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[Athezone]

Thanks Rod, it is so confusing. I mean , why can't they speak in plain english. It can't be that hard for them. (Oh, YES It IS).

[glog]

Seems pretty clear to me.

Below mission bridge there is only selective fishing for chinook and chum  and no bait between midnight sept 2 and oct 3

between mission bridge and 3km above harrison there is only selective fishing for chinook and chum  and no bait between midnight sept 4 and oct 3

between 3km above harrison and hwy 1 bridge hope  there no salmon fishing between midnight sept 4 and oct 6

between hwy 1 bridge hope and Sawmill creek  there no salmon fishing between midnight sept 6 and oct 9.

So the river is divided into specific blocks with variations in the regs. Just note what block you are in.

[dennyman]

Glog: I was wondering about that too, but I read over the notices and Rod is right. As the notices read, fishing on the Nontidal section of the Fraser River from above the Mission Bridge to the markers above the Harrison River, you will be able to retain Chinook salmon once again on Thursday, Sept. 4th.  As Rod pointed out to be safe one could phone the DFO Line, or leave them a message asking if this is a typo error. If not, then you can fish but not retain a chinook till this coming Thursday, as per the wording of the notice.

[jugjudge]

i sure hope this does not lead to a bunch of people coming down to the area around island 22 to start bottom bouncing.
as a mindless person who has a great time bar fishing and enjoying a nice relaxing day on the river i would sure not to see it destroyed by the bottom bouncers. it is a sad day when so much of the river gets closed down by one group.

[Morty]

Whadya mean "one group"?

If the river gets closed for ANY reason it can be categorized as being because of some one "group" or another.  During my 45+ years of fishing the Fraser pretty near every group has been the cause of a closure: commercial over fishing, forestry, recreational fishing practices, train derailments....  Please don't inferr that one particular type of tackle is detrimental to the whole Sockeye or Coho population.

Even if there were 1,000 Rec. fishers out every day, for 2 full months, and we each took home a fish EVERY DAY, that's only 60,000 fish!  Two fish a day, EVERY DAY would still only be 120,000 fish.   1 well run hatchery can easily replace that. 

[eddy]

Well I know what it means to me. I know it means that since I don't have a boat, I am screwed.  It means that all the guides and anyone with a boat can continue to fish, but those few of us who need foot access cannot. All the foot access bars are above the Harrison. The few that were below the Harrison, like Island 22 and Peg Leg,  are not accessible because of erosion and high water. It seems that the few who fished the foot access bars are the big threat to the fish stock, at least according to DFO. 
I am done!

[eltonzhou]

at least Chinuk and Chum are still open...

[rln]

Well I know what it means to me. I know it means that since I don't have a boat, I am screwed.  It means that all the guides and anyone with a boat can continue to fish, but those few of us who need foot access cannot. All the foot access bars are above the Harrison. The few that were below the Harrison, like Island 22 and Peg Leg,  are not accessible because of erosion and high water. It seems that the few who fished the foot access bars are the big threat to the fish stock, at least according to DFO. 
I am done!

Sorry to say but the closure is not about you, but about the fish. The only stocks left in harvestable numbers in DFO's run size assessment are stocks swimming into the Harrison and Vedder rivers. All the fish headed upstream past your accessable fishing spots are too few in numbers to allow a harvest. Maybe try looking on the north side of the river about dewdney slough for a place to bar fish. DFO has asked for sport fishers to use selective methods so you really don't need a bar to go and bottom bounce on and a place like Wing Dam fishes a spin n glo well.

[eddy]

The fish have to go past all of those boats, nets and fishers on all those bars only accessible by boat downstream from Harrison. Those stocks of fish only become threatened when they swim past the Harrison? Sounds like a lot of DFO psychobabble.

[Steelhawk]

I am with you Eddy. This whole thing of closure in that upper section is just another example of DFO trying to unjustly and unfairly limit fishing opportunity to fishers who do not have boat and who cannot compete with locals for a bar fishing spots around Chilliwack.

What kind of damage for the upper river stock can be done by BBers? If you look at the test fishery, the spring count is out of the roof right now. The run is strong so what can the BBers do to damage that stock? The test fishery itself takes way more fish than any bar I know of (I have yet to see 80+ springs taken in any bar in a single day). Why not shut down the test fishery then?

If the sockeye survival study is any indication, most fish caught by BBers survive when released. How many coho have been hooked by BBer and die? Don't know, because none were caught in the bar I fished that I know of in the first place. Even sockeye incidental catch is now rare. So what harm can BBers do to Thompson coho? We don't use bait so nothing is inhaled deeply to harm any fish accidentally caught.

Ah, but the springs are plentiful and once again we are shafted by DFO to stop fishing for no obvious reason. This is not a vent for personal reasons as I have taken enough springs for the season, but it is so upsetting that DFO is once again oblivious to the obligation to provide fair fishing oppprtunity to licensed fishers in good faith when our impact is so minimal.  We are managed to death for minimal benefit to the fish stock while those deadly nets are still allowed to roam the Fraser. Pathetic.

[redside1]

below the Harrison the fish are mixed in with the other , stronger stocks. The overall lenght of river to fish and volume of fish caught would have a small harvest that DFO has most likely accounted for. Once the fish are above the Harrison there will be almost 100% up river stocks that can no longer sustain a harvest once you factor in the few fish taken below. All the fish in the test fishery could be Harrison and Vedder stoocks and very few upper Fraser fish. The BBers have had a long enough season and most should have caught their uearly limit by now.Eliminate the test fishery to save those fish and then you would only have DFO guessing how many are coming through and no chance of know true run size. It's really too bad for those that want to fish up river and I am one of those that do.

[Robert_G]

What kind of damage for the upper river stock can be done by BBers?

There was between 70-100 Springs taken off Spaghetti Bar alone during the last 2 days of the season (Tues,Wed)
That's just one bar, and just 2 days...all BBers.

[Athezone]

RG, don't insult our intelligence. We fish to you know. Some people.

[milo]

There was between 70-100 Springs taken off Spaghetti Bar alone during the last 2 days of the season (Tues,Wed)
That's just one bar, and just 2 days...all BBers.

If you are reporting what someone told you, let me tell you it's bull droppings. Don't believe everything people say.
If you were there and you saw it with your own eyes, let me tell you that you are either numerically challenged or prone to hallucinations.


Been there, saw only a small fraction of 100 caught.

[eddy]

Who said anything about BB'ing?
Fishing is closed 3 Km above the Harrison. People do bar fish above and BELOW the Harrison. Does anyone really believe that all those boats and bar fishers below the Harrison are now spin and glowing. Most boats still BB. I've seen them. They're funny to watch trying to land a fish on their long leaders, even with a net.
I have news for DFO. The fish, all of the fish, come from the OCEAN. All the boats and bar fishers below Harrison will continue to do whatever they have been doing every year. There will be a lot of them. There are a lot of good bars below Harrison, but they are only accessible by boat.
Another thing. I was talking to a FN lady last week end in Hope. Her husband fishes with nets. She said that Hells Gate the nets are set for sockeye, ie. they are small, because they don't want any more springs. They just want sockeye and coho. Jacks, they'll keep those too, especially if they're white. FN prefer white to red.
I'm not FN bashing. The courts have said FN have certain rights to fish. No problem. But don't try and sell the BS that fish above the Harrison are threatened. If they are, CLOSE THE RIVER ALL THE WAY TO THE THOMPSON. FOR EVERYONE!