I have heard many things criticized within the local sport fishing community, but the one I heard last week takes the cake. Just this last week I was informed by a trusted colleague that lately he is being criticized for catching too many fish. Furthermore, he has been told he is being hard on the resource and should go home after catching two fish. What makes this ludicrous is that we are talking about a catch and release fisherman.If we were all to stop fishing after catching two fish, there would be no reason to buy an annual licence. There would be no incentive to vacation at a fishing lodge or pay for a guide. Tackle shops, boat dealers, and RV sellers would all have cut staff and possibly close their doors. Lastly, there would be no reason to spend money on a class, DVD, or book to improve your fishing skills, since improvement would only mean going home sooner.In closing let me make this perfectly clear: Fishing is about catching fish; big fish, challenging fish, and large numbers of fish, but take home only what you legitimately need.The reportOur Lower Mainland lakes are fishing well. Try a slow retrieve or troll with: Big Black, Woolly Bugger, Micro Leach, Bloodworm, Chironomid, Sixpack, Dragonfly Nymph, Halfback, Doc Spratley, Buggy shrimp, or Zulu.Our Lower Mainland beach and estuary fisheries are good for sea-run cutthroat. Watch for a shift in this fishery over the next two to six weeks, as the larger predators of this genus migrate in search of prime feeding lanes in our local rivers and streams. Try: Epoxy Minnow, Tied Down Minnow, Muddler Minnow, Clouser’s deep Minnow, Lioness, Grizzly King, Mickey Finn, Coachman, Knudson’s Spider, Zulu, Purple Joe, or Borden Special.The Fraser River and sloughs are good for cutthroat and dolly varden. For cutthroat try: Rolled Muddler, Mickey Finn, Eggo, Tied Down Minnow, Epoxy Minnow, Winter Stone, Flesh Fly, Professor, Lioness, Coachman, Zulu, Chez Nymph. For dolly varden try: Large (#4 to #1) Eggo, Dolly Whacker, Bucktail, Epoxy Minnow, Big Black, Muddler, or Zonker.The Vedder River is good for steelhead, dolly varden and rainbow, by the weekend. For steelhead try: big Black, Popsicle, Steelhead Nightmare, Polar shrimp, GP, Thor, Squamish Poacher, Kaufmann Stone, Purple Peril, or Eggo. For rainbow try: Rolled Muddler, Mickey Finn, Eggo, Flesh Fly, Kaufmann Black Stone, Black Gnat, Zulu, Chez Nymph, Big Black, Sixpack, or Renegade.The Stave River is fair to good for steelhead, rainbow and cutthroat. The Chehalis River is good for steelhead and cutthroat. The Harrison River is good for cutthroat, and rainbow.You can find more at “The Reel Life Press” by Jeff Weltz.
