The Fraser River is in great shape with low clear conditions, although there are not any salmon running up the river at this time, there is some winter cutthroat fishing available. With low clear conditions you can fish the main stem river or side channels with fly or light spin tackle. If you choose to fish with a fly, try using a winter stone fly pattern, small streamer or egg pattern. For spin fishing, try using the Gibbs 3/8 or 1/4 Sterling Silver Ultra lure, they come in just sterling silver or sterling with blue or green 1/2 1/2. Either way try using small presentation with a cross current retrieve for best results.

Photo #1: Vedder River Steelhead

The Vedder River was in great shape but blew out yesterday and is on the mend as I write this report,. The annual boxing day derby weighed in 7 steelhead which is a bit on the low side but I also heard that there was a lower attendance this year so that may explain the low numbers of fish weighed in. Oliver has been out several times over the past week and has had some good success using roe, shrimp and spin n glos. This combination works really well for fresh fish that have just entered the river.

With the Vedder coming into shape we should see a push of fresh steelhead into the lower river so might be some good fishing this New Years weekend. If you plan on heading out, I would stick to the lower river near Lickman, Bergman or canal area but if the crowds are too great, try fishing just below Vedder Crossing as there is some great holding water in this area and this is one of the release sites for juvenile steelhead.

Photo #2: Vancouver Saltwater Salmon

The winter Chinook fishery out of Vancouver has started with a strong week, lots of undersized and keeper Chinooks being caught in the Vancouver Harbour area. This area is best fished utilizing the tides with high slack producing the best bites. We usually try to get out 2 or 3 hours before high tide and fish through the change. Our friends at Gibbs/Delta have produced some killer flashers that have both Ultra Violet and the new Moon Jelly tape which makes these flashers like no other. The talk on the water is that these new Guide Series flashers will dominate the water in 2014.

The new Highliner Guide Series Flashers (Photo #3) produced by Gibbs/Delta were inspired by the Pro Staff Team at Gibbs/Delta, STS is honored to have what I think will be one of the top producers named after our Company. The new STS Glow - MJ is going to be hot this season and I can't wait to get out on the water and put them to work. Thanks to Rob, Syd and all the staff at Gibbs/Delta.

Fraser Sturgeon Fishing
We have not been on the water for sturgeon since ending our peak season in late November, although we don't do alot of winter sturgeon fishing, we can still offer guests visiting the area and opportunity to catch a sturgeon while focusing on tagging juvenile sturgeon. This is important work as juveniles are easier to catch in winter months than mature fish. We don't get too many fish over 5ft but it still can be a great day on the water while helping collect important data.