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I'm not exactly sure on this, but what would a guy fish for this time of year, I went out and most of the Chums are brown and I didn't see any steelheads yet -chris
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This ain't not transplanted taken for granted steelhead fishery back in ontario, these steelhead are real, wild, and fight hard, and are tough to find. You will very rarely ever see steelhead in the water, although I have from expierience and thanks to polarized glasses, and stealth (creeping up to the river) you may be able to see the odd one during first light. Steelhead fishing ain't like salmon fishing and you will need patience, something that is tough for someone of your age. This varies from river to river, but for an expierienced steelheader, its about 14 hours on the river per fish landed. This is for someone who knows what they're doing, although if you're smarter, you can by pass the amount of hours if you comb the water thoroughly and know how to work holding spots, runs, and sections of rivers. YOu start at the highest spot possible. Work all holding sections of water and work your way accross river and back again and accross, or however you like to organize your casts and drifts, but make it so you work the whole river and then work your way down river to the next spot and fish accordingly. If you are catching Fresh Coho in rivers, you can often times for many river systems apply your coho catching skills to steelhead since these two fish are of similar size and take the same range of presentations, although steelhead will take more I'd say. Talk to you later, Scott
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Thanks, wow, 14 hours, I don't know if I'd stay out that long, (maybe 6 or 7 at most). Sounds challenging (but rewarding) -chris PS. Other than the Vedder, Chehalis, what rivers close to Vancouver have decent Steelhead runs in them?
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I said steelhead landed. This doesn't mean you wont have fish on, or you wont have bites. The Vedder by far is your best bet. The Chehalis is probably next on the list. As for other streams, well I've done too much research to say I can admit them, but there are ohter streams that do have steelhead if you're willing to work hard for them, and find them. It just takes a little more time, but the Vedder is your best bet. The Squamish and its tribs are quite mediocre for steelhead, the Capilano is not bad, but not anywhere near great. It has maybe 400 fish returning, where as the Vedder has 10,000 or more on a good year, of which I project this year to be very good just from the early on of things. Make sure if you do hook a steelie, you treat the fish with the respect it deserves. I catch and release all my steelies regardless of whether or not they're a hatchery fish or a wild fish. We need to rebuild these fish stocks, and if I wanted to eat a steelhead, I'd just go catch a whole wad of rainbow trout outta some lake. Good luck, Scott
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Hey i have no problem taking a hatchery fish for the dinner table.I believe in responsible conservation and proper catch and release procedures...but keep in mind the hatchery program was brought on so anglers could enjoy the opportunity to catch and retain a steelhead while protecting wild stocks....a win win combo..Now i dont always kill a hatchery fish at every opportunity given to me but ...i get a little upset with some fishermen who look down on those who like to take a fish home after paying for a licence and a tag and fishing in sometimes wicked weather...after all i quite often (if fortunate enough)will take a fish after a morning outing and allow others to fish and enjoy the resource and return home till another day...while many of these catch and release all day types ...will hog a spot and catch and release the same fish(or snag)all day .how many times can we exhaust a fish !No fishing is a privledge that requires some respect for the conservation of the resource but enjoying a hatchery steelhead is ok
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DAve, I got nothing against killing fish, when I go out with my friend, we bonk coho and Springs quite frequently. With steelhead though, I have too much respect for these fish becuase the runs have been decimated. If I wanted a steelhead, I'd just go bonk my 4 rainbows a day no limit per year and fill my cooler for the winter. The Vedder spring and Coho runs can take the sports anglers taking them. Thats not the problem, but to me a steelhead is a picture fish and thats it. Its a sign of your accomplishment, of standing out hard on the river all day freezing your ass off and getting frost bite. Its all about getting a picture to show everyone how hard you worked. Believe it or not, most fish can handle catch and release, and with steelhead, you wont catch and release them "all day" as the expresion goes since there are no where near as many steelhead as springs or Coho in the river. Steelhead if released properly can be released probably up to five times, since I dont think they go through as much stress as a salmon does, therefore they can take it. I mean Salmon have that "we gotta get up river or die" instilled in their head. The steelhead can take it easy, maybe have a bite to eat and then wait for the pack to come up river and then some die, some return. Originally, the hatchery fish were brought in to "enhance" the wild runs. Yeah, they are there to protect the wild fish, but protect the wild fish from what? What if they didn't have hatchery fish? The wilds would still be catch and release, and there wouldn't be as many ardent steelheaders. Believe it or not, on rivers like the Vedder, there is a very small difference if any in the behaviours of the wild and hatchery fish. The only difference I can see is where they spawn. Aside from that, the hatchery fish shouldn't be treated as "clones" or just meat fish. They deserve some respect too. I treat them with that respect. Usually the biggest fish of the run come in earliest, and they are usually the Big hatchery hogs. Good gene pool I gotta tell ya. If people keep releasing these fish, we might see a bigger bigger gene pool of steelhead on the Vedder. Anyways, I've said all I have to say, you have your beliefs and I have mine, but the steelhead are too decimated to bonk. I'll leave it at that. I'll get my picture and I'm happier than a pig in ••••. Scott
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Catch or release, I do both, they're both perfectly good beliefs. Everybody does deserve a fish to take home once in a while, but I know a lot of guys who wouldn't scratch a steelhead -chris
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