[deepskydarrell]

I remember reading Charilie White's old book on trolling for salmon in the salt chuck. He said to never troll into the sun --- the fish can't see or won't hit the bait when looking into the sun. Does this happen on the rivers? Do some parts of the river stop producing when the sun is out and sitting directly upstream from the fish?

Darrell.

 

[augie]

Hey DSD. Well, I don't know if this helps, but, I know I often hear and also experience that with salmon in rivers, they seem to be more aggressive as soon as the sun is low or behind clouds, or a hill. But I think that's only because salmon, as with winter steelies, tend to swim or move up during low-sun or dark hours, so you get more hook-ups because fresh fish move into the next run or pool. I think that's why these guys are getting great success at first light. But I can't help but think that's also because the pool has rested overnight, the fish aren't as spooked, with tons of hardware and bait swinging by, so they're virgins in a sense, each morning. I don't know, that's my observations thus far.

But that theory on the fish, facing the sun, and not biting??? I wouldn't doubt it. It makes sense. But I guess it also depends on the water clarity, etc. With darker water, they don't seem to be as spooked in general...even on a bright sunny day... and of course, when the fish are out in the chuck, they seem to be all-together different than when they're in the rivers. Hey, I always say, "whatever works, do it."

 

[deepskydarrell]

Thanks Augie,

Years ago we used to spin fish the bottom of the Sumas / Vedder just below the c.n. train bridge. We had a great spot on the elbow just a block down from the bridge. The fish were facing / swimming east and we were there for first light. The action was good, even once the sun was up. But the moment the sun rose above the trees and hit the water, boom, it was over.

If this is the cause of the shut down then perhaps the Vedder canal would be out of service from about 10:00 to 12:00ish on a sunny day. I never noticed such a drop off in the Dewdney slough just up stream from the boat ramp ---- it runs more northerly.

Of course now a days even just a hit in the slough regions is a treat. But we need to take all factors into account. Could this be one?

DSD.

 

[Tex]

Very interesting, DSD... I've always been well aware of the bite often slowing once light hits the water (as I'm sure most are), but have always attributed it more to the fish being more wary of being exposed in brighter conditions than looking into the sun.

Although the "looking into the sun" idea has some merit, I'd imagine that it's more the case that fish feel less safe and less inclined to bite simply because they are more exposed.