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[RalphH]

I think it's been about 2006 since we saw good returns. I usually fished around the 2nd week of November but other folks I talked to said there were chrome fish coming in well into  December. Can't say if the opening is a good call but it was open about the same time a couple years ago and I did get into some nice silvery chum.

[bkk]

Maybe a bit of clarification is in order. I was at the Sport Fish Advisory Board meeting the other night and this was discussed for a very significant amount of time. As some of you have guessed, I'm a strong advocate for the fish first and everone else second. However some valid points were raised that are significant. Firstly the amount of chum in the system this year is in the realm of what people used to consider a "normal year". While not exceptional, it is much better than has been seen for 6 years. And there still arriving. The amount of fish that will be potentionally harvested is not overly significant. A bunch of years ago, Vic Polermo of DFO conducted creel surveys of the amount of harvest. If I remember corrrectly, the retention was about 7500 fish per year on runs that were 2 and 3 fold larger than we have now. That retention was on a longer season and more area. This retention fishery will be limited in time ( 2 weeks ) and in area ( lwr. Squamish River only ). I suspect that this years retention will not even remotely come close to those catches. It will not come close to what has been harvested in the Native fishery.
 The fish quality question is valid in my opion and that is the main reason that the retention will be limited to the lwr Squamish. There will still be very clean fish to be caught but there starting to thin out now but they are still there.
 The other concern is will this draw up a significant amount of non local anglers to catch chum. That was considered unlikely considering this years large return and retention opportunities on the lwr. Fraser.The last chum opening in Squamish was similar timming and duration and an significant increase in anglers was not noted.
 This regulation was supported with much debate by by all of the groups at the table includeing independant anglers, Streamkeepers, First Nations, Steelhead Society of BC as well as the local angling community.It was then forwarded to DFO and they agreed with the community driven recommendation. It was also pointed out that there are very few opportunities for locals to harvest fish in this area with one hatchery coho a day being the only option except in pink years. A far cry what Fraser Valley anglers have access to.
I personelly would have preferred to keep it closed but this fisheery as is now is not going to impact the escapement in any significant way. It is nice to have a bone thrown to the local anglers occasionaly because they are the once walking streams and doing stream counts. We all have a vested interest in haveing strong chum returns in this sytem and hopefully this rebuilding trend will continue. Here's to haveing a happy eagle and grizzly poulation.

[rhino]

Maybe a bit of clarification is in order. I was at the Sport Fish Advisory Board meeting the other night and this was discussed for a very significant amount of time. As some of you have guessed, I'm a strong advocate for the fish first and everone else second. However some valid points were raised that are significant. Firstly the amount of chum in the system this year is in the realm of what people used to consider a "normal year". While not exceptional, it is much better than has been seen for 6 years. And there still arriving. The amount of fish that will be potentionally harvested is not overly significant. A bunch of years ago, Vic Polermo of DFO conducted creel surveys of the amount of harvest. If I remember corrrectly, the retention was about 7500 fish per year on runs that were 2 and 3 fold larger than we have now. That retention was on a longer season and more area. This retention fishery will be limited in time ( 2 weeks ) and in area ( lwr. Squamish River only ). I suspect that this years retention will not even remotely come close to those catches. It will not come close to what has been harvested in the Native fishery.
 The fish quality question is valid in my opion and that is the main reason that the retention will be limited to the lwr Squamish. There will still be very clean fish to be caught but there starting to thin out now but they are still there.
 The other concern is will this draw up a significant amount of non local anglers to catch chum. That was considered unlikely considering this years large return and retention opportunities on the lwr. Fraser.The last chum opening in Squamish was similar timming and duration and an significant increase in anglers was not noted.
 This regulation was supported with much debate by by all of the groups at the table includeing independant anglers, Streamkeepers, First Nations, Steelhead Society of BC as well as the local angling community.It was then forwarded to DFO and they agreed with the community driven recommendation. It was also pointed out that there are very few opportunities for locals to harvest fish in this area with one hatchery coho a day being the only option except in pink years. A far cry what Fraser Valley anglers have access to.
I personelly would have preferred to keep it closed but this fisheery as is now is not going to impact the escapement in any significant way. It is nice to have a bone thrown to the local anglers occasionaly because they are the once walking streams and doing stream counts. We all have a vested interest in haveing strong chum returns in this sytem and hopefully this rebuilding trend will continue. Here's to haveing a happy eagle and grizzly poulation.

