Chinook and Steelhead On The Same Day

[NoelGyger]

The photo of the week shows a very happy client of Gill McKean’s of Westcoast Fishing Adventures with a beautiful Steelhead landed with his fly rod.

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Noel Gyger – Guided Fishing Adventures and Weekly Fishing Report
4012 Best Street, Terrace BC V8G 5R8, Canada
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E-mail: noel@noelgyger.ca
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Home Page: http://www.noelgyger.ca

Noel Gyger - WEEKLY FISHING REPORT dated May 10 – May 17, 2009


Dear Fishing Friends:

SUMMARY: The weather has been a mixed bag of sun, rain and wind. Both upper and lower sections of Kalum River are high but in good shape. The first Chinook are in the river now. This time of year I like to remind folks of the great possibilities of angling for both Steelhead and Chinook (King) Salmon on the same day. The mainstem Skeena River is too dirty and not fishable. A good place to fish is at the clean seams where the tributary rivers flow into the Skeena. The Zymoetz (Copper) River is too dirty to fish. The Chinook are coming into the Kitimat River now. For the Kitimat River and Douglas Channel please check out the detailed Ron Wakita report below.

May 16, 2009 One New! Podcast #0013 is posted on Podcast http://www.noelgyger.ca/podcast.htm
WELCOME to my podcast! The category for this show is: Meet the "best" river fishing guides. The guide today is Mike Herzberg of Kitimat BC. The show, 8:48 minutes in length, starts off with a photo of Mike and his drift boat and moves on to show him with friends and clients with some big fish. The last two photos show a huge 45 inch Chum (Dog) Salmon landed and released by his client Carmen from Switzerland. Mike talks about this fish in the audio portion of this podcast. I hope you enjoy the show! Cast here http://www.noelgyger.ca/podcast.htm
for a direct link to the podcast.

LIST OF “New” ITEMS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE THIS WEEK:

- One New item posted on "Conservation" May 17/09
- One New podcast posted on "Podcast" May 16/09
- One New item posted on "Conservation" May 14/09

NOW BOOKING: Let me know if I can be of service to book you with the "best" fishing guide and/or fishing lodges for both river and ocean. There are NO extra charges to book through me, just a lot of free information and advice from a person with years and years of fishing and fish guiding experience. It is like hiring two guides for the price of one. I will promptly answer your questions and concerns. Cast here http://noelgyger.ca/special-guided.htm to read more of what I have to offer.

Many people book three trips per year to our area; one trip in the spring (March-April-May), one trip in the summer (June-July-August) and one trip in the fall (September-October-November). They love having the same guide but fishing for different fish in different areas.

Be sure to check out my website at http://www.noelgyger.ca for news bulletins, mid week fishing updates, conservation, my history, quality waters strategy, special guided fishing trips, video clips, podcasts, scenic river photos, wildlife photos and others, comments from past guests, informational articles, archived fishing reports from 1996 through 2002 and a sportfishing market place. I hope it meets with your entire satisfaction. I am at your service.

FISHING GUIDE REPORTS FOR THIS WEEK ARE FROM:

Ron Wakita
Chad Black
Tracey Hittel

CURRENT REPORT and summary for Skeena and Tributaries:

TYPE OF FISH CAUGHT: Chinook (King) Salmon, Steelhead and Trout for river. Salmon, Halibut, Bottom Fish and Dungeness Crab for ocean.

Thank you for using barbless hooks.

FISHING THIS WEEK: -GOOD-

LARGEST FISH OF THE WEEK: Specie: Where: Angler:

WEATHER: Showers. Wind south 40 to 60 km/h diminishing to 20 this morning. High 10. Sunrise 5:25 AM Sunset 9:36 PM. Today’s yearly average temperatures: Maximum 17 degrees. Minimum 6 degrees.

WEATHER REPORTS VIA TELEPHONE: Terrace 250-635-4192 Kitimat 250-632-7864 Prince Rupert 250-627-1155 Smithers 250-847-1958.

SKEENA RIVER: Is too dirty and not fishable. Fishing the clean seams of the tributary rivers is also a good idea.

KALUM RIVER: Is high and in good shape. Good numbers of Steelhead are in the river now. Spring runs of Steelhead are still coming in with the higher water. Fishing for them with fly or spin tackle works well. Fresh early run Chinook (King) Salmon are in the river now.

ZYMOETZ (COPPER) RIVER: Is too dirty to fish.

