Spring Report

The stars of the show are always the fish and did they ever shine this spring! It was a pleasure to see that they were very fit, healthy, and chubby.

These are the good days when you’re on the jetboat, hopping around on the Fraser from spot to spot searching for an eager fish. As seasoned guides who have seen the highs and lows of fishing, we could not have asked for anything more of the fish and the fishing this spring. Everything was in the “Goldilocks” zone. Even the jet boats held up their end of the bargain. If you know anything about jet boats, or worse, you own one, you know exactly what I’m talking about!

We experienced a full variety of spring fishing conditions that included beautiful, sunny, and warm “fishing” weather as well as windy, cool, and drizzly “catching” weather.

River conditions were excellent with water temperatures on a nice slow warming trend and gentle easy rise.

The guests this spring were mostly repeat anglers – any first-timers were here with a friend who has been here before. This means a lot to us – it is a ‘tell’ that they enjoy this fishery and how we go about it. It is also very motivating for us to continue guiding in the way we do; trying new things and expanding our knowledge and fun factor for the best experience for our guests. Describing many of the anglers this spring as guests is inaccurate. Most are friends now – they’ve been fishing with us for that long now. Bowie, Larry, Maggie, and I would like to acknowledge and truly thank Martyn, Jeff, Rob, Cletus, Fraser, Derek, Ellen and her hubby (sorry I didn’t remember your name), Mike, Keith, Martin C, and brother Paul (thanks to Martin F. at Anglers World Holidays for making this trip happen), Daniel, Leo, Mauro, Tony and Ron for joining us this spring. We hope to see you again!

The fishing forecast looks good from here. We will see rising water, which I truly enjoy as it changes the river nearly every day – a challenge we love. Voluntary spawning area closures are in effect as of May 15 and end July 31. We respect these closures as a suitable alternative to a full river closure for any period of time. While this may not be a perfect remedy or solution, it does offer awareness to all river users of the sturgeon spawning process.

With warmer weather temperatures taking effect and longer days, water levels are rising from the melting snowpack. Sturgeon fishing can be very good, albeit challenging, through high water (freshet). Once most of the snowpack has melted off and the seasonal spring showers subside, we will start to see water levels recede which is usually mid-July. Early Stuart sockeye start returning in late June followed by other later mid-summer runs, providing the next migratory buffet for the Fraser’s sturgeon. Lamprey eels migrate upriver in June and July which also make up a portion of their diet as do other resident fish species that inhabit the river.

If you are interested in booking a trip for yourself, or with friends and family (anglers under 16 are free with a parent or guardian), or you need to get out there because you already know how much fun it is, please feel free to give us a call, drop us an email, or use our contact page on our website. Maggie will take care of the rest!

We hope you enjoyed our report and we look forward to spending quality time in the boat with all of you. See you soon!

Best wishes to you all, from all of us!

Cheers!