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[Spawn Sack]

So I've only fished the Harrison River once a couple years ago. I think it was the first week of November(?) Some buddies and I were on a guided day on the river (1/2 sturgeon and 1/2 salmon). I remember we anchored up at the mouth of the Harrison and fished for chum and coho. It was a hoot and we caught lots of fish!

Now that I have my own boat I'd like to venture up there. So far I've been too nervous to head up river from Island 22. A buddy of mine says he will take me in his boat (he knows the river well) but every day we plan to get out there it is either super high winds, or monsoon rain - or both! I feel like the salmon season on the H is fading away and soon I will have missed it this year. The wife and I were going to go out today when the weather cleared up but we chickened out. I would like to go with my buddy first and have him show me the river, but often our days off don't line up.

So a few questions I have:

1- How long does the fall fishery typically last on the H? I have heard the chum fishing heats up at the beginning of November. Assuming this is true, when does it end roughly? And what about the coho fishery?

2- Would it be considered "iffy" to head up to the mouth of the H, never having boated up there, and attempt to beach the boat by the mouth of the H, and get out and fish from shore? Or just generally cruise around that area and look for a decent place to anchor and fish from the boat possibly?

I just can't decide if I should play it safe and wait for my buddy to take me out there, show my the route(s) most ppl take, any crappy spots boaters know to watch out for, possibly how to approach if you are going to anchor up in a certain spot, and so on.

Wife and I are novice boaters. Just bought a jet boat this fall and am getting more confident on the water with it. I doubt it matters but boat is a 16ft Harbercraft Falcon with a 90/65 2stroke jet. It has a proper fraser anchor set up with bow roller, chain, etc.

Since owning we have had it out on lakes a fair bit just to get used to it, and launched in the Sumas canal 10 or so times and fished the canal and mouth of the V. Went once from Island 22 to the mouth of the V and back. That's it.

[bbronswyk2000]

Launch at Kilby. Might be a few coho around probably going to be hit or miss. Should be lots of eagles around for viewing

[armytruck]

Launch at Kilby. Might be a few coho around probably going to be hit or miss. Should be lots of eagles around for viewing

I agree , Kilby would be your best bet $10 bucks for the launch . I started fishing the Harrison back near thanksgiving , got into a few chum and coho . It should be good for a few more weeks . As for the mouth of the Harrison . I didn't run down there but , I was told the fisheries moved the boundary markers up further from the mouth of the river so you can't fish from the shore now . Go up river to one of the gravel bars up the south or right side of the Harrison .

[halcyonguitars]

FWIW, Kilby was my days final destination. Not a sign of fish at all. Shore fishing only for me, and at end of day, fishing near the railway bridge and pilings. Another angler also had no luck. My first time there so no previous references, but I did see a few fishing boats going about.

Bloody beautiful there though, holy crap.

[Outdoorsman]

Be careful of gravel bars. It's definitely a river you don't want to fly up. I had a friend who has fished it for many years show me the ropes before I attempted my boat on there. There's quite a few "legs" of gravel bars that come out unexpectedly on either side of the river, so you want to be very careful and watch for different ripples and coloration of water!

[Spawn Sack]

Launch at Kilby. Might be a few coho around probably going to be hit or miss. Should be lots of eagles around for viewing

Thanks guys, so Kilby hey? I've never launched there but would give it a ago. I should have mentioned that I live in Chilliwack not too far from Island 22. At least looking on google maps/earth the H does not *appear* that far from Island 22. Wouldn't it make more sense for me to launch here? I see kilby is right on the H so I wouldn't have to navigate the Fraser from I-22, BUT I would have to drive 45min or more from my house whereas I-22 is "right here."

I have heard that several "legs" of bars jut out on the H and one has to be very mindful fo this if they do not know the channels (which I do not). I think I'll probably just wait for my buddy to take. He runs a boat simialr to mine but with a prop, so he must knows the channels well to avoid sudden impacts.

Seems driving at a "safe" speed in the river is a bit of a paradox. If you go super slow and you hit shallow water nothing much will happen damage wise. However the jet is MUCH more likely to get jammed full of crap, possibly get plugged up, and NOW you have a situation esp if you can not get it cleared on the water and are too far from shore to paddle (we dont have a kicker motor). On the other hand you can cruise on plane (seems what most ppl do), and now much less chance of getting bunged up on bottom. BUT if you do encounter sudden shallow water the damage to the boat and occupants could be severe!

I generaslly putt putt in water I am unfamaliar with and take my chances sucking up crap. In water I ma comfortable with and know the route totake I zoom through on plane and watch for obstacles in the water.

[wav789]

1) I can't speak to when the fishery ends; but I was out at the mouth on Remembrance Day morning, and fishing was really good. We managed to get 3 hatchery coho as well as too many chum to count.
2) It's a pretty busy spot; it will become quite apparent where people want to anchor . I don't know about the fishing boundary, but all the people who couldn't get a spot in the anchoring line were pulling up on shore and drifting or casting spoons from there.

