British Columbia Fishing Blog

When I hooked the finest looking bull trout of this season, a tug boat moved by at a good pace. The waves generated made the battle quite interesting. Thanks to Carlo Ng for taking this photographic sequence.

Even though the rain died off this afternoon, the easterly wind just didn’t want to go away. I kept looking out the window and the temptation was finally too much. I grabbed the ultralight spinning rod and headed to Garry Point Park once again just after flood tide at 3:00pm.

Normally I prefer to fish from the rocks and the amount of fishable water is actually quite limited. Seeing how strong the wind was blowing, I decided to try fishing from the beach today. With no waders, I had to whip the tiny spinner out as far as possible and retrieving quickly when it reached the shallows. This switch of tactic paid off today. It was exciting fishing! I managed to connect with four bull trout. One measured 20in, one 18in and two around 16in. Three of the fish were hooked in just several inches deep. They must have chased the spinner right in and grabbed it before water ran out. A few swirls were seen at times right behind the spinner when I brought it out of the water. All four fish were fat, unlike the skinny snakes that were caught last week.

Today we had the pleasure to fish with Al Belhuemer of Pro Line Sports on the Fraser River. Somehow our only sturgeon day of the year became the wettest as well. The forecasted 30mm rain was delivered. White caps and tide change arrived two hours into fishing, sending the boat spinning around, which made fishing extremely challenging. The first six hours produced two fish, but perseverance paid off once again as the last 1.5 hours resulted in six hook-ups, including two double hook-ups. Largest fish of the day was 5’6″.

Anticipation in the rain

A prized catch, hanging onto the roe sac

Slimed and pleased

 

The Tidal Fraser River is saltier in the winter time due to the absence of snow melt. This allows some saltwater species to move in and it is not unusual to encounter them while fishing between November and March. While spincasting for bull trout today, this whitespotted greenling decided to bite onto the spinner. Other saltwater species that one may find in the Tidal Fraser River during the winter months include pacific tomcod, spiny dogfish, shiner perch and starry flounder.

Most of the bull trout that I’ve encountered down here in Steveston are between 1 and 2lb. Every now and then, a large fish that weighs 5lb or more would swim among these little guys. There seems to be a gap in the weight range, because fish in between these two size classes are uncommon. Since the fall salmon season opening, I have found 24 bull trout at the end of my line. Although it has been a blast catching them, every single fish has been in the light weight class. The big ones are still swimming out there, undisturbed, somewhere. It would be nice to find one before the season ends. Last night I mentioned to Nina that I was going to find a 8 pounder today. Well, almost.

The wind was blowing hard from the east this morning. The tide was very high by 11:00am. Combining the two together resulted in poor fishing condition at some of the more favourable spots due to the amount of debris accumulating in the area. I picked out a couple of sheltered spots to work the spinners. After not finding a fish in an hour, hope was fading away fast. I fished the area at the far side of Garry Point Park, where a slough enters into the mainstem Fraser River. I missed a good hit at one point, which raised some hope because they would usually come back for another attempt. A few casts later, it indeed came back again. I hooked it just several feet from shore as usual. At first I thought it was a snag because there was no movement, but a few seconds later the head began to shake violently. The fish surfaced and I was shocked by how long it was. At last the beasty bull has showed itself. The game was not over yet because it began heading into the deep. The ultralight rod was pushed to the limit so I could only wait for it to tire itself out. It came into the landing net with ease after a few minutes.

Although long, this fish was rather snake-like, which is very common for this time of the year. If this fish was caught in spring, it would almost be twice as heavy. I estimated it to be around 5lb. Unfortunately I was fishing alone once again and the length of the fish made taking good photos rather difficult.

Heavy rain moved in at 1:00pm, but I managed to squeeze in one more fish before ending the outing.

Both fish were taken on a 1/8oz green bladed spinner. Another short and relatively productive outing.