Well another week of fishing and more water….did I say more water? We were able to get in our 1st days in the Fraser Canyon this past week and what a thrill to be up there again. Yes, the water was moving at about 6.50 meters per second and the water went up almost 5 feet from when we left on Saturday to when we went back on Sunday. It was a thrill for our friends and clients fishing with my best buddy Keith Rae from ” Get Hooked Fishing Adventures” from Edmonton Alberta. Keith has been coming on adventures with his clients from Edmonton with our team for a number of years, I believe this is his 7th season and he is definitely “Hooked”. Truly great friendships and relationships are formed. Many new anglers and enthusiast come each year to try their hand at this most addicting fishery. Lots of debris and leaves and pine needles on the lines but we endured and caught some nice fish for the 1st time Sturgeon anglers. Looking forward to this week the river has been dropping slightly and the fishing has stayed strong in the Canyon, mid Fraser (Mission to Hope) and the Lower Fraser from Mission to Vancouver. Seals were everywhere from Mission to Vancouver which means nothing other than strong runs of Eulachon migrating up the Fraser River. Eulachon is good numbers mean great early food for the Sturgeon and if you were on these area’s there were rewards in catching.

The Fraser River fished real well in the Vedder Canal area for Sturgeon on all baits so just when we thought Eulachon was the ticket they are really eating roe and lamprey this week, you know what they say by “a change is always good”. Some solid numbers were caught towards Mission as well near Cox’s Station in the mossy rock 2 area as well as by the beach out front of the Hatzic Slough. In the Lower Fraser we had great luck in the Beaver Creek area, bottom of Macmillan Island the Airport and inside of Douglas Island. In the Fraser Canyon it was good fishing but you had to work for your fish and you still had to clean your lines nearly every 10 minutes due to debris. These next few weeks should be really good fishing with the Eulachon run peaking and the water temperature rising, you wait to see these fish flying out of the river soon.  We are very lucky to have such a great lineup of Sturgeon guides on our team again this year. Passion, passion and more passion is what comes to mind, great job out there guys. Check out the full photo gallery on our Facebook page and be sure to “LIKE” our page as we are almost at 5000 likes. Link: https://www.facebook.com/greatriverfishing

Another great fishery that comes to mind again is our Columbia River Fly fishing trips with professional fly casting instructor Bruce Kruk in Trail. The river is up a little but is clean and super fishable with mayfly’s coming off when the sun comes out. So either dry fly fishing or swung fly this is a river that can challenge the best of fly fisher. For a double handed Spey caster this is a river that shines and it is one of my personal favorite to fish each and every year. Check out this fishery and get more of our best personal service anywhere and gain knowledge and skills. Bruce is truly an essential part of community and knows these waters and where the fish live and breathe. If you are considering a trip to the area or if you have a group that would like to experience this area I would be glad to do a host trip with Bruce like we have done many times in the past.

The Vedder River is still open for fly fishing only but the river levels are quite high and that makes it a little challenging for doing trips for us and our guests still. We are hoping we may get a few more casts in over the next few weeks for them Steelfaces but this could really be the end of the season. I must say in over 25 years we have not seen such a strong and long amazing Steelhead season like we have in 2012. So many happy clients with first time catches or numerous catches and happy guides with big numbers bolds well for the upcoming years. The Chilliwack River Hatchery Staff and the Provincial Government deserve a pat on the back for keeping the water flowing and growing such great fish to send out each and every year. We are looking forward to seeing what will be in store for us in late 2012 and 2013 Steelhead season, promising comes to mind.

The Harrison River is definitely high but there is still so great fishing to be had if you are fishing from the boat. Some of our jet boats were having problems getting under the railway bridge but smaller boats will have no issues. Look in the back bay below the water metering station there is lots of those nomads chasing fry through that back channel area. There is also good numbers of Cutties cruising the edges along the Sandpiper Golf Course where fry are migrating out of the Chehalis system. Should really get another good few weeks in on this river.

