Sport fishing column for Oct 15 to 22, 2012

"There's one." Bill Schaadt's voice was excited yet firm. He backed deliberately out of the water and from the tip of his archer fly rod, line angled far out into the deepest part of the pool ?

"He's gone," lamented Bill as his line trailed loosely away downstream. "That's the twelfth one in a row I've lost. If the hook doesn't pull out, the leader breaks, and if the leader holds, they go in the snags. They're tough ?"

As we went back to fishing I could hear Nauheim mumbling something under his breath about the ultimate challenge. Bertaina shook his head and chuckled enigmatically. Beyond him, Geib, Miller, and Green went methodically about their casting ? separated from the rest, Bill Schaadt focused his boundless energy on the water before him. Hours passed to the roar of the rapids upstream ? When a salmon rolled, and shatter the pool's surface, a murmur would rise from among the anglers.

Long after Bill lost his first fish ? he hooked another, which he landed ? a splendid forty pounder ? it turned out to be the only fish caught that day. Passage taken from "The Anglers Coast," by author Russell Chatham.

It's salmon season here in the Fraser Valley; each region of our province has its own high season and this one is ours. Spring, coho, chum salmon, summer steelhead, and behind them cutthroat, rainbow, and bull trout; every one of these species has it's own following of fans. While salmon season brings many enthusiastic anglers to our lower mainland streams, it also has been known to bring out the worst ethics and behavior an angler can display. This year, lets all try to be and teach others to be sportsmen.


The Report

Our lower mainland lakes are fishing slow to fair. For wet (sinking) fly trout fishing try: Coachman, Zulu, Wooly Bugger, Dragonfly Nymph, Damsel Nymph, Sixpack, Doc Spratley, Pumpkinhead, or Baggy Shrimp. For evening dry (floating) fly trout fishing try: Tom Thumb, Irresistible, Royal Coachman, Renegade, Elk hair Caddis, Black Gnat, Griffith Gnat, or Lady McConnel.

Fishing on our interior lakes is also slow. For wet fly fishing try: Chironomid, Halfback, 52 Buick, Pumpkinhead, Big Black, Micro Leach, Coachman, Green Spratley, Damsel nymph, Dragon nymph, Carey Special, Souboo, Sixpack, or Baggy Shrimp. For Dry fly fishing try: Lady McConnel, Black Gnat, Double Hackled Peacock, Griffith Gnat, Black Gnat, Elk Haired Caddis, Irresistible, Sofa Pillow, or Tom Thumb.

The Fraser is fishing well for coho, chum, spring, and cutthroat. For coho try: Eggo, Coho Blue, Christmas Tree, olive Wooly Bugger, or Bite Me, Rolled Muddler. For chum try: Christmas Tree, Big Black, Flat Black, Bunny Leach, Holliman, dark green Wooly Bugger, or Mat Green. For spring try: Eggo, Big Black, Flat Black, Wooly Bugger, Kaufmann Stone, Squamish Poacher, or Popsicle. For cutthroat try: Rolled Muddler, Professor, Anderson Stone, Zulu, American Coachman, Renegade, Tom Thumb, Black Gnat, Chez Nymph, and Irresistible.

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

The Vedder is good for coho, chum, spring, rainbow, and cutthroat. For rainbow try: Kaufmann Stone, Big Black, Black Gnat, Souboo, Zulu, Renegade, Tom Thumb, Chernobyl Ant, Foam Hopper, or Irresistible.