Weekly Fraser Valley Sport fishing column; March 3 to 10, 2014

One spring morning I heard my Grandma Flynn and Uncle Leige whispering in the Kitchen.

?Think he?s old enough???

?He?s seven-plenty old enough,? grandma said.

Grandma spotted me peering through the screen door.

?Just the gentleman I?m looking for,? she said. ?Young fellow, you and I are going to have some fun.??

Well? sir, she grabbed me by a hand as she exploded out the door and half dragged me along.

?C?mon, Vernon,? she said, ?Time?s a wastin!??

Grandma and I had ourselves quite a morning, taking six or seven catfish before finally quitting?

Well, that was that. Grandma had hooked me just as sure as she had hooked any one of those catfish? Memories of R V (Gadabout) Gaddis from his book, ?The Flying Fisherman.?

March means two things to me; the end of winter and the return of the Fraser Valley Boat and Sportsman?s Show. I have missed very few of these shows since my Dad took me to my first one back in 1963. It was there that my Dad was introduced to archery and through the archery club Dad joined; I was introduced to wonders of BC fly fishing. My oldest daughter caught her first fish at the Boat and Sportsman?s Show 92, and my youngest did fly tying demos there 05. The show has become as much a tradition in our family as tying flies and catching fish. How about you; are you thinking about introducing your family to the great outdoors? The boat and sportsman?s show is a good place to start. A taste of the great outdoors BC style will be on display in Abbotsford, at the Tradex center, March 7, 8, & 9. Will we see you there?



The Report

Fishing on our lower mainland lakes is slow. Old winter did it again. What are the chances of that; the wild card two weekends in a row. I am glad I said, ?When things stabilize.? In fact let?s stick with that prediction for this week; when the weather stabilizes you can expect our lake fishing to be good. It doesn?t matter though because everyone will be at the Boat & Sportsman?s; right? If you do go fishing try working the north east sections of you favorite lake close to shore with: Chironomid, Bloodworm, Wooly Bugger, Big Black, Micro Leach, Baggy Shrimp, Dragonfly Nymph, or Halfback Nymph.

The Fraser River back waters and sloughs are fishing fair to good for cutthroat, rainbow, and Dolly Varden. For Cutthroat try: Alevin, Professor, Eggo, Flesh Fly, Anderson Stone, American Coachman, Rolled Muddler, Tied Down Minnow, Black Gnat, Griffith Gnat, Zulu, Hares Ear, Renegade, or Irresistible. For Dolly Varden try: Zonker, Flat Black, Big Black, Eggo, Clouser's Deep Minnow, Bucktail, and Lefty's Deceiver.

The Vedder River is good for Dolly Varden, rainbow, and steelhead. For rainbow try: Czech nymph, Kaufmann Stone, Hares Ear, Big Black, Wooly Bugger, Eggo, Zulu, Soubou, Irresistible, Elk Hair Caddis, Tom Thumb, Black Gnat, or Renegade. For steelhead try: Steelhead Nightmare, Flat Black, GP, Kaufman Stone, Rolled Muddler, Steelhead Bee, Steelhead Spratley, Irresistible, October Caddis, or Stimulator.

The Harrison River is fair to good for cutthroat and rainbow.