British Columbia Fishing Blog

We originally had planned to take advantage of last week’s spring by going to Kawkawa Lake for some kokanee fishing with Mark, who is a teacher. That plan fell apart for Nina and I after discovering some water in the rear floatation compartment of our boat the weekend before while prepping for the trip. The boat is now being drained and dried so it can be ready for the interior lake season in a couple of months from now.

I was pretty excited about kokanee fishing. I had even bought new #6 hooks that I wanted to try out. The backup plan was not so bad I guess, we went steelhead fishing instead. Shane had the day off too so the four of us decided to give the Vedder a shot, but we couldn’t agree on when to go. Mark prefers to go first thing in the morning, while I have become an afternoon starter. My reasons are that I’ve always caught my fish in the afternoon, even when starting at first light. Mornings tend to be windy (and cold), especially in the lower stretch of the river. I also find mornings much busier than afternoons. It seems like most anglers usually disperse and leave by early afternoon. In the end, Mark decided to go solo and was MIA all day while the other late starters met up at 1:30pm.

It couldn’t have been a better winter steelhead day even before we wetted our lines. The sun was out and the fingers were actually not frozen. Spring was in the air and that definitely lifts up the spirit. The river was pretty busy for a weekday, most likely due to the weather. Finding a vacant spot was not a challenge really. We actually had a few runs to choose from right away. I decided to leave my rod at home while only bringing a baitcasting setup for Nina. She hadn’t caught a steelhead yet so I wanted to do some photo and video shoots while giving her all the opportunities at every spot.

The run that we tried was pretty, a long stretch with moderate flow and fair amount of cover. Nina and Shane worked through the run as I played with my camera for about an hour. Nobody was home. By 4:00pm, the afternoon sun made everyone like a bear just coming out of hibernation. Nina decided to take a nap on the bank while Shane took his time to tie up after playing hookie with a log jam. I decided to give it a shot. I worked through the same run once with no success and gave it another go from the top. This time the float dipped quickly but as usual I was asleep at the wheel. It was definitely a fish. I made a few more casts to see if it would come back but there was no response. By that time Nina was already woken up by the commotion so I gave the rod back to her and told her where to cast. I grabbed the camera and wanted to film some ducks nearby. As I walked by her with the camera, she pulled the rod back and screamed, “Fish on!”

The kicks in the rod was a welcoming sight. “That was my fish!”, I said. Nina played it pretty cautiously and after a few minutes, a silvery spotty doe was guided into Itosh’s hands. It was a hatchery marked fish, around 7 or 8lb, not bad for her first steelhead ever after two outings.

Not wanting to be outfished by a girl, Shane and I quickly got back to fishing. Time was running out as the shadows of trees from behind us started creeping onto the water. This was also not a bad thing of course, fish usually start getting more active when this happens. We decided to try another run just downstream from us for awhile. Once we arrived, Shane made two casts before he set the hook hard. This fish must have been surprised, because it put on an acrobatic show immediately, but only for about ten seconds before he felt the dreadful pop.

As dusk approached, we worked our way back to the cars. It was a pretty nice evening despite of a lack of fish for some. Shane and I never had another bite before we left. In the end, I was so desperate for a bite that I convinced myself (and tried to convince others) that I had a bite when a branch took my float down twice.

You can watch Nina’s catch in the video below. Because it is in Danish, please click on the “CC” button to receive caption in the video.

January is almost over and fishing has not been too productive for me in 2011. I blame it mostly on a lack of trying. Vancouver has been rainy through this month and being a fair-weather fisherman, the dampness has kept me indoor more than usual.

Yesterday, we took advantage of the mild, overcast weather by visiting a stream in the Lower Mainland to ease the cabin fever. This particular system has a steelhead return, but our goal was to see some winter bull trout because the chance of encountering a steelhead is pretty small compared to the Chilliwack River.

Not only did I catch my first fish of 2011, it turned out to be a fantastic outing. The surroundings elevated the quality of this fishing experience. We could see bald eagles at almost every spot we stopped by and there were even spawning coho salmon still swimming around.

Enjoy the video! You can expect more of these to come in 2011.

A few months ago we decided to do a bit of filming in Danish since Nina speaks the language and many Danes come fishing in BC. The above video is the finished copy. You can click on the “CC” button in the video window to get subtitle. We hope to produce at least one episode of this series each month and for you Danish readers, you may want to check out Nina’s new blog.

As coho salmon season winds down, steelhead begin to show up in most of the Lower Mainland rivers. To catch a steelhead in December is typically an infrequent occurrence. However, this year has provided the best early season steelheading that I have encountered. Lots of people have been taking their time off work or school through the holidays to go in search of early season chrome, and many are being rewarded with fish. One only needs to look to the Fishing Reports section or the FISH PORN threads to see the success being had.

On top of being a good early season, there also seems to be a decent number of hatchery fish being caught. I have found that most early season pushes of fish tend to be wild; that has not been the case this year. Many fishermen are retaining their hatchery fish and heading home early.



The earliest I had caught a winter run steelhead until this year was January 3rd in 2008. Already, I have been blessed with 3 fish to hand. Each of those fish has come in very different situations. The first fish was landed soon after first light on my first cast. The 9lb wild doe had not seen any offerings before mine.



My second fish came in the middle of the day in a run that likely hadn’t been fished. The water was gin clear and low, but that didn’t stop him from hammering my bait in only a few feet of water. It was a small hatchery buck that was retained. While gutting the fish I noticed its stomach was loaded with salmon eggs that had drifted down river.



My third fish came from a popular run that had been pounded all day. I arrived shortly after Noon and was last in line as me and three friends fished through the run. I decided to fish in tight to shore in the shallow water as I had noticed my friends had been fishing further out. I was rewarded with a clean 6lb wild doe.



The key to early season steelheading is to cover water. However with many or few fish there are in the river, you will always increase your odds by covering water. Steelhead are aggressive fish, so if they are there they will typically bite on the first few casts you put in front of them. Secondly, don’t be afraid to fish shallow and close to shore, especially if the water has colour to it.

Normally I tell people not to burn themselves out early season by trying for the odd steelhead that is in the river, but this year is an exception. Get out there while the fishin’ is hot!

Thank you all for watching our video in 2010. We have lots of new ideas for 2011, but we also want to hear from you! Finally, here are some bloopers that we have left out in 2010!