With out any sport anglers there would be no one to care about the river and its fish. This is the first year of returning fish of the cycle since they closed it to sport fishing for the first time ever in history, and to be honest it doesn't look like its gotten any better. Sport fishers are not the cause for the demise of the fish, plain and simple there is no arguing that. Commercial & FN nets, warm water temps in the tribs, lack of water withing the mainstem and the tribs, off shore ocean interception, salmon farms, etc... A guy putting a hook in a fishes mouth does not kill it, yes there is mortality but its 3 pecent. For every 100 hooked 3 die, if the run is 1000 then 30 die if all of the fish get hooked (which they don't) Each thompson doe contains approx. 15,000 eggs. x about 550-700 does = 8250000 - 10500000 eggs. Considering how ocean survival is on the up swing of things, the survival number out weighs the death toll. Now if a fish get wrapped up in a gill net.... it is stone DEAD, if it has lack of oxygen, its dead. This whole shut down the river to the sport anglers who put in thousands of dollars into the economy in gas, fishing liscences, tackle, hotel rooms & food in order to some how recover the run is a hoax. When you have all the other causes like ranchers and commies etc. who don't care 1 bit and are causing the majority of the damage, but they get free rights to rape and pillage. (obviously not purposely, but they are causing a demise to the fish) The thompson run get absolutely destroyed coming around the south end of the island in the chum fleets as well as the lower fraser if they give an opening and in the fraser canyon by the FN nets soaking. Who is to know what, where and why they aren't recovering. Steelhead for lack of better terms aren't even being managed, in comparison to pacific salmon by the province. Enjoy...
So... go fish, figure it out, find the spots, use whatever you want (within the fishing regulations), because anglers on the river is better than off the river, catch a couple fish and have fun.
See you on the 23rd...