Any one catching smelt around Vancouver?

[liketofish]

Smelt fishing is supposed to be opened now. Any one caught some or have seen some caught by the net guys. I have heard dismal report from fishing friends that smelt has disappeared from local water around English Bay. Any truth to that? If that is so, must be due to global warming. Lol. Any update appreciated.

 

[Dogbreath]

Haven't seen a soul fishing them this year.

FWIW I live near the beach & swim in English Bay May AM & PM through October this year the water has been cool (lots of fresh Fraser River runoff on top) and bait scarce usually I see all kinds of small Herring & Anchovy.

Since I've been swimming here since 1973 you'd think I would have noticed catastrophic conditions but that's not the case at all every year is different but not terribly so.

If I was to venture a guess I'd say Smelt spawning grounds have been damaged somehow that and mortality associated fine mesh Shrimp trawling-one reason I rarely buy that product any more.

 

[liketofish]

The trouble is that it seems to be a total disappearance from local waters, at least around English Bay. Last 2 years the Ambleside area beaches seem to have very few fish around. I went once around this time and had zero fish to show. Lol. So this year seems to be following the same trend. Something has changed in the ocean. Perhaps the water temperature? Not sure but I notice that Pacific Tomcod, a fish that used to be abundant in local waters seems to vanish too. Perhaps they have migrated to northern cooler waters for their spawning grounds.

 

[Rain City]

I tried once this year in perfect conditions and had zero. Three years ago we cleaned up. My family has been smelting since they got here in 1955 and all my uncles say there isn't a smelt in site for the past two years. Too many seals.

 

[liketofish]

Thanks for your confirmation that this may be a total disappearance from local waters. Seals can't eat up all the tiny smelts. Something mysterious has happened to the ocean condition that may cause this total disappearance. Are there members of this site who are in northern BC who can confirm that smelts and perhaps tommy cods have shown up in big number in the northern cooler waters? This ocean factor may be the reason salmon are doing poorly also but Alaska seems to still have huge run of sockeye. The big warm blob of water that had come up north may have pushed nutrients up north and small fish like smelt just don't bother to come south to spawn anymore. That is just a guess of what had happened to them.

 

[o_clarki]

I fish for smelt in the LM but not in Vancouver. Haven't been out this year, and I just went once last year, but on that one outing for 1-2 hours (Aug 22) I got ~100 smelt, including 60 in one set. Over the past couple years, I haven't seen a noticeable decline, but then again I've only be netting them in the past 5 yrs.

 

[Rain City]

I fish for smelt in the LM but not in Vancouver. Haven't been out this year, and I just went once last year, but on that one outing for 1-2 hours (Aug 22) I got ~100 smelt, including 60 in one set. Over the past couple years, I haven't seen a noticeable decline, but then again I've only be netting them in the past 5 yrs.

100 would be considered an ok day 5 years ago. My uncles used to come home with two or three 5 gallon buckets full with just a couple nets. There were also stories of having to fight off the seals.

 

[o_clarki]

100 would be considered an ok day 5 years ago. My uncles used to come home with two or three 5 gallon buckets full with just a couple nets. There were also stories of having to fight off the seals.

No doubt the glory days of smelt are behind. I grew up in Ontario and dipnetting for rainbow smelt was a rite of spring, Garbage bags of fish were the norm.

 

[liketofish]

It is good to know you caught something in LM last year. Most people I talked to had nothing to show even for last year around English Bay. Were you fishing north or south of Vancouver when you say LM? But it is good to know smelts have not disappeared totally but they just don't come into English Bay area.

 

[liketofish]

Went out for smelt in Ambleside area and had ZERO smelt to show for it. I guess the fishery for smelt in English Bay has vanished and done. Any one want to buy a smelt net?