Steelhead angling closed on Thompson and parts of Fraser.

OldBlackDog

Well-Known Member
Angling closed on two B.C. rivers because of low steelhead returns
All angling is being closed on the Thompson River below Kamloops Lake, as well as on portions of the Fraser River, because of low steelhead returns.
The Canadian Press

Updated: August 31, 2018

file-in-this-undated-file-photo-a-fly-fisherman-casts-his.jpeg

All angling is being closed on the Thompson River below Kamloops Lake, as well as on portions of the Fraser River, because of low steelhead returns. Troy Maben / AP

KAMLOOPS — All angling is being closed on the Thompson River below Kamloops Lake, as well as on portions of the Fraser River, because of low steelhead returns.

The closure will be in effect from Oct. 1, 2018, to May 31, 2019.

The provincial government says angling will be closed on the Thompson River downstream from signs at the Kamloops Lake outlet to the confluence with Fraser River.

Angling on the Fraser River will be closed from the bridge on Highway 99 at Lillooet downstream to B.C. Hydro’s tail race outflow channel, and from the confluence with Thompson River downstream to the Canadian National Railway bridge.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada undertook an emergency assessment of Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead in February.

Both populations are being considered for listing as endangered and the committee recommended an emergency listing order under the federal Species at Risk Act.
 
Meanwhile... sockeye madness continues even though we’re well into the historic Thompson steelhead migration period, the feds and province navel gazing over the past 5-year’s as they watched the Bonaparte canyon fishway erode such that it is completely impassable to all fish (zero chinook in the system this year, almost no hope for coho in a month and only an outside chance any steelhead make it up in the spring) and, of course, the provinces mismanagement of water in the tribs continues such that deadman, cold water, Guichon, upper Nicola, clapperton et al likely had another summer of brutal fry survival. But, the SARA listing process continues.

With the closure, which is warranted, I hope the sportfish reps are giving DFO an earful about how quickly and liberally they class massive areas “critical habitat” for SRKWs but they won’t even maintain access into one of the three main spawning tribs or summer flows in any of them for an equally iconic and threatened species.

Cheers!

Ukee
 
Meanwhile... sockeye madness continues even though we’re well into the historic Thompson steelhead migration period, the feds and province navel gazing over the past 5-year’s as they watched the Bonaparte canyon fishway erode such that it is completely impassable to all fish (zero chinook in the system this year, almost no hope for coho in a month and only an outside chance any steelhead make it up in the spring) and, of course, the provinces mismanagement of water in the tribs continues such that deadman, cold water, Guichon, upper Nicola, clapperton et al likely had another summer of brutal fry survival. But, the SARA listing process continues.

With the closure, which is warranted, I hope the sportfish reps are giving DFO an earful about how quickly and liberally they class massive areas “critical habitat” for SRKWs but they won’t even maintain access into one of the three main spawning tribs or summer flows in any of them for an equally iconic and threatened species.

Cheers!

Ukee

And it wont be long before the "valuable" chum fisheries on the Fraser pick off the later migrating ones......
 
Great news....now the dozen or two that squeak past the nets will be left alone. Spey community is probably mad lol.
****** that even with the closure a lot will succumb to mold and wounds from nets before the spring spawn.
Hopefully DFO shuts down the chum fishery this fall, no reason for any nets to be in the water after 12 weeks of unselective netting genocide.
 
Meanwhile... sockeye madness continues even though we’re well into the historic Thompson steelhead migration period, the feds and province navel gazing over the past 5-year’s as they watched the Bonaparte canyon fishway erode such that it is completely impassable to all fish (zero chinook in the system this year, almost no hope for coho in a month and only an outside chance any steelhead make it up in the spring) and, of course, the provinces mismanagement of water in the tribs continues such that deadman, cold water, Guichon, upper Nicola, clapperton et al likely had another summer of brutal fry survival. But, the SARA listing process continues.

With the closure, which is warranted, I hope the sportfish reps are giving DFO an earful about how quickly and liberally they class massive areas “critical habitat” for SRKWs but they won’t even maintain access into one of the three main spawning tribs or summer flows in any of them for an equally iconic and threatened species.

Cheers!

Ukee

Yep first steelhead caught in fraser river test fisheries

https://www.psc.org/TestFish/DailyReports/02Sep18.PDF

lots of sockeye gillnet fisheries too yet to come to clean them up

https://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fraserriver/firstnations/PDFs/CommunalOpeningTimes.pdf
 
It's actually pretty sad it has taken this long for one to get caught.
Typically we would hook our first one on the Thompson around this time while fishing for springs. Used to be be the first week of August the first couple would start getting hit on the bars on the Fraser.
One of the nicest steelhead in have ever was seen was end of July from Queens bar that was a buck of just under 30lbs...awesome Fish!
 
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