Weekly Fraser Valley Sport fishing column; Dec 22 to 29, 2014

?Jeff I got a couple of coho?s on my own flies!?

The excited voice on the other end of the phone line, was my friend Barry. Barry had just days before received his first book on fly tying, as a Christmas gift from his son in law.

?Good for you Barry; where did you get them,? I asked?

?In that secret spot you showed me. There?s at least a dozen there,? he replied.

?Cool; I was planning on heading over there on the weekend myself.?

?I gotta go,? said Barry ?I just wanted to tell you about the coho?s. Call me after you go fishing and let me know how you did.?

The next Saturday I was at my secret spot, and just as Barry said there was a dozen fish fining in the current. For my first few casts I choose a Rolled Muddler. Nothing! They didn?t even move. Next I tried an olive Wooly. Then a Christmas tree, and so it went until I had gone through every coho fly in my box. Nothing, not even a look. Frustrated, I sat down on a log and racked my brain to come up with something to get a rise out of those fish. As often happens one of the fish broke formation and swam closer to me, and in clearer water I got a good look at the characteristic red stripe on its side. ?Are you kidding me,? I said to myself? ?Rainbow/steelhead; and all I have with me is salmon flies.? Facing defeat I packed up and went home.

Back home I called Barry. ?Hey Barry, what pattern did you use for those coho,? I asked?

?One that was in my fly tying book; a pink Wooly bugger,? he replied.

?Interesting,? I said. ?Did you know those coho you found were actually steelhead??

?Really,? he answered with a surprised tone?

?Yup, you caught two steelhead,? I continued. ?So I have a question to ask you. Now that you have caught two; do you find steelhead any harder to catch than any other rainbow??

?No,? was his answer.

So I asked the second question. ?Is it possible for anyone to convince you that steelhead are almost impossible to catch on the fly, provided there are fish in the area to catch??

Again the answer was no.







The Report

Our lower mainland lakes are fishing slow. Try a slow troll or retrieve with a: Wooly Bugger, Leach, Dragon nymph, Halfback, or Baggy Shrimp.

The Fraser River is slow for cutthroat and dolly Varden. For cutthroat try: Rolled Muddler, Flesh Fly, Anderson Stone, Eggo, Chez Nymph, Big Black, black Stonefly Nymph, or Micro Leach.

The Vedder River is slow, with some reports of early steelhead. For steelhead try GP, Squamish Poacher, Polar Shrimp, Popsicle, Big black, Flat Black, Eggo, or black Stonefly Nymph.

The Harrison River is slow to fair for coho, rainbow, and cutthroat. For coho try: Coho Blue, Rolled Muddler, Eggo, Popsicle, Christmas Tree, Bite Me, or olive Wooly Bugger. For rainbow try: Rolled Muddler, Zulu, Eggo, Chez Nymph, Big Black, Black Stone Nymph, Micro Leach.

The Thompson River is good for steelhead. Try Popsicle, Polar Shrimp, Big Black, GP, Eggo, Purple Peril, Squamish Poacher, or Kaufmann Stone.