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[DanTfisherman]

So, as the thread says, I was fishing in Nicolman slough and exploring areas I do not usually visit.
Hit one area where I found a bit of frog water in a pool.  I was observing as I did not see anything, when I saw a few chum swimming around.
Thought this may be promising and there may be a coho or two in the pool.
Made a cast with a blade and had an odd feeling hit.  Set the hook and saw what I initially thought was a bullhead on the end.
Brought in the fish and soon saw that it was indeed a bass.
I took a few pictures, whacked it, and threw it up in the grasses on the bank.
I hear various things about the invasive Bass in various areas of the Lower Mainland.
With this in mind, is this an oddity for Nicolman Slough and should be reported to someone (if so, who best) or to be expected in this day and age.

Thanks,
Dano

[clarki]

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=42866.msg405774#msg405774

See wildmanyeah's post from July 9, 2019.

If indeed the bass pictured were from Suicide (aka Norrish) Creek, then it's to be (sadly) expected that they are in Nicomen Slough.

I would encourage you to report it

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/plants-animals-and-ecosystems/invasive-species/alerts/largemouth_bass_alert.pdf

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I FIND ONE?
Report Largemouth Bass, or any other invasive species via
the Report Invasives phone app, or via the webform
available on the B.C. Inter-Ministry Invasive Species
Working Group website:
www.gov.bc.ca/invasive-species

[sbc hris]

There is quite an established population in the slough now. Has been for at least a few years unfortunately.

[Hike_and_fish]

My 4 year old son caught a beast of a bass in there this year in June. At first I thought her snagged as was often the case for a 4 year old. He kept reeling and a hog of a ditch pig came on the bank. I took it home and threw it on the scale, 7.8 pounds. Throughout the spring we fish in the upper Nicomen regularly and catch a lot of Bass. Its a big problem. I know this system very well from the top to bottom. We boat it regularly and I can say without a doubt that it is LOADED WITH BASS. In the upper sections we've seen frogs with their legs chomped off floating around the water.

Also, lots of carp too. Especially in Zaitscullachan slough.

[clarki]

My 4 year old son caught a beast of a bass in there this year in June. At first I thought her snagged as was often the case for a 4 year old. He kept reeling and a hog of a ditch pig came on the bank. I took it home and threw it on the scale, 7.8 pounds. Throughout the spring we fish in the upper Nicomen regularly and catch a lot of Bass. Its a big problem. I know this system very well from the top to bottom. We boat it regularly and I can say without a doubt that it is LOADED WITH BASS. In the upper sections we've seen frogs with their legs chomped off floating around the water.

Not unexpected, but nonetheless still disappointing to hear about.

How many cutthroat and juvenile coho does it take to grow a 7.8 pound bass?

[iblly]

A friend of mine has property that backs onto the slough and has caught many bass there. Not long ago he sent me a picture asking if I could id a fish he caught, it looked to be either a crappy or some sort of sunfish.

[Hike_and_fish]

A friend of mine has property that backs onto the slough and has caught many bass there. Not long ago he sent me a picture asking if I could id a fish he caught, it looked to be either a crappy or some sort of sunfish.

Lots of Sun fish in there as well. The Duke that divides Nicomen and Zaitscullachan slough on the Zaitscullachan slough side is jammed with pan fish.

Yes, I get the feeling that the fry at being gobbled up at a faster pace because of the course fish problem there. Ive been fishing that area for salmon over 15 years and have definitely noticed a sharp decline of upper Nicomen slough salmon. We used to see rolling Chum in the upper portions no less than 4 years ago. Now? I dont see a thing.

[iblly]

Ya I started fishing that area 30 plus years ago with my dad and there were signs of life everywhere back then. Not the case now I hear. I stopped going up there long time ago.

