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[oddjob]

When lafarge is stocked , some of the people fish everyday so they can fill their freezers . They must be on a fish diet .

[Steelhawk]

I have lived in Port Coquitlam for 22 years. Years back, when the Coquitlam River was stocked, I used to take kids fishing there, and nobody talked much about Lafarge because it was much harder to catch a trout in the lake than the River. Then the stocking at Coquitlam River was stopped to the disappointment of those real young anglers (usually under 12). Even the local tackle store had to cancel a fishing contest of sort for the kids. Then Lafarge got busier, not because of the young kids, but many adult fishermen. But it still did not have the number of fishermen like now. Funny, if you look at those new fishermen there, there are no really young kids. The fishing is too physical for them with the long casts unless they are accompanied by adults. The new folks are mostly retired people, many are new immigrants, plus a lot more boat & tube fishermen.

The last 2 years saw literally an explosion of fishermen coming to fish Lafarge due to its productivity. I suspect many of these new comers are not even local residents. Hey, if there is a productive urban fishery, who needs to drive far out of town in this day & age of high cost of gas?   I tried to take some of the retired guys to experience some salmon fishing, but most just quit after one season - too physical and strenous for their aging bodies. So they are just happy to have a place to spend some time during the long day of retirement life. Perhaps they should set up some chess tables there, so those older folks can play chess and fish at the same time.  

Lafarge fishing to me is just a quick in & out activity. A typical day out there is like this - drop my wife off to shopping/dancing, hop out to the lake for an hour or two, pick her up and probably eat something or shop for grocery and head home. It is not an exciting fishery, but a good past time, fish or no fish, and you can still spend time with your family. Many people head out there even after dinner in summer, as a way to spend the evening with the family. It is also a great place to start tubing for your trouts with flies, being close by, safe, and quite productive. So to each its own.

Enjoy the lake guys. I just wish Coquitlam River is stocked again, so the real young kids who can only cast 10 ft out with their beginner combo can still hook something, like they used to do below the Kingsway railway bridge.    They used to own that place, but now they have to elbow with the adults in a busy lake. Poor kids.

[mykisscrazy]

Well Said! I too truely enjoyed the rainbow fishery in the Coquitlam. It was where one of my son's learnt how to fly fish. It's too bad that they don't contiue with it. If you read the regs it still states one can keep to hatchery rainbows 20 to 30 cm.
Going even further back Lafarge was the local place for teenagers to drink and drive cars into it! Wasn't stocked back then!
Times sure have changed!

[Nick78]

Rod,I like the idea with the "Fishing in the city" program but i think that won't work. All I see when i go to the lakes like Como or Lafarge are people with pro or semi pro equipment. An entry level angler or rookie doesn't have this kind of stuff...but also many of the guys behave like rookies. My point of view is that at least 50% of the guys out there are the typical "meatmakers".(dot!) The next thing that I can't understand is why they changed the regs for como. It was a Kids,old folks and disabled people only lake, the last one in the lower mainland i think. The MOE posted reasons for that change but i don't agree with most of it. It was a lake where the little ones didn't have to fight about free spots with the adults and now the only place where it is possible for them to cast far enough,the 2 docks, are taken by adults.Maybe some training to fish the rivers once they are grown up just kidding. At the other hand i sometimes take that opportunity to fish together with my son but i was fine by just watching him and explain what he needs to do in the past. There are enough other lakes where we could fish together. I got much more things to talk about but i don't want to be misunderstood, maybe I'll meet you one day Rod.It is what it is...

[Steelhawk]

I have always thought that it is the adult's game that took away the kid's dream fishing spot in Coq/Port Coq area - the Coquitlam River. I was under the impression that the kids could not fish the Coquitlam the way they used to do for years was because some adults thought that the kids' short fishing season (usually the Coquitlam was stocked July 1st & August, twice only per year) is endangering the other fish species in the river which some adults target. There are people who would feel the kids can destroy their 'exclusive fishery' by their few weeks of fishing the Coquitlam, mainly at the train bridge pool. So the kids who are voiceless are out of luck.

