STURGEON

With February waning sturgeon have moved into their typical cool weather haunts and have switched to the usual spring baits. Look for fish in the deeper holes or along their edges in shallower waters. Once you find them, stay close as they tend to stack up this time of year and often ones does not have move far to get into consistent action. At this time of year a plethora of different baits can work on any given day and it is wise to have more of an assortment than during the salmon runs. Baits of choice are lamprey, coarse fish, single eggs, dew worms and roe. Keep your offering size down to the minimum as larger baits at this time year are often ignored or they will often “lay” down on it to save it for later; this results in foul hooked fish as the motion of the fish telepaths to the rod like a bite.

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As of late the fishing has been quite decent for these dinosaurs of the deep. Good numbers of fish in the 3′ to 8′ mark have been the norm with the possibility of a giant always lurking. Most of the fishing has been happening downstream of the Vedder River confluence, however we are still seeing some decent action, especially on the larger fish, upstream around Chilliwack.

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With the Fraser being low we recommend that anglers venturing out be very vigilant when cruising the river. Upstream of the mouth of the Vedder River there are many exposed and slightly submerged gravel bars and one really needs to know the lay of the water before heading out. In fact anyone running  prop driven motors on their boats should probably avoid the area altogether and stick to the lower river for the moment. For those with jet boats, take it slow and easy and if it’s really bad don’t risk the inevitable, these frigid waters are not for swimming in at this time of year.

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What better way is there to spend a winter day than sitting in a comfortable covered jet boat waiting on another bite from the almighty sturgeon.  With limited fishing pressure on the river this is a great time of year to get out and experience these dinosaurs of the deep. We offer half and full day outing’s via jet boat with nothing but the finest in guides and tackle. We pride ourselves in ensuring your day is as comfortable, safe and enjoyable as possible.

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STEELHEAD

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The Vedder river water levels have been yo-yoing up and down for the last few weeks and with this fluctuation the river has a very healthy bump of fish in it at the moment. Even with the high water last week an outstanding number of fish were captured with many being hatchery fish. With the water being on the high side most of the fish have blasted up stream and anglers are concentrating their efforts in the mid to upper portion of the river.

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Most steelheaders have been using large offerings such as rubber worms, large jigs and of course, bait in the form of roe or shrimp. As the water drops and becomes cleaner and cleaner look towards smaller offerings like trout beads and wool combos. Fly anglers really need to spend their time in shallower fish haunts like long tail outs and sloping runs where the fish have better visibility and can be reached with a heavy sink tip. Again, look towards big intruder style flies in darker colors to stick out better in the murkier water and switch to smaller brighter flies as the river cleans up and gets cold.

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GRFA will once again be offering float trips on the Vedder/Chilliwack River. This is in an effort to enhance the fishing experience and open up water that is difficult to access any other way. We will be primarily float and/or fly fishing for the chrome beauties and will use the raft primarily to offer ease of access and most of the fishing will be still be done from shore. Peak of the run is traditionally mid to late March and bleeds well into April. We are experiencing some pent up demand and much of March is booked, if you are interested at all please don’t delay to contact us and we’ll do our best accommodate your needs.

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LILLOOET RIVER TROUT & STEELHEAD

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With spring just around the corner our thoughts once again turn towards the new fishing opportunities that it will bring. The Lillooet River is a gem of a winter fishery for Bull Trout and a great opportunity at some steelhead, cutthroat and rainbow trout as well. This is one of our premier trips and when you get there you will see why. This is a remote fishery that gets very little pressure and requires a skilled jet boater to reach the best waters. The shear beauty and majestic scenery coupled with miles of perfect fishing water makes this one of those bucket list kind of rivers.

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Written by: Great River Fishing