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Fishing Report Hello and welcome to the M&Y fishing report. Hopefully everyone is getting a chance to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather we’ve been having. The Skagit River opened up on July 1st to high water. Although it is dropping at this time, it is still extremely high and finding water to fish is difficult. That being said, there are still some spots worth checking out, you may just have to do a little more hunting to find good water. Hopefully within the next two weeks the river will drop into the shape we’re used to seeing it in at this time of year. The name of the game right now is nymphs. Small golden stones and mayfly nymphs dead drifted under an indicator in back eddies and along seams will produce the best results. Try to make sure your nymph is bouncing along the bottom in a natural way. You may see some dry fly activity towards the evening, in which case try March Browns and Parachute Adams to match the mayflies coming off. As the river drops the hatches will steadily increase. This season has been interesting up in the interior. Lower elevation lakes have really slowed down since this hot weather hit. Water temperatures will be rising, and the hatches have slowed right down. The fish will most likely be in the deeper water now, and your staple patterns will be your best bet. Make sure you’re well stocked on leeches, bloodworms, scuds and dragonfly nymphs. If you’re heading to higher elevations, be prepared to see a variety of bugs hatching, from chironomids to mays, damsels and especially caddis. Reports of heavy sedge hatches are filtering in, so make sure you have some large Tom Thumbs and Mikaluk sedges to match these adults. Evenings are the best time to catch a sedge hatch. Another very important aspect of these caddis hatches that is all too often ignored by anglers is the smaller caddis; we refer to them as the micro-sedge. When they are hatching, the trout rarely key in on the adults, but rather on the pupae, so make sure you have some small soft hackles or any other small caddis pupae imitations on hand as they can be very effective. Local lakes will be slowing down with the hot temperatures, so mornings and evenings may be the most productive times. During the day the fish will be holding in deeper water, so trolling staple and attractor patterns in the heat of the day may be the most effective tactic. Other river options at this time of year include the Chehalis for Chinook and Summer Steelhead, the Vedder River for Chinook, trout and the odd sockeye (which MUST be released unharmed), and the Capilano for small coho. Although reports have been spotty on these systems, it is still early in the season for the Vedder and Chehalis so the fishing should still improve as we move into August. The Vedder is still quite high and visibility is limited, so be careful if you head out there. When targeting Chinook, use a heavy sink tip to get the fly down, and try patterns such as GP’s, Popsicles, and Egg-Sucking Leeches. These kings of salmon are notoriously difficult to catch on the fly, so patience and persistence are of utmost importance. The Capilano run of coho is very small, and with such limited area to travel they tend to grow stale quickly. Reports are that fish are around, although not many. Try the mouth of the river and the lower stretch for moving fresh fish. Or, when fishing the canyon pools, a wide variety of fly patterns is key, as sometimes it takes a dozen changes of the fly to convince one to take. At this time the Fraser is closed to Chinook fishing. It opens on July 16th one hour before sunrise with a limit of one fish between 30 and 77cm in length. The local beach scene is beginning, and there have been some reports of coho off the north shore beaches. Try around the mouth of the Capilano such as Ambleside Beach and Cypress Creek. Or take a trip over to Vancouver Island to fish the beaches along the east coast, near Parksville, Qualicum, Comox and Campbell River. Beach fishing is a true adrenaline rush as hooking a fresh salmon in the salt provides an explosive, hard fought battle for mirror bright fish. Patterns to fish include needle and candle fish imitations, small streamers, shrimp patterns and flash flies. Our course season has come to an end here at the shop, but we do offer private fly casting lessons anytime, and can arrange guided trips for sea-run bull trout, salmon and sturgeon. We will be finalizing dates for our fall On-The-Water Coho Schools in the next little while, so please give us a call if you are interested. Our fly bins are full for the upcoming fisheries, so make sure you come in and stock up for your summer trips. Also, our Vancouver location now has extended hours. Monday - Wednesday; Friday: 10am - 7 pm Thursday : 10am - 8:00pm Saturday : 10am - 6pm Sunday : 11am - 5pm
Cheers!
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