Fishing Report from: Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters

Cast on link below to view flyer: http://www.noelgyger.ca/ads/Apri+14_200 ... _FLYER.pdf

KITIMAT RIVER: The Kitimat River has been low and clean this week which has provided excellent steelhead fishing conditions all week.

Steelhead fishing started to heat up last Sunday which was Mother's Day. Mother's Day was also good for fathers such as Tomy Canton fishing with his daughter Laura. They caught a beautiful Steelhead. I discovered later that Laura's Mom also went on the fishing trip. Congratulations to the Canton family especially since Mom received an added bonus of a Kitimat Hatchery Steelhead on Mother's Day.

Hi Tomy: Wow! Nice fish! Great Job Dad! Dad and Daughter fishing trip. Laura will remember this for years! How did you get to go fishing on "Mother's Day" you clever guy. I usually said that I would take the kids for the day to give their Mom a break. Thank You for the photos. I will submit your photo to Noel for consideration for photo of the week or for an update. It will definitely be in my report! Once again congratulations to Dad and daughter! Thank You so much for submitting the photos. Sincerely Ron

Mother's Day was also good for my son Corey and I as we hooked seven Steelhead and landed two. Corey who just turned fifteen years old is starting to row the driftboat on his own. Corey started rowing the driftboat when he was twelve and steering the saltwater boat since he was ten. Corey and I have an agreement that if he is steering or rowing when we hook a fish everyone in the boat especially his Dad must call him "Captain Corey". Corey was rowing when I hooked a chrome Steelhead on my fly rod. I lost it when she took her first run but Corey had certainly done his job. Well Done "Captain Corey"

Donny Webber reports hooking five Steelhead on a fly landing two of them in the Kitimat Hatchery run. Donny has been hooking these Steelhead on a pink krystal flash fly. It just occurred to me to include a photo which I will do in next week's report. Many other anglers were having good success at the Hatchery run.

Ariel Kuppers, Derek Downey and Jessie Houston drifted on Tuesday, May 12th and they hooked five Steelhead, landing two of them. They hooked all of these Steelhead on hotshots. Congratulations guys!

Mike Herzberg of Reliable Guide and Charters also drifted on Tuesday. Mike drifted by himself and hooked five Steelhead landing four of them. Mike hooked all of these on hotshots and landed these Steelhead by himself which is majorly challenging. Well done Mike!

Tomy Canton reports hooking seven Steelhead on May 14th and landed five of them. "Only during the morning I hooked 7 steelheads and landed 5. I stopped fishing during the afternoon because the last fish was a hatchery so, I kept it. It was an amazing day:)". Congratulations Tomy on an outstanding day of Steelheading.

Corey, Art Hackler and I drifted Friday morning and we hooked four Steelhead and landed two. We shared a pool with Noel Gyger who was fishing with Mike Herzberg. I consider Mike and Noel to be very good friends and I am honored to be associated with them in the Fishing Industry.
Noel reports" I think we landed 3 (maybe four I can't remember) and had a bunch more chances " It was nice to see Noel on the Kitimat River who after so many years in the fishing industry still "Loves to Fish". Noel's passion for fishing has brought Noel into the Cyber world of the internet. Noel deserves public recognition for evolving a website that profiles "Fishing in the North West" to global status. As many of you readers can attest to, Noel's website brings "Fishing in the Northwest" onto computer screens around the world. Noel pioneered the drift boat on the Kitimat and Kalum Rivers. Noel has helped so many people evolve in the Fishing Industry. I am proud to be associated with Noel Gyger and his website. Thank You for the kind words on your podcast. Readers interested in viewing Mike Herzberg's profile please visit the recent podcast on Noel's Webpage: http://www.noelgyger.ca/podcast.htm

I drifted with Al Smith and Martin Golhke on Saturday with the river level coming up. Al lost a Steelhead on tackle with a double egg rig. I lost one on my fly rod and then Martin lost one on a hotshot. I have a personal challenge I call the "Triple Crown" It includes landing a Steelhead using a fly, landing another using tackle and the third landed using hot shots. We had the "Triple Crown" on the rods but went zero for three. Such is the life in the fishing world but using the three methods effectively fishes the different types of water that the Steelhead hold in. We managed to land the fourth fish on the hotshots. Both hits on the hot shots were on a special colour that I had Luhr Jensen custom paint for us.

