BC Update

[Manfred]

I am sorry that we have lost you from Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, and Northern New York.

However, I hope that you will continue to post from Vancouver. At least for me, this is the first opportunity to possibly receive reports from someone I know from that area.

For example, I have heard that the steelhead fishery out there has greatly fallen off from what it formerly was. These reports seem to indicate that Great Lakes steelheading far outclasses the BC experience. Although the Great Lakes are obviously closer, in a way I hope that this information is incorrect and that the steelhead's natural home is still the best place to catch them.

I hope that, as a known and trusted poster, you can shed some light on this.

Enjoy yourself out there!

[Salar]

Thanks Manfred. If you're ever out this way, send me a msg.

The steelhead and salmon fishery in the lower mainland has declined over the years. It's being supplemented through stocking programs and limited harvest. On the other hand, the steelhead fishing up north this year is the best it's been in over 10 years. The Skeena River system and it's tributaries are hot right now. I've been talking to a number of guys who just got back from there and they were catching upwards of 5 steelhead a day. Some say the steelhead return is higher because there wasn't a commercial fishery (nets) for sockeye this year at the river mouth.

[wongrs]

i know very little about the skeena system. one thing i do know is that it's being threatened by a coalbed methane development:
http://skeenawatershed.com/