Jason & Tyler Howick reports. Finally got the chance to sample some local channel cat fishing today. Water levels in Erie Tributaries are very low and a lot clearer than they normally are. Temps were around 60 degrees as we moved around trying multiple locations. We fished bottom and float rigs with fresh cut bait and managed to catch only 4 channel cats. Two of the fish were 16.25 and 16.50 pounds and fought incredibly hard!!! Great day to be on the water!!!
Jason and Tyler Howick
Mark Girard with a 40-pound Chinook (King) Salmon boated in the Douglas Channel near Kitimat. If you can’t get em in the river you can get em in the ocean! Mark was fishing with Ron Wakita who took this photo.
Noel Gyger reports. Mixed bag of weather forecast for the weekend. Steelhead and Chinook are the target fish now. The main stem Skeena is high and dirty and I don’t think it will clean up for the weekend. Kitimat is high and borderline fishable. This high water should bring in fresh Chinook. Zymoetz (Copper) River is high and dirty. The only river that should be fishable is the Kalum. It is high but clean. One should be able to target both Steelhead and Chinook on the same day. Trout fishing on the Lakelse River should be good. Ocean fishing out of Kitimat and Prince Rupert is excellent; so is Crabbing and Prawning.
If you would like to book a guided fishing trip with Noel, you can contact him at, http://www.noelgyger.ca/ .
Tracey John Hittel reports. Another week passes and the Steelhead season is still going on, high water has pushed not only the fish into the upper reaches of the systems as well is scaring off the fishermen as brown coloured water with limited visibility has us Saltwater fishing. Some of the rivers are on the drop though and the Chinook fishing will start to produce in big numbers. As for big fish attached is a whale of a fresh Chinook caught by Kaz from Japan, his guide gordo had to row down a mile of water to land this monster, all of 40lbs and as chrome as you will ever see. Also attached is another great fish caught by Kaz, this one a Steelhead of 40 inches. Kaz has been fly fishing with a double hander with us now for many years and this year was one of the most productive, he had a day this spring where he hooked into 14 Steelhead, another client landing 5 for 12 Steelhead the same day. As well I had to attach first time angler Hasegawa, with a lunker 40 inch Steelhead he caught with pro guide Ariel fishing the black mambo.
If you remember from this winter Don Stewart arrived and hammered some nice steelies on the fly, he was back again for the spring run with his buddy Alex from Venture Jetboats out of the Frazer Valley, and attached is another huge Steelhead Alex is holding, just one of the three he fooled on the Spey that day. Attached in the next pic is Don himself with the Bass Pro hat, Don has been a great customer to the Spey fishing world as he has the latest in rods, reels, and lines, and I mean lines, every colour and weight line you can imagine, we tried them all. Did I mention Don just started spey fishing this February! Joining the fellas for the week was Dons son, Matt, first time on the spey and broke his cherry on the trip, nice one Matt.
Last but not at all least is Suzuki who had a great trip and I attached a single pic of his nice male Steelhead and the Grrrrr! on his face says it all.
Another spring season of the Steelhead is passing us and the Halibut trips are producing already. We look forward to the summer and if the Salmon run is this good already I think we shall have a very big push of Chinook this June.
This week arriving guests are from Red Deer and Medicine Hat Alberta.
If you would like to book a guided fishing trip with Tracey, you can contact him at, http://www.steelheadheaven.ca/ .
Wayne Sheridan reports: A cold front went through last weekend, turning many off the fish off their feeding habits. It snowed Sunday morning up on the Grey Bruce area (with cold strong winds), and most of southern Ontario. This put a damper on many fishermen’s spirits. River levels also went back up to high levels from the recent rain and snow we had. We noticed that almost all the white mayflies had finished laying their eggs in the river and brown mayflies were now laying their eggs. Best bet is Hanover below the dam for brown trout. The long weekends weather will be great.
When you are near a lake or river this weekend, remember that the water temperature is still extremely cold. By falling into the river or lake, the cold water can shock to your heart and that shock can stop your heart. If that doesn’t get you; hypothermia will very shortly after. Please play safe this long weekend. Respect the water and enjoy.
River Flow Rates: high/moderate. Visibility tea coloured, 4ft.
