After spending yesterday in Chilliwack for the First Nations resolution dialogue meeting, I crawled out of bed this morning at 7:30am so we could head back to Chilliwack. While doing so, I thought, "Wouldn't it be easier if I just move there?"
Although our July Vedder River cleanup was canceled, the directors of CVRCC decided to do a mini cleanup of our section this morning. Overall our section was fairly clean. The lower river is in a better shape than other years partly because the effort by the city and RCMP to keep illegal campers off the river.
Please click on the small images to view large version.
A cleanup crew tried to look busy. 
The seemingly busy cleanup crew in the previous pic was replaced by a group of harder working crews.
Group shot at the end.
Another group shot, but notice how Lew was attempting to steal Terry's Leaf hat! 
After the cleanup, we were off to Chris' favorite hangout - Cookies.
After a quick meal, Buckeye, Chris, Nina and I were ready to tackle some kokanees in Kawkawa Lake.
Originally Terry insisted that he was going to show us how to do it on the fly, but he soon realized the bait side is impossible to beat so he pulled a no show.
After getting everything ready, the boats were launched, we were ready to fish by 3:00pm. The weather worked out well too, it appeared the showers had just passed through, and the sun emerged from the clouds once we were on the water.
We ventured across the lake and passed several pleasure boaters. The lake was still not too busy, it was nice to get one trip in before summer really begins. We joined Chris' friend Don and buddies who had almost reached their bag limit.
Today's fishing method involved bottom fishing with krill or shrimp. Chris' rig was a running pencil weight that sits on a swivel, which is followed by 2 feet of leader with a size 3 or 4 steelhead hook at the end. We chose to use a bottom rig that is commonly used in the estuary Fraser instead.
While I had to set two rods up from scratch, Chris and Buckeye were already into many fish at the beginning.
By the time we got started, they almost reached their daily quotas. Some guiding service it was, I thought guides usually wait until the clients limit out before they start fishing?
Camera crew at work, please do not disturb. Once Nina's rod was set up, it didn't take too long before she was into a couple of fish. Both fish fell off and then she decided to pull a Gadsden - Taking a nap in the boat.
Check out the concentration!In the meantime, it was my turn. I was able to land numerous fish and bagged my four kokanees for the day. All fish were between 12 and 14 inches in length, but fairly heavy as they are all quite broad.
Fish on!
Scoop!
Small yet tasty. Nina was woken up when the fun became too much. She proceeded to show all how it was done. Five casts, three fish.
By the end, we probably hooked around 20 fish each but only managed to land half a dozen or so. These kokanees are soft biters, so setting the hook can be tricky at times. Finding the fish was just as challenging, as the school moved around constantly.
Due to the offensive graphic material of this photo, the preview pic has been darkened. Click at your own risk. Conclusion: Very fun fishery, ideal for families. If you decide to venture out there, please remember that daily quota is
four fish per person. While barbed hooks are allowed, barbless hooks are ideal to use for easy release if necessary. Guess who used barbless and barbed (cough cough, who were losing all the fish and who were able to bag their limits right away?)
Thanks CG and Buckeye for the good guiding.
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Topic: July 9th: Mini Vedder River Cleanup and Kawkawa Lake (Read 5555 times)