Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
Well right on que the fish showed up. The past 48 hours off South Bowen and on the Hump have been pretty outstanding. I haven’t been out, too busy fighting for our fisheries and trying to keep the store running on a 2-man crew. All my fishing buddies have been out though, so thanks for all the texts and pics I get all day long. The fishing has been dam good, as I get hourly updates from these guys for better or worse. It was tough last week but it really lit up recently! Can you say torture when stuck at work?
In terms of gear, the exact flashers and spoons I featured on the Pacific Angler Sportfishing Facebook and Instagram pages recently have been very good. In particular the Silver Knight series of spoons have been on fire. The best depths have been 90-150, just depends on the light levels and time of day. 117 has been good as has 127. Gotta like the 7’s…
2 of 6 keepers to the boat for a good friend of mine. All 6 fish were hatchery. Salty Dawg flasher and Silver Knight Chartreuse spoon was working well in the algae stained water.
What I don’t like is the fact we are closed for chinook retention! This is absolutely ridiculous. The vast, vast majority of fish being caught right now are hatchery fish. On top of that, in April off South Bowen you have about a 0% chance of hooking an interior Fraser chinook from a stock of concern. We should absolutely be open for 2 chinook, clipped or not, in the month of April. At the very least a few hatchery chinook.
You have to read this post from the Public Fishery Alliance. They did a good job of summing up this garbage closure and the science behind why you should be open right now.
This is a new group that is advocating for access to public waters and fisheries, among other things, like science-based management decisions and marked selective fisheries. Make sure to read the post, share it to your friends, and follow them. It sounds like they are going to be fairly active in the fight to get our fishery back. The other group you want to follow is SFI. They have been to Ottawa and are also lobbying hard for marked selective fisheries and openings where stocks of concern are not present.
The best way you can help is by following these groups, becoming a member, and emailing a letter to these people and tell them you want to fish for hatchery fish in April, May, and June! If you don’t get involved and write a letter this springtime closure will be the new norm.
Rebecca Reid, DFO Regional Director General rebecca.reid@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Andrew Thomson, DFO Regional Director andrew.thomson@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Terri Bonnet, DFO Area Director, Fraser & Interior terri.bonnet@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Dean Allan, Resource Management Program Co-ordinator dean.allan@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Jeff Grout, DFO Regional Resource Manager jeff.grout@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Just like last year and the year before that, I expect the fishing in the coming weeks to be excellent around Bowen and the Hump and over in the Gulf Islands. I really do hope DFO can find some areas where we can retain a hatchery chinook. To make this happen, they need to feel the pressure from the angling community and the marine industry, so please take the time to send an email or letter.
Prawning has slowed down a touch, as is normal this time of year with sustained increased pressure. A reminder that the new limit is 125 per set (it applies to the name of the person on float). This means you can’t take 250 prawns in one set and apply half to your license and half to your buddies. It doesn’t work that way. The limit is for the person whose name is on the float. The same goes for crabbing gear. If you get 8 keepers in one trap that doesn’t mean you and your buddy get 4 each, the most you could keep is 4, for the person whose name is on the float. I would hope you are fishing with yourself anyways and doing your part when it comes to social distancing, but just thought I would mention this, as not many people know that is how the limits work. Speaking of crabbing, it has been pretty good this spring, so I am glad to see that.
When you are crabbing and prawning you are likely using way points, and here is some news related to that. I received an email from DFO today to let me know that the “new” sponge reef closures that were implemented last year are now available on the Navionics map card. So, if you have the app on your phone, you are going to see this now, in addition to the ones that were already there and the RCAs. To update your chart plotter, pop out that micro-SD card, put it in your laptop, go to the Navionics website and update it. Then you will have the latest version that shows all the sponge reef closures and rock fish conservation areas.
See you in the shop (sort of) or on the water (hopefully),
Jason Tonelli