British Columbia Fishing Blog

November can be a rather somber month for Coastal British Columbian anglers. The air temperature dips below zero for the first time after a long summer, while most of us are still on a high driven by the return of fall salmon. River fishing for salmon usually starts tapering off by early November, but those who enjoy exploring in the frosty mornings can be rewarded with some fabulous fishing.

Last week I decided to give salmon fishing another go before packing away the rods for awhile. The short trip was well worth it as my friend Shane and I were both rewarded with coho and chum salmon. I managed to catch an exceptionally big coho salmon, the biggest one of the season in fact.

This fish had me thinking it was a chum salmon for a couple of minutes while it fought stubbornly by staying deeply in the run. I casually played it, but became rather cautious as soon as I realized what was at the end of the line. This hatchery-marked buck, estimated to be around 12lb, was quite fresh compared to the other fish we encountered that day.

While my friend Shane was not lucky enough to encounter a similar specimen, he managed to connect with an even larger fish. It was a wild coho salmon, as the presence of its adipose fin suggested, so we gently released him back to spawn.

Other coho salmon we found at the end of the line were not as silver, which was not really a surprise considering we are now approaching December.

Among the many chum salmon which we brought in, I noticed a few were exceptionally small. This fish, approximately 3 or 4lb, was much smaller than most chum salmon we usually see. I enquired about this small buck and my colleagues all concluded that it is most likely a 3 year old fish, rather than a typical 4 year old fish. The fish simply returned one year earlier, therefore it has missed out one extra year of feeding, resulting in a smaller size.

In the past two weeks I have wandered around our urban streams in the Lower Mainland. Because we are seeing an exceptionally good return of coho salmon this year, it is not surprising to see these small streams filled with red spawners. My recent visit to Hyde Creek produced these photographs. Both spawning coho and chum salmon can be found along the entire creek. At some spots, hundreds of fish can be seen circling around. These sightings tell us, when given the chance, our salmon populations can thrive, even in the harshest environment such as Metro Vancouver.

While visiting the creek, I stopped by the hatchery to see volunteers from Hyde Creek Watershed Society in action. It is a rather busy time of the year for them, because spawners need to be collected, eggs need to be fertilized, and carcasses need to be counted.

If you have packed away your fishing rods for the season, consider becoming a volunteer at one of many community watershed stewardship groups and hatcheries where help is always wanted. It is a entertaining way to give back to the fishery resource and gain a better understanding on the biology of Pacific salmon.

As the fall salmon season approaches the end, it’s not uncommon to see dead spawned out salmon scattered along the river banks. Unfortunately, among these carcasses, the work of some so-called anglers’ assault can be seen. Today, as I walked along a river, I discovered two of these abandoned dead fish with a slit abdomen.

The first one was a hatchery-marked coho salmon, which had her eggs taken. Because it was a hatchery-marked fish, which can legally be retained, the angler may simply have lost the fish after gutting her. However, judging by the state of the fish when it was killed, the angler may simply find it undesirable as it was already quite coloured and decided to only take the eggs home.

Edit: One reader pointed out that the above fish was in fact a male. I stand corrected. I originally also identified this fish as a male due to its kype, but the scattered eggs which he was laying on gave me doubts. In this case, the individual who killed this fish for the purpose of harvest eggs could have misidentified the fish, only to discover its gender when slitting the abdomen open.

The second fish was a wild coho salmon, which have to be released by law in all Region Two streams. In this case, the fish could have been killed by an ignorant fisherman who was unaware of the rules, but was told otherwise and abandoned the fish after retaining her eggs. It could also have been an angler who already knows the regulations, but chose to kill the fish anyway so the eggs could be retained. Either cases make this angler a violator.

These serves as an important reminder that we must keep an eye on all anglers’ behaviours when fishing. Some may simply be unaware of the regulations, while others are well aware of them but choose to break the law. All wild coho salmon have to be released. If you decide to legally kill a fish, you must keep the fish. You cannot simply take the eggs from the fish and abandon it. If an angler seems uncertain, then please kindly assist him or her.

To report a salmon fishing violation, please phone Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s ORR line (observe, record, report) at 1-800-465-4336. If you are asked to leave a message, please be as detailed as possible (violators’/vehicle description, type of violation, the date and time, the precise location). Realistically, fishery officers are unable to attend all calls but they do their best with the limited resource available for them to protect our fish. With your support, you can make their job easier and improve our fisheries.

Back in September, we toured Den Blå Planet (The Blue Planet) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened in early 2013, this aquarium in Denmark is currently Northern Europe’s largest. Check out this short video tour which I filmed during the visit.

I began targeting coho salmon in the Lower Fraser River watershed one week ago but unlike other years, success has been hard to come by. On opening day in the tidal portion of the Fraser River, I visited a regular spot. Among 20 or so anglers, I caught, a bull trout, one of three fish in the entire afternoon. Knowing that sooner or later the fishing will pick up, especially with the extremely large incoming tide this week, I have persistently spent a couple of hours each day by the water when the tide peaked.

Today the persistence finally paid off. We gave the gradual outgoing tide in the afternoon a try and the fish were definitely cooperating. My gear of choice was a Shimano spinning setup, a 9′ Clarus spinning rod rated 6 to 10lb and a Sustain 2500 reel. The lure of choice was a 1/4oz fire orange clear crystal Gibbs Croc spoon. This pattern has served me well since I discovered how effective it was for coho salmon back in 1996.

In total four coho salmon could not resist it, but only two were managed to be hooked and brought to shore. They were wild, as the presence of their adipose fin indicated, so they were gently released after a quick photo snap. Only hatchery-marked coho salmon can be kept in the Fraser River, which can be identified by the absence of their adipose fin.

My other companions also did well, by plunking roe on the bottom. This method yielded two adult coho salmon and a coho jack. Jacks, matured males which return one year earlier than their brothers and sisters, do not grow much bigger than a foot long. These smaller fish, possibly due to a lack of life experience, will always find roe or any other bait irresistible.

Lower Fraser River’s coho salmon fishing is just starting to pick up and will remain productive for at least another month, so be sure to take advantage of this fishery.

This year marks the tenth anniversary since the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC was formed by the Government of British Columbia. More commonly known as GoFishBC by recreational fishermen, Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC is responsible for all lake stockings in British Columbia, as well as river steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout productions, and additional conservation work such as the white sturgeon recovery program.

To celebrate this milestone, we were invited to attend the release of the 95 millionth fish at Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam. In the past ten years, a total of 90 million+ fish have been released into hundreds of lakes across this province for anglers to enjoy. In return, revenue generated from anglers’ freshwater licences is used to fund the production and stocking of these fish.

The Honourable Steve Thomson, Minister of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, was present to assist with the release with students from Maple Creek Middle School. Also present were City of Coquitlam, BC Federation of Drift Fishers, Sportfishing Institute of BC, Family Fishing Society of BC, BC Wildlife Federation and other key partners of the society.

Below is a video of speeches from GoFishBC’s president Don Peterson and Minister Thomson, ended with some footage of the rainbow trout release.