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Author Topic: Artic Graying in the Vedder  (Read 22555 times)

HOOK

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #15 on: March 01, 2014, 12:48:30 AM »

There is Pike in Mill Lake and the swamp puddles around Abbotsford.


Wait a second ?!

I have seen the Bass in Mill lake but have never heard of any Pike. If this is true lets see a picture  ;)


Pike is on my fishing bucket list !
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Ian Forbes

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #16 on: March 01, 2014, 08:53:27 AM »


Wait a second ?!

I have seen the Bass in Mill lake but have never heard of any Pike. If this is true lets see a picture  ;)


Pike is on my fishing bucket list !

Go north young man, go north. Try Wheeler Lake 40 km south of the Yukon border on the Dease highway.  They are great eating fish up there. Just fry the fillets in pancake flour and butter... yum yum.
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Ian Forbes

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #17 on: March 01, 2014, 09:04:55 AM »

My buddy and I have caught what we thought were grayling out of some lakes north of Dease`s lake when we were on fly in hunting trips. At least they sure did look like grayling with the large Dorsal fin. They most certainly nothing like the whitefish that we catch in this area.

Those WERE grayling. The Dease is in the Arctic watershed where grayling are native. In the Burnt River you can catch native grayling, Bull trout, rainbows and whitefish in the same section of river.









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MetalAndFeathers

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #18 on: March 01, 2014, 07:04:40 PM »

Rieber are you one of the old timers?
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Ian Forbes

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #19 on: March 01, 2014, 07:27:42 PM »

Rieber are you one of the old timers?

I think he just likes pulling people's chain... like I do occasionally.

Well, maybe more than occasionally.
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SPEYMAN

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #20 on: March 01, 2014, 07:32:55 PM »

The "boys" maybe drank a little, but they were not prone to "smoking" a little. Wonder,wonder who?
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Lew Chater

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #21 on: March 01, 2014, 07:37:57 PM »

As kids in the late 1940's we lived right at the Vedder Bridge and caught strings of "grayling" fishing right off the bridge. We used drop sinkers and tiny hooks, and baited our hooks with "periwinkles" or "hellgrammites".
Many people called the fish we were catching "grayling", but of course they were white fish, lots of them. The bait was really stonefly nymphs but that's not what we thought they were.
Over the years the whitefish populations has deteriorated.
Yesterday on the river I looked for stonefly nymphs and did find some but in past years have found that silt from clay slides packed around the rocks and made habitat for these bugs very poor, maybe part of the reason for their decline.
They are fun to target even now even with lower numbers but not with live bait of course.
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sandy999

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #22 on: March 01, 2014, 08:15:20 PM »

I totally agree. Sorry Ian but there is not a golden rule where fish can be found. We used to fly in to a lake at least a hour and a half out of Fort Nelson--Guess what, it was catch and realese becuase so many JERKS flew in and fished out the lake.
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Dave

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #23 on: March 01, 2014, 08:39:27 PM »

As kids in the late 1940's we lived right at the Vedder Bridge and caught strings of "grayling" fishing right off the bridge. We used drop sinkers and tiny hooks, and baited our hooks with "periwinkles" or "hellgrammites".
Many people called the fish we were catching "grayling", but of course they were white fish, lots of them. The bait was really stonefly nymphs but that's not what we thought they were.
Over the years the whitefish populations has deteriorated.
Yesterday on the river I looked for stonefly nymphs and did find some but in past years have found that silt from clay slides packed around the rocks and made habitat for these bugs very poor, maybe part of the reason for their decline.
They are fun to target even now even with lower numbers but not with live bait of course.
Perhaps we are hijacking this thread a bit Lew, but yeah, I remember catching lots of whitefish "grayling" back in the 60's, when I started fishing the Vedder.  Interesting post, as today I fished the upper river with an old friend and soon to retire FO who also fished the Vedder in the 60's and 70's ... we both could not come up with a plausible explanation for the demise of this once so numerous species.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2014, 08:43:30 PM by Dave »
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Every Day

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #24 on: March 01, 2014, 11:34:29 PM »

Perhaps we are hijacking this thread a bit Lew, but yeah, I remember catching lots of whitefish "grayling" back in the 60's, when I started fishing the Vedder.  Interesting post, as today I fished the upper river with an old friend and soon to retire FO who also fished the Vedder in the 60's and 70's ... we both could not come up with a plausible explanation for the demise of this once so numerous species.

Studies done have linked commercial cures used on eggs to juvenile mortalities...

I wonder if it's possible that commercial cures used on eggs have the same effects on white fish (super sensitive species). I could see them eating up any eggs that fall off a hook (caught quite a few on my roe flies over the past couple years, so I know they go for chunk roe)!

I could also concur with Lew, that siltation caused decline in food species.

I'd say the Vedder overall though, is getting healthier by the year. I'm catching far more large resident rainbows and bull trout down low the past 2-3 years than ever before, I never use to be able to count on 3-4 bullies day to save my days steelheading like I do expect now! In the past 3 years I've also started catching whitefish somewhat commonly again, which I had never seen before up until then.
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Ian Forbes

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #25 on: March 02, 2014, 08:34:54 AM »

I totally agree. Sorry Ian but there is not a golden rule where fish can be found. We used to fly in to a lake at least a hour and a half out of Fort Nelson--Guess what, it was catch and realese becuase so many JERKS flew in and fished out the lake.

True, there is no golden rule where fish will be found. A lot depends on the season and the water height. I fished a two mile section of the Anzac River on time and never touched a fish despite covering the water thoroughly. Then I fished upstream from the bridge and found a section of river that was full of grayling. I can name 20 other rivers in the north where exactly the same thing happened. I've fished miles and miles of several northern rivers where almost nobody goes except gold searchers and the occasional hunter, and had poor results. Then, I'll find some little creek mouth that is stuffed with them. My only conclusion is that Arctic grayling are very migratory and you have to be in the right spot at the right time.
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koifish

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #26 on: March 02, 2014, 08:53:13 AM »

There's pike in mill lake????? Holy I waanna try catching one
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MetalAndFeathers

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #27 on: March 02, 2014, 09:59:02 AM »

We might start to see people chucking five inch lure with 3 treble hooks into Mill lake and puddles.
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Rieber

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #28 on: March 02, 2014, 11:45:31 AM »

there are no pike in mill lake

I guess you're right.


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TheFishingLad

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Re: Artic Graying in the Vedder
« Reply #29 on: March 02, 2014, 11:57:09 AM »

Looks like there's no delicious pike there to me :/
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