[RalphH]

there is little spawning habitat above Norrish Creek. Near as I can find coho are no longer stocked into Siddle Creek ( flows from Lake Erroch west to upper Nicomen) though chum fry are still released there. Up until several years ago people fished the slough at the Deroche Bridge and some points upstream in late October and into November - I used to check out the old "red rock" access from time to time - but it is very rare to see this now. I did see chum rolling under the bridge a few years ago but don't bother to look anymore. A lot of the North Fraser streams have seen a dramatic decline in chum #s the last few years.

[DanTfisherman]

Thanks for the feedback and links.
Went to the Ministry site provided and submitted a report.

Dan

[Hike_and_fish]

there is little spawning habitat above Norrish Creek. Near as I can find coho are no longer stocked into Siddle Creek ( flows from Lake Erroch west to upper Nicomen) though chum fry are still released there. Up until several years ago people fished the slough at the Deroche Bridge and some points upstream in late October and into November - I used to check out the old "red rock" access from time to time - but it is very rare to see this now. I did see chum rolling under the bridge a few years ago but don't bother to look anymore. A lot of the North Fraser streams have seen a dramatic decline in chum #s the last few years.

I often see fish heads and guts dumped at that bridge. Two weeks ago I counted 12 massive Chinook heads in the pool under the bridge. Also saw one lone firetruck Coho.

[RalphH]

I often see fish heads and guts dumped at that bridge. Two weeks ago I counted 12 massive Chinook heads in the pool under the bridge. Also saw one lone firetruck Coho.

I don't think that was the bass

[Hike_and_fish]

I often see fish heads and guts dumped at that bridge. Two weeks ago I counted 12 massive Chinook heads in the pool under the bridge. Also saw one lone firetruck Coho.

Don't think that the bass would have dumped the 8 Halibut carcass either

[4x4]

I've been fishing the Slough for 40  years.

15 -18 years ago it was full of Crappie starting a km above the pump house and up. They were a pain when Cutthroat and Coho fishing. Then they were gone. All we could think that caused the fish to disappear was a very long cold snap. The big pool at Deroche was frozen solid from end of Nov to beginning of March (don't recall the year).

The upper slough flows into the Fraser not to far from Erroch Lake in a number of section but those flows were small. The largest flow from the upper slough into the Fraser was a large culvert. That culvert was blocked by the natives many years ago. When that happened we noticed a dramatic difference in the salmon and trout fishing. Went downhill quickly. That caused a lot of stagnant water which is good for Bass and Sunfish.

How they got there I don't know but if they werer'nt planted they came in from the Fraser. In addition to very little flow in the upper slough a huge greenhouse operation was setup years ago and since then we noticed even more of a decline in salmon and trout numbers. Chum in the upper slough has been bad for years. Coho is still decent in certain years and they are all wild fish.

We pretty much only fish the Nicomen for Coho now. It's very disappointing to know there are large numbers of bass in there.

[RalphH]

I do remember when there was a sluice apparatus at the east Dyke Road crossing and there was some evidence (gravel & clear pools) the Fraser had flowed in the section in higher water. That was close 50 years ago and when I checked it out maybe 10 or 15 years later it was pretty much gone. I don't know why you think the natives blocked the culvert. All the dykes were upgraded back in 2007. I was even there when it was going on and was done by the Fraser Valley Dyke authority. The entire north side of the river by the eat end of the slough is now dyked and I don't think any water can get through there.

I think a big issue with Nicomen above Norrish is water quality. It's over grown with milfoil (another invasive) and the water has a nasty brown bloom from spring through fall.

Wild coho are doing poorly in many streams. I remember when there was good coho fishing in the Sumas in late October and early November. Lots of people fished right at the #1 rest stop. Lonzo Creek has excellent trout fishing! Also saw coho spawning in there as late as February. The Sumas is said to be full of bass as well. Water quality is terrible and local agriculture is much of the problem. Serpentine also has this issue. Head waters now come out of suburban sprawl and there is intense agriculture on the entire flood plain. Fish kills due to low oxygen content happen regularly. There was one earlier this fall. It doesn't even make the local media anymore...just not news.