PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Ariel Kuppers, Associate Guide for Reliable Guide and Charters,
is holding a 32lb Chinook caught on a Fly with his Spey Rod.
Fishing Report from: Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charterswww.kitimatfishingguideandcharters.com
KITIMAT RIVER: The river is filling up with all species of Salmon this week. There are Chinook, Pinks, Chum and even the odd Coho being caught in the Kitimat River right now. This is a great time of year to be fishing the Kitimat River. I met one group in Radley Park that consisted of three generations. Grand Pa, Mother, Father and the kids were focused on catching the Pinks but Grand Ma was looking for the "Big One". (Chinook) I thought that this was funny but everyone in the group told me that Grand Ma was the serious angler in the clan. Good Luck Grand Ma!
After a poor return of Chum and Pink last year, this year's Chum and Pink return has signs of "The good old days". Only time will tell how strong the Pink and Chum runs will be this year but the early returns to date have been really good especially the Pinks.
Kitimat River heights
Fishing for Pink Salmon has become a very popular fishery on the Kitimat River particularly for the kids. The best lures to fish for Pinks are Pink Jigs or the Gibbs Cerise Clear Crystal Crocs.
Rainbow Jigs Butch Swivels Jim's Jigs
The two most popular jigs are Rainbow Jigs distributed by Ron Ramsay and Jim's Jigs distributed by Redl Sports Distributors. A very good tackle tip when using Jigs is to use a quality locking snap swivel. The Butch Nickel Interlock Snap Swivel #F127 size #2 is the perfect snap swivel to use. Butch Terminal Tackle is distributed by Redl Sports Distributors who is the largest and the best Fishing Tackle Distributors in Western Canada. The Interlock Snap Swivel protects the knot during the jigging motion and allows for quick change. These Jigs perform the best when the Pinks are in slow moving water, pools or back eddies. Simply cast the Jig across the pool, let the jig sink while lowering the rod tip to the water. Then "pop" the jig by quickly raising the rod tip to 70 or 80 degrees. Then lower the rod tip to the water and reel up the slack. Pop and retrieve. Pop and retrieve. Any sudden twitch or even if the jig stops suddenly, set the hook and Fish ON! Simple, Effective and Fun!
The Gibbs 3/16oz. or the 3/8 oz. Cerise Clear Crystal Croc is the number one casting spoon to bottom bounce for Pinks when the Pinks are holding in a run with faster moving current. In the slower moving current these Gibbs Croc can be retrieved to entice the Pinks or sometimes Chum to strike. Fly fishing for Pinks is also very popular but I will cover Fly Fishing in next week's report.
July 14th. Ariel Kuppers fishing with Derek Downey and Matt hooked ten Chinook and landed five. They also landed four Chum and five Pinks. Wow a great day of Salmon fishing guys. Well done!
July 14th. Chuck, our Mobile Tackle Van Sales representative photographed Paul Lode age 16 who landed his first Kitimat River Chinook weighing 18lbs. Congratulations Paul on your first Kitimat River Chinook! Very nice photo Chuck! Well Done guys!
July 14th. Melanie Carrire fishing with her favorite unofficial "Kitimat Fishing Guide", Marc-Elie Morin landed her first and second Kitimat River Salmon. She caught these Pinks on a Pink Jig made by Ron Ramsay of Rainbow Jigs and photographed very fashionably in her pink sweater. I think Isabelle, Marc-Elie and I will affectionately refer to Melanie as "The Pink Lady" for the duration of her stay. Well done Melanie and Marc-Elie.
July 15th. "Hi Ron, Thanks for the tips and the jigs. I got my first fish today, with my kids. Here’s the picture. From left to right, Clara, Rachel, Joakim and Maxime Turcotte. Regards, Eric Turcotte"
Eric Turcotte and his kids were in our Tackle Store on Wednesday asking where to catch some Salmon. Our Mobile Tackle Van had logged Pinks being caught under the Haisla Bridge. I gave Eric directions to the pool under the bridge and a few tips. I also gave the kids some "Lucky Jigs". The catch results are in the photos that Eric emailed to me. The smiling faces on the kids are the most gratifying rewards of being in the Fishing Tackle business. Thank You for the photos Eric. I am sure that you had a few proud father moments taking the pictures. Congratulations to Clara, Rachel, Joakim and Maxime Turcotte.
July 18th. I met Shelley Buswell fishing with her four year old daughter, Amanda, under the Haisla Bridge on the Radley Park side. While we were talking we watched two Pinks landed on the Rod and Gun side. I gave Shelley directions how to get to the Rod and Gun side and I also gave Amanda a "Lucky Pink Jig". Amanda gave me a Thank You hug for the "Lucky Jig". Receiving a hug from a four year old angler was a special moment. Good Luck Shelley and Amanda!
July 19th. Earl Dare caught a Pink with a Pink Jig at the Eurocan Pump House this morning. This was the only one caught this morning as High Tide is not until noon today. Earl was more than happy about catching this Pink.
July 19th Terrence Reynolds an Associate Guide for Reliable Guide and Charters guided Royce Seidlitz and Terri McPhadyen and Royce landed this 24lb Chinook. They also landed 5 Pinks. Pinks are entertaining between Chinook. Congratulations Royce and Thank You for using our guiding services. Good Job Terrence!
