as people were out in every craft imaginable some not bigger than a bath tub.

At Gill a F/N drift fisher in a 12 foot craft was picking his net on shore and sure had some nice sized fish in it, silver bright, he had two tubs nearly full. As I looked closer at them he mumbled some thing like $5 a pound, I guess he though I was interested in buying some.

I moved on and met up with Terry and we had coffee at Tims and talked about the current affairs of the day including our planned meeting with the Solicitor General's ministry re the Spring bar gravel project we both are involved in.

I had heard late last night the planned meeting that I had planned to attend in Vancouver regarding this had been cancelled.

I returned a call from John also a member of the Gravel Ad Hoc committee to see why it had been cancelled, they had given some feeble excuse. I am not sure if Minister van Dongen got hold of them to see why it was cancelled but I found out it was on again for Monday. There was one change as the venue was now Victoria so two of us will be catching an early ferry to the Capital.

After coffee Terry and I met up with Jenna from the Chilliwack Progress as we were taking her out to shoot some pictures of the F/N fishers and the recreational sector. While launching the Leaf Craft FOC was busy checking anglers on land and in their moats. One officer said they had been to the Scale Bar at first light and issued at least one ticket and seized his sockeye as well.

Just as we were ready to get in the Leaf Craft for the photo shoot a friend in his jet boat offered to take us. The Leaf Craft was a little hurt but as Jenna's time was limited we took up the offer.
Jenna captured pictures of F/N drifting and picking their nets of lots of sockeye as well as people landing sockeye. Grassy was sure loaded from top to bottom. I captured some video for the library as well.

With the photos in the can back to the launch. Terry and I then went for a late lunch, back to Islans 22 and then I headed to Maple Leaf Bar for some bar fishing.

I threw out the line and had a nap that I was awakened from by a bell tolling. I groggily staggered from my sleep and set the hook and nearly fell out of the Leaf Craft into 3 feet of water.

I reel in my catch, a 6 foot long--------- cottonwood branch, disgusted.

I fish for about 4 hours and back to the launch.

I talk to the creel survey girl and she said she had 120 sockeye and a couple of chinook on her tally sheets from 1 to around 8 when I spoke to her. I know two anglers got sockeye limits in 30 minutes at first light from Grassy.

Home I go now with around 11 hours bar fishing and no success but I know it will not be long until that good old bell rings loud and clear.

PS just back from the batman movie hence the late hour. It was nearly 3 hours long and I feel asleep at the end so did not get the ending, will have to rent it now as could not admit to my wife I fell a sleep as she would say, too much fishing eh.

[chris gadsden]

Thanks so much Gord for posting and also to Terry too for shooting these pictures while we were out yesterday with the press as they go hand in hand with my report above.

Forgot to mention it was good to see Randog and wife at the launch they like me were also out working the bar rods.

Also the creel survey lady said a good sized sturgeon was landed by the launch, she took a picture with her camera phone, looked around 6 feet.

[Swanny]

Great Pics 

[chris gadsden]

I did not see one being caught but I was video taping, will review the tape.

[chris gadsden]

This is the story that ran as a result of our trip filming the show. Go to the Chilliwack Progress web page for the picture they used.


Strong returns fuel sockeye fishery opening

By Robert Freeman - Chilliwack Progress

Published: July 28, 2008 6:00 PM After two years of very limited fisheries for sockeye salmon, sports anglers exploded onto the shores of the Fraser River this weekend.

Recreational and commercial fisheries were announced Friday as the early summer-run sockeye numbers were upgraded to an estimated 500,000 from 349,000 a week ago. A total 2.8 million are forecast with 1.3 million reserved for upriver spawning beds.

“All of a sudden the numbers are coming and coming and everybody’s out there,” a jubilant Fred Helmer said yesterday at Fred’s Custom Tackle shop in Chilliwack.

After the dismal returns of past years that have banned sport fishing altogether on the Fraser or limited anglers to a catch-and-release fishery, Friday’s announcement that they could catch and keep two sockeye a day was welcome news.

“The good news is there lots of fish,” Helmer said. “Everybody’s having a good time.”

Aboriginal food fisheries have also been opened, and negotiations on sales agreements are underway following commercial fishery openings in the mouth of the Fraser.

But Ernie Crey, fisheries advisor to the Sto:lo Tribal Council, said local First Nations leaders are “troubled” by the “paternalistic” aspect of the proposed sales agreement.

He said the proposal involves an allocation of 8,000 fish for sales, plus the possibility of moving more from the 300,000 allocated for food fisheries into sales.

But aboriginal fishermen would catch the total allocation anyway, he said, so what does it matter whether they are sold.

“It’s not fish taken from someone else,” he said. “They don’t suffer as a consequence.”

The proposal is “not negotiations, it’s an imposition,” he said. “It’s like they want to play Big Brother. It’s paternalistic.”

Sto:lo communities will meet later this week to discuss whether to accept the proposal.

Meanwhile, sport fishermen are hoping the catch-and-keep fishery stays open for at least the next week.

“We’re very definitely happy it’s open for now,” said Frank Kwak, president of the Fraser Valley Salmon Society.

He said Chilliwack’s economy “benefits greatly from recreational fishing opportunities” and the industry has been hit by negative news reports about low returns to the river in past years.

“There seems to be a fair amount of fish around,” he said, but nowhere near the numbers seen in more bountiful times.

Although anglers can continue to catch-and-release after the current fishery is closed, Kwak urged anglers in the interest of conservation to “catch their two fish and go home” to avoid possible injury to the fish bound for spawning beds.

“We’re down to minimum escapement levels now,” he said.

[Fish Assassin]

do they have a sturgeon in that net in the 8th picture?

That was my initial thought too.

[adriaticum]

I don't about this "lots of sockeye in the Fraser" business.
Went out this last weekend with a buddy and fished different islands and bars.
Nice to see lots of people practicing "dentistry" on the sockeye, but I didn't see any fish landed with my own eyes.
One guy had one in a bag (good sized) and that was it in 2 days.
It was always someone else saw someone else catch a couple of fish.
My buddy blamed it on the F/N netting them close to shore and I guess I went along with that.
But I'm not sure that there were so many fish out there...
Nevertheless betties were selling like hot cakes! 

[hue-nut]

fished the scale bar and there were tons of fish, I would say in two days and a total of about ten hours of fishing saw at least 100 fish caught. It seemed like every 5 to 10 minutes, someone had a fish on. very fun

[adriaticum]

I guess I was at the wrong place at the wrong time!

[Steelhawk]

The news report is old news, isn't it? We are now off the water, so FN now can catch the 'abundant fish' or whatever is left.