Last on the list and maybe the most exciting is the news that the Pitt River is really starting to come into shape now. The river was up a little but now gin clear and ready to fish. There will be a few surprises up there this season with the new obstacles in place from wintering over water levels from Storms. Curtis was up there again yesterday and was really excited to share some good fishing and catching stories. This Sea run Dolly Varden fishery is truly unbeatable on the fly. Our team only offers fly fishing on this pristine water shed and urge others to do the same to respect the incredible fishery from being devastated by anglers spin casting and float fishing single eggs. If people truly care about this last frontier of wild running glacier river braids in the most incredible mountain shed scenery, they will make good choices like our team does. Book up early for prime dates as they go fast and we only have so many guides fishing this each week to keep the experience special for all.

In closing I had a great opportunity this past Friday to go to the 1st Salmon Ceremony at Kwantlen First Nations in Fort Langley. I would like to thank the community for their kindness for sharing this with me personally and the nearly 350 others invited. If you can only envision the drumming and dancing of many people who care so much for the surrounding area and the fish for the future. The food was offered to all, traditional smoked Eulachon, cooked and smoked Salmon for all and even bannock bread. I am blessed to have many friends in this community and I am always thankful, cherish and respect this relationship. Long Live the Fish Gods and all of us who believe in them.

Until our next report we hope you consider a few things like joining a group that promotes fishing opportunity for all for the future. The Fraser Valley Salmon Society continues to strive in the right direction and your vote is needed to sustain our efforts to keep fisheries open for all recreational anglers in British Columbia. www.fraservalleysalmonsociety.ca

Tight lines, loops and big fish for another week, Deano in the office <”)))><

Last weekend on the Fraser River we were thrilled to have a 1st time crew come out from Edmonton, Alberta from our friend Keith Rae at ” Get Hooked Fishing Adventures”. Every year Keith offers his customers a special trip to Chilliwack to fish Sturgeon. This year Keith has 2 groups and two sets of weekend fisherman. Keith Rae was part of the winning team back in 2008 for the 1st ever World Sturgeon Classic and part of the $40,000.00 biggest fish prize. That experience has made him a Sturgeon addict and every year, he can’t wait to get out west to have his fix and to tell as many as possible to join him.

This past weekend 4 anglers came (Keith, Darwin, Ron and Jeremy) and they split the boats to have 2 rods in each, the weather was amazing but the fishing on day 1 was slow. We fished from Chilliwack to Mission and it seemed along with the great weather came many boats out for the day. At one point while looking down from the Vedder canal area we counted over 17 boats alone near Strawberry Island – do you think there had been some rumors of fish in the past week there? Yes, there was a pod of good fish in that area but with the water temperature dropping by almost 4F degrees from the day before we knew the fish could be off a little.

There were not many bites and reports from our other boats and team on the river were not favorable for having a 6 fish or more days for our new clients. We dropped in a number of places where the fishing was good from the day before and it was like the fish would only touch the bait gently and then leave. Finally the fish woke up about 10:30 and Keith managed to get hooked up on his first fish that was just less than 6 feet in total length. Great fish to catch for your first ever and a high bar to set for the day for the others to beat. Setting the hook seemed quite natural for Keith and with the new circle hooks we have been using this is method seems to be perfect for 1st time Sturgeon anglers.

The day carried on with few bites from all our boats but we did manage to get another nice Sturgeon for Ron that measured 1cm less then Keith’s. Yes it was a tough day of catching but the fishing was brilliant under the sunshine and nearly 24 degree Celcius weather, so the tally was for the 2 boats and trams one fish for Darwin and Jeremy and 2 fish for Keith and Ron.