River Levels: Saugeen River (above Durham) at 1.364M, Saugeen River (Walkerton) at 9.998M, Saugeen at Port Elgin at 8.155M, Sauble River (Sauble Falls) at 1.211M, Sydenham River (Owen Sound) at 5.133M, Maitland River (above Wingham) down at 10.171M, French River at Woseley Bay at 187.892M, Bronte Creek near Zimmerman 5.953M, Credit River at Streetsville at 4.568M, Credit River at Orangeville at 11.233M, Grand River (Doon) at 4.088M (below Shand dam) at 1.612M, Rideau River at Ottawa at 3.142M, Ottawa River at Britannia at 59.587M
Prime Fishing Times: Saturday May 18th, 2013: 6:43 pm to 9:09 pm (moon overhead) and 6:15 am to 8:57 am (moon underneath). May 24: Full Moon with a Lunar Eclipse is at 10:26 PM Mountain Daylight Time.
Flyfishing: BWO, scuds, Hendrickson. Roe, red blood worm, crayfish and minnow.
Great Lakes Fishing: Best bet is Lyman lures, Rapala J13, Storm Hot’N Tot, & Rapala Shad Rap #9 and Rapala spoons.
Always Fish Safely
Wayne Sheridan
Don’t forget to check the lunar times and check out our new articles on Honeybees at Risk, are we next? Hydro Dams, Flying Squirrels, Cod Stocks, White Nose Syndrome in Bats, and the Asian Carp Debate at www.canadianangling.com .
Aldo Nava reports. The fishing is finally starting to heat up on Lake Ontario, the coho salmon and steelhead couldn’t resist the Luhr Jensen Shoe Horn spoons being flat-lined on the surface as well the Rapala BX Swimmer, Scatter Rap and Jointed #9s. We were fishing in 60-120′ of water out of Port Dalhousie, ON.
If you would like to book a guided fishing trip with Aldo, you can contact him at, http://www.niagarafishingadventures.com/ .
Wayne Sheridan reports: Fishing continues to be a challenge for many fishermen, these past few weeks. First we had to deal with flooding rivers and lakes and then, a heat wave has hit southern Ontario, causing major fly hatches in the river. That means lots of food for the fish and they can pick and chose (reduced feeding times) their meals.
Last weekend we saw many white mayflies laying their eggs in the river and some black/gray one’s drying their wings along the river. The high pressure system, that brought the warm temperatures, also brought with it lots of sunshine and improving water clarity, dropping river levels, and quickly rising water temperatures. These combined factors drove the fish into deep pools and very little activity during daylight hours. Best time to fish were dawn and dusk.
River Flow Rates: high/moderate. Visibility tea coloured, 7ft.
River Levels: Saugeen River (above Durham) at 1.281M, Saugeen River (Walkerton) at 9.839M, Saugeen at Port Elgin at 8.007M, Sauble River (Sauble Falls) at 1.263M, Sydenham River (Owen Sound) at 5.095M, Maitland River (above Wingham) down at 10.151M, French River at Woseley Bay at 188.068M, Bronte Creek near Zimmerman 5.942M, Credit River at Streetsville at 4.555M, Credit River at Orangeville at 11.218M, Grand River (Doon) at 4.083M (below Shand dam) at 1.609M, Rideau River at Ottawa at 3.007M, Ottawa River at Britannia at 59.596M
Prime Fishing Times: Saturday May 11th, 2013: 12:52 pm to 4:12 pm (moon overhead) and 12:31 am to 3:47 am (moon underneath).
Flyfishing: BWO, scuds, Hendrickson. Roe, red blood worm, crayfish and minnow.
Great Lakes Fishing: Best bet is Lyman lures, Rapala J13, Storm Hot’N Tot, & Rapala Shad Rap #9 and Rapala spoons.
Always Fish Safely
Wayne Sheridan
Don’t forget to check the lunar times and check out our new articles on Honeybees at Risk, are we next? Hydro Dams, Flying Squirrels, Cod Stocks, White Nose Syndrome in Bats, and the Asian Carp Debate at http://www.canadianangling.com/ .
