North Fraser Valley
Some
of the best fishing in the Fraser
Valley is found on the Upper Pitt River as
attested to by the frequency with which steelhead strike
at the barbless lures of fly-fishing anglers. (Fishing
is strictly catch-and-release on the Upper Pitt.)
Along
Fern Crescent between Maple Ridge Municipal Park and
Golden
Ears Provincial Park, you'll often see anglers patiently
casting for trout from smooth boulders beside the fast-flowing
Alouette River.
River access is from Fern Crescent at one of two municipal
locations. If you visit Golden Ears park with a car-top
boat, you can launch from a small wharf next to the
parking area at Mike Lake and enjoy a quiet paddle.
The wharf is also a good place to toss in a fishing
line
At Rolley
Lake Provincial Park, anglers have as much competition
from blue herons as from each other. You can toss in
a line from many points along a trail that runs around
the perimeter of the lake, beginning from a modest beach
and boat launch in the day-use parking lot. (Powerboats
are not allowed on Rolley Lake.) Docks jut out into
the lake at several locations, from which anglers can
toss in a line. Although the lake is well stocked early
in the season with rainbow and cutthroat trout, it is
often fished out by late summer. The catch limit is
two per day.
Kanaka Creek is one of the healthiest sportfishing
channels in the North Fraser Valley. Steelhead, sea-run
cutthroat trout, and chum and coho salmon are all found
below the 240th Street Bridge where a fish-counting
fence is located. Angling is not permitted upstream
from this point. A provincial freshwater fishing licence
is required on this section of the creek and a federal
tidal-fishing licence is needed to fish the Fraser from
the mouth of the creek.
Coho and chum salmon spawn in the Stave River
in late October and November, a good time for visiting
and viewing. Wide spawning channels have been dug on
each side of the river. The best place to begin is the
Ruskin Recreation Area. To reach it, take
Lougheed Hwy (Hwy 7) east of Maple
Ridge to the small Fraser River town of Ruskin.
Turn north as if heading to Rolley Lake Provincial Park.
Drive a short distance to the Ruskin Dam. Follow Ruskin
Road east across the top of the dam and descend 0.6
mile (1 km) down to the site gates. A gated boat launch
is on your left as you enter; car-top boats can be launched
here. A short trail leads to the Stave River, where
a wooden footbridge leads across the gravelled spawning
channel onto the banks of the river itself. Looking
downstream from the recreation site, you can see Ruskin's
sawmills beside the brown expanse of the Fraser
River.
Both
Deer and Hicks Lakes in Sasquatch
Provincial Park near Harrison
Hot Springs are ideal for angling from a small boat.
(Powerboats are restricted to electric motors on Deer
Lake and 10hp is the maximum permitted on Hicks.) Trout
fishing is popular at both stocked lakes, and also at
aptly named Trout Lake closer to the park entrance.
There are boat launches at both Deer and Hicks, whereas
only a rough trail leads downhill from the park road
to Trout Lake. If you don't have a boat, try casting
from the shoreline beside the camping area at Hicks
Lake.
South Fraser Valley
Crescent
Island lies on the opposite side of the Fraser River
from the Stave River, and shelters Glen Valley Regional
Park's fishing bars from sight. (A fishing bar is
an expanse of riverbed that lies exposed at low tide.)
Glen Valley lies 4.3 miles (7 km) east of Fort
Langley and, together with Derby Reach Regional Park,
offers some of the best saltwater fishing on this section
of the Fraser River. Head east from Fort Langley along
88th Avenue: Two-Bit Bar is located at the intersection
of 88th Avenue and 272nd Street.
Follow River Road east of Two-Bit Bar to reach Poplar
and Duncan Bars, a total distance one way of about
2.5 miles (4 km) between the three sites. Of the park's
three fishing bars, Poplar Bar is the largest and offers
the most interesting options. You can fish, launch a car-top
boat, and explore several riverside trails.