Hoping for a better day on Sunday we took a chance and drove to Mission where we launched and were going to fish down to the Vancouver area.  This area is usually good for Sturgeon as well this time of the year but with the recent drop in temperature and the picky biting fish we had to try our best to see if it was different down there. It was a slow start and we fished first drop near Derby Reach past Ft. Langley, the fish would pick it up lots but again, let go just as we got to the rods. Today the group switched up the boats and guides so I had Darwin and Jeremy and Curtis had Keith and Ron, seemed fair and a good way to meet and get to know all the people on the adventure. We soon moved down river further and finally Curtis hit a good spot near Barnston Island and landed the 1st fish of the day. It was only 10:30 and the 1st fish, so things were looking up for sure. We moved in by Curtis and had bites but could not connect as we watched them hook up another 3 more times. This was a good time to take off and find our own pod of biting Sturgeon. We ended up near the Portmann Bridge in Vancouver and started immediately to get strong pull downs. We connected on another 3 fish and could have hooked up on 10 or more so with all things considered we all had a wonderful day of angling and enjoyed the nice warm British Columbia weather. As for Curtis and his crew for the day, well they had 6 to the boat and the largest was almost 6 feet long. So although water conditions were not perfect, we managed to think outside the box a little work hard on planning and made 4 new Sturgeon anglers have opportunity to scan, measure and tag their very 1st Sturgeon ever. I am now really looking forward to this weekend with my good friend Keith and the other 12 anglers he is travelling with for another weekend of 1st timers.

Friends fishing with Friends and meeting new friends, now that’s fishing <”)))><DW

We were thrilled to have another local company out fishing last week and one of the client was a long time friend of mine Ed Ruffles from Allcuts Concrete Ltd. Ed brought his crew of workers for the day to chase some Dinosaurs and we have had this trip in the plans since late 2008. Ed is very familiar with Sturgeon fishing; he has his own boat and spends lots of time on the river. For his crew they were 1st timers and were eager to hook up on some good fish and to see what all the talk was about with the tagging and mark recapture program for these incredible fish.

It was a nice weather day, a little cloudy but no rain, we headed out from Chilliwack and drove downstream towards Mission. There were a few other boats out near Strawberry Island so we went down a little further towards Dwedney Slough area. We dropped anchor and talked about the fish and I explained that since the program started in1995 over 16 years ago, we have now scanned to boats and sampled over 90,000 White Sturgeon in the Lower Fraser River in Region 2. We have also collectively tagged now over 47,200 virgin fish and have over 31,000 recaptures.

The crew was marveled at the numbers but enough said they were eager for a hook up. We had to move a few times and then settled by the Crane and got our 1st bite about 10:30 am, it was a good fish and started to take line and even jumped for us. We landed the fish and it was around 5 feet long, we brought it into the cradle and began the processing. I had the crew scanning and measuring and writing down all the information. This was a recapture and as we had this one in the cradle another rod got a bite and we were hooked up again. We did our processing, grabbed a picture and sent the fish out unharmed back to be caught again.

Sportfishing for White Sturgeon in a study done in 2005 showed a less than 1% mortality rate on these hardened fish – this bears well with the amount of recaptures over the years and one fish in the program has been recaptured now 13 times. This is a fabulous Sportfishing experience when you are with companies that tag and release Sturgeon.

After another fish in the 3 foot range we made a few moves that resulted in no more fish so we moved up to the Vedder Canal area of Devils run where we managed to hook up on 2 more fish for the day and everyone in the boat got a chance to see and feel some real living Dino’s. There were a number more good chances but again to hook and land 4 fish for the day and to hang out with my long time friend Ed and his crew, was another day in the life of a Fishing Guide that will be cherished.

Lets go Fishing, Deano <”)))><

Well another week or more has past and there have been lots of changes on many of the local rivers we fish. It looks as if the Springtime freshet is really playing an effect on our chances to go out for anything more than Sturgeon fishing on the Fraser River. We have now seen water levels jump over 1 meter on most Rivers like the Harrison and the Vedder and Chilliwack Rivers making them virtually unfishable for this weekend for some of our groups. All trips were cancelled and rescheduled for a week or so. We find this disheartening with our team roaring to be on the river, but we have spoke to a few of the groups and they will now be Sturgeon fishing and others all re-scheduled. The Fraser River is up almost 4 vertical feet or more but this should not tamper too much with the fish and the ability to catch some great Sturgeon in the next weeks.