Anglers are reminded that the "Bait Ban" came into effect on May 15th. There is some confusion amongst anglers that think that the Kitimat River closes for Steelhead May 15th. The Kitimat River does not close May 15th, the Bait Ban is effect May 15th. Steelheading is still very good on the Kitimat River as the results in this report demonstrate. The river height has come up overnight and at the time of submitting this report the Kitimat River is starting to dirty. Stay tuned to Noel's Twitter as I will update.

DOUGLAS CHANNEL: The May Long weekend is enjoyed by many boaters on the Douglas Channel, in fact for many groups it is an annual event. Mother Nature did not cooperate with some rain and winds in the forecast. This did not deter many of the boaters I spoke to on Friday as they were still planning to go. We also have some of our Charter Boats doing some "pre season" trips and doing some personal fishing prior to the Charter season.

Considering that this is a long weekend most of the boats are not due back to the dock until Sunday or Monday.

Stay Tuned to this report for the fishing results of this weekend.

Our tackle Store: City Centre Hardware and Sporting Goods has many preseason specials. Please click here to view our New! Updated instore flyer http://www.noelgyger.ca/ads/Apri+14_200 ... _FLYER.pdf It has some “HOT” deals!

Thank You to all who contributed to this report.

I hope every one has a safe and productive May Long Weekend!

Tight Lines, Silver Fish and Big Smiles.

Ron Wakita

Fishing Report from: Tracey Hittel of Steelhead Heaven

Spey Fishing for Skeena Steelhead May Report Kitimat Region

As predicted the past 10 days have been the highlight of the season for our guests. Making predictions for Steelhead on the fly is a dangerous choice of words, so let’s say we had to produce the past few weeks.
Attached are a few of the monsters we captured on the spey. Mr. Yamada a regular at Steelhead Heaven landed and hooked into 1-4 fish per day, a dream come true for any angler on the fly. Not to mention watching as 100m of backing line is pulled off his reel, twice! And landing both fish. Patience is the name of the game here and let’s not kid ourselves, luck as well. Yamada also fished with a 30ft Japanese telescopic rod with no reel, a traditional and very old technique used only by Japanese anglers. Last year he broke a rod on a big fish and this year he pulled out a few nice ones as well. Again fly selection was key to the Spey fisherman as Yamada chose Pink and was rewarded each pass he fished a special pool that we targeted for consecutive days.
When you are a fishing guide your client will follow your direction as he feels you know the water and the pools the best. Well sometimes we are right on the head with pool selection as high water conditions mean the fish are moving, so why move as the fish will come to you and that is exactly what we did. The key to success is first finding the fish, then once you do that, don’t leave the fish, target the pool and stick with you guns and you will be rewarded. This lesson I learned this spring when fishing some very productive water for 2 hrs without a bite thinking the fish are not there, then having a dyed in the wool bait fisher pass thru and smack three fish, so do not give up on your selection of water, change flies, sink tips etc until you get a fish, then the others will follow.
Another great week was with Tomio, his 3rd trip for Steelhead on the Spey, this trip he will never forget. Fishing a black intruder he fooled 5 Steelhead in one day and snapped one of them off. Again fly selection was key as the pink flies did not work but when he changed to a black the game was on. Tomio is an excellent Spey caster and when you fish with T-14 and other sinking tips your cast has to be perfect. Tomio hooked 10 fish in 3 days and commented to his friends before leaving that he would get a 3 fish day, we'll Tomio your friends can eat crow now. Attached is a pic of Tomio and a small taste of his trip.
Guests Sara and Cristian from Italy, spent some days with us and Cristian landed a chrome bar on his single hand fly rod.
The Diva of the season was Mrs. Hak who landed her first Steelhead on the Spey and was top rod for the week, in a very cold and snowy week. With the tough times we face this season with the credit crunch we were fortunate to have a nice group of Steelheaders and look forward to our August to October Steelheaders who have booked for the autumn season.
Now that the middle of May is closing in on us, so are the Chinooks and they are trickling in small numbers. A friend told me that he saw a fly angler with an ultra-light set-up, reel in a 25lber on the Kitimat River yesterday, fresh from the ocean.
June and July is peak for Saltwater and Freshwater Chinook out of Kitimat and July and August to the 6th for Skeena record fish.
Space is limited for the summer fishing season so please let us know noel@noelgyger.ca if we can book you a trip. Tracey John Hittel
Fishing Report from: Chad Black of Nicholas Dean Lodge

