Fishing Report June 20, 2008 Hi and welcome to the Michael & Young fishing report updated on the 20th of June. Summer is officially upon us today, and at least we got a little bit of sun to celebrate the occasion. Reports from the lakes have been getting much more consistent in the last week or two after an unpredictable, unstable start to the lake season. At this point, we still seem to be about 2-3 weeks behind where we should be at this time of year. Roche, Leighton, Sheridan, Salmon, and Hatheume have all been doing well as of late, just to name a few. This is the time of year when the lakes become a veritable smorgasbord for the trout, as there are many different hatches happening in addition to the staples already roaming the lakes. Chironomids have been the number one bug catching fish, but mayflies and damselflies have been producing as well. You will be most successful by paying special attention to the hatches, if there are any, and doing your best to imitate those patterns. When first arriving on the water, look for diving swallows, which can indicate a chironomid hatch. Check the surface for casings, or emergers, which will indicate a strong hatch. Focus on the drop-offs to start, moving into deeper water if necessary. However, even with a strong chironomid hatch, the fish could be keyed in on something else, like mayflies. These hatches also usually occur in the afternoons on most lakes. Look for night hawks, which resemble over sized swallows, flying close to the water in bunches as these birds seem to have a particular soft spot for the mayfly and are a good indicator of where and when a mayfly hatch is occurring. Swallows will, of course, also feed heavily on mays but don’t seem to have a preference towards them. Half Backs, small Hare’s ears and Pheasant Tails are good general fly patterns in B.C. to mimic the mayfly. Some of the best mayfly patterns imitate the Callibaetis mayfly, so pick up some patterns such as Janssen’s Callibaetis and Mercer's Poxyback Callibaetis. When fishing mayfly patterns use either weighted flies on floating lines or un-weighted 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. Damsels are also quite prolific at this time of year. The 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 shoreline shrubberies. Also look for trout cruising and boiling along cattails and other reeds close to shore. Sometimes 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. Long slow 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. Although we normally start seeing some caddis activity at this time of year, we may still be a few weeks away from any significant activity. Taking a look at the Fraser Valley and Vancouver area we are starting to see a few summer steelhead showing in the rivers that support them. Of particular note the Chehalis has shown a few fish and is in decent shape for the fly. Concentrate your efforts to early mornings and evenings, as this seems to be the time when the fish are moving. Also there should be some Chinook salmon entering that system as well. Remember that not all rivers are open and you should check your regulations before embarking on a fishing trip. The Capilano River has been producing early Coho and is worth a try. Fish have been steadily trickling in to the lower river. Try to correlate your fishing with the incoming tide as this seems to be when the fish bite the best. Also, don’t forget about the beaches as the opportunity to cast for staging salmon is beginning now and will only continue to improve as the summer progresses. Most of the coastal lakes are fishing quite well. Some that are worth a try would be Weaver, Sayers, Francis, Hicks and Mike Lakes. Try trolling leeches and dragons deep, and fish chironomids and mayflies towards the evenings. The Skagit River opens on July 1st, so make sure you are well stocked on small mayflies, caddis and stones, both nymphs and dries. Here at the shop we have scheduled an afternoon Beginner Fly Casting Course, on Saturday June 28th. Aaron Goodis, FFF certified instructor, will be teaching this 3.5 hr course. Please call either shop to sign up. Till next time, tight lines and sharp hooks.