We have a big group flying out from Edmonton and we will spread them throughout the Fraser from the Fraser Canyon near Hope to Vancouver to see where the best fishing is. One thing about having a large team of guides and boats, this gives us the ability to spread out and to survey the river in many area’s to give our clients the best coverage and the best fishing. So in a nutshell here is the reviews and week on the local rivers

The Fraser River was consistent through the past week, yes the river is on the rise but the fish are still biting and now it is all about your location and getting out of the debris trail. Cleaning your lines often makes a big difference so the leaves and things don’t pull your lines down too much bringing your lines up from the bottom and that makes you not in the zone to catch fish. Usually I try tucking in behind gravel bars in the mid River area from the Vedder and Sumas canal to Hope. From Mission to Vancouver you need to go to the edges of the river or slide in behind the larger Islands like Crescent, Matsqui and Barnston Islands, you have to think like fish. Would you want all that debris coming down on you and would that be a good place where food settles? I predict if you stick to these basics of Sturgeon fishing in rising water and higher water you will have great success. Use the baits that are in season, so Eels, Dew worms, Roe and especially Eulachon as we are only 1 week away from peak migration of this tasty Sturgeon favorite.

The Vedder and Chilliwack River levels are too high for fishing this week but hopefully we will see some relief with a cooling trend coming for after the weekend. There are still lots of great Steelhead to catch for the fly fishing fanatic in the weeks to come. So cross your fingers and hope for the freshet coming from high in the Chilliwack Lake Mountains to slow a little. I know we have a number of Spey fishing trips coming up and single hand instructional days. With the big water it is good to run search patterns with intruders and shrimp fly’s like the Squamish Poacher for Steelhead as we did early in the week, big fly’s and cover lots of water. Thus the Spey fishing with the long lines and the ability to send out great long loops really works well. Ben did get a really nice fish early week on the Spey rod with some clients and they were sure blown away with this incredible fishing method that looks magic to onlookers.

The Harrison River fished great on Monday and Tuesday this week but there was very little area to walk and wade once our guests were out of the boat. Curtis found some good spots to target and catch fish near the Aquarium and the back bay near Chehalis but the fish were sure spread out with all the new water to explore. It is now at a water level where the migrating fry will be stacked against the edges near cover and targeting area’s even like Harrison Bay just up from the train bridge, the water is quite calm and this is a good spot for Cutty’s to chase and capture fry without too much current. The Mountain in this area is also good for keeping down the wind which makes the experience much better. Most anglers will now have to fish from the boats as there is no area’s to walk and wade left as of yesterday when Ben was up there with clients. Fry patterns are really the best right now but other imitators will also work good as well. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and try something big, we have had some great luck with a few Zonkers tied down on smaller hooks. Hopefully this river will come down in the next week.

Harrison Lake should now really start to come on for some good fly fishing in the creek mouths and also 20 Mile Bay, this is the timing for some of the best fishing of the year for Rainbows chasing fry from the Lillooet River as well as Cogburn Creek and the Silver River and a few others we won’t mention.

Again, prime time on the Columbia River and with this river being withheld by dams really helps it to not be as affected by the high freshet at this time of the year. The dams hold back and keep the flow rate mainly steady so the fish really are and stay active. This is a brilliant scenic river in and around Trail British Columbia that should never be overlooked on the fly fanatic’s must fish list for 2012. You wanna see a dry fly fishery that is probably the best in the world, come fish the Columbia River with our guide Bruce Kruk in July to early September for a real eye opening experience.

Okay enough from me for the week as I need to get ready to be back on the river with great friends and clients this weekend. Wash the boat, fuel the boat, tie new leaders and prepare some super bait to chase hungry White Sturgeon.

