June 2020 Fishing Report

June 2020

A month of highs and lows sums up June pretty well.

The highs were the epic trips in early June to Thrasher rock where fish were so abundant that we couldn’t get both down riggers down. The salmon were angry and hitting hard from depths of 80 – 160. 600 ft of water was producing the best results, the salmon were following the bait moving through the highway a little deeper than usual. With catch and release still being our reality the frequency of numbers still made for fantastic days for my clients. One group has a new record of 32 spring in a 4 hour window….I think they had a good day. “Skinny G” spoons with white, green and Orange pattern were the lure of choice but similar variations worked just as well.

The low happened with June 19th with DOF release of the following regulations, It will be remembered as the day chinook fishing out of Vancouver was closed, our rights as a Canadian citizen were trampled on, and the day DFO made it clear they have no respect for the public fishery, science, and due process.

Strait of Georgia – South and Juan de Fuca – Areas 18, Subareas 19-3 to 19-12, Subareas 20-3 to 20-7, Area 28 and Subareas 29-3 to 29-5 (with the exception of those portions of Areas 28 and 29 listed in the section below) and Subarea 29-8.

Immediately to 23:59 hours July 31:  Chinook non-retention; 00:01 hours August 1 to 23:59 hours August 31:  1 Chinook per day with a maximum size limit of 80 cm; 00:01 hours September 1 to 23:59 hours December 31: 2 Chinook per day (no maximum size limit, min size limit 62 cm).

For Portions of Southern Strait of Georgia, Howe Sound and Burrard Inlet – Subareas 28-7 to 28-9; that portion of Subarea 28-2 that lies southerly of a line drawn due east from Halkett Point on Gambier Island (49 26.735’N, 123 19.302’W) to a point (49 26.550’N, 123 14.317’W) on the mainland corresponding with the southeast point of the Lions Bay RCA; and those portions of 29-3 to 29-5 that lie east of a line from Gower Point (49 23.021’N, 123 32.166′ W) near Gibsons to Shah Point on the southern tip of Valdes Island (49 01.695’N, 123 35.721’W)

Immediately to 23:59 hours August 31:  No fishing for Chinook

00:01 hours September 1 to 23:59 hours December 31: 2 Chinook per day. (no maximum size limit, min size limit 62 cm).

Approaches to Fraser River – Subareas 29-6, 29-7, 29-9 to 29-17 and the non-tidal waters of the Fraser River from Mission Bridge to the confluence with Sawmill Creek:  00:01 Hours January 1 to 23:59 Hours November 1: No fishing for salmon (Fishing opportunities for specific salmon stocks may be considered at a later date).

• You can fish for coho in most of the areas on the above map and the Area 28 and Area 29 regs (our local waters) are currently 2 hatchery a day, over 30 cm.
• In the non-cross hatched pink areas

• • April 1 to July 31: No retention of chinook (C&R permitted).
  • Aug 1 to Aug 31: 1 chinook per day, max 80 cm.
  • Sept 1 to Dec 31: 2 chinook per day (min size 62 cm, no max size limit).

• You can fish for chinook in the Strait of Georgia – North (blue part of map) Areas 13 to 17, Subareas 29-1 and 29-2:
  • April 1 to July 14: No retention of chinook (C&R permitted).
  • July 15 to Aug 31: 1 chinook per day, max 80 cm.
  • Sept 1 to Dec 31: 2 chinook per day (min size 62 cm, no max size limit).

What this means for me is that I will not have equal opportunity to run my business that I have invested $300k into as we can no longer retain Chinook Salmon April – August within our local waters. This will limit my bookings and revenue opportunities until DOF start making science based decisions and fix underlining political neglect within our waters. I’m all for conservation as I want generations to enjoy the fruit and beauty our local waters but there seems to be a huge void in the understanding of actual factual run data and impact the sport fisherman actually has on the runs.  The PFA rally is on Monday July 6th from 12:00pm to 1:30pm outside of the DFO Offices in downtown Vancouver at 401 Burrard Street. SO come out and support this cause and be apart of the movement before its too late.

July is when the boat is heading to the westcoast where the natural wild still remains. We are booked solid and cant wait to unplug from this world for a short time and reconnect with friends and nature.

Be good to each other and keep them tight.

Hicksy