After three days of near misses and some disgusting performance, I was very convinced that today was the day.
Last night, I was up late thinking what exactly was going on. The fish are not in huge numbers, but enough to provide some good fishing, yet I have been unable to produce... Why, why, why?
After a few hours of computer work this afternoon, I ventured out at around 3:00pm. Scouted out a couple of spots and settled at one that I thought it may produce. A dad with three kids were already fishing at this particularly location but it appeared that he wasn't sure exactly what to do. The rocks along the Richmond Dykes can be slippery and it is not an ideal place to take kids fishing unfortunately. One has to watch out for the big waves generated by the tug boats and cargo ships as well, always be very careful.
Once I was ready to cast, I could see pinks rolling not too far from shore. Excited, I was sure that I would be into one fish within minutes. Was I ever wrong.
Sometimes, when the bite is off, it is
OFF. This afternoon was one of those days. Waves of pinks came through, but none were biters. It was extremely frustrating. I recalled that this happened twice two years ago.
Just when I was about to take a break, one big tug on the line woke me up. I quickly lifted the rod, and the fish was on. By now I was too excited, scrambling to find the net. This fish kicked a few times and surfaced. I took a glance...
Gigantic northern pikeminnow!
Angry now, I picked it up, gave it a boot....Just kidding, my beloved minnow was released unharm. Pikeminnow are known to be slimy and the odour that they carry is not too pleasant either. One of the easiest way to grab them is by holding onto the lower jaw like a bass. This can keep your hands slime free.
FishOn drove by and reported the same thing, nothing. My friend Albert also stopped by, and said he was unable to hook any so he was going home. I urged him to stay a bit longer and fish with me but he had enough.
I proceeded to move to another spot, as no risers were spotted for awhile at where I was.
I pulled up to where badboi and carpman were fishing. They reported the same thing, some risers but no biters.
I settled down and fished about 20 meters downstream from them. After a few casts, fish on! This fish kicked numerous times while I looked for my landing net behind me. Once I found it, I turned back and looked, another northern pikeminnow!
Safely released of course.
Ten minutes later, while retrieving my lure I spotted a pink rolling just downstream from me. I quickly reeled my line in and casted right in front of where the fish had rolled. In the past I have hooked fish this way, so it was worth a shot. What was there to lose anyways?
A few turns on the handle, sure enough, fish on!
I chuckled a few times as I did not expect the fish to actually grab the lure.
Carpman came to take a look beside me. The big male pink jumped and rolled many times and managed to wrapped my line around his body.
Just when I was ready to stretch the net out to scoop it, the line broke off.
I just lost the same spoon that I used during every pink outing two years ago.
Anyways, not to worry, I had a lot more in my box.
Back to spinning again, things died down, nothing was happening, I was ready to fall asleep. Badboi left, so it was just carpman and myself with a few other guys.
About 20 or so minutes later, another hit, fish on! This one took the lure way out in the middle of the river. It was a big male again.
As it approached the shoreline, the lure popped straight out again!
Knowing that there maybe a school of fish nearby, I reeled in the line really fast to make another cast. After five winds on the reel, fish on again!
This one was a brief fight that lasted about 10 seconds before the fish came off, again!
Finally, few minutes later, another pink salmon chased and tugged my lure a few times before being hooked near the end of the retrieve. This one didn't fight that much, as it was fairly small. A chrome female pink was finally netted after losing about... a dozen fish in four days.
Once carpman left, I decided to stay for a bit longer to see if there were other fish around. Things died down again.
Bwi Bwi showed up with his family to say hi and practice some casting. He mentioned that yesterday he was able to hook three pinks at Deas Island, a first for him.
Nothing this evening, a few risers but it was generally very quiet. gman showed up to say hi just as I was about to pack up. He mentioned that he had hooked and lost two fish just before that. Well, at least I haven't been the only fish loser.
Get ready boys and gals, this week is going to be good.
Few things to remember
- You need a tidal sportfishing licence when fishing in the tidal Fraser River.
- You need to purchase a salmon conservation stamp if you intend to keep your pink salmon.
- Daily quota for pink salmon is four fish in tidal Fraser River.
- Daily quota for chinook salmon is four fish in tidal Fraser River, but only one maybe over 50cm.
- Daily quota for sockeye salmon is four fish in tidal Fraser River until further notice.
- You may only keep four salmon (mixed species) in total per day.
- Only a single barbless hook is allowed on the lure.
- Bait ban is in effect between September 6th and October 7th
- You must release any wild coho carefully.
- Pink salmon have large oval spots on their back and tail. Sockeye salmon do not have spots. Chinook salmon have tiny black spots on its back and tail.
- Complete tidal Fraser River salmon regulations can be found on this page.
- Report all fishing violations to DFO Steveston 604-664-9250.
- Make sure you have a good fillet knife to clean your catch and a cooler with ice to keep your it fresh.
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Topic: Lower Fraser, Richmond September 5th (Read 6095 times)