[Mike D.]

Well to get some discussion going....is anyone ready? what do you need to get ready? what are your early season stratagies? Whats your insight on this upcoming year?

Ahhhhh the sweet days...sitting in the lawn chair bsing or asleep waiting for the bell to toll....could it get any better than this....well early spring fishing has done good for me in the past...1st and 2nd weekends in may produced good...3-4 fish/weekend barfishing not to shabby....but this year could be different...we could see a blown out fraser with 0 vis that could possibly be in our front yards...but we'll see....

I am no where near ready yet...need to get about 50 spin n' glo's, weld up some bar rod holders, get new boat holders, do some polishing, tie up the leaders, make a new heavy duty anchor (big claws), reels full of line, get some plugs oh wait did I say plugs? and a few other top secret things.

NO FLOSSING :naughty: I will not floss this year! Barfishing only yet again...was good last year! I hope you do the same!

Now my early season stratagy....May-June if the river is high...find the troffs and plunk them! Or...just sit in the trees and bar fish....

I hope good things happens when the river gets super high! blow out a few new channels, make some deep troffs, etc....

I know for a fact that the GOFISH/MIKE bar will fish well yet again this yr :thumbup:

Couple Pics of many to get the juices going...kind of colored up though....

Mike <")))))))><

 

[coho_killer]

What i do plan on is buying an inexpensive setup for barfishing springs this year! I like the idea of just sitting there till the fish hits the spin&glo of choice and that way it gives me alot bore time to enjoy a ice cold Stella! I'm gonna stay away from bottom bouncing untill the sockeye show up! Mixed with the millions and millions of pinks that are expected this year should make for a great fishery for everyone! Now i have an 8-9 wt but never fished a fly for socks befor so if anyone has a few pointers for me i'd be glad to take the advise on where and how to catch them! :beerchug:

C.K.

 

[Rick Baerg]

They are not going to open the river to salmon fishing this year! Pike minnow fishing only! :happy:

 

[Mike D.]

They are not going to open the river to salmon fishing this year! Pike minnow fishing only! :happy:

:yummy: Pike Minnow :yummy:

Mike <")))))><

 

[coho_killer]

April 1st was yesterday berg! ;D

 

[Crazy Drifter]

Nice to see Mike D, no flossing. :naughty:. Rods are ready, wieghts stocked, fresh line on the rods, boats tuned and ready to go, lawn chair dusted off , and cooler ready to go(- beer and ice). just anticipating the ding,ding , ding, and the screaming of the reel peeling off line. If your looking for a new anchor, I can probably cut you a sweet deal.
Cheers,
Crazy D

 

[Mike D.]

Thanks for the offer Crazy Drifter...but I have a welder and know how to use it and I got some metal and stuff...I figure once I get my lead poured into the anchor it will weigh 75-80lbs which should stick us anywhere :thumbup: hopefully have 3-4 foot claws on it too..good for anchoring in the loose gravel...in my mind anyways...

Mike <")))))))><

 

[DMW]

Pretty much ready. I sold my barfing rod last year, didn'y really like it. I have the 8 foot Technium, but still thinking it may be heavy. Could it work, or would I be better off to go out and get the Fraser King? What do you guys think? Other than that I am pretty much ready. :beerchug:

 

[Mike D.]

Bigsteel...you could use it no problem...I know a guy who uses his sturgeon rods for "barfing" and he loves them..the only thing he says is a problem is long bombing way out there...which reely isn't needed to often..but IMO that if your using a mainline on the reel for that rod in the 80-100+ range you won't need a super hard hook set...if you know what I mean...other wise you'll just rip it away right away (hope I worded it right) I am stocking my reels with 60lb power pro which should get the job done nicely...although thats what I have on my bb reel...hmmmm I wonder whats up with that :-X

Mike <"))))))><

 

[fishin30]

I know I always do well spoon fishing the various river mouths. This can be very productive. Just anchor right on the on the flow of the fraser where the color changes from clear to muddy and cast right on the line on the inside of the clear water. I always use brass or silver orange firestripe kitamat in the 45 65 sizes. Time to start polishing up the spoons

 

[fullahead]

fishin30
I know I always do well spoon fishing the various river mouths.

Sound like a good plan, I want to try it this year. I have a 14-foot boat with a forty jet on it. I like to take baby steps with it, as I have a lot of respect for the river. Do you find you do better before or after the freshet, it is going to be a good one this year! Is the mouth of the Sumas better to anchor than the Harrison?

 

[Bent Rod]

Hey Big Steel, I use fairly light rods for barfishing and they are a far cry from the TELEPHONE POLE like "Fraser King" rods. I use 10.5' med-heavy action rods, some are "heartland" models and others are Pro tacs, both rods are fairly cheap and allow for enjoyment of the fight much more than the big meatsticks of old. The key here is to run some 50lb power pro line, which is very thin diameter, this allows you to cast 16 ozs with ease and stick almost anywhere a Chinook will travel. I also find the noodly rods allow more fish to be landed, the softer rods are more forgiving, as we all know Chinooks find ways of getting slack line when they get close to shore. I've seen far too many Chinook lost when their belly hits the beach than I care to remember.

 

[DMW]

Thanks BR. I do have a trophy Medium I figured would work. It is an 11 1/2 foot 10-20 lb test. I bought it for a spring rod and it has never let me down. Maybe I will be trying that one out and see how it does. :cheers:

 

[fishin30]

Fullahead

Sumas or Harrison?

I find that right from the start of freshet you will usually do pretty well at the river mouths. The fish go into the freshwater to clean there gills and rest. The mouth of the Stave the Sumas the Harrison you'll do pretty well at all of them you don't need to anchor in the Fraser because you'll find that the very high and muddy Fraser will be invading and pushing back the flow of the fresh water a good 50' from the actual river mouth. At the Sumas river mouth I'll anchor in 10-12' of water where in normal flows it is only one foot deep. so most of the time you'll be anchoring in the actual river itself. There is some good high flow creeks in the Chilliwack/Hope area that produce well also.

 

[fullahead]

fishin30
Thanks for the information ,I will put in at Is. 22 and give it a go.