Derby Reach Regional Park sits across the Fraser
River from the entrance of Kanaka Creek. The park's
Edgewater Bar is a big attraction to anglers
of all ages who come to set their lines for salmon and
watch the Fraser River flow by. Fishing bars that were
once prevalent along the Fraser have more recently been
usurped by log booms, which makes Edgewater even more
valuable. What gives this park top billing are the squares
of melmac inlaid at the corner of each picnic table.
This is the officially sanctioned place to clean your
salmon. Just the sight of it raises one's hopes.
Anglers congregate near the south end of the Mission
Bridge in Matsqui
Trail Regional Park. This is the great divide in
the Fraser River. Upstream from the nearby Canadian
Pacific Railway bridge anglers must carry a provincial
freshwater licence, while downstream from it the feds
want you to carry a tidal-fishing licence. Take your
pick or carry both. Sturgeon, coho and chinook salmon,
steelhead, and cutthroat trout await your cast. The
GVRD requests that anglers not use the picnic tables
to prepare bait or clean fish (no melmac inserts here
yet).
With the autumn rains comes the rising of water levels
in Lower Mainland rivers and creeks. Then the welcome
mat is out for schools of salmon that have been waiting
for just such a seasonal occurrence to begin the journey
upstream to their spawning grounds. As you drive the
Chilliwack River Road, you pass beside the Chilliwack
River. At these times you'll encounter riverbanks
lined with expectant fishermen waiting to intercept
them. There are frequent Forest Service recreation sites
along the road where anglers can park and easily reach
the river. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police station
themselves by the bridge at Vedder Crossing, carefully
scrutinizing the contents of cars for violations of
the four-coho-per-day catch limit. A fish hatchery is
located beside the river, 13 miles (21 km) east of the
Vedder bridge. Fishing is not allowed in the river between
the hatchery and Chilliwack Lake.
Owing
to Chilliwack Lake's year-round chilly water,
it attracts serious anglers in pursuit of various species
of surface-feeding trout, including rainbow, cutthroat,
kokanee, and dolly varden char.
Be cautious when out in a small boat as Chilliwack Lake's
sparkling waters are prone to being whipped up by winds
that funnel out to the coast. Lakeside casting is possible
from the sandbars at Paleface and Depot Creeks on the
lake's east side.
The
Skagit River is one of the premier rainbow trout
rivers in Western North America. Angling is particularly
popular along the Silver-Skagit Road between 26-Mile
Bridge day-use area and Chittenden Bar day-use
area. In addition to these two sites, there's off-road
parking and quick access to the Skagit along the Silver-Skagit
Road at Shawtum, Rhododendron Bar, Strawberry
Bar, and Nepopekum day-use areas for both
riverbank and float angling. A BC freshwater-angling
licence must be purchased before arriving in the park.
These are available locally in Hope and Silver Creek.
Fishing is strictly catch-and-release with barbless
hooks on the Skagit River.
Fraser Estuary
Salmon Fishing is the main draw for fishermen in the
Lower Mainland area, both freshwater and saltwater.
The Fraser River sockeye salmon run some years tops
20 million fish. Pushovers for pink hootchies, pink
salmon also arrive in their millions in odd numbered
years. If you wish to get in touch with your primal
side, fish the prehistoric sturgeon of the mighty Fraser
River. Your guide will lead you to one of these ancient
fish that may top 500 pounds, and take all morning to
land.
McDonald Beach on Sea Island in Richmond
features a boat launch, a bait shop, and several picnic
tables arranged on a high bank beside the North Arm
of the Fraser
River. There's also fishing in Richmond near Steveston,
where a municipal pier juts out into the Fraser at Gilbert's
Beach beside the South Arm Dyke Trail at the foot of
No. 2 Road, just east of the Steveston harbour.
Anglers
can catch salmon, trout, and numerous other species
from the shores of Deas Island Regional Park.
The Riverside picnic area is one of the most popular
areas from which to fish. In
the summer months, try your luck for salmon off the
BC Ferries Ferry Terminal in Tsawwassen.
A
Tidal Waters Sports Fishing License is required
by all anglers, and is available at most fishing shops.
Regional Fishing
Reports for British Columbia.
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