Late Summer Fishing Report

It’s been a while since I posted an angling update. Here is how things have been and a little insight as to what is to come.

July was spotty sturgeon fishing – some good days and some hard-work days seemed to sum up July fishing. The weather was fair to good, with some hot weather stretches mixed in. It certainly felt like summer for a few days in the boat.

Then the slide in the Chilcotin river, a tributary to the Fraser river west of Williams Lake, occurred on July 31. This blockage of a relatively smaller river (compared to the Fraser) created a migratory and water quality issue for in-bound Chilcotin river sockeye. Several days later the Chilcotin broke through the slide and the result was a solid train of debris all the way down the Fraser river to Chilliwack and beyond to the Strait of Georgia. Water levels quickly jumped (a mere) 50 cm at Chilliwack and subsided just as quick. Currently, the Fraser is muddier than usual for this time of year, but there is very little debris floating down the river. According to Provincial officials, the debris trap near Laidlaw collected 30 000 cubic meters of wood from the slide event – that’s a pretty nice catch! And one that would save a lot of hassle for boaters and ships entering river ports and docks.

Sometimes these little events can do some wonders for the fishing, and this time, for 3 or 4 days the sturgeon fishing turned very good. We fished through the slide event and were enjoying some of the best fishing, and the quietest river, that we’ve seen in a while.

Currently, fishing is fair to good and we expect this to continue into the fall. The muddy waters will probably continue until freeze-up begins in the Chilcotin area. I suspect we’ll see muddy waters next season whenever a thunderstorm hits the slide area, as exposed silt will run off into the river until the banks of the slide firm up. Thankfully, the Chilcotin region is pretty dry country, and sees much less precipitation than our area here in the Fraser Valley.

We are looking forward to the fall fishery when we get an opportunity to fish for salmon including coho and chum. We can normally keep a couple hatchery coho and perhaps even a couple chum salmon should their numbers be adequate. Even without retention opportunities, there is still good fishing to be had, and it’s a great option to provide some variety to a guided fishing day!

As we progress later into October, sturgeon fishing should really pick up as water temperatures drop – this is a signal to the sturgeon to load up for the winter and the lethargy of cold over-winter river temperatures.

One point worth making is that we have had some incredibly great people come through our boats this year – you have all made the days very enjoyable, regardless of the fishing! Bowie and I thank you for that! Which brings me to make a special mention of the family photo with the 4 foot sturgeon. This is Ron D’s family. Ron started fishing with me in 1998 – that’s in the previous century (also the last millennium I was informed) and then Ron brought out his sons Mark and Scott over the years, who have also been accompanied by friends here and there, as well as many of Ron’s industry associates. In this photo are three generations, with Mark’s sons joining Grandpa Ron and Uncle Scott on this day of sturgeon and amazing pike minnow fishing!

Whether you are looking for a day trip fishing or you want to stay longer, we can arrange everything from your pickup at the airport in a limo, to your hotel accommodation and the best guided fishing tours in the Fraser Valley. Please contact Marc or Maggie on Toll Free: 1-877-887-4366 or use our contact form.