It was sure good to spend the last two days out fishing with Nick again. We have not fished together since last Spring, a 2 day adventure to the Merritt area for a trout fly fishing trip.
Now that I do not have a computer at home for a while gives me more time to fish than on the FWR site but I sure miss all of you and all the fishing stories. I will not even have time to read the last few days as my time is limited this afternoon.
Sunday night I got a invite from Nick to head over to the Harrison to try spin casting for some coho and maybe pick up a fresh chum or two.
Of course I could not refuse having a chance to fish with, in my books the best all round angler in the Valley.
My phone rang at 5:30 am as I had asked Nick to give me a call to make sure I would not sleep in as with all the house renovations going on I could not even find an alarm clock.
By 5:45 the Leaf Mobile was loaded and I was on my way to the 20 minute trip to Nick's who on my arrival had his 16 foot Prince Craft with a 40 horses on the tail end hooked up and ready to roll.
Our first stop after topping up the Merc's gas tank was a breakfast in Agassiz at the A&W as it was the only spot open at 6:30.
After the breakfast we were on our way to the Kilby Boat Launch, about 12 minutes away, were on arrival Nick quickly launches the boat while I deposit the $5 launching fee in the deposit box. A good concrete launching site there.
We head down to the mouth were a few boats are already anchored some are spin casting while a guide boat pulls in at the same time as us and I see they have 4 clients that will be fly fishing.
I drop the anchor in about 10 feet on water and we start throwing the #3 Blue Foxes towards the shore. Lots of chum surfacing in the whole area but in the first half hour no takers.
Nick tells me to pull anchor and we move to another sport, which we do a number of times through the day. " Got to find where the coho are" Nick says.
For some reason I am having trouble casting with a spinning reel of all things and getting loops in the drum more than I should. My excuse is I never hardly ever fish a spinning reel which should be fool proof one would think. A bit embarrissing to say the least.
Anyway I hook in to the first fish a fairly fresh chum that heads to one of the piling but turns away at the last moment. It becomes airborne a few times trying to rid itself from the Blue Fox which it does. Glad it was not a CO I think as we move to another spot in the bay. More boats, alot of them guide boats are arriving and we see one coho and a few chum being hooked.
Shortly after the latest move I am into another chum and have a good battle with her especially with the newbee I am with a spinning reel trying to ajust the drag correctly.
I am successful in getting her to the boat with Nick netting her as I decide to keep her, a fish of about about 9 pounds. Last year I enjoyed the chum smoked and this was a fresh run fish.
A few more moves around the same area with no more hits and we then decide to take a run up river towards the mouth of the Chehalis area.
A beautiful area with lots of wild life, ducks, eagles, kingfishers and large springs surfacing in the Harrison Rapids area. The scenery is worth the trip alone. Of course lots of chum spawning in the gravel shallows, a wonderful salmon nursery to say the least. The eagles perched high in the trees are just waiting for the salmon to complete their life cycle.
We fish in a few spotsin this area and Nick looses a CO and gets a couple of pike minnows while I touch nothing.
We break for lunch made up
of smoked spring and soup, a good mix.
I continue to admire the scenery and marvel at the huge springs jumping around us.
We decide to end the day back at the mouth and 15 minutes before we are to leave my lure had just hit the water and as I begin to wind there it is, a CO, as we see its silver sides flashes in the green waters of the Harrison.
She puts up no much as a battle you would think for a fresh fish of about 10 pounds. Maybe that was luckly as our net had somehow fallen out of the boat earlier. Nick skillfully gets his hands around her and lifts the hatchery fish aboard, one of the nicest CO's I have ever taken.
The end of a perfect day and once again Nick was a perfect guide letting me land all the fish.
As my time is running short a very short report on the Vedder today.
We fished the upper river and I landed 6 CO's and Nick 5. The river was perfect with a good number of fish around.
I also landed one jack spring and broke off one fairly fresh spring. Of the 6 coho I landed 4 were wild and 2 hatchery.
I retained a slightly colored buck of just under 10 and also got a nice picture of a wild doe which I will try to get posted along with the Harrison River CO.
2 good days with one of the best fishing partners you could ask for, thanks again Nick.
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Topic: A Day On The Harrison River and The Vedder, Oct 18 - 19 (Read 6649 times)