Jeff?s Weekly Fraser Valley Sport Fishing Column Report for April 18 to 25, 2016

As the 1930?s drew to a close a new breed of sport fishing celebrities took the stage. Many of these new shinning stars were renegades who fished whatever gear seemed to work best at the moment. The 1940?s would usher in what is known as the dark age of North American Fly Fishing.

One of the new stars was a fellow named Roscoe Vernon Gaddis. Born at the end of the 1890s, Gaddis would grow up to be the consummate fish bum. Starting life as the son of gas plant construction engineer, young Gad saw more of North America, before his 15th birthday, than many see in a life time. As if that did not give him enough opportunities to fish a large quantity of locations, when young Gad came of age he took the hobo tour to see and fish the rest of the continent. A stint in the signal corp. and missed chance at pilot training during WWI. After the war Gad went guiding and tried his hand at running a fish camp. In 1929 he landed a job as a wholesale tackle salesman and thrived. After watching a few poor quality fishing films in the mid 1930s, Gad decided to try his hand at film making with the intent of boosting his tackle sales. His gamble worked and he was asked to do radio in 1938. A year later NBC New York was showing Gad?s fishing films on Friday night television, under his new handle of Gadabout Gaddis. As years passed Gad?s television show would go national. He was seventy one when I first saw his show in 1967. He may have been a renegade, but he is still part of what made me the fisherman I am; because Gad was the first angler I ever saw handle a fly rod.


The report

Fishing on our lower mainland lakes is good. Focus on the north east sections of your favorite lake. For wet (sinking) fly fishing try: Chironomid, Bloodworm, black or green Wooly Bugger, Red Spratley, Sixpack, Pheasant Tail Nymph, Micro Leach, Pumpkinhead, or Baggy Shrimp. For dry (floating) fly fishing try: Lady McConnel, Tom Thumb, Elk Hair Caddis, Double Hackled Peacock, Black Gnat, Giffith Gnat, or Irresistible. For Kokanee try: Red Ibis, San Juan Worm, Red Spratley, or red Zonker.

Reports from last weekend stated most interior lakes are three to four weeks ahead of schedule for spring fishing. With the record heat of the last three days I would not consider that an over statement. For wet fly fishing try: Chironomid, Bloodworm, Red Spratley, Halfback, Big Black, black or green Wooly Bugger, Dragonfly Nymph, Butler?s Bug, Damsel Nymph, Pumpkinhead, or Baggy Shrimp. For dry fly fishing try: Tom Thumb, Renegade, Lady McConnel, Goddard Sedge, Elk Hair Caddis, Black Gnat, Big Ugly, Double Trued, Adams, or Irresistible.

The Fraser River along with its backwaters and sloughs are browning up. To achieve better success concentrate on the cleaner water in and around inlet streams. For cutthroat and rainbows try: Rolled Meddler, Czech Nymph, Professor, Silver Doctor, Cased Caddis, Tied Down Minnow, standard Coachman, Zulu, or Micro Leach.

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

The Vedder River is good for rainbow and steelhead, try: Big Black, Flat Black, Squamish Poacher, Polar Shrimp, Thor, Popsicle, GP, Steelhead Nightmare, or Kauffman Stone.