Remember to always try to think of others while out using this great wonderful resource in British Columbia, so we can share it with others for many more years to come.

Cheers and great angling, forever, Dean <”)))><

Another week of good fishing it has been and with the tree’s starting to bloom and the weather getting warmer we are seeing more anglers out and about on the local rivers. With the water in the Fraser River starting to rise and the color now murky, Eulachon (baitfish) beginning to migrate from the ocean, the Sturgeon have woken up. One of the big fish we landed actually jumped 2 times full body length out of the water this week, unfortunately we were not quite quick enough with the camera, but we have a long year ahead of us and many more fish to hook.

All fishing trips this past week with our team of guides have been quite successful with the bait of choice being Eulachon and lamprey eel, but it won’t be long before dew worms will work well in the river. Check out our Facebook page to see up to date pictures from the river as we are always updating as much as possible. The best areas for us have been from Chilliwack to Mission (Cattermole’s, Canal, Strawberry Island and Hatzic) and the lower Fraser has been good from Fort Langley to Mission (2 bit, Mills at Stave, Sentinal and the race track). I was downriver with clients on Wednesday and we boated 7 nice fish all between 4 and 6.5 feet. The client flew in for 1 day of fishing and he really received a fulfilling day. Lee was able to tag his very 1st White Sturgeon ever and we had 5 recaptures and 2 virgins total. This experience was given to Lee by a corporate client of ours from Vancouver who sees the benefit of having 8 full hours of time to discuss business and have fun catching fish, really sets the tone for future business deals. At the end of our day Lee said this was much better then going to the Hockey game and hopes to come back again in the next year with his entire family to spend time here in British Columbia. A real success story and fun way of doing business while giving back to these amazing fish with more incredible data. Make sure that the guides you are going out with have tagging kits available so that you and your friends get the full experience while on the river. Over 47,000 White Sturgeon have been tagged since 1995 and we have collectively scanned over 92,000, these are truly numbers to marvel over.

One another note the Harrison River has been very productive for Cutthroat and Rainbows with emerging fry heading downstream to the Fraser and eventually to the ocean. You can find these nomads all over the river system now but some key areas have been just above the train bridge in the bay to the left, French creek flats and the areas opposite the Harrison rapids. Try using epoxy minnows now for the best results and remember the best results are now coming from the chum and sockeye minnow patterns.

The Vedder/Chillwack River has been producing well for Steelie’s and whether you are gear fishing or fly fishing there seems to be fish to find in all reaches of the river. Some of the lower spots have been excellent for the Spey rods (the cottonwoods, and train bridge). Some of the best Steelheading of the year will be done in the next few weeks and some big fish will be landed and more trophy pictures will be taken. One of our long time clients Tim was here from Seattle with a friend and they had a 3 fish day on gear (great day of guiding Matt). Tim had a beautiful hatchery fish to take home to eat and we look forward to seeing him again in the summer for our Chinook fishery.

The Columbia River is a real treasure that is rarely fished by others and we offer this truly amazing Trout fishery with our team guide Bruce who is also part of the World famous Carron Spey casting team. Bruce is off to Speyorama here in the next week but will be back for fishing days near the end of the month. May through October are key months on the Columbia River near Trail that is the best kept secret. Over the years we have been able to take many of our clients here for some amazing days and weeks with great success and fish up to 15 pounds on the Spey and single handed rods. if you are interested in one of the best dry fly fisheries in the world let us know and we will hook you up.

We are also really looking forward to working hand in hand with the Fraser Valley Salmon Society for their annual Greg Clark Pike Minnow Derby at Cultus Lake on the Family Fishing Weekend of June 16th. We will be donating many of our boats and guides to take kids out for a short fishing experience. This has fast become one of the largest events in the BC on this weekend and we hope that you come out and enjoy the day. Please visit the Fraser Valley Salmon Society website or visit them on Facebook and “Like” their page. Lots of great fun and prizes and usually over 900 entrants with 2/3 of these being young kids.

