Help me get back into river fishing.....

[thepitchedlink]

Hello Gents, looking for some general knowledge here......I'm in vernon. I use to make the odd trip to the Kitimat area, even the island when my folks where alive, but with kiddies and life in general I've just dropped out of fishing altogether to a bit...time to get back in. When I moved here I had high hopes of Thompson Steelhead....seems thats a difficult dream to chase in the last few years. I love salmon/steelhead so that's what I'm after....I've got a shop full of fishing gear, so hoping to sell some off here in your Classifieds and consolidate a bit...
I have casting gear, way too much fly gear....was thinking of moving some of that and looking for a Center Pin set-up.....

I've got a 11' with a Abu 7000, my salmon rig
a 6'6' with a 6500....bit short but thought it might be Ok of lighter steelhead
An older 10.5' spinning rod I built years ago....was wondering if I could re-build it into a float rod....
10' switch rod...never use it
13' Echo spey rod....I did use that one
11'6" light spey..should sell or remake into a light float rod

What are the most useful setups to have? say 3 set ups?

What are my seasons/opening near here in the last 2 years? Has the Thompson been producing at all? I hear steelies are open this year, with 1000 fish returning.....
Am I looking at driving down to Hope/Chill are each time as the best use of a day?


Sorry to the general ramblings....really just trying to get a feel for the area/sport again after being out for a bit...without reading 10 different sights and sorting through the regs......some general areas/places to start out would be great too....not your honey holes....just general areas and times where things start to happen...so I can plan my calander

thanks much
Pitched

 

[Sharphooks]

Not too many guys are going to step up to answer your questions associated with that river on this forum or any of the others. Runs are really distressed --- some guys have decided not only not to fish that river any more, but to refrain from promoting the fishery altogether.

I can tell you that most people bailed out when the water bumped up one meter earlier this month---short answer--- way more H2O then fish in that river

Regarding gear: my recommendation---go to whatever river you fish with ONE rod and focus on ONE type of presentation. Steelhead will hop on a cigarette butt if it's presented correctly, whether tied to a long rod, a short rod, a center pin, or any rod in between. You'll do better in the long run

 

[thepitchedlink]

Ok Sharp, thanks. that's almost what I figured.....the "T" is just a no go...When I move here I was all excited about being closer to such a big, famous river. Then realized that it was in serious trouble and that there really wasn't any fishing to be had....kinda when I dropped out for a while..seems not much has changed....hopefully some day...

Thanks for the gear recommendation

Pitched

 

[Derby]

As always Sharphooks well spoken sir... Pitched ..pretty hard to get any info from the forum regarding anything on steelhead..its a near to the heart subject..I would suggest building a relationship with your local tackle store & u will find that the info will come with that relationship...

 

[thepitchedlink]

Haha, yes seems like the steelhead info if going to be a easy to find as sheep hunting spots!!!! That's cool, just looking for info to get going again
thanks for the replys

 

[fishinut]

I enjoy the rivers too. There are some good spots on the Shuswap, a day use park on the highway a short distance west of Cherryville is a good place to start. A couple of my favourites are Hupel and the chucks east of Enderby, exciting fishing when the steelies and salmon are running.

 

[thepitchedlink]

I enjoy the rivers too. There are some good spots on the Shuswap, a day use park on the highway a short distance west of Cherryville is a good place to start. A couple of my favourites are Hupel and the chucks east of Enderby, exciting fishing when the steelies and salmon are running.

Hey Nut, thanks very much...that day use area is only 15 min from my place...Iv'e often looked at it driving by...never see anyone fishing there...Is there any winter/early spring fishing around this area, or all in the late summer fall?

 

[Fish Camp]

good info ,spences for aug1,Get out on mable lk this winter,kingfisher launch.