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[liketofish]

In the old days of Expo, the Cap was full of coho, and for the years subsequent to Expo 86, fishing at the Cap was very good. The eco system there has not changed. Why can't they stock the Cap like the days of old? There are good reasons to support stocking the Cap more:

1) It will take the pressure off the other systems as there are more fishermen now.

2) It will be good for the environment when less fishermen need to drive for an hour or more to the Fraser Valley rivers. This is following the spirit of 'Fish in the city' promotion.

3) Being the river with most visits by tourists, the Cap with good fishing can be a tourist attraction, a show-case fishery tourist can talk about the salmon aspect of Vancouver. The more talking point about Vancouver fishing back home, the more tourists.

4) There used to be many boaters fishing the West Van ocean area & English Bay too when the Cap was low. I used to charter boats to take visiting relatives to catch coho during those days and it was productive. This will help the economy when more people are buying or renting boats.

5) If the Cap can be more productive like the old days, being so near to town, it can be a good training ground for younger fishermen who lack transportation & time for farther fishing expeditions like the Vedder. The fishing community needs the younger generation more involved in fishing.

It will be nice to hear from the hatchery people or more influential fishing groups if the Cap can be enhanced like the old days. Considering the Fed just wasted millions on the Cohen Sockeye Inquiry and yet taking no action on recommendation, why not help out to enhance such a popular urban fishery like the old days?

[big_fish]

why not help out to enhance such a popular urban fishery like the old days?

They're saving up to invest on parking lots for fishermen as recommended.

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=33598.0

[BCLAX]

Pumping out more hatchery fish wouldn't be helping the wild stocks of Coho and I believe that the DFO "advertises" to protect the wild stocks. That being said there is very little natural spawning that occurs in the Cap because of the dam, correct me if I'm wrong. If this is the case then maybe we should consider the idea of ramping up hatchery out put. This will increase the competition for wild stocks out in the ocean as well which may not be wise to do. It also has it's positives which you mentioned. Of course all of this costs money which seems to be spread thin.

Maybe we should be more concerned about water levels during migration of summer and winter runs of steelhead (salmon as well)? 

Perhaps have the bait ban in affect from June 1- October 1 to protect summer run fish?
Most of the fish should be stale and sitting above the cable pool by then. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't want to hijack your post with the last 2 observations. Since we're on the topic of the Cap I feel these are also areas of concern.

As a "young buck" on the river and the forum I would love to have the opportunity to catch more fish and also see the stocks increase, I just want to make sure that all of the consequences are accounted for.


   

[Golfer]

I would also like it if they were to increase coho production.  Regarding spawning habitat, when I talked to workers at the hatchery, they said the only real spawning that occurs in the river is in Brothers creek, and the lower reaches of the river where all of the pinks spawn in odd years, and smaller numbers of pinks and chums also spawn in some of the gravel sections of the canyon pools.

[fic]

We should be seeing more wild coho's because of this experiment launched in 2008.  Wonder how the progress of this is doing and whether they kept it up since then.

http://www.metrovancouver.org/about/publications/Publications/ProtectingSalmonandTroutintheCapilanoRiver.pdf

[sbc hris]

Maybe they are still releasing the same number of fish as they used to. Maybe ocean survival is just way down?? Does anyone have the actual numbers?

[sbc hris]

Double post

[StillAqua]

Maybe they are still releasing the same number of fish as they used to. Maybe ocean survival is just way down?? Does anyone have the actual numbers?

It's all here. I note they don't show any steelhead releases for 2013.....wonder why?

http://pacgis01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/DocumentsForWebAccess/HatcheryReleaseReports/ReleaseReport.aspx?IDValue=103

[4TheKids]

Great link. Thanks SA.

[liketofish]

Thanks for the link. Looks like the current stocking is about 30-50% of the best years. You can tell they increased the release of coho a few years before 1986 Expo year to produce bountiful return in time for Expo.

[arimaBOATER]

liketofish makes a good arguement.
Lots of positives.
Maybe other BC salt fish resorts would not like it.
Too many may stay local to get their salmon addiction catches met.

Possibly the Feds do not want too many sports boats in the area as more & more oil tankers go thru the narrow routes. 1st & 2nd narrows.

[liketofish]

Most people go to the lodges for the big & mighty fish with fantastic fishing, and feeling pampered while they fish. I don't know if anybody will skip the lodges for the little coho of the Cap. Those lodges specialize in mighty red springs, big ones. Coho out there is an after thought unless you want to fly fish them. LOL. The Cap springs are mostly white spring and not desirable in the mind of many fishermen. If anything, if the Cap is productive, it will attract many more fishermen local & tourists, perhaps even family outings. It will be nice to put the family on a boat, chartered or self-owned, mooching for salmon while enjoying the family, foods & sunshine. I used to do that but what is the point of the high cost of charter when the fishing is hit & miss most of the time now. You can still do it now, but the chance of success is nothing compared to the old days.

[arimaBOATER]

I'm all for your idea "liketofish".

Get a good supply of salmon in the West Vancouver waters & there will be fun for all to be had.
Even catch & release is ok with me,as long as there is plenty of action.

There's a lot of open area waters & boats should be spread out quite nicely.

As for as oil tankers passing by a conjested area near the Cap possibly a new law could be made up.
Boaters have to stay 1 mile west of the river.
Can be quite narrow in that area & lots of bad things can happen when boats are crowded.

A lot of winds from the S & NW thus the waters are not too rough most times. Protection from UBC  &  mountains.

Like the idea as you mention ; it will take some pressure off our valley river(s).

[silver ghost]

if the Cap is productive, it will attract many more fishermen local & tourists, perhaps even family outings. It will be nice to put the family on a boat, chartered or self-owned, mooching for salmon while enjoying the family, foods & sunshine. I used to do that but what is the point of the high cost of charter when the fishing is hit & miss most of the time now. You can still do it now, but the chance of success is nothing compared to the old days.

Ever seen the cap mouth on a summer weekend? 40+ boats out at any given time... it is already well known, don't think it needs any more boats

[liketofish]

Thank you boater. I think the Cap is a special river. It deserves a special treatment. It is the closest salmon river with a large hatchery in the middle of urban Vancouer. It has proven in the Expo years that it can produce exciting fishing with more stocking. So if the fed or Tourism BC want to do it to make it a show-case fishery for local Vancouverites & tourists, they can do it. Judging how the fed waste all that money on the Cohen Inquiry, even a fraction of that cost can make the river go back to the old glory days. There is just no political will to do that for us fishermen because we never count much in their decision. But if they consider the tourism & economic impact, they should do it. The younger school-age potential fishermen in the city need a productive local river to start a good hobby instead of spending time on the street or rave parties. It can have a good social benefit too. LOL.