I personally think the decision made was a good one. thanks for the detailed post bkk.

[ynot]

was out on the squamish lower brackendale area and only 5 fishers were there,i got a nice clean doe chum and departed,didn't see any others kept ,a few were realeased but its slow compared to past years. nice day out on the river,stopped at browning lake and  got 4 rainbows quickly on a green wooley bugger.

[Dogbreath]

Driving up the Sea to Sky with a tour group yesterday AM I actually saw a school of Chums swimming toward the river right on the surface.

A decent number of fish around the Bailey Bridge and Eagle Run had a couple dozen Bald Eagles and a couple Seals on display-providing a Nation Geographic Moment for my guests from Brazil-they were WOWED!!

[Trev]

bbk what is a "normal" return in terms of numbers? we have fished the river a lot this fall and have seen chum especially in the chec..... but listening to some of the old timers on the river they still say it is nothing like years past.  

[Dogbreath]

....what is a "normal" return in terms of numbers? we have fished the river a lot this fall and have seen chum especially in the chec..... but listening to some of the old timers on the river they still say it is nothing like years past.  

Forget numbers-normal on the mainstream Squamish below the Cheakamus is seeing the river alive with fish coming up on the high tide-I mean the water moving with thousands & thousands of Chum every hour as long as the flood  lasts.

10 years ago I saw 2 Deer come down near the Big Bend-they were crossing the river but one backed out-because the water was so full of fish.

[bkk]

Forget numbers-normal on the mainstream Squamish below the Cheakamus is seeing the river alive with fish coming up on the high tide-I mean the water moving with thousands & thousands of Chum every hour as long as the flood  lasts.

10 years ago I saw 2 Deer come down near the Big Bend-they were crossing the river but one backed out-because the water was so full of fish.

Dogbreath is correct. Numbers kind of mean nothing as there was no proper stock assessment done but the river would be just full of chum. It was nothing to go out for 3 hours and be able to hook 50+ chum. You basically quit because you were tired of catching fish. My educated guess would be a couple of hundred thousand on a "normal" year and significantly more on a good year. There is no comparing this year to a good year. This year is not even close to being a good year. A good year would have a solid 6 weeks of chum spawning with fish continually replacing themselves on the spawning grounds until mid December. The air would just reek of rotten chum for long periods, especially if you lived in areas next to the lwr. Squamish and the Cheakamus. The groundwater spawning channels would have large rafts of dead fish and any wood or large debris in the stream would just be fuzzy with fungus. You would not want to touch the water because it stank. Locals would complain about "too many fish in the streams". That was a normal year. Still a ways to go before we reach that level again.

[silver ghost]

For the record, the Steelhead Society was the only stakeholder to speak out against what was then an opening 'proposal'.

This regulation was supported with much debate by by all of the groups at the table includeing independant anglers, Streamkeepers, First Nations, Steelhead Society of BC as well as the local angling community.It was then forwarded to DFO and they agreed with the community driven recommendation. It was also pointed out that there are very few opportunities for locals to harvest fish in this area with one hatchery coho a day being the only option except in pink years. A far cry what Fraser Valley anglers have access to.
I personelly would have preferred to keep it closed but this fisheery as is now is not going to impact the escapement in any significant way. It is nice to have a bone thrown to the local anglers occasionaly because they are the once walking streams and doing stream counts. We all have a vested interest in haveing strong chum returns in this sytem and hopefully this rebuilding trend will continue. Here's to haveing a happy eagle and grizzly poulation.

[typhoon]

For the record, the Steelhead Society was the only stakeholder to speak out against what was then an opening 'proposal'.

Who were the stakeholders who spoke out for the proposal?

[Rodney]

Just a reminder that today is the last day of the chum salmon retention opening in the lower river.

[aaron.az]

Rodney its 340am..Your baby must be keeping you awake.

[Rodney]

[aaron.az]

On the brightside...Your not writing a marketing plan report like I am due in...err 6.hours and 9 minutes...what great fun!.....

[mko72]

I spent an afternoon there recently and saw more elk than salmon.