FISHING REPORTS - June 22, 2017

LAKES

The Bulkley Valley is rich with small lakes that make for great fishing. You just have to grab your rod and go exploring!

Helen Lake is located near the summit of Hungry Hill by Houston. It is stocked yearly with approximately 2000 cutthroat trout or rainbow trout and makes for the perfect little fishing lake. It has a small rec site with 4 campsites and also has a small boat-launch. To access the campsite drive from Smithers out towards Houston. Once you have passed Hungry Hill Summit you will turn left onto Summit Lake Road. Drive about 4 km and then turn down Hidden Lake FSR. The rec site will be on your left shortly after. Try casting out small spinners or Kamlooper spoons, or dragging a leech pattern fly.

Check out http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/fidq/downloadBathymetricMap.do?filename=00075401.pdf for a depth map of Helen Lake
 

SALTWATER

The weather cooperated over the past weekend and many anglers got out on the water with hopes of putting a few chinook in the box. Unfortunately the fishing on the coast has been hit and miss with many anglers reporting only a few fish being caught. There have been a few reports of anglers limiting out but the majority have seen only a couple salmon boated despite their best effort. We are hoping to see some more fish moving south over the next couple of weeks and the weather should be getting consistently better which should mean better fishing. Over the past week we have seen fish taken on a variety of different things including cut plugs, spoons and flasher/hoochie combo. When fishing for chinook I generally run a spoon, an anchovy and a cut plug or whole herring in a helmet. I find that this covers most of the options that the chinook are feeding on. if I get a couple of hits on a specific lure/bait then I will switch out one of the other rods and run two of the same thing. I never run everything the same as things are constantly changing and and you never want to limit yourself that much. The idea is to give yourself the best opportunity for a strike. Over this past weekend, the AP Tackleworks anchovy or herring spoons were producing well.  The Luhr Jensen Coyote spoons in the 4.0 and 5.0 sizes produced some nice fish. The Cop Car and Live Image colors are a good choice. 

When running a spoon or bait, I always go with a dummy flasher run 18 inches off the downrigger ball. This gives you the all important flash but once you hook a fish, you are only fighting the fish and not the flasher.

Ground fishing was good this past weekend as we saw the wind calm down on Friday afternoon. This made it possible to get out to the prime fishing grounds and we saw a few nice halibut brought in. Oscars has some really effective halibut and cod/rockfish jigs so speak with the folks down there before heading out to the ocean and they can sort you out with the right gear to land those big fish. 

When targeting halibut, look for those underwater plateaus at around 180-250 feet deep. 

The crabbing on the coast remains good but we are going to be seeing alot more traffic over the next couple of weeks which will make those crag harder to get. Look for bays and inlets that are free of other traps and also have a sandy bottom. 

The prawning is still good and should steadily get better through the summer. 

Head down to Oscars and talk to the crew if your planning on heading to the coast. They have all the gear to get you on the water and make your trip successful. 

Until next week, tight lines...... Saltwater Report brought to you by Lee Mac.
 

BABINE RIVER

Closed until July 14 before being reassessed.  Thanks DFO.
 

BULKLEY & MORICE RIVERS

Closed until July 14 before being reassessed.  Thanks DFO
 

KISPIOX

Closed until July 14 before being reassessed.  Thanks DFO
 

KITIMAT

The river is just coming into shape after some rains, and with the forecast calling for good weather, now is the time to fish!  Chinook are in the system and quite a few are being caught, both on gear and on flies.

Never fished this river? No problem, book a guide! Try Tracey Hittel of Kitimat Lodge at kitmatlodge.com, 250-632-6677. Or Ron Wakita from Reliable Guide and Charters at reliableguideandcharters.com.

Also, check out Ron Wakita’s live fishing report on his website http://reliableguideandcharters.com/live-fishing-report-kitimat-river-douglas-channel-and-prince-rupert-june-19-to-june-25/ and even sign up to receive his fishing report emails and you are entered to win a free drift boat trip!
 

SKEENA

Closed until July 14 before being reassessed.  Thanks DFO.