It is a shame indeed. You see, that train bridge pool is right by the busy & popular Lion Park where kids enjoy their slides and games. So many kids playing at the park discovered the success of other young anglers at the pool when they walked around the Lion Park. They started to ask their parent/uncles to take them out to try fishing for the rainbow trout when they saw other kids doing so well. That place was a magnet for aspiring young anglers, I mean real young kids. The fisheries folks and city folks can talk about introducing fishing to young people all they want (which is to be respected), but the act to close down the Coquitlam to the kids is anything but opposite to the their intended goal. Even up to now, when some of these kids (who I took fishing at the Coquitlam) are already 15+ years old, they still ask me about if the River ever opens again for the stocked trout fishery, or why they stopped the trout fishery there.

As Nick says, back then, quite a few kids were flyfishing besides the usual power bait stuff. It is a place small enough and productive enough for young flyfishers to thrive and to take up a good fishing hobby. Perhaps, as a compromise to those who like to protect other fish species, they should only allow flyfishing and c&r only. At least local schools (some with school fishing clubs) and tackle shops can organize the young kids to begin the odyssey of flyfishing life. That will be wonderful for both the kids and those who want to see more kids involved in a good fishing hobby than getting involved with drugs or wild parties when the grow up. That, my friends, is the best thing a much depleted and polluted Coquitlam River can be utilized, instead of just catering to the very few fishers who harbour this 'exclusive' and 'hate-to-see-others around' mentality.

So, I hope the fishing authority and city managers would consider the Coquitlam River as a good starting place for the kids by stocking it again as part of the 'Fishing in the city' program.  My humble 2 cents on the subject.

[Rodney]

Lakes and streams in British Columbia are managed by the BC Ministry of Environment, so stocking decisions are done by them, not by the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC or municipalities where these lakes and streams are located (but they can certainly consult with MoE).

MoE made the decision to stop the stocking of Coquitlam River due to its concern of stocked population out-competing populations of wild fish in the river (ie. rearing juvenile salmonids and resident fish). The concern certainly has its merit but July and August (the two months when stockings usually take place) typically has no fish utilizing the river. It is also somewhat contradictary when the decision is coming from a ministry that has cut back or ended hatchery supplement to enhance depleted urban steelhead populations such as one that exists in the Coquitlam River.

There are still talks of re-establishing this type of fishery.

As mentioned earlier, you should email or phone (in this case, the ministry) and let them know what you would like to see. After all, you are paying for the products and employing them by purchasing a licence annually. The wheel can spin faster with a bit of push.

[fishseeker]

I still think the kids dream spot is a muddy creek full of pikeminnows within an arms length away    (At least, for any younger than eight years old)

[Eagleye]

I think it is great that these lakes are packed full of anglers (rather easy to say since I don't fish them but...) as it will be great to promote angling.  It is similar to a packed restaurant.  When people walk buy and see the place full they think there must be something there worth their while.  I'm not very familiar with the "fishing in the city" program but these lakes seem like a great place to provide anglers with knowledge on proper fishing ethics and environmental issues that affect our fisheries.

[Rodney]

The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC has provided this short bulletin about the program after following this discussion.

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/fishy_news/file/090417-1.doc

[troutbreath]

Can you put a boat in Como Lake? Can't seem to find any info on this.

[coryandtrevor]

Yup. 

[Nick78]

When I came back from Vancouver Airport today I decided to give Como a quick visit together with my son. I only saw 6 guys, all were fishing the westside dock that I normaly prefer as it is not so crowded like the one on the eastside. This time I fished the empty one but without any success. Moved on to the western one while casting every now and then on my way to it. But also no luck. Finally I managed to pull out three close to the dock with a little help of my son. I just did the hookset and gave him the rod once the "fight " was on as he was not able to cast that far where the fish were. Was a nice evening trip as the weather was getting better late in the afternoon and we got a nice dinner now for tomorow

[salmon river]

Well Said! I too truely enjoyed the rainbow fishery in the Coquitlam.

I agree as they used to stock the Brunnette as well and it was a blast. Then they stopped stocking rainbows there too...

Too bad Latimer was destroyed, I used to love going there...