[2Metric]

50 BBers at Scales by 6:30am. Most were angry and competitive. I fished the most downriver spot. In this spot; not enough current and you can't wade out far enough to reach required current. Moved to the most upriver spot...just a few meters passed the boundary marker. I had to take my chances getting busted by DFO instead of upsetting anyone. Good current, but too many snags in this spot. Left at 1pm for Cheyenne Sporting Goods in Hope. A customer behind me in line overheard my failing to catch anything. He told me about a rather unknown spot where he caught 2 Sockeye in 20min. Brother if you are reading this, I can't thank you enough and will keep an eye out for you to help you if you run out of gear or need a net. I was rewarded with a huge long beach with smooth round rocks and a little sand on the bottom. Only me and maybe six other BBers spread out over 1km. Beautiful and peaceful. A couple were happy to share chit-chat and techniques with me. Another BBer beside me was happy to use my camera to take a picture of me and my first Sockeye ever. He said it was a rather large one. All the other anglers said they like to keep it unknown and relaxed.

Went to the banks at the end of Saint Elmo for the first time ever by 6:45am. 35 BBers overcrowding banks. A local explained that the upper end is for men of all ages who want to get into either mutual or one-way assaults over crossed lines and just about anything, including looking at someone the wrong way. Very creepy that my three friends and I were the only non-white people there. Sockeye being landed every 5min all day. BBers at top end limiting out, leaving and then coming back. Hard to watch. Trying not to offend anyone, we walked downriver to a sandy beach that no one was fishing. We didn't catch anything from 7am to 5pm. DFO and RCMP need to stop violations and drunk driving here.

I'm not complaining about anything...just reporting.

 

[chud]

St. Elmo's fire

Hey 2 Metric
Congrats on your 1st sockeye ever! It sounds to me like you should have kept fishing "that rather unknown" bar where you caught your 1st sock. That St . Elmo's bar used to be less known 4-5 years ago when i started salmon fishing on the Fraser. I refer to fishing on the popular bars during sockeye season as "combat fishing". Whether people are new or not to the shoulder to shoulder BBing or drift/float game they should observe the etiquitte and common sense to crowded conditions! Like casting staight out from about 12 to 1 o'clock and then not letting it drift too far downstream. Also trying to use a similar weight- especially with BBing.
Futhermore,people have got to clearly shout "fish on" especially if "spring on" occurs;so others can get their lines out of the way. If they don't, i have no problem reminding/informing to get their lines out if i see potential for a cross up!
Some people should try and have more patience with newbies and give them(polite) pointers to make it better for everyone. One hot head at St. Elmo's was swearing at my buddies 14 yr.old kid after they got tangled up and then cut the kids line with a knife! Then the hot head is yelling AND pointing the knife at the poor kid! The Hot head got chased out by the kids dad and several of our friends :shock: :twisted:
I hope there wasn't any overtly racist comments or crap being said towards you "non-white" dudes? That's the kinda thing that will make me get (verbally) aggressive if I see it happening!? (and I'm white)
Actually I saw 3RCMP and 1DFO go by St. Elmo's in a boat 2 weeks ago. Just before sockeye season. The info to report poaching and other illegal stuff is near the front of the regs.book. I don't have the Tel# handy but let's all be vigillant :wink:
Sometimes i skip the craziness and go flyfishing on the Skagit river for trout. I even dream about Flyfishing for sockeye but i'm not really familiar with flyfishing for salmon(yet).
So if you can, find those lesser known spots and don't tell anyone!

Good luck to all(except the poachers)!

C.H.U.D.

 

[chummer]

I am very tempted to ask where the spot is but I would never do.
Quiet spots have to be kept in secret for the people who really labor to find them.
People who go to easy access productive spots and are willing to be rude should never know those nice places.

 

[2Metric]

Thanks y'all!

I may have been wrong about the name of the location. I only read somewhere about that name, but now that I look on a map, I'm thinking we were maybe 5 or 8 minutes away on the #1HWY. So many names on those confusing Fraser River Bar Maps eh? Thanks for the consolation chub!

Hope to see you out on the flow. I sometimes wear a black fitted baseball cap and have a grey camouglage backpack with a handheld small net attached. Say hi!

 

[2Metric]

Woops!

I meant to spell it "Chud".