Giving back to our community in Chilliwack has been the backbone of our company since 1988 and developing the youth of tomorrow is the key to the future fisheries and strengthens the bond through the generations. Family fishing days together are fun and enjoying time together seems to be harder and harder to make time for. The truth be known the reason why I am so blessed to do this as a full time job with our team of guides all stems from the amazing days out family fishing on Beautiful British Columbia’s, creeks, rivers, lakes and sloughs when I was young.

Cheers and great fishing, forever, Dean <”)))><

So when the Steelhead trips all go out and catch fish, the Sturgeon trips all go out and catch fish and the sun shines a little and we have some great Trout fishing and it is only March, no it does not get much better. Thanks to all our guests and friends who visited us this past week to enjoy our incredible fishing area here in south western British Columbia.

Matt, James, Curtis and Ben did most of all the Steelhead trips and whether it was spinning, level winds or spey fishing the boys all knew where the fish were hiding. Having our team out on the rivers daily really makes the difference. The river came up a little and got dirty in the lower area’s below Tamihi but it is cleaned up again and fishing wonderful. Almost everything you want to fish is working, worms, blades and fly’s are all great weapons. The Benny Special version of the tube fly looking like the leech in Purple and Pink was killer. Check out our Facebook page and “Like” us and go see the Steelie pics from the weekend from a few of the trips. Just remember that the river is open to gear fishing for the rest of the month and then turns to fly only May 1st.

Sturgeon fishing cooled down a slight bit from a week ago but it was still great for everyone we had out. Benny lost a huge fish after about 30 minutes and it just decided it didn’t want anything to do with the boys in that boat. We’ll get em next time! I also had the privilege of taking out one of my great friends and his daughter to train them in how to scan, tag and measure and record proper data for the mark recapture program. Chuck has been waiting to be onboard for a number of years. The fishing was a little tough but we were able to get 2 nice virgin fish to go over as samples. Courteney has a new record on the Fraser River for herself and the two of them are now fully qualified to be taggers. Congratulations and welcome to the team! Best baits and area’s this week for us has been near Mission, the Sumas canal and by MacMillan Island and the fish enjoy Lamprey and Eulachon again.

One of the most rewarding parts of what we do is sharing these fishing experiences with families and young kids. We see a real trend in families going fishing and we are proud of the program we are doing to teach all we can to the youth and families we are lucky to have out. Being a part of tagging, scanning and releasing White Sturgeon for the 1st time is something really special and something that will be a memory for a lifetime. We encourage more families to come out and join us.

We have also just finished the 2012 Fishing Forecast – a whopping 27 pages long and with some incredible stories and pictures. This is a load of work to complete every Spring and we would love to send it out to you. If you are looking to come our way this year, it is a wonderful read for all anglers in showcasing our area and all the great fish species. Email us direct if you want a copy.

A note on the Fraser Valley Salmon Society Annual General Meeting last week Tuesday. Great meeting and thanks to all of you who came out to support the FVSS, a memorable presentation by Craig Orr on the Cohen Inquiry was very impressive and appreciated. We are always looking for support and we nominated the Board of Directors for 2012. All Directors stayed on for another year and we now added the youngest ever Board member in the FVSS history. Congratulations to Landon Gill for stepping up and wanting to be involved – no pressure when you get nominated eh Landon…lol. Please support the FVSS and sign up for a membership, only $10.00 per year and what a team of dedicated hard working people. www.fraservalleysalmonsociety.ca

Trout fishing in the back eddy’s is wild and should be good until the river comes up in the Fraser. The Harrison River will be excellent until June hopefully and this past week is the best we have seen of the year. Going out and hooking these super active hunters is a real rush. Floating lines and #5 rods are the trick. The Pink fry are everywhere so get out soon and enjoy this nice river and all the scenic mountains and bald Eagles still hanging around.