[armytruck]

Yes , it may be advantageous to launch at 22 however last I looked at Agazzi , the Fraser was really low . It's a little over a half hour drive over the Agazzi bridge to Kilby last I drove from the Vedder . The harrison is gin clear and you can easily see bottom by the most part . Stay to the right of the river , that is where it is deepest . Once your up past the bridge stay to the right . It runs anywhwere from 6 to 12 foot of water . Stay away from the first set of pilings , that is where it is shallow . Stay on the  main channel as everyone else does and ur good . Most of the gravel bars you pull up to the water drops off fairly steep unlike most Fraser bars . Anyway it's your call . I would just go with your friend and let him show you where to go , or take your boat and your friend can navigate . It's really not that bad . Or ...take me and I'll show you  . Just kidding . A sounder with a GPS is your best friend as you can plot your trip for next year to .  HAVE FUN. BE SAFE .

[armytruck]

1) I can't speak to when the fishery ends; but I was out at the mouth on Remembrance Day morning, and fishing was really good. We managed to get 3 hatchery coho as well as too many chum to count.
2) It's a pretty busy spot; it will become quite apparent where people want to anchor . I don't know about the fishing boundary, but all the people who couldn't get a spot in the anchoring line were pulling up on shore and drifting or casting spoons from there.

That's weird , buddy told me they moved the marker up close to that little island on the south side of the river . Maybe he just didn't want to take me down there cause he wanted to fish the upper  . I'll have to check .

[HOOK]

You can look at Google Earth and get a very good idea of where the shallower parts of the Harrison are. There really isn't anything sketchy until your by the mouth of the Chehalis and a few areas above it. In a jet boat I really don't think you would get yourself in much trouble because of how shallow you can go and like others have said the water is quite clear most of the time.

Island 22 is not far from the mouth of the Harrison however you need to know the safe area to run through that area of the mouth because there is quite a current swirl out there. Believe it's called Calamity Point.

Have you ever been to the very top end of Pegleg bar where the water is slow moving way out into the river ? if so then you can look across downstream at the mouth of the Harrison. That's how close it is to Island 22, probably 15 mins by boat or less.


I keep wanting to take my boat out on the Harrison but I too chicken out because it is only a 1436 Jon boat with a 15hp even though many people tell me it's a good setup for there. Waves and wind I saw this weekend would have kept me off the water in a boat for sure !!

[RalphH]

salmon fishing on the Harrison usually drops off pretty quickly now but it is known to produce the odd fish until close to Xmas. With more heavy rain expected the next couple of days fish will motor into the tributaries and up in the mid river or even the lake quickly. That doesn't mean you can't catch anything but coho in Harrison seem to prefer specific places and there's lots of water between those spots that are often empty. Still moving fish have to go by you at some point. Fish close in, in shallow water and pay attention to sunken logs, boom dolphins. The river will possibly be high and coho actually move closer to shore then. They'll be some chance for trout as well.

be careful of high winds as it can roar down the valley and kick up a nasty chop in spots.

[Noahs Arc]

STS does a jet boat seminar. Check the guides fishing reports, it's at the very bottom of the STS report for nov 12.
I think it said $195 per dates are all in April.

[eager_rookie]

I keep wanting to take my boat out on the Harrison but I too chicken out because it is only a 1436 Jon boat with a 15hp even though many people tell me it's a good setup for there. Waves and wind I saw this weekend would have kept me off the water in a boat for sure !!

I have a 12 ft aluminum v-hull with an old prop-driven 15 hp and I've taken it up the harrison a number of times. I was pretty apprehensive the first time, but I just had a buddy sit on the bow and we traveled slow. Wasn't as dangerous as I expected it to be. Not easy, mind you, but not difficult either.

[Shinny]

I have a boat at Harrison lake. 18.5 foot Legend aluminum boat with a 115hp prop that I take down the Harrison river often from the lake down to the Fraser confluence.  There are definitely a few spots you can run aground if your not paying attention. The water is super clear though so if you got a guy in the front watching and your not travelling stupid fast it's usually a non issue. The bars come up fairly gradually. Use the piles as you markers, or go slow until another prop boat passes you then tuck in behind at a safe distance and follow them.

I did run aground a couple years back though, doing 45kms not paying attention and it was getting dark, went down the wrong channel on the way back. Stupid on my part but lesson learned, running into 6" of water going at speed sure scared the Sh!at out of me. The prop guard paid for itself that day. I would recommend a prop guard if your going in rivers like this. The guard takes away from your top end speed but whatever...

You don't need a big boat or high hp motor to travel this river. It's fairly wide and low flow. Stick to the sides and your fine. I have taken a friends 12ft with a 9.9 up the side shallows and it was fine, good thing with those smaller boats is once you get close to where you want to be you can put on your hip waders and just pull it out of the water a bit and walk to where u want to fish. Good for the chehalis/Harrison confluence.

Good luck. Don't be a hero....wear a PFD.

[kanuckle head]

I see this Yacht doing river tours quite often and it runs twin I/O props, from Harrison lake to the #7 bridge
Sketchiest part of the river is just up river of the steel pilings, Any new waters ya venture needs respect just have to go slow 

    http://www.shorelinetours.net/Shoreline_Tours/index.html