Road Tripping to BC.... Info needed for Fishing Trip

[The Anvil]

Hey Everyone,

Well I have been MIA for a while now.

Been caught up in the world of Chickens and Turkeys
Yes I really have gone to the birds... ha ha ha ha... lame.

Anywho BBJ made me realize that I have done literally bugger all for fishing.
So after discussing this with my father we have come to the conclusion that a BC trip is in order.

Funny thing is this whole trip started cause we are heading to the Island to pick up some new Rare chickens for our flock. But that is a story in it's self.

Anywho we are planning on heading to Chilliwack... lol and was wondering are there any MUST HIT fishing spots going the way of Edmonton to Clearwater route?
I want to stop and camp at the clearwater for a night and was thinking of dropping a line.

I am looking at getting a Freshwater license and perhaps an Ocean tidal water if we head that far.

My main goal is Catch and Release and preferably salmon or anything other than walleye, pike, perch, lol

Prefer to River stream fish the interior.

Any tips info or suggestions is appreciated!

Cheers!

[Tofinofish]

PM sent Anvil

Jay

[sheephunter]

Just arrived in Cloverdale and all the rivers are pretty well blown out from high water. We are going to hit the Fraser tomorrow for sturgeon but it doesn't look promising.

[marlin1]

some pinks maybe running already , pegleg down that way may be worth a shot , good luck

[32-40win]

I'd head south from Clearwater and cut across to Hwy 97 from Little Fort via 24.
There is a fly shop on the corner. There is a pretty fair selection of lakes in there.

[greywolffan]

If you are going through clearwater watch for Cops. That area has to be the worst spot in BC for speed traps. 20 miles each side of clearwater. Nothing to do with fishin but you might save a few bucks:bad_boys_20:

[ptemomo]

You might want to fish the Vader river for Steelhead in Chilliwack!

[tacklerunner]

HWY 24 aka The Trout Highway runs from Little Fort west to 70 Mile House. You can continue on south to your destination from there. There are over 100 lakes accessible from this Hwy. The best place to go is to Wildmans Outdoor Store which is at Interlakes Corner on the hwy near Sheridan Lake. Their staff is very knowledgable. The elevation is about 1150m and these are fairly large stocked mountain lakes. The area offer trophy sized fishing for Rainbows up to 20lb, Brookies over 5lb, Lakers up to 30lb and Kokanee over 6lb. Each lake is a little differnent and has an abundance of different species.

You can rent boats from as little as $55/day including gas. Cabins from $65 per day. Fly fishing from boats is popular as well as trolling. If you are looking to get into some BC species like you said other than pike, walleye etc you can not find a better place in the world. It would take a lifetime or more to explore and fish all of the lakes on the 'trout highway'.

Fished Sheridan Lake mid June and the best fish of the trip was this 7.5 lb Rainbow caught on small size 10 bunny leach on the fly rod. PM me if you know where you are headed and I will advise you on technique and what to use as I am most familiar with the area.

http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc416/tacklerunner/Sheridan%20Lake/SheridanJune192011-75lbRainbowSteve.jpg

[gwestwood]

One of my favorite Rainbow Rivers south of Hope.Good to fish while you are in the Chilliwack area

[greylynx]

The Clearwater area has a bunch of jerks for game wardens.

They treat Albertans like xxxx and let the locals get away with anything.

An no I did not get a ticket.

And yes I made a formal complaint to their superiors in Victoria.

All I am saying is beware.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Yep, some BC folks certainly don't care much for us "Red Plates". As long as you are expecting to be treated a little differently at first, you're going to be fine. Last year way up the Kitimat River, the only person we saw was a terrific guy from Calgary. He drove up there alone and was waiting for the Steelhead run.

That being said; I have had some locals out there laugh and leave us on the side of the road, stuck in the ditch.

Remember: BC stands for "Bring Cash".

As for fishing, the Okanagan has bass and sunfish, a welcome change to our Alberta game species. It's hot and full of bikini's too!

Have fun Anvil! Take lots of pics of your adventure!!

[arabian38]

theres a great fishing hole in red deer at three mile bend and i have been crazy catching **** loads of goldeye everytime i go! i use a rapala cause they vibrate under the muddy water! also threw on a panther martin spinner the other day and caught some as well! good luck anhd if u go thru penticton the creek has wickedc rainbows on east side of city

[Jwood 456]

Wan't to get a whole bunch of pan sