Weekly Fraser Valley Sport fishing column; March 23 to 30, 2015


?There is no comparison, none at all, between sitting with your rod in a shallop, in one of the low. Marshy lagoons of the south, surrounded by huge alligators sunning themselves lazily upon the blackened logs that float the turbid water, whose sluggish surface is not unfrequently rippled by darting of deadly moccasin hissing past you ? and trading the verdant banks of some beautiful, rippling brook in New England; gurgling and leaping in its course to the ocean, with its cool retreat for its watery tenant, under melancholy boughs, or amid the still water of an eddying pool.? This passage of anti bass sentiment was submitted, by an anonymous correspondent, to and published, by the Turf Register in March of 1831.?

Species prejudice has manifested its self in many forms from the very beginning of North American sport fishing. Bass, brown trout, dolly varden, rainbow trout, brook trout, pan fish, pike, walleye, muskellunge, catfish, cod fish, atlantic salmon, and each subspecies of pacific salmon, have all been maligned, and in many locations, at some point in our history, by different sects of the sport fishing community of North America. Personally, I believe each species and its fans are due respect and appreciation for the sport they offer. It is a large continent and there is room for all the species we pursue for sport; prejudges should be allowed no quarter.

Dry (floating) fly fishing made the jump across the pond in 1834 with a pilfered English essay printed in the New York Magazine.

?having ascertained the quarter from which the wind blows, take your place on the windward side of the river, and if there is a good breeze, it will not only assist you in throwing your line, but when you draw it toward you after being delivered, will cause your flies to float well upon the surface, and create a little wave or ripple on the water, thereby assisting the deception, and enable you to fish or whip with your line over deep still pools,?

Next week; Bethune and the two schools of angling.


The Report

Fishing on our lower mainland lakes is fair. The recent heavy rains have slowed the bite considerably; watch the barometer and focus on upward trends. For wet fly fishing try: Bloodworm, Chironomid, Wooly Bugger, Doc Spratley, Halfback, Micro Leach, Six Pack, Souboo, or Baggy Shrimp.

Our lower mainland bass and panfish water are slow. For bass try: Wooly Bugger, Big Black, Dolly Whacker, Clouser?s Deep Minnow, Lefty?s Deceiver, Dragon Nymph, Foam Frog, Chernobyl Ant, or Popper. For panfish try: Micro Leach, Bloodworm, Chironomid, Wooly Bugger, Dolly Whacker, Tied Down Minnow, Black Gnat, or Tom Thumb.

The Fraser River is fair to good for cutthroat and dolly varden. For cutthroat try: Rolled Muddler, Eggo, Chez Nymph, Big Black, Black Stonefly Nymph, or Micro Leach. For dolly varden try: large, size 4 to 1, Eggo, Zonker, Dolly Whacker, Clouser?s Deep Minnow, or Lefty?s Deceiver.

The Vedder River is slow to fair. Try GP, Squamish Poacher, Polar Shrimp, Popsicle, Big black, Flat Black, Eggo, or black Stonefly Nymph.

The Harrison River is fair for rainbow, and cutthroat. For rainbow try: Rolled Muddler, Zulu, Eggo, Chez Nymph, Big Black, Black Stone Nymph, Micro Leach.