Sport fishing column for May 17 to 24, 2010

This past week I had another father tell me that he would be more inclined to take his boys fishing, if he honestly believed he could catch fish. I have to confess that I always feel some disappointment when I hear a parent make that statement.

While success at fishing does require some faith, it is no different than believing you can ride a bike or catch a ball. Often people will try fishing and give up if success does not come within the first few tries. No sport works that way; success in fishing like any other sport is achieved with time spent in study and practice. While there are helps there are no shortcuts. Success starts with a decision, followed by action.

Next Friday is the start of the May long weekend and a great time to take the kids fishing. There will be many decisions made about sport fishing this weekend; I know, because it was forty years ago under the mentorship of a great man that I decided to take up fly fishing.

The report

Our lower mainland lakes are fishing well. Caddis and chironomid are the current hatch and since I have had recent success with #8 black foam patterns on the surface, the carpenter ant hatch can't be far away. For wet (sinking) fly fishing try: Big Black, Nation's Black, Red Spratley, Baggy Shrimp, Coachman, Cased Caddis, Halfback, Dragon Nymph, Carey Special, Zulu, or Doc Spratley. For dry (floating) fly fishing try: Tom Thumb, Renegade, Black Gnat, Foam Ant, Griffith Gnat, Royal Coachman, or Elk Hair Caddis. For kokanee try: Red Abbis, Red Spratley, Bloodworm, Royal Coachman, San Juan Worm, or red Micro Leach.

Local bass and crappie fishing is active too. Try: Wooly Bugger, Big Black, Blood Leach, Matuka, Popin Bugs, Chernobyl Ants, Crayfish, Clouser's Deep Minnow, Deceiver, Dolly Whacker, Bucktail, Hair Frog, Irresistible, or Tom Thumb.

The fishing on our interior lakes is in flat out spring mode. For wet fly fishing try: Chironomid, Pumpkinhead, 52 Buick, Bloodworm, Wooly Bugger, Micro Leach, olive Matuka, Butler's Bug, Halfback, Baggy Shrimp, Sooboo, or Green Spratley, For dry fly fishing try: Lady McConnel, Irresistible, Big Ugly, Double Hackled Peacock, Tom Thumb, Royal Wulff, or Elk Hair Caddis.

The Fraser River has dropped, but is still colored. For better success, focus on the cleaner water in and around the confluence of it's many feeder streams. For cutthroat and rainbow try: Rolled Muddler, Mickey Finn, Tied Down Minnow, Professor, Lioness, Kaufmann Stone, Coachman, Zulu, Chez Nymph, Black Gnat, Sooboo, Irresistible, Elk Hair Caddis, or Stimulator. For dolly varden try: large (#4 to #2) Rolled Muddler, Zonker, Clouser's Deep Minnow, Dolly Whacker, black Popsicle, or Big Black.

The Stave River is fare to good for cutthroat and rainbow.

The Harrison River is good for cutthroat, and rainbow.


Wild pacific salmon or part of our heritage, say no the foreign national
companies and their farmed fish.