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[Sharp]

I haven't done a lot of fishing since moving to BC, but now I'm equipped and ready to go! I've done a fair bit of angling before but I'm wondering if anyone could shed some light on a few good places to get started in the Lower Mainland. Fresh and salt, no boat.

Thanks!

[milo]

Start here
Tons of good info.
When you digest it all, come back with more specific questions.

Not much running in rivers now.
Steelhead are tapering off, salmon won't be in until the summer.

Stillwater season is around the corner, though. 

As for the chuck, you are basically out of luck without an ocean worthy craft. Beach fishing for pink and coho is a fair bits away.

[Rodney]

What you can expect around Vancouver in the next couple of months:

Lake fisheries, most lakes around Vancouver are regularly stocked with rainbow trout. These trout are raised to 250g before being released into lakes. They might not be big, but they provide good shore fishing opportunities when you don't want to travel far. I have a list of lakes on this page: http://www.fishingwithrod.com/articles/region_two/index.html

There's cutthroat trout fishing in tributaries of the Fraser River. Stave River near Mission is a good place to start due to the easy access.

Fraser River has trout and char for catching and releasing. The river is quite muddy now so you'd need to fish with bait or large lures. Here's one from yesterday.

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/blog/?p=213

Capilano River coho fishery usually happens in May and June for in-river, July and August for the river mouth and nearby beaches.

[Sharp]

Thanks for the advice, might have to go check out some of those spots in the next day or two. How about pier fishing for sole and flounder? Used to catch them back in Nova Scotia and I know they're around.

Milo, what do you mean by "the chuck"?

[Easywater]

"The chuck" is a term referring to the ocean.

[noxcape]

dont forget the bass fishing is gonna start up really really soon   sorry guys had to do this

[Bently]

dont forget the bass fishing is gonna start up really really soon   sorry guys had to do this

Apology accepted, just don't let it happen again 

[Rodney]

Thanks for the advice, might have to go check out some of those spots in the next day or two. How about pier fishing for sole and flounder? Used to catch them back in Nova Scotia and I know they're around.

For sole and flounder, there are several piers around Vancouver where you can try out. There's one at Ambleside Beach, one at Jericho Beach, one in Port Moody, one in White Rock.

[Sharp]

Great, looking forward to a long weekend of fishing.

Smallmouth and largemouth bass are lots of fun, though I'm beginning to sense an understandable preference for salmonidae on this forum  I was slightly surprised to see that bass and other "southern" fish like crappie are in BC, but it makes sense that the range has extended this far. I read that they're in Mill Lake in Abbotsford, anywhere else to find them?

[Rodney]

There are quite a bit of bass fishing opportunities in this province.



The preferred target species in this province are definitely salmonids as they are native, but at the same time you'll also find a growing population of anglers who enjoy bass fishing. A search through this forum will lead to long debates on whether bass is a desirable species or not. Individuals who dislike bass in this province can be split into two groups, one that simply doesn't want to fish for species other than salmonids, while the other that is concerned the impacts of introduced species such as bass, carp, etc have on our aquatic ecosystem. I enjoy fishing for bass but also fall in that second category due to my academic background in this subject.

Anyway, largemouth bass are found in some lakes and sloughs around the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Smallmouth bass can be found in lakes on Vancouver Island and nearby Gulf Islands. In Okanagan, there are a few big lakes that offer both smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing.

We usually do a trip to Salt Spring Island each year to fish St Mary Lake for smallmouth bass in June. The fishing can be very good, not just for smallmouths but also for rainbow and cutthroat trout.

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/blog/?p=21

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/blog/?p=174

[noxcape]

there is actually a bass seminar on may 7th at hatch matchr fly and tackle in maple ridge you should try and check it out so shoudl you rodeny i hear the guy doing the seminar knows his stuff

[joska]

 a must attend event for the new comers of the underground bass fishery here in bc.