NHL New Jersey Devils rookie Rod Pelley proudly posing his first Chinook (King) Salmon landed in the Douglas Channel. He was fishing with me and Rob Vodola. We had a great day!
Noel Gyger reports. Most rivers are very high due to the warmer weather. Lake or ocean fishing a good idea now. Steelhead are the main target fish now on a few very special rivers. Chinook coming soon, especially on the Kalum River! Trout (Cutthroat and Rainbow) and Dolly Varden Char are always available in the rivers, streams and lakes.
Weekend Fishing Forecast:
Rain forecast for the weekend. With all the good weather and high day time temperatures the snow melt is heavy, which caused most rivers to blow out. River fishing is over for awhile. This is the time to hit the lakes and ocean. Good News…this should bring in the Chinook (King) Salmon run. Steelhead fishing in the isolated coastal streams should remain strong.
If you would like to book a guided fishing trip with Noel, you can contact him at, http://www.noelgyger.ca/ .
Steelhead fishing is peak this time of year on the Kitimat and Skeena systems. Manchester England Spey caster, Tony Clements has repeatedly sought after the elusive Steelhead trout on the fly.
Today is Tonys birthday, not only landing two steelhead as well enduring the morning with numb fingers as it snowed. He said take a pic as this is crazy. We decided to head back to the lodge, warm up with a turbo charged coffee and fish the Kitimats high tide. The rivers on the drop from last nights rain and snow, I tell Tony its gonna warm this afternoon. We waded into the run and literally 10 minutes in, Tony is into a chrome hen fish. We don’t have a net so its a quick pic and off she goes.
Local angler Rick Wakita walks into the run with a drift rod, his pink worm as a attraction draws me out of the water. I start making conversation and we talk at length, as Tony swings his fly, called the Al CaPrawn, another one of Ariel’s homemade concocions, it fishes as well if not better than the worm. Rick watches as Tony casts into the cream of the pool, this is Ricks first day of steelheading and he thankfully waits for his turn at the run he’s fished for decades. It’s high tide at 3 he says, I’ll cast the pink worm or roe in this pool for hours, get my fish and head home to the smokehouse.
After years of gently releasing steelhead the image of a food fishery reflecting the god of all trout is … What it is.
The Kitimat is fortunate to produce massive runs of steelhead with the opportunity to retain a fin clipped gem.
I watched today as a seal peaked his head above the pool we were fishing, then disappeared, whew I thought, it was not five minutes later a huge Steelhead jumped out of the water, its signature red stripe helplessly grappled in the mouth of the tusks of the hungry seal.
Tony landed his second Steelhead of the day, a beautiful hen fish, scarred by the aggressive bite of the seal.
Attached are a few photos of Tony’s trip and its only a small piece that I can explain without experiencing it in real life. Tony goes home with a lifetime of memories here in Kitimat, and as he sits on his front garden in France overlooking his retirement vineyard, scratching his cheek. The cheek that was penetrated by a razor sharp steelhead fly in a crazy wind, he will not only ponder his trip, but return again next year. This is the Kitimat Steelhead experience.
If you would like to book a guided fishing trip with Tracey, you can contact him at , www.steelheadheaven.ca .
Pro Angling Guide Sky Richard . helps his client Yvonne Williams pose her big Steelhead she landed while spey fly-fishing on the Skeena River.
Noel Gyger reports. Good weather forecast for the weekend. All rivers are in good shape except for the mainstem Skeena. It is off colour and borderline fishable. Steelhead is the target fish now. The lower Copper, Skeena, Lakelse and Kalum Rivers are the best choice. Spring Steelhead are coming into the Kitimat River now. Kitimat and Lakelse Rivers are both good for Trout and Dolly Varden Char. There have been many Steelhead seen spawning in the Lakelse River; PLEASE do not harass the spawning Steelhead. Steelhead run in isolated coastal rivers is good. Chinook (King) Salmon are entering the Kalum River now. The have been seen rolling in some pools. It is now possible to catch both Steelhead and Chinook on the same day. Winter Springs are in both Kitimat Douglas Channel and Prince Rupert. Dungeness Crab and Prawning is excellent!
If you would like to book a guided fishing trip with Noel, you can contact him at, www.noelgygler.ca .