July 19th Eric Neidert also an Associate Guide for Reliable Guide and Charters guided Steve Roskell and Milt Smith on a Drift down the Kitimat River.
Milt landed this 23lb Chinook on their drift as well as 12 Pinks and 3 Chum. Thank You for using our services. Congratulations! Good Job Eric!
July 19th Jordan and Chante Dare caught this Kitimat River Pink with their 7' Spinning Rods. 7' rods with a 4000 size spinning reels are the best size and type of rod and reel for fishing with a Jig. The 4000 size spinning reel retrieves the correct amount of line and the 7' rod on the "pop" creates the proper action on the jig to entice the fish to bite. Well done Jordan and Chante! You make a very nice brother/sister fishing team.
Summary: The Kitimat Tidal fishery tapered off towards the end of this week indicating the Chinook that were holding in this section have moved up river. Our Mobile Tackle Van only logged a few Chinook in the Lower Kitimat River which means that the Chinook bolted right through the lower end. Most of the Chinook this week have being caught in the middle or upper sections of the Kitimat River. It is interesting to log the Chinook catches first in our Saltwater boats, then in the jet boats fishing the tidal portion and then in the Mobile Tackle Van logs in the Lower Kitimat and in the Driftboat drifting the middle and upper sections of the Kitimat.
Anglers focused on fishing solely for Chinook on the Kitimat River should fish the rising tide and then drive up to one of the upper holes after High Tide. The Sawmill and the Powerlines are two of the holes up river that are producing Chinook. The other option is to drift the upper sections. Anyone interested in a Guided Driftboat trip, please contact Noel.
DOUGLAS CHANNEL:
July 6th. Blaine Stendie fishing with Cody Fillion and Donna Arrnett landed a 52lb and a l5lb Halibut, and some Cod in Sue Channel on July 6th. They emailed a picture for this week's report.
July 15th. Blaine and his group landed a 30lb and a l5lb Halibut in the same "Lucky Spot in Sue Channel. Congratulations! We also received an unconfirmed report of a 100lb Halibut caught in Sue Channel. I will try to verify the catch and hopefully have a picture for this report.
July 16th. Alain of Alain Deep Sea Charters reports catching his clients from the Kwadacha Band, 8 Coho, two Cod and a bunch of Crab. Todd Haynes of Nautical West Adventures boated five Coho, a Halibut, some Cod and a bunch of Crab with his clients who were also members of the Kwadacha Band. I enlisted the services of Skippers, Todd Haynes and Alain St. Pierre to charter a group of ten clients from the Kwadacha Band. When I spoke to the Skippers after the trip they said, “our clients thoroughly enjoyed the Douglas Channel". Some of these folks had never been on the Saltwater before and loved the experience that Todd and Alain provided for them. Congratulations to everyone on your catch. I am happy that you enjoyed the Douglas Channel. Great Job Skippers!
The outer waters of Douglas Channel have been producing really good numbers of Halibut for most of this season and this week the Halibut holes in closer are also starting to produce. I was asked not to mention the exact locations of these spots by the boaters who reported these results. I can say that the holes are within a thirty mile radius from Kitimat. Coho are also starting to be caught in closer. Money Point is starting to produce Coho more consistently. These Coho are mixed stocks as they could be destined for a variety of rivers on the coast. Some of these Coho may be destined for the northern creeks and rivers of the Douglas Channel but I interpret the catch rates at Money Point in July as more of an indicator of Stock Strength of this year's Coho run. Usually when the Coho start showing up early and in good numbers at Money Point in July as they are this year the remainder of the Coho run is stronger. Conversely, last year, the late July indicators at Money Point and other indicator spots were average and the remainder of last year's Coho run turned out to be average. Hopefully the Good stock indicators at Money Point now will evolve into a Good Coho return this year.
JET-BOAT KITIMAT TIDAL FISHERY: (New! category while it lasts)
July 12th. Andreas Handl fishing with Thom Mier and Sepp landed three Chinook out of nine hooked. Well done Guys.
July 13th. Morning, Andreas Handl fishing with Blair and Jake landed two Chinook out of six hooked on the Kitimat River Tidal portion.
July 13th. Afternoon/evening. Andreas Handl fishing with Lucas and Christopher landed three Chinook out of eight Chinook hooked. Andreas took out two groups, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon/evening and caught Chinook for our clients on both trips. Congratulations everyone and GREAT Job Skipper!
The Kitimat River Tidal Fishery will taper off at some point and usually when it does it happens quickly. Andreas and his clients took full advantage of it while it's hot! Andreas also notes that the Kitimat Tidal Fishery is an Awesome Spot to Fly fish for Chinook, Chum and Pinks as they migrate through. "They are all fresh out of the Saltwater and in a secluded area"
Thank You to everyone who contributed to this report.
For the Kids. Remember the rules....
1st Rule "You have to have fun Fishing"
2nd Rule "The littlest people have to catch the biggest Fish".
..................
That's the rules.
Big Fish and Big Smiles.
Sincerely
Ron Wakita
Reliable Guide and Charters
380 City Centre
Kitimat B.C
V8C 1T6
bus.250 632-3522 cell.250 632-1275
fax. 250 632-3528
wakita@telus.net
www.kitimatfishingguideandcharters.com |