Biffchan, the last 10 days or so have seen large schools of sockeyes in sockeye bars. Some friends have booked vacation ready for the sockeye fishery by camping in upper Fraser areas. They now had to turn to spring fishing. Most of them are hard-nosed, seasoned BB rods and they are not internet-active like me. I had close connections with them via cell phone while they are on the river, trying to determine for myself whether it is worthwhile to drive up there after work to try for a spring. Their reports are real & credible.
Personally, even though I did not hook into a sockeye in my last trip, my fishing partner, a relatively green rod (Auroa, a FWR member) drifting closer in, hooked into 10 socs in a deeper spot closer to shore. He reeled each in quickly and released them in the water properly. The fish were mostly strong & robust. He proclaimed he never had such success. Most fishermen in the bars admitted that sockeye fishing, even as a by catch, is way, way better than the last 2 years. Since I did not want to connect with socs, I motioned to move to another location in the bar where I know the water springs will likely hold. There I hooked into my spring which I reported in the last fishing report I made. There you have it, I don't make statements based on innuendo, they are from real fishermen currently fishing, not guessing. By the way, my friends reported spring fishing really slow in the last 2 days.
Gooey, whether you believe it or not, I have a lot of respect for you. You obviously is a seasoned rod with deep knowledge and contribute your knowledge to the fishing public by your huge # of posts. I salute your unselfish sharing of experiences.
But I hope you respect that every body has a different way looking at things. We came from different upbringings, ethnic groups, education or native countries. A person coming from places where famines or starvations are rampant will view fishing very differently as local Canadians. To the rest of the food-starving world, seeing Canadian fishermen turning their back on millions of fish, even a legal sockeye fishery, because of the mere argument of fishing approaches or ethics, is something difficult to fathom. So, who has the high moral ground to justify their position in the wide spectrum of human morality about fishing? On one side you have PETA implying us as cruel criminals to animals, on the other side you have the poachers who can't care less about animals. I say forget about disputing on the point of ethics. As long as there is no announced closure for springs, each fisher should be respected to his/her own judgement of whether he fishes for them or not. Trying to ridicule them or insult them with crimes or guilt is counter-productive to unity among fishermen. Why not turn your anger to DFO, FN, and the 'real' poachers who took millions of socs year after year with potent drift nets.
While the official record of sockeye retention is zero for sporties, but over 310,000 for FN & 60,000 for assessment fisheries (who gets the $ for these fish?), and with more FN openings forth-coming, don't you think your push to save every sockeye, noble as it is, is finding the wrong target. To so easily crown your fellow fishers on this forum who choose to BB for springs as 'equivalent to FN poachers' is really uncalled for and imflamatory.
As far as Chris & Rod. Well guys, these two are rare gems of the sport fishing community, no doubt about it. Their unselfish dedication to the cause of fishing is highly admirable. But does this mean all forum members have to fish like them? Well, to be like Chris, you need to be retired, living close to fishing paradise of Chilliwack, possess a ML craft, and have a wife who can tolerate not seeing him all the time while he is fighting for the cause of fishing......Hmmm, he is a rarity, too hard to find in real life.
To be like Rod, you need to have a fishing girlfriend, host a fishing site, take lots of kids fishing & have unlimited patience..... Hmmm, another rarity again.
OK, I will try their Fraser fishing style. But yuk, I hate to doze off in a chair while fishing for Fraser salmon, or wandering around to collect stones.
I like to exercise my arm muscles all day.
So in that sense, their style of fishing is too hard to emulate for me. Me, what a bummer fisherman I am, choosing pain over comfort.
No offense to BF, but it takes a certain personality to like it.
Honestly, we respect these two gents not just because of their contribution to fishing, but also because they show utmost tolerance & respect for others who choose to fish differently but legally from them. Even though they stand firm on their fishing approaches, they have never been known to throw out inappropriate statements or name-callings towards others who don't happen to fish the same way. They do it by gentle pursuasion, information & education. For that I applaud them.
Unity among the brotherhood of fishermen, and uniting us to fight the greater evil or harm to fish stock (uncontrolled FN nettings) is way more important in their mind than squabbling about minor issues.
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Topic: C & R Fraser River sockeye salmon during the closure (Read 18888 times)