Sport fishing column for Nov 2 to 7, 2009

I am sure you are all itching to here what the bear did. The answer is, not much. The bear looked at me as he stretched out his neck and sniffed the air. He then extended his right paw toward me like a dog wanting to shake a paw. Not wanting to get into a confrontation I spoke to the bear saying, "You just relax there friend I'm going to back out of here and give you your space. The bank is yours I'm just visiting." As I moved off the bear sat down and began to scratch himself. I found myself chuckling to myself at how much like our family dog this bear was behaving.

Once I was a safe distance away called to the sector judge and pointed at the bear. My judge yelled "he is not interested in harming anyone, he is just curious. Give him some more room and he'll move on." A short while later the bear did just that. It was time to switch and move to the upper half of my beat.

The sector judge walked down stream to warn the other competitors about the bear. No sooner had my sector judge gone out of sight, when I heard the bear moving through the brush up river in my direction. Yes, he came out of the bush at the top of my beat to sit down and watched me again. My controller laughed and called from behind me, "he must like you."

To which I responded, "No it's my reputation for catching salmon and he wants a fish."

Not long after the bear lost interest and left for good. The rest of the session went off without indecent. Did I catch any fish? No just the interest of a friendly bear. Next week Elk River 1 Beat 5.


The Report

Fishing on our lower mainland lakes is fair. The weekend sun has turned thing on again. Watch your barometer. Try: Chironomid, Professor, Nations Black, Baggy Shrimp, Carey Special, Souboo, Zulu, Halfback, Caddis Nymph, Big Black, Wooly Bugger, Doc Spratley, or Dragonfly Nymph.

Our mid and lower elevation interior lakes are fishing AAA. The big feed is on. Try: Chironomid, Nations Silver Tip, Sixpack, 52 Buick, Butlers Bug, Pheasant Tail Nymph, Big Black, Damsel Nymph, Dragon Nymph, Green Spratley, Caddis Nymph, or Baggy Shrimp.

The Fraser River is good for spring, Coho, cutthroat, and chum. For Coho try: Coho Blue, Christmas Tree, green or black Wooly Bugger, Bite Me, Blue Christmas, or Rolled Muddler. For spring try: Big Black, Popsicle, Squamish Poacher, GP, Flat Black or Eggo. For cutthroat try: Stickleback, Rolled Muddler, Mickey Finn, Tied Down Minnow, Professor, Lioness, Coachman, Sixpack, Zulu, or Souboo. For chum try: Eggo, purple Wooly Bugger, Squamish Poacher, Mat green, Dec 25, Red Bull, Flat Black, or dark Popsicle.

The Stave River is good for cutthroat, chum, rainbow, coho, and spring. For rainbow try: Eggo, red Spratley, red Carey, Mickey Finn, Royal Coachman, Zulu, or Black Gnat.

The Vedder River is good for rainbow, chum, and coho.

The Harrison River is good for chum, coho, spring, and cutthroat.

The Chehalis River is good for chum, coho, and cutthroat.

Until the next time, "Keep your fly in the water".