Fishing Report from: Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters
www.kitimatfishingguideandcharters.com
KITIMAT RIVER: The Kitimat River was low and clean this week and combined with the nice weather, Coho fishing was really good. It has been exceptionally good for the anglers who were able to find the Coho after last week's high water had some really good catch numbers. Most of the Coho are in the middle and upper Kitimat. Coho in the lower Kitimat (below Haisla bridge) has been sparse. I suspect that most Coho have moved up and any fresh Coho are moving straight through the lower Kitimat.
Trout fishing especially Sea run Cutthroat fishing on the Kitimat River is one of our fisheries that does not receive the notoriety that it deserves. Sea run Cutthroat trout populations are enhanced by the Kitimat River Hatchery and accordingly have really good returns. Kitimat River Cutthroat have been known to get up 28 to 29 inches.
This is the reason that I chose a a photo of Doug holding a Kitimat River Sea Run Cutthroat trout as Photo of the Week.
Sept 27 Justin Lowes with fishing partner Scott Coleman landed 3 Coho above the Saw Mill run. Well done Scott and Justin.
Sept 28 Notice to drift-boaters: Mike Herzberg was speaking to a Driftboater who sunk his driftboat in the Nalabila Stretch just below the Saw Mill launch. The location was described as, "close to where the Nalabila enters into the Kitimat". Mike drifted through this section in his pontoon boat equipped with a head cam and shot a video of this section. Mike posted this video Clip onto YouTube. Search for koho55 and the clip called "Kitimat R - Sawmill to Lower Crown Z". The video shows all the bad sections in that stretch of river. Here is a direct link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsXTZ0dyt0Y Driftboaters who have not drifted this section should view the video that Mike kindly posted onto YouTube before drifting this section. Big Thanks and acknowledgement to Mike for taking the time to shoot this video and post it to You Tube for the benefit of fellow Driftboaters and pontoon boats. Well done Mike!
Sept 28 Ariel Kuppers hiked into a couple of holes in the upper Kitimat and landed two Coho, 5 Cutthroat and a Dolly Varden on Monday. Well done Ariel!
Sept 28 Steve Gartside with his fishing partner David Hawley from England drifted the Kitimat in their pontoon boats and landed 7 Coho. Steve is a very good angler, who has the ability to find fish and knowledge of how to catch them. Well done Guys!
Sept 29 Steve Gartside and David Hawley drifted the Kitimat River again in their pontoon boats. With the knowledge of where the Coho were "stacked up" that they learned from the day before they were able to land 20 plus Coho on Tuesday. They hooked most of the Coho with jigs but also landed some on the Fly. Steve has been coming to the Kitimat River to fish for Coho for quite a few years and I am sure passed on some fishing tips to Dave. Dave obviously caught on quickly and the proof is in the pictures. Well done guys! Thank You for sharing the info and pictures and Good Luck during your trip to the Bulkley.
Sept 30 Ted was in the store after fishing the Crown Z stretch and he landed 2 bright, silver Coho in the morning. Ted was using Pink 1/2 oz. jigs made by Jim's Jigs. Well done Ted and Thank You for the info.
Oct 3 Justin Lowes drifted the lower section of the Kitimat and reported the fishing was not as good as the upper drifts. Justin and Doug Bullock were able to hook a few Coho but did not land any. They did however hook and land a bunch of trout during their drift. Justin also spoke to other driftboaters who also commented that the Coho fishing was poor in the lower drift.
Oct 4 Ariel Kuppers drifted with Doug Bullock in the middle Kitimat River drift and hooked 8 Coho and landed 4. They also landed 13 Cutthroat Trout during their drift. They were using Koho 35 Copper and Koho 45 Copper. Doug called me in Vancouver to tell me what a great fishing experience that he had with Justin and Ariel.
Kitimat River Summary: The lower Kitimat River is not holding many Coho but the middle and upper sections have lots of Coho "stacked up" in really good numbers. Anglers who have found these holes up river are reporting excellent numbers. Trout fishing, especially Cutthroat Trout has also been really good.
Gibbs Koho 45 Copper and Blue Scale Gibbs Koho 35 Copper and Croc 3/16 Silver Hex
Jim's Jigs 1/2 and 3/4oz. Rainbow Jigs 1/2 and 3/4oz.
The most productive lures for Coho right now are Jigs, spoons and float fishing roe. The most productive jigs are Jim's Jigs distributed by Redl Sports and Rainbow Jigs made by Ron Ramsay. The Gibbs Koho 45 Copper and Blue Scale are the more productive casting spoons. Float fishing Roe has also been productive productive for Coho. Cutthroat Trout fishing has also been productive with both tackle and on Fly. Minnow patterns have been the more productive flies for Trout. The Gibbs 3/16oz Silver Hex Croc and the Gibbs Koho 35 Copper has been the most productive lures for Trout.
Location, location, location! As always in the fishing world location is important but even more so for fishing Coho in the Kitimat River during this time of year. Coho are always "stacked" up this time of year. Coho fishing on the Kitimat River will continue to be good throughout October. Cutthroat Trout fishing will continue to get better depending on this year's run strength. I predict that the Cutthroat run this year will be really good. It has been my observation that when our Coho run is strong, our Sea run Cutthroat run is also strong. Stay Tuned!
DOUGLAS CHANNEL: I spoke to a local boater who was doing some crabbing down the Douglas Channel and he was amazed at the size of the Crab that he was catching. He also caught a 14lb Halibut while he was waiting for his crab traps to fill. He said that he intended to prepare Fish and Chips with Crab Caesar Salad with his catch. Bon Appetite!
Trolling in the Douglas Channel for Coho will be sporadic at best this time of year but the potential of hooking Feeder Chinook is also a possibility. There are a few local boaters who will be out trolling for Salmon but most boaters fishing the Douglas Channel will be focused on Bottom fish and Crabbing. Weather conditions are usually a consideration during this time of year but there will be plenty of opportunities to productively fish the Douglas Channel.
Thank You to everyone for providing info and photos to this report.
Tight Lines!
PS We have River drift boat dates available as well as Saltwater Charter dates. Please contact us at wakita@telus.net to book.
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