I am looking forward to the upcoming weeks of fishing with friends, family and many returning clients. Also looking forward to having a nice Easter weekend and a little Turkey shared with family coming to town. Another great excuse to get out on the water and chase some of my favorite Dino’s.

Have a great week and we wish all of you a wonderful blessed Holiday weekend and hope you can take the time to be with some close family and friends.

Take someone young out fishing this year and make a real difference to their world and future!

Cheers and great fishing, forever, Dean and the team at Great River Fishing <”)))><

We started out the week taking out a group of young anglers and had the chance to teach them all about fishing and the outdoors and how they can make a difference in the future years and have fun too. Being responsible for our resource is key and all agreed that having the chance to fish and to catch and release is only one part of the solution. We taught youth from 11 to 18 years of age to single hand fly fish, double hand Spey fish (the most loved this the best) and to float fish and to spin fish. Cover water effectively and make the best of all procedures, read water and set up gear. We did this on the Vedder River and even caught fish, way to go Hunter.

We did a number of Steelhead trips this week and had great results both float fishing and on the fly. The Vedder / Chilliwack River is in perfect shape and the fish are all over the river from top to bottom. Best results have been on dyed prawns and roe as well as Colorado blades. James had a great trip yesterday and 1st timers landed 2 Steelhead, great work James!

Sturgeon fishing has really started to come to life, we were on the river most everyday and had fish on all trips. We were thrilled to have 21 youth out fishing Sturgeon yesterday on a teaching and instructional day for conservation all boats caught fish. Learning about these prehistoric giants is fun for youth as they seem very connected to Dinosaurs. All youth had a chance to scan, measure and tag their own White Sturgeon. Over 50 fish were caught by the group for the day and the memory of this day will last a lifetime. Best baits were Eulachon and Lamprey eel and most fish were found still in deeper waters over 40 feet.

Trout Adventures this past week have been great with all the emerging Pink fry on the mainstem Fraser River and Harrison River. We have been doing great with fry patterns again – matching the fry type and also with small Hildebrandt lures in silver.

I am sure we will see a bump in the water levels soon with the warmer weather this week and this will continue to make fishing good to great.

I would also like to mention that the Fraser Valley Salmon Society will be holding its annual AGM – Annual General Meeting on March 27th at Evergreen Hall in Chilliwack and I personally encourage all of our followers to come along and to sign up for an annual membership. The Salmon Society has been fighting for the rights of all Recreational Anglers since 1984. Please visit their website at www.fraservalleysalmonsociety.ca  to see all the amazing things they are involved in and how they are committed to providing stable fishing opportunities for all who fish our waters in British Columbia. The more members we have the bigger our voice for the future, so please tell all your friends to join.

Looking forward to more great fishing this upcoming week with our friends, clients and guests.

Keep in touch with us by getting “Social” with Facebook and Twitter – we appreciate all your feedback and comments.

Tight loops and lines for another week, Dean <”)))><

We have taken the time to try to include loads of new pictures of our clients from the 2011 season and as mentioned before we will be doing reviews on as many of the last years trips as we can. Trying to keep up with ever changing technology is a hand full for sure and I am truly better at fishing than typing. I also hope to try to keep up with some fishing reports on a weekly basis if possible, one day at a time.

Again I would like to thank all our loyal friends and clients for making the years such a success and our team of amazing Guides for doing such an incredible job on the river. Whether you are a fly fisher, single or double handed Spey, Bar Fishing, Sturgeon fishing or spinning for Trout we have a team of the very best suited to make your adventures a success. Fraser Canyon Trips to Wilderness Trips to the Pitt River or many miles of travel to the Columbia River, we offer something for every angler and every level of angler. A 365 day per year calm water fishing experience, this is something most area’s can never boast.

Right now the Steelheading on the Vedder/Chilliwack Rivers is the best we have seen it in the past 20 years or more. So if this fish is on your bucket list to catch give us a call and our team – Matt, Curtis, Benny, James, Chris or myself will be glad to show you around the river. Lots of good fish in the lower Vedder right now and good success is coming on the Fly rods and also gear with prawns and roe.

