Catching Ling On The Wapiti & Smokey.

[BullDog15]

I have caught Bull's, Pike, Goldeye and lots Walleye in both the Wapiti and the Smokey but I'm looking to catch some Ling. I know there the ungliest fish in the water but there great eating. I have heard rumer that there is 10lb.+ Ling in these rivers. What should I use and where should I go? :confused:

[pickrel pat]

through out a pickrel rig with minnows or any kind of meat and you will catch them if they are there, i lived in g.p and fished the wapati a fair bit.

[bruce44]

where in gp should i go fishing in the wapiti. I went by the obrein park bridge. Where else should i go and can you please give me some directions that dont require a river boat.

[yellowlab01]

I think there's a bait ban on the Wapiti. Not 100% sure on this

[BullDog15]

Yes, I'm pretty sure there is no bait allowed in both the Wapiti and the Smokey. Ling smell there food more then see it I think, thus the trick of catching them. Need more details. As far as walk in fishing on the Wapiti; head down to the one way bridge just down stream of Obrien Park. Park on the north side of the bridge and walk (unless you have a small 4x4) down stream to the second bend. Nice hole for Walleye and Pike. Don't eat them though.

[Joe Fehr]

Wapiti has bait ban on it and the Smoky you can use bait down stream on the Hwy 43 bridge. Look for decent backeddies and plunk out a pickeral rig with minnows sure to catch something.

Pretty hard to catch ling without bait but I have heard of it being done with jigs and orange flag tape. Probably have to get it in front of them.

River boats are a god send for both of those rivers for fishing! If you can get to the confluence of the Smoky and Wapiti the fishing is excellent!

[bruce44]

Yes, I'm pretty sure there is no bait allowed in both the Wapiti and the Smokey. Ling smell there food more then see it I think, thus the trick of catching them. Need more details. As far as walk in fishing on the Wapiti; head down to the one way bridge just down stream of Obrien Park. Park on the north side of the bridge and walk (unless you have a small 4x4) down stream to the second bend. Nice hole for Walleye and Pike. Don't eat them though.

your talking about down by that mill right. And why cant we eat the fish

[Joe Fehr]

If you travel the Wapiti on a boat you would see how much the mill dumps or leaks into the river. You can see a definate line of something coming in now that being said I am sure the government is aware of it and has tested it :rolleyes: There are currently very few restrictions on eating fish out of the Wapiti and Smoky that I am aware of. But I would limit my consuption of fish caught below the Hwy 40 bridge.

[bruce44]

If you travel the Wapiti on a boat you would see how much the mill dumps or leaks into the river. You can see a definate line of something coming in now that being said I am sure the government is aware of it and has tested it :rolleyes: There are currently very few restrictions on eating fish out of the Wapiti and Smoky that I am aware of. But I would limit my consuption of fish caught below the Hwy 40 bridge.

Thats kinda gross. That reminds me when i used to live in wells by barkerville b.c. and the jack o clubs lake has a warning on it about fish consumption. due to the old gold mining equipment in the lake the mercury numbers have risen and you werent supposed to eat any fish over 30 cms. Also hwy 40 isnt where the one way bridge is, thats the main 2 way bridge which is up stream so it shouldnt matter. But the one way bridge is through resources road past the horse track and thats downstream from weayerheauser(how ever you spell that) mill isnt it.

[Joe Fehr]

Thats kinda gross. That reminds me when i used to live in wells by barkerville b.c. and the jack o clubs lake has a warning on it about fish consumption. due to the old gold mining equipment in the lake the mercury numbers have risen and you werent supposed to eat any fish over 30 cms. Also hwy 40 isnt where the one way bridge is, thats the main 2 way bridge which is up stream so it shouldnt matter. But the one way bridge is through resources road past the horse track and thats downstream from weayerheauser(how ever you spell that) mill isnt it.

Your right, but I would recommend a wide berth around the mill just due to the movement of the fish. One of these days I will take pictures of the leak or seepage what ever it might be.
Not sure exactly what it is that would be leaking back into the water but it sure is dark going into a nice clear river!

[BullDog15]

It is apparently Dixon’s and furan’s that come from Weyerhaeuser which is a supposedly a form of poison and again has been apparently approved by the government for consumption of fish. I love walleye; it is my favourite type of fish to eat a nice white firm un-fishy tasting meat. I would just eat the ones up stream or further downstream towards the Smokey. For more info visit www.aet.org/science_of_ecf/dioxin_elimination/prairie.html

[Joe Fehr]

Good read. Thanks for posting that.

[BullDog15]

No Problem. Hey, you said you fish where the Wapiti flows into the Smokey. That hole is huge, I've never had great luck there. Are you fishing the seam or up against the rocks and what are you using?

[Joe Fehr]

I actually fish just up the Wapiti a little ways, seems to be hit and miss though. This year I only made it up there once due to being shipped over seas for work. The fishing was slow compared to last year.
For me jigs white and black seemed to be the best, but spoons work also 5 diamonds red and whites.
When they are there it is hard to keep them off the hook, this year has been odd with the hot hot weather affecting the fishing lots.

I have also found that the south side of the Wapiti is better then the north for some reason :huh: Fished the same hole from the north side on the same day and never caught a thing when they were hammering the jigs on the other side.

[BullDog15]

Thanks, I will give it a go this weekend.

When fishing is good from one side and not the other its always good to note, it could of been the change of speed and deapth that the jig was traveling at? Interesting though.