CURRENT REPORT and summary for Northern Coastal Rivers:
Fishing Report from: Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters
KITIMAT RIVER:
SAFETY FIRST: Drift boaters are cautioned about the log jam above the Power Lines. It is possible to portage around the log jam but it is somewhat tricky. Smart money says to beach the boat upstream and walk down and take a good look to chart the path first.
The Kitimat River earlier this week dropped to exceptionally low levels. Despite the tougher fishing conditions caused by the low clean water there were some big steelhead caught. There were six steelhead reported this past week which were twenty pounds plus including the steelhead included in this report.
This steelhead was landed by Dave from Smithers last Sunday. I guided Dave when he hooked this beauty. When Dave first set the hook and saw the tail come out of the water we thought that it may have been a Chinook. This was the largest Steelhead that Dave has landed. Congratulations Dave!
The Kitimat River this year has produced bigger than average Steelhead than I have seen in a long time. Vince from the Kitimat Hatchery also has observed similar results. Vince also comments that the brood collection team has caught mostly males with females yet to come. We had some rain on Thursday which caused more Steelhead to move up river. Brian Boudreau and Brian Apps drifted Thursday and hooked seven Steelhead on their drift. Congratulations to Brian and Brian.
It has started to rain as I am writing this report on Saturday and the forecast is for more rain for this weekend. With the rise in the river level should bring more Steelhead into the Kitimat River particularly some females. Stay Tuned! Tight Lines!
DOUGLAS CHANNEL: Pat Oliver and Clayton Harker went down the Douglas Channel and managed to catch a small halibut and a bunch of crab. Other boaters were heading out for the weekend and were not returning until Sunday evening. Most were fishing for halibut and crab which is typical for this time of year.
Cast to this link for Kitimat tide tables http://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/cgi-bin/tide-shc.cgi?queryType=showRegion&language=english®ion=1
Please contact Noel Gyger anytime with any fishing questions for his area. If you are interested in booking a guided fishing trip he knows the best guides. Noel is always happy to help