Trout Fishing on the Fraser and Harrison Rivers is on fire so get out those 5 and 6 weight rods and pick up a few olive or black wolly buggers or fry patterns as the Pink fry are emerging in good numbers right now. 

Sturgeon fishing on the Fraser River is really warming up and the fish are pretty eager to take some great offerings of Roe, Lamprey and Eulachon this past week.  From Hope to Vancouver we have been getting very good reports and our guide team has had many successful trips with happy clients. Please be careful to ensure that larger fish are taken to shore or just released at the side of the boat. There is the new BC Best Handling Practices Guide and everyone fishing White Sturgeon should read these prior to going out chasing these incredible fish. We will be adding these to our Conservation portion of our website in the coming weeks. All in all, go out have fun and remember that we need to think of the fish first. I have done a few shows on proper care and handling last year with our friends at BC Outdoors SportFishing TV www.bcoutdoorsmagazine.com and we suggest you view these on Youtube and join in on their forums.

While speaking of conservation, it is always good to know the people in your court and helping to protect your rights as Recreational Anglers. We are involved with the Fraser Valley Salmon Society and would like to see as many as possible of our friends and their friends to visit their website and support such a great cause www.fraservalleysalmonsociety.ca as well as visit the Facebook Page and “Like” their Page, if you follow Twitter, we are now even Tweeting. This is a Society that was founded in 1984 and has not stopped working in the trenches for so many of us. Please read about the Salmon Society and I urge all of you to sign up as a member today. This is for all our best interest and the future of fish and opportunity too.

I think this is enough for the 1st post and I am thrilled to be back up and running and also excited and hope you enjoy our Blog and stay tuned for the season.

Please be sure to Socialize with us on Facebook as we are trying hard to reach 5000 “Like’s” by time the month of March ends.

Most of all go fishing and better yet, take someone else fishing and teach them how great and wonderful our Province of BC really is. When we say the “Best Place on Earth” we mean it, come and visit and see why.

Cheers and great fishing, forever, Dean <”)))><

Sturgeon Fishing with Judith and Lorne on the Fraser River

Geoff was introduced to Sturgeon fishing when his dad Peter booked a number of fishing trips dating back to 2005 and they came to visit usually early March, we had some incredible days some yielding over 20 fish per day. Through the years we have shared many great fishing experiences on the Fraser River.

A few days prior to Geoff and his buddy Colin’s  trip date the forecast was for snow, I phoned and warned then maybe they should cancel. Last ditch effort on my part to not go out in the cool weather. They said they were coming and on the 1st day we were snowed off the river, 14 inches overnight and we had to cancel the day. We then fished for the 2nd and the 3rd days able to get to the river to launch the boat and caught 21 Sturgeon over 2-days. The largest was 7 feet in length and this was an amazing 1st Sturgeon adventure for Colin and another incredible one for Geoff and I to hang out and catch up since we last fished.

All in all when we think of the great 365 day fishery we have here and to know that fish bite all year round, I sometimes wonder if I could catch Sturgeon every single day of the year? Now can I go fishing every day is the question something to ponder in the coming years.

check here for the photos on Facebook!

Looking forward to seeing Colin and Geoff again in 2012 

<”)))><

2011 has been another busy year and hopefully over the next months I can go over some of the many highlight trips of my 2011 season and possibly throw in a report or two along the way to keep all of you tuned into what is going on in our local rivers.

We can’t thank enough our loyal clients and friends from the many years of being in business, this is truly a dream job and that is why when people phone and ask how are things my reply is always the same “Living the dream!” we are and I am thankful for having been born in Beautiful British Columbia where we have a 365 day a year-calm water fishery.

Hope all of you have a great holiday season with family and friends and come fishing with our amazing team again in 2012.

Deano from the office <”)))><