Remote Coastal Steelhead fishing at its best! Sonja Sorbo hooked this huge 20 lb buck in a deep pocket at the head of a shallow riffle on one of our favourite small streams. Dustin Kovacvich Photo
Hello Anglers, After a break in my fishing reports over the last while, I'm back with much exciting news! First off, I must formally congratulate Dustin and his wife Ruby, on their new addition to the family, Cayleigh Marie Kovacvich. Cayleigh was born on March 22, 2009 around 6:30 am, and weighed 7 lbs, 1 ounce. I'm happy to report that Cayleigh, Ruby and Dustin are doing well, and that as of this writing, Cayleigh does not yet have a fly rod in her hands, but given a few more months, I'm sure that she'll have the double spey down before she can say Daddy! Be sure to check out our updated blog site at http://www.nicholasdean.blogspot.com to see photos of Cayleigh, Ruby and Dustin, along with other updated fishing news.
Our Spring Steelhead opener during the last week of March posed difficult angling conditions, as we were greeted with temperatures well below zero and river levels very low and clear. Many of our favourite pools and holding water were virtually inaccessible by usual means, unless anglers were willing to embark on lengthy and often challenging hikes through snow up to one's waist. Now, as most anglers can probably attest, the measure of a good guide and lodge can often be judged on how hard its staff work to ensure clients have an enjoyable trip, and one that maximizes angling opportunity which, in these conditions, was no easy feat! To get around this, we simply had to improvise. Our solution: a snowmobile placed strategically at the take out location, to ferry clients and our 12' Aire rafts up the river valley and a farmer's field, to trucks waiting nearby. Not an easy day by any stretch, but realistically, this logistical maneouvre made all the difference, as most fish were caught mid way through the drift in deep, slower moving pools that afforded Steelhead some security. Taft Ring, a new client of ours, fared out best during these tough conditions, with several Steelhead landed during the week, the largest of which was in the 22 lb range. Taft had a particularly deft touch when it came to manipulating his fly on the swing - most of his grabs occurred just after twitching his rod tip, to animate his fly in the slow moving currents. Congratulations Taft, and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
Certainly one of the highlights this Spring was having the opportunity to fish and spend time with renowned angler, Lani Waller. It is obvious that Lani is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the subject of Steelhead fly fishing, and he conveys this knowledge and a love of Steelhead quite well through his stories, accumulated over many years spent on the water. His new book, entitled "A Steelheader's Way" is a great read, and one that combines Lani's advanced knowledge of Steelhead fly fishing tactics, with a unique philosophical perspective on Steelhead. I highly recommend adding Lani's book to your personal library if you're a serious Steelhead angler. Lani can be reached at http://www.laniwaller.com.
Finally, I'm pleased to say that we've now made the transition to spectacular Yellow Cedar Lodge (http://www.yellowcedarlodge.ca)! This move has been a long time in the making for us, and we have been extremely impressed with the accommodations, service, and dining provided for our guests by Alf and Simone Leslie. Riverfront mountain views, private rooms with ensuite washrooms, amenities including a hot tub, sauna, games room and patio, and spectacularly prepared meals all combine to give guests a 5 star appeal. Paired up with the unparalleled knowledge our guides have of our local waters, Steelhead and Salmon fishing trips simply don't get much better. For those of you who would like a little more information on Yellow Cedar Lodge, or our first class fishing packages, please contact me or Noel Gyger noel@noelgyger.ca today.
Until next week, tight lines and screaming reels...
Chad Black, Operations Manager. Nicholas Dean Lodge
AREA RIVER RECORDS: Chinook Salmon: Skeena River, 92.5-pounds; Kalum River, 85-pounds; Kitimat River, 74-pounds; Steelhead: Skeena River, 45-pounds; Coho Salmon: Skeena River, 27-pounds.

FISHING REGULATIONS WEBSITES:
2007-2009 BC tidal waters and freshwater Salmon fishing information:
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish
Effective April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010

2008-2009 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish
Effective April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2011 (Note regs good for two years)

GUEST FISHING PHOTOS:

*** If any of you have special fishing photos, testimonials, scenic river photos, wildlife photos or articles I would love to see them.

Catch & Release formula:

- Chinook: girth squared x length x 1.54 divided by 1000 (inches)
- Steelhead: girth squared x length x 1.33 divided by 1000 (inches)

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GOOD LUCK and GOOD FISHING!

Yours sincerely,

Noel F. Gyger

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