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Fishing Report Hello and welcome to the M&Y fishing report. After an unusually warm winter and early ice off, the last few weeks have been cool and unstable, which has kept our lower mainland rivers in shape but made for spotty fishing in the interior. June can be one of the most exciting times for lake fishing, as the trout are hungry and aggressive with the warming water temps, and hatches are strong. Chironomids are going strong on most lakes right now. Also be on the lookout for both damselfly and mayfly hatches. You may also see some ants around, as the first really hot spell usually brings them on strong. Unfortunately after eating ants, the fish are usually pretty unwilling to bite, and the fishing can be extremely slow for a couple days. As usual, in the absence of a hatch, leeches, dragons, shrimp and bloodworms will usually produce some fish. When fishing mayfly patterns use either weighted flies on floating lines or unweighted flies on slow sinking lines. Allow the fly to sink down to the desired depth, usually under 15 feet, before beginning your retrieve. Strips of perhaps 6 to 10 inches at a medium pace with pauses every three to four feet are required to be effective. Also trolling with mayflies can be quite deadly, especially right after a heavy hatch. Fishing a damselfly migration can be some of the most exciting fishing that the still waters have to offer. Damsel nymphs don’t hatch in the typical way that most other aquatics do, rising from the depths to the surface. Instead they have to swim to shore, climb out of the water and dry off before shedding their shucks and flying away. This affords extremely shallow water fishing, as most trout will ambush damsels in just a few feet of water. When trying to locate a damsel migration look for shucks and/or the actual nymphs on the stalks of reeds, many times even on your anchor rope. Usually when a migration is occurring there will be swarms of blue damsels flying in and amongst the shore line shrubberies. Also look for trout cruising and boiling along cattails and other reeds close to shore. Do not over look slightly deeper structure, as many trout, especially the biggest, will key in on damsels just as they traveling over the drop offs towards shore. When imitating damsels on their way to hatch, anchor with your back to shore and cast out towards the depths. In shallow water start retrieving immediately, in a little deeper water allow the fly to settle close to the bottom, but not too close, before retrieving. Slow long pulls, usually 1 to 2 feet, are necessary while “wriggling” the rod tip quickly side to side. This is the best way to mimic the erratic swimming movement of the nymph. Trolling again can be quite effective during and after a migration. Local lake fishing is very productive right now as well. Weaver, LaFarge, Green Timbers, Jones, Deer and Sasamat have all been producing good numbers of healthy rainbows. Allouette Lake and Kawakawa Lake both offer good kokanee fishing as well. Check out the Freshwater Fisheries Society Website at www.gofishbc.com for recent stockings. Keep an eye out for hatches and take along a good selection of your staple patterns. With the cool weather this month, the Vedder has been in shape for most of it. This is the last weekend to fish the Vedder as it closes on June 1st and will re-open in July. Remember, fly fishing only from the Crossing Bridge down, and closed above. There are steelhead spawning in the river right now, so be quick to land and carefully release any kelts. Also, there are a large number of steelhead smolts in the system right now, and it is a catch and release fishery so be gentle with them. The Squamish and Cheakamus are still fishing well for bull trout and the odd steelhead. Cutthroat fishing is slowing down, but some of the backwaters and sloughs of the Fraser are still somewhat fishable. The Stave River is also a good bet as it is dam controlled and is usually in good shape. Minnow patterns are the ticket for cutties right now. Try fishing small stonefly, mayfly and caddis nymphs after trying the minnows. This time of year the fish are very surface orientated, particular during over cast days. Look for boiling fish and concentrate your time to low light periods, in particular early mornings. The Capilano River is still seeing some bluebacks arriving. Fish small streamer style patterns like Mini Wooly Buggers and Flash Flies on sink tip lines. The north shore beaches will hopefully start seeing some early coho any day now. Try Ambleside beach and the mouth of the Capilano. We still have two single hand fly casting courses coming up in June: Our 3 Night Casting Course in Surrey, and a One Night Primer in Vancouver. Call or email for more information. Until next time, have fun!
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