Cap Coho

Well there is a first for everything, and today was the first day I had fished the Capilano River (aside from fishing the mouth,  which I have done a few times). I got to the river at an ungodly, early hour in the morning and hiked in to find a spot. I did a lot of walking and found some beautiful places to fish but alas I could not hook into an early run coho on the fly or drifting roe. I know the coho are in there,  I saw a few splash and a few shadows swimming in the depths. Not to mention when the day was done I took a walk into the hatchery and saw some beauties in the fish ladder.
It was a nce peaceful morning out and I was fortunate not to see any rain. Maybe next weekend I will head back there and give the river a second try.

Busy weekend

Well this weekend was a busy one. Saturday was my daughter's 4th birthday and Sunday was Mother's Day. The birthday girl requested a fishing trip with her dad... obviously I "reluctantly" accepted... Ha! Actually I was excited to take her. Taking my kids fishing is so much fun and very rewarding when you see the look on their faces when they catch or help catch a fish. This weekend was no different. We caught two fish. The first was a 3 foot sturgeon,  a rather scrappy one,  which my daughter eagerly pet and said hello with before we sent it back into the river. The second was a 5 foot sturgeon that she did not want to go near. I suppose when the fish you land is bigger than you,  it can be a little intimidating. Both fish were caught on eulechon and put up a great fight. I'd like to thank my youngest daughter for helping me land the fish by lending me her strong muscles and holding the rod with me.

A hot day on the river

Last week was one of those rare weeks that I dont get out fishing. So this week I was eager to get out. Currently we are experiencing our first batch of hot weather for 2013. Boy was it hot on the river today!  I decided sturgeon would be the target species of the day so I went to my usual spot in Maple Ridge. Unfortunately,  despite getting up early,  someone beat me to my usual spot so I had to make due with a more snaggy spot just up stream. Well fortune was on my side as I hooked and landed a 3 1/2 footer on half an eulechon within 15 minutes of wetting my line. Then.... nothing... so I switched baits to roe... nothing. .. so I switched to lamprey... nothing... back to eulechon.... nothing... The day went on and it got hotter and hotter. Despite the fact I slathered myself in sunscreen a few times during the day,  I could feel myself burning. The guys who beat me to my spot were now leaving. They were skunked. I decided to move down stream to my usual hole,  right where the other two had been all day. I told myself one cast to see if they missed anything and then im heading home. Long story short, I pulled a very healthy,  plump, 5 footer. I had hooked it in less than twenty minutes of trying my usual spot. Again,  the bait was eulechon. And that is why I like that location,  it seems to produce some decent sized fish on a regular basis. Anyway,  next weekend is going to be a busy one but hopefully I will get out. I might take my kids sturgeon fishing if the weather cooperates.

Sturgeon

Yesterday was a sturgeon fishing kind of day. I went out with a fellow angler on his boat with the thought of giant sturgeon nibbling on the 9/0 hook I had tied on. I got to the launch early in the morning  just as the rain began. Where had this rain come from?  I thought it was supposed to be a nice day!  At least I have a good rain jacket,  considering the boat had no cover,  it looked like I would need it. We anchored up in the mission area and the rain fell harder... then the wind picked up. It was bitterly cold.
Long story short,  the weather for most of the day was cold,  windy and wet. Although it did get beautiful and sunny for the last couple of hours on the water. Over all we landed 6 sturgeon. The biggest was 5'2" which I caught with freezing cold and numb hands. All the fish were caught on chum roe which was surprising considering the eulechon run should be happeing right now and is usually the bait of choice at this time of year.

Whonnock on the fly

Today I went to Whonnock Lake for a bit of trout fishing on the fly from my float tube. When I arrived at the lake I was pleased to see it void of any other fishermen. The lake was as smooth as glass and there was quite a few sparrows dipping down across the lake low and fast, feasting on the hatch that was taking place.
With great anticipation I started out onto the lake. My fly of choice was a red doc spratley, which has been my go to fly for this particular lake and has caught me many cutthroat and rainbow trout over the years. The day turned out to be fairly productive on the lake with a few nice rainbows to hand. On my way back to the launch I noticed a lot of consistent surface action in the shallows. The fish were not large but they were hungry. Upon further inspection I noticed the surface action was leaving small bubbles being, a sign the fish are feeding on something on the surface of the water. I changed lines to a lighter tippet and tied on a size 16 mosquito dry fly and lightly casted it towards shore. The fly landed softly on the surface and rode high. After giving the fly a couple small hand twist retrieves to give it some movement a small rainbow rose to the fly. I pulled up lightly on the rod and .... ...  missed the fish. However, now I know their game. They were drowning the flies first before they took them. Next cast landed just as softly, a couple of hand twists and then the fish rose again. This time I waited. A second later the fish hit the fly again and I hooked it. I stayed for a few more fish and then returned to shore and my car.

The day ended with me heading to the Fraser River for a little bit of sturgeon fishing. This time of year is when the eulechon begin to return to the river and the sturgeon feed on them. Unfortunately for me the sturgeon did not get the memo and my eulechon went untouched. I also tried some lamprey eel for bait and that failed too. No luck fishing for sturgeon today, maybe next time.  I can't complain though. Any day out fishing is a good day.

Tying flies

Today I am at home sick. I wish I was well enough to get out fishing but it wont be time wasted. I decided to tie some flies for a trip I am hoping to take in the summer to fly fish the West Kootenays. The trip will hopefully land me in the thick of the caddis hatch on the Columbia river. In preparation for the trip I started tying some caddis flies. Of the two flies in the picture,  the one with the red butt section has proven a productive emerger pattern. The other foam head emerger is one I would like to try this year. These two flies are just the start of the variety of flies I will be taking.
Here are the recipes if you want them.

Red butt emerger caddis:

Hook - size 10 or 12 nymph hook 2xL
Butt section - red polypropylene yarn
Body - Lt. Olive hare tron dubbin
Hackle - speckled brown hen saddle hackle
Head - 1/8 gold bead (or peacock herl depending on desired sink rate)

Foam head emerger caddis

Hook - size 8 mustad c49s
Underbody - Lt yellow polypropylene yarn
Body - clear medium v-rib
Under hackle - brown cdc
Head - black hareline dubbin
Hackle - natursl grizzly soft hackle
Foam head - tan sheet foam

New Gear

Well I did not manage to get out fishing today because it was the local fly shop's (Sea Run Fly and Tackle) annual spring sale. I camped out in front of the store to try get one of the door crashers. Well it paid off. I got a VERY good deal on a new spey set up. I bought a Loomis NRX 13' spey rod and a Galvan Torque (T-12) reel. I'm quite excited to give this a try and all I need now is a line and I am good to go.
Not bad for a first spey rod and reel...