BC Rivers

[jonb]

Yesterday, I landed as a Canadian immigrant (permanent resident) I now reside in west van couver bc(how aboot that eh?). It feels like im starting all over, just when I was getting a good handle on the washington state river fishery, which is a bit disconcerting.
About me (if you dont know me already) I am an intermediate skill level river fisherman, starkly against snagging and flossing. I dont litter, ever. I release wild trout, and overall have a deep respect for the rivers I fish, and am not one of the jerk wads you see on our local rivers.
Im not asking for anyones secret spots, but just the name of a river you think I should explore, and why within bc. I appreciate any and all info you guys would share. Driving distance should be within 4 hour drive of van couver preferably. Anadromous, or fluvial trout would be my targets, so cutts, bulls, steel, and salmon when theyre in. Thanks for reading.

[SilverSlayer]

Chilliwack/Vedder now through the April for steelhead. Salmon later in the summer fall. It's a little early but I will be on the lower river tomorrow morning to give it a shot. It gets a ton of pressure but you can find solitude if you are willing to hike. Lots of info on-line sites such as fishingwithrod.com . Good luck.

[Larry3215]

Cant help with your quest - never fished BC - but I will wish you the best of luck on your new adventure 'up there'

[jonb]

Thanks silver slayer, itll take me a week or 2 to get settled in before I go fish, and yes ive heard about that one and plan to hit it. Thanks for the imput. If you want someone to tag along with in a couple weeks, let me know. I dont know anyone in bc yet.

Larry thanks for the nice words, likewise.

Id like to ad that I have alot of info on the snohomish county rivers and know of a few fisheries that are almost unfished, that I purposely never reported on. If anyone shares their nice quiet river with me, ill share my nice quiet rivers in return. Pm correspondence is preffered for this type of fishery. Thanks again guys.

[riverhunter]

The chilliwack is very productive. I should add that you are a lucky individual being able to relocate to BC. Fraser sockeye is something I've been drooling to try as is has one of the biggest runs of reds and so close to home. May I add that sockeye is my preferred salmon to take home. Wish you luck in your quest and tight lines!!

[jonb]

Thanks riverhunter. Im drooling over all the squigly blue lines on the map... personally I prefer coho, but sockeye are great eating for sure.. im looking forward to that too. Im looking forward to the trout fishing more than anything though.

[Bodofish]

Get your Spey out and hit the Thompson. Biggest Steelhead around. I think it might be all fly now. I used to swing gear up there in a past life. Biggest I ever caught was 16# but my buddies got some monsters in the 30# range. The rule used to be nothing under 27#. I did get one that tipped the scales at 40# but that was a different place and time.
I know you're more of a go and do it guy but, up there everyone really gets possessive of their spots on the river. Like make sure you have BC tags on your rig before you go. I'd really suggest hitting a guide for a day and take a lot of notes and google (Bing) maps later in satellite view. If you're a known face the whole deal will go over better. Maybe start hanging out at the local sports shops and start chumming up some of the regulars. Fishing the Chilliwack and Frazer is a big boat game, you'd better have a hell of an arm, not say there aren't bank spots but the rivers are pretty darn big around there.
I used to helicopter to the top Mt Sham in Chilliwack and we'd fly over the river when the lift died, lots of channels and places to get stuck. We could see all the way up to the hot springs (Harrison) and look at the river all the way down.

[riverhunter]

Oh and if you will be targeting chinook, in Canada they call springers heh. Lol not sure why that's what you will hear up there when ppl are talking about kings. I hear the stamp river on the east side of Vancouver island is a great steelhead and trout river also

[jonb]

Im familiar with springers, people call spring run kings springers here too. There used to be a troll here called "springerjerry" I liked to call him jerry springer.. total d-bag lol, thanks bodofish. Ive heard of the thompson, ill look into that more too.
Ive heard there is excellent fishing to be had on vancouver island too, and as a matter of fact im planning a trip to quaddra island in early april, should be good for springers and steel then. Ill check out the stamp river. Thanks alot guys, I appreciate it.

