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[Rieber]

I'm hearing rumbling of a 3-week Sockeye opening for Rec fishers due to high snow cap, expected normal river water temperatures and good expected return numbers.

What does all this mean - nothing, until we get closer to the actual migration time and more accurate numbers and conditions are known.

Sounds good so far but we'll see. We can hope.

I'm hoping we get one more chance at these Fraser Sockeye.

[Wiseguy]

Poor returns of Fraser River Chinooks the last two years. Poor return of Pinks this past fall on a 2 yr cycle year. Due to very low ocean survival rates remains to be seen if Sockeye will fare much better even on a once every 4 yr cycle run. If it does open then the debate of unethical angling methods will again rear its ugly head.

[wildmanyeah]

If you really want to have an idea you can drive through all the reports here

http://www.frafs.ca/Forum_Documents

[Dave]

Wow, the sockeye thread is starting early this year 
Whoever is doing the rumbling is guessing as returning numbers data collection hasn't even started yet.

[Rieber]

Funny coincidence that the information came to me from a vendor that sells bb's, corkies, braided lines ... you know what the arsenal stock is for.

[wildmanyeah]

I was at a meeting with many store owners and DFO. Even at a P10 level they still expect to harvest atlest 2 million fish.

The odds of the fish being at a p10 level or above are very good. If the run falls at below the p10 level then we would effectively have no fishable sockeye runs left.

Here is their best guess

http://frafs.ca/sites/default/files2/2018%20Sockeye%20Questions%20for%20FORUM.pdf

[Rieber]

Well definitely more favourable best guesses this year, so we'll see. Not a lot of room for conditions to sour so let's hope for the best so there's a little sliver of the pie left for us. The great BB'ing debates should soon start. Perhaps this year we'll see the new leader length restrictions be tested with a Sockeye opening.

[wildmanyeah]

I guess that depends if you view the sockeye fishery as a sport fishery or a meat fishery.

[Rieber]

I guess that depends if you view the sockeye fishery as a sport fishery or a meat fishery.

I think it must be viewed strictly as a meat fishery. If the resource is available for harvest then catch your allotment by the most efficient, legal method and get off the river. In my mind there should not be any sort of catch and release on Sockeye. I don't see anything sporting about catch, torture and release of Sockeye during less than favorable environmental conditions. I view any granted opportunities for Recreational Sockeye fishing an indication that the resource for that year is satisfactory and the surplus fish granted to us is to be harvested for food as efficiently as legally allowed. Catch your allotment, kill it and get off the river. No catch and release.

[wildmanyeah]

Wouldn’t it make more sense then just to go buy like 20 sockeye off a commercial fishermen for like 200 bucks then to make 10 trips out to the river?

[Rieber]

Wouldn’t it make more sense then just to go buy like 20 sockeye off a commercial fishermen for like 200 bucks then to make 10 trips out to the river?

Abso-freakin-lootly it's extremely more cost and time effective to buy them from a Commercial fisherman. But it would also be nice to catch a few myself if I can since I live in Abbotsford.

[wildmanyeah]

Lol someone’s got sockeye fever.

Have you Figured out how to target a sockeye but not a chinook yet?

[Rieber]

Lol someone’s got sockeye fever.

Have you Figured out how to target a sockeye but not a chinook yet?

Red corkie for Chinook. Green corkie for Sockeye. LOL, why start trouble before I do?

I don't worry about specifically targeting sockeye or just Springs only. If they allow a Sockeye harvest and don't restrict the leader length then it's open to interpretation of how you want to present your offering. If there is no Sockeye retention but an allowance for Chinook then I'm likely to Bar fish with Spin/glo - actually I'll probably pass on the river in total if it's just open to Chinook but not Sockeye.

Other than myself, nobody in the family is too keen on Chinook, but we all like sockeye.

Sockeye fever - you could call it that. If it's open - I'm goin'.

[wildmanyeah]

I think their is a good chance we may see a sockeye opening but chinook be non-retention. 

[Rieber]

I think their is a good chance we may see a sockeye opening but chinook be non-retention.

I'm hoping but Mother Nature has to cooperate a little now and a lot of other factors can alter our hopes and expectations before an announcement is made. Funny thing with the Springs, it seems they get pushed out of their runs by the sockeye, almost overnight.

I know everyone wants to plan some vacation time around a sockeye opening but we're not going to have a defininite announcement until a few days before any possible opening. If it does open, I'll find some time out there as I think this could/will be the last sockeye opening on the Fraser. I really hope I'm wrong about this but - let's see.