Sport fishing column for August 30 to Sept 6, 2010

For everything there is a season, a time to be quiet and a time to speak.

The last warm days of summer are heralded in farming communities as the time of the harvest. Here in British Columbia the harvest many look forward to is not a crop. It's a species of fish, the pacific salmon and the chief of these salmon; the sockeye.

This year we have the largest return of these prized fish, since 1913 when railroads made the Fraser River's Hell's Gate impassable. The abundant return is a credit to the conservation efforts of all parties, both private and industrial based, working toward restoring these fish to historic levels.

Will the abundance continue on in future years? It depends on the motivations of the user groups who share the waters and water sheds where these fish live. Will government policy cater the greed of a few, or will it cater to the interest of all. I for one have the hope and confidence that just decisions will prevail.


The report

Our lower mainland lake fishing (trout and kokanee) is fair. Mornings and evenings are the ticket with: Big Black, Nation's Black, Baggy Shrimp, Coachman, Cased Caddis, Halfback, Dragon Nymph, Carey Special, Zulu, or Doc Spratley. For dry 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 good. For bass try: Size #4 to #1 Wooly Bugger, Big Black, Blood Leach, Matuka, Popin Bugs, Chernobyl Ants, Crayfish, Clouser's Deep Minnow, Epoxy Minnow, Deceiver, Muddler Minnow, Dolly Whacker, Turk's Tarantula, Bucktail, Hair Frog, Irresistible, or Tom Thumb. For crappie try: Black Gnat, Lady McConnel, Coachman, Royal Coachman, Ant, chartreuse Boobie, Wooly Bugger, Trico, Griffith Gnat, or Irresistible.

Fishing on our interior lakes is good. For wet fly fishing try: Chironomid, Pumpkinhead, 52 Buick, Wooly Bugger, Micro Leach, olive Matuka, Butler's Bug, Halfback, Baggy Shrimp, Sooboo, Sixpack, or Green Spratley. For dry fly fishing try: Lady McConnel, Irresistible, Big Ugly, Double Hackled Peacock, Tom Thumb, Royal Wulff, Goddard Sedge, Sofa Pillow, or Elk Hair Caddis.

The Fraser River is very good for sockeye; spring, dolly varden, cutthroat, and rainbow. For sockeye try: (chartreuse) Dean River lanterns, Bunny Leach, Bucktail, Nitnook, Besure, Green Slime, or Caboose. For spring try: Kaufmann Stone, Eggo, Popsicle, Squamish Poacher, GP, Big Black or Flat Black. For cutthroat and rainbow try: Rolled Muddler, Mickey Finn, Tied Down Minnow, Eggo, 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 Vedder River is good for spring and rainbow.

The Stave River is good for cutthroat and rainbow.

The Harrison River is good for cutthroat, rainbow, and sockeye.

The Thompson River is good for sockeye and spring.

The Nicola River is good for rainbow. Try Kaufmann Stone, Chez Nymph, Hairs Ear Nymph, Roller Muddler, Tom Thumb (standard or red bodied), Grass Hopper, Stimulator, Chernobyl Ant, Irresistible, or Elk Hair Caddis.

You can find more at "The Reel Life Press" by Jeff Weltz.