[spenny1823]

I have a couple friends that fish on vancouver island ever year in either ucluelet or bamfield on the westside. If I recall they really only fished in the salt, but always came back with fish and some great stories. I have fished the frazier river around hope during the sockeye run and if you are a guy that doesn't enjoy snagging or "flossing" then stay away. Shoulder to shoulder fishing with guys using 15'+ leaders with 3-5 oz cannonballs. The veddar, thompson, or chilliwack would be slightly better options in my opinion. If you are willing to drive that far don't forget about the rivers just south of the border. The Nooksack (my home river) or the skagit. It will cost more for the license, but there are waaaaaay less people fishing them. It just depends on how you feel about border waits lol.

[riverhunter]

My roomate is tahltan canadian first nations and he always mentions the skeena and its tributaries. He speaks of monster kings and steelhead may i add that he also says it is one of the wildest places in the americas. If you ever get a chance i would really recommend a trip to the skeena and surrounding waterways

[jonb]

Ill opt out of the flossing/snag fest of sockeyes... there is nothing sporting about imposing your hook upon a fish without its consent, in mind that type of fishing is quite similar to rape.
Ill definately make a trip to the skeena at some point. That seems right up my allie.
Im also looking for little trout streams that meat anglers would avoid. Think cutthroat, or resident bows, or even high elevation streams with brookies, if anyone knows of anything like that id appreciate info on them.

[TyeeMatt]

I spend my summers up in the Desolation Sound area (north of Powell River) and have fished the salt water up there nearly my whole life. The Campbell River Tyee Club is on my bucket list and that river has incredibly healthy runs of salmon. Let me know if you get into any salt water fishing and need some tips on good spots. I also fly fish in a bunch of little streams up there and can say that the brookie population is pretty strong no matter where you go. I have literally never been skunked fishing the small streams on the Sunshine Coast. BC is an amazing place and an extremely well-managed fishery as a whole. You're a lucky man. Be careful in your explorations as there's a lot of bears and big cats around as well. Oh and I would pick up all of Roderick Haig Brown's books. The man is a BC legend and much of the info he shares in his books still applies today.

[jonb]

Thank you very much tyematt. I am planning a trip to the campbell river in april. As its the closest river to quaddra island, where my wife and i will vacation.

[strider43]

Thanks silver slayer, itll take me a week or 2 to get settled in before I go fish, and yes ive heard about that one and plan to hit it. Thanks for the imput. If you want someone to tag along with in a couple weeks, let me know. I dont know anyone in bc yet.

Larry thanks for the nice words, likewise.

Id like to ad that I have alot of info on the snohomish county rivers and know of a few fisheries that are almost unfished, that I purposely never reported on. If anyone shares their nice quiet river with me, ill share my nice quiet rivers in return. Pm correspondence is preffered for this type of fishery. Thanks again guys.

You will be missed down here Jon and I am really bummed we didn't get to fish together. Thanks for all your help in the pink/Coho fishery this past year on the Snohomish. I wish you well on your new endeavors in BC.

Scott G

[3footvis]

Upper Vedder for October Kings. Make sure you have BC plates, and maybe use a float and yarn ball. Some people up there do not accept drift fishing as a viable technique, or someone from the ol USA catchin their fish.

[jonb]

I dont accept drift fishing as a viable technique either, so i should fit right in lol. Thanks 3ftvis ill check that out.
Strider thanks for the farewell i still have copius amounts of info and places i still havnt shared, so feel free to pm with questions.

[AJFishdude]

So you finally made the move, nice going man. I guess I'll just have to have Chitwood and Hanson all to myself this spring...Lol. Maybe one of these days I can get up there and fish with you, once you discover a killer run of 30lb bulls, or something like that.

[TyeeMatt]

You're lucky to get to vacation on Quadra Island. I fish all up and down the inside passage in the summer and can send you some hotspots if you have a boat that you can take out in the salt. Salmon and ling fishing are awesome up there...and don't forget about spot prawns, clams, crabs, and oysters as well.

[jonb]

Theyre all yours mr. Fishdude lol, i already found a crazy good bull trout river.. The squamish/cheakamus is loaded full of bulls... Imagine the "s" river.. You know which one.. Except 50 miles long and 2 times as big.. Thats what the upper squamish is like bull trout wise...
Tyeematt, i wont have a boat, so i dont need your coordinates. Thank you though, very kind.