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[Rodney]

2009's Tidal Fraser River fall salmon fishery (from the CPR bridge in Mission to the Fraser River mouth) starts on Saturday October 10th.


Fish species

There are three salmon, one trout and one char species that anglers may encounter

• Chinook salmon (until mid October, daily quota is four fish, but only one maybe over 62cm long)
• Coho salmon (until late November, daily quota is two hatchery marked fish)
• Pink salmon (pretty much finished, daily quota is four fish)
• Chum salmon (until late November, daily quota is four fish)
• Bull trout (until next spring, catch and release only)
• Coastal cutthroat trout (until next spring, daily quota is two hatchery marked fish, must be over 30cm long)

Note: You can only keep four salmon of all species in total per day. See complete detail in this fishery notice.


Regulations

Here are some of the important regulations that you must remember when fishing in the Tidal Fraser River.

• You must have a tidal sportfishing licence.
• If you intend to keep salmon, you must have a salmon stamp on your tidal sportfishing licence.
• You can only use one fishing rod at a time.
• Your hook must be single barbless.
• You can use a rig that allows you to catch two fish at one time (for example, a barfishing rig, with two single barbless hooks above the weight).
• You must release wild coho, trout and char with care.
• Bait such as roe can be used for salmon fishing starting on October 10th

Salmon identification

Because there are both species that you can keep and cannot keep returning to the Fraser River, it is important to know how to identify all five species of salmon.

Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon have small spots across their back and small spots across their entire tail. Their gum is black and the edge of their jaw is white. Adult chinook salmon are defined as over 62cm and are required to be recorded on your licence when you choose to keep one. See photos...

Coho salmon
Coho salmon have small spots across their back and spots on the top portion of their tail. Their gum is white. Two groups of coho salmon are found in the Chilliwack River - Wild and hatchery fish. Hatchery fish, which anglers are allowed to keep, do not have an adipose fin and a healed scar can be found at where the adipose fin is missing. This fin is clipped at the hatchery when they are at their juvenile stage prior to being released. If an adipose fin is present, then it is a wild fish, which is required to be released with care. See photos...

Chum salmon
Chum salmon have two distinct characteristics, which are colourful stripes across their body and large teeth found on males. See photos...

Bull trout
Bull trout have large white spots across their green body and small pink spots along the lateral line. Their bell is often white and the pelvic and anal fins often have white tips. In the Tidal Fraser River, they are often quite silver. Their jaw is long, extending to the back of their eyes. All bull trout have to be released with care. See photos...

Coastal cutthroat trout
Coastal cutthroat trout have small black spots across their entire body. There is an orange slash just below each gill plate. Their pectoral, pelvic fins are often yellow. Only hatchery marked fish can be retained, which can be identified by the absence of the adipose fin. Please release all wild cutthroat trout with care. See photos...

Post your success, water clarity updates. Good luck with the season ahead!

[Rybar]

Great info, I have emailed this to some Newbs that I know.

[poper]

I heard it was open today,from the guys at berrys.

[Rodney]

I heard it was open today,from the guys at berrys.

Nope, it opens tomorrow morning.

[Dr. Backlash]

I can't wait!

[scotkemp]

well im just curious and ive put quite a few hours in the last couple weeks to no avail. rods write up about the fraser for thanksgiving was awesome. ive been using lures and like  said nothing ive been at river road north arm by train bridge, far south chanel under alex fraser, middle channel between lulu island and annacis island, coquitlam river mouth and nothing not a bite or anything ive got spin and glows and lures of all colors. ive been hitting the vedder on the weekend and its great lots of pinks to play with, a few springs, and no coho for me yet but there there, i just wish i could fish after work out in the vancouver area a little guidance would be nice 

[Rodney]

Scot, keep in mind that I've spent over 100 hours from September 8th until last weekend without landing a salmon or trout in the Tidal Fraser. The fishing is unpredictable down here because there's so much water to cover, but once awhile when it is good, it is spectacular.

[mr.p]

I don't fish the tidal that much considering I live a minute away.  However I have seen and heard of numerous successes.
There is a local drinking club that hangs out down by the river.  I've chatted with one of the guys on a few occaissions.  He fishes the incoming tides a few times a week and has probably a hundred pics on his cellphone of fish he's caught.  Steelhead, coho, chum, springs, pinks.....
If you just put in the time, success will come. 

[redtide]

yup..you gotta put in alot of casting for that  1 strike. gotta keep changing lures from spoons to spinners and size shape and color. try different speeds of retreive when you reel back in and you MUST time your outings with the tides. a strong incoming tide is what i always target.watch what other fisherman are using and ask questions. keep your hooks sharp and good luck.

[ejeffrey]

Since the bait ban has been lifted, how would you go about fishing roe in the tidal portion of the Fraser (for coho)? Is it a bar fishing setup where the bait is stationary and sits just off the bottom, or can you drift fish with a float and weight? If you can float fish, is there a preferred depth? I'd like to try this method, but don't really know where to start. Thanks for any help.

[Fish Assassin]

Since the bait ban has been lifted, how would you go about fishing roe in the tidal portion of the Fraser (for coho)? Is it a bar fishing setup where the bait is stationary and sits just off the bottom

That's how most people fish the tidal portion.

[leadbelly]

Since the bait ban has been lifted, how would you go about fishing roe in the tidal portion of the Fraser (for coho)? Is it a bar fishing setup where the bait is stationary and sits just off the bottom, or can you drift fish with a float and weight? If you can float fish, is there a preferred depth? I'd like to try this method, but don't really know where to start. Thanks for any help.

Yup, barfishing, and at times lures. Hard part is finding a fishable strech of waterfront.There are a few books avail at the shops, or you can try whatever water you are near and find your own spots.use fresh roe if you can get it and then just enough lead to hold it on bottom.put your rod in a rod holder or propped on a stick.
fish the incoming tide if you can also.

[HOOK]

can i just suggest if you dont feel like losing your rod get a rod holder because even a decent sized trout can steal your rod off a stick  I have had little 12" trout at Green Timbers lake (yrs ago) knock my stick down hitting so hard and had the rod sliding across the sand LOL

[scotkemp]

is there any certain depth you guys would suggest because my buddies a tug boat captain and off shore theres areas of 300 ft deep in new west minster and heres a question is the south or north arm better

[leadbelly]

i would fish the deep holes for sturgeon only.
For salmon a gradually sloping beach would be far better, though hard to find on the lower Fraser, better known for its drop offs, bad for getting hung up on while retrieving your gear but hard to avoid in my area anyway.Dont know about which arm would be better as Im farther up stream, though again there are several books on the subject, Fishing Fever and Bar Fishing the Lower Fraser by Hugh Heighton (Hancock).
Definitely a rod holder is better than a stick, but a first timer may not have one yet.
We used a big old dead forked stick for many years though with no problems on the Fraser and Pitt and I have  had a rod pulled from a holder by a Sturge and seen another one pulled out by a Balded eagle so you never know.