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[pnKroK]

Not sure if this is a redudant question, but I've always liked river fishing.  Of course the salmon are great, but the crowds are never really that fun...but then again...I don't always need to fish for salmon.

I've always thought of fishing for trout on a river but never bothered because I didn't know if it was truly possible?

I have a fly rod that I typically use on the lake and haven't really done any river fishing with it.  My floating line that I bought with the rod has never seen water and probably should get some exposure.  Just wondering if anyone could give any suggestions on places to go that aren't that busy, but still fun to fish for trout.  Now...I realize that being in the lower mainland...finding something like that its next to impossible, but I figure since everyone is always so salmon crazy, I can find that little hole in the river where the trout are hanging out and everyone else just can't be bothered!  Wishful thinking.

Thanks in advance.

[Rodney]

Salmon fishing has ended until next summer.

Every stream in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley produce cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and bull trout, some are just more productive than others. Squamish River, Cheakamus River, Stave River, Chilliwack River, Chehalis River are just some of the larger systems that are worth trying. There are of course smaller, more intimate systems as well, such as Little Campbell and Serpentine in Surrey, small North Lower Fraser tributaries between Mission and Hope.

No specific spots are mentioned for a couple of reasons. One being spotlight of specific spots generate crowding, a concern which you've already addressed. Two being these species are more mobile than salmon in streams, so more emphasis should be placed on how to hunt for these fish than where to stand and wait for them to find you.

These three species are mainly focusing on loose salmon eggs that are drifting off redds and pieces of flesh from carcasses. Whether you are flyfishing or float fishing with gear, egg patterns or big pieces of flesh patterns produce well. We've also done well by casting and retrieving small spoons. Just because they are feeding on specific food items, it does not mean other presentations would not produce, just not as much.

Good luck.

[pnKroK]

Yeah...I was just wondering if its worth it to walk up the seymour or chilliwack with a rod and try each pool.

I guess really theres only one way to find out.

I guess other than asking for people's little honey hole, I'd like to know which rivers are worth hiking.  I'm not looking for monster fish, just a day on the river with a nice light spincast or my fly rod.  I like heading up to squamish as well, I went up there this fall with a friend to watch the pinks going up.  There were tonnes of pinks going up the squamish valley.

I've never bothered trying for trout on the river, just kinda figured there were none there.  I've heard of them being there and I even saw an old guy with a bobber and worms on the chilliwack and he seemed to be pulling them out of there like they were going out of style.

Thanks for the info so far.

[living_blind]

You're fly rod will work well with a floating line, indicator, and an egg fly. Dead drift the eggs and add some small split shot 12 to 18 inches above the egg to get the fly down quickly. Fish below what looks like good spawning water for salmon, the trout will be there.

[CameronT120]

I grew up fly fishing in the Okanagan and am just starting to get back into it here on the lower mainland.  Does anyone have any idea if the flies used in the interior would be useful in the rivers here, or is it a totally different ball of wax here.  Any recommendations with respect to the standard trout flies used here?  I tie my own and would like to get some idea of what works here before I head out to try my luck.  Thanks in advance.

[azafai]

Cutthroat in the Chilliwack? pffft yeah right.... waste of time. Chilliwack river is probably the last river in the LM that i would go to fish for resident trout (except early July lol), let alone cutthroat.

If you really want good river fishing in the LM you need to drive. You need to drive north west of pemberton, or at least the very north end of Harrison and fish the lliloet river. There you will find more dollies than you can shake a stick at, and chances are you will have a tug by the time your setup has hit the surface of the water.

Harrison river will offer great cutthroat opportunity, probably the best in LM, but you need a boat to properly cover that system and you really need to work hard to get anything of decent size!

great hints.
thanks.
what areas in Pemberton do you suggest better?
better access to bars, and others..

[jimmywits]

great hints.
thanks.
what areas in Pemberton do you suggest better?
better access to bars, and others..

The Birkenhead `River has resident trout and char as well.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

[pnKroK]

Ok...so this past weekend I hiked Gold Creek up in Golden Ears Provincial park with my girlfriend.  She used to work there and mentioned that she'd seen people fishing along the creek.

I found a few good spots where there are good sized pools which might hold some fish.

I guess its mainly up to me just to head out there one day and start casting in to some of the pools.  Just wondering if anyone's actually tried fishing Gold creek?

Also, I was thinking of reviving my old closed face spin casting rod.  My dad bought it for me in Finland quite a few years ago and I don't really use it much anymore.  It still works great, I just need to put new line on it.

Any suggestions on what type of lures I can use with the spin casting rod in a river/creek?

I'd eventually like to start using my fly rod, but I don't think I'm there with my casting.

thanks in advance

DOH! I jsut read rodney's response and saw the mention about lures and such.  I guess i'll just head up there with the spin caster and use some spoons/spinners?  Would it be worth just to float fish?  Any set-ups that you guys can think of that might work?

-rob C

[jon5hill]

Rob,

The greatest quality an angler can have to be successful is curiosity. Experiment with things and you will be rewarded, I know I have.

Cheers

[living_blind]

I have spent a bit of time fishing gold creek, years ago. It's a beautiful stream but is extremely low nutrient, very little bug life, and no influx of spawning kokanee as nearly all of the alloutte kokanee are shore spawners.

There are small trout that will come to dries or nymphs in some of the pools, but in my experience they are neither large nor plentiful. I have never tried upstream of the bridge, only from the bridge down to the lake.

[Rodney]

For tiny tiny trout, I choose the smallest spoon that I can find (1/16oz, etc) and use the smallest hook possible. One problem with targeting small trout with lures is that a hook with a large gap can kill the fish instantly by penetrating through the head instead of just the jaw edge. Size 6, or 8 are as small as I use on the spoons. If I need to use hooks that are smaller than that, then it would be time to flyfish with a small fly. I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to cast. One of the best ways to improve is to actually just go out and do it even if it means the possibility of snapping the rod due to frustration at the end of the day. I still go through those phases at times.

Good luck.

[skaha]

--I wouldn't worry about being a good fly caster, I would of course help if you have shy fish, small stream.
--You could catch fish with dry fly just dabbling off the end of the rod and not even casting.

--Don't overlook faster water in smaller rivers. Often the fish are feeding in faster water, especially if you cannot see the bottom. Some fish at least have enough brains to not venture out with no cover from birds.

--In stead of split shot on a fly leader get some sinking tippets if you don't want to buy sink tip. The leaders come in different length and sink rates.
--If you find you are fishing similar water you may start to custom make your own sink tips, different length and sink rates. Any fly shop should be able to show you how to customize your lines and tips.

--Same with your spin gear start with the usual and then customize to your style or river. Don't overlook jigs, you will likely have to custom make on smaller hooks for smaller fish as Rodney hinted reasons to use smaller hooks to match expected fish size. Strike indicators may have enough float for light weight spoons or weighted flies on spin gear.

[pnKroK]

hey everyone...thanks again for all the posts.

Finally i'm gonna get a weekend to head out and try my hand at some river fishing for trout.  I was gonna head up to gold creek up in golden ears park.  there are some mountain biking trails there too, so i'm gonna try to hit those up as well.

Just wondering if there is really a "good season" or time of year for trout fishing on a river?  Am I really wasting my time on the river at this time of year, does it work kind of the same as lakes?

Thanks,

-rob C

[bbronswyk2000]

IMO Gold Creek is a waste of time. You might find a few tiddlers if your lucky but thats about it.

[pnKroK]

any recommendations on where to go?

I was thinking of heading up to hope and trying the river along the silver skagit road (skagit river?).

Or maybe some estuaries up in squamish.

I guess thats part of fishing, just trying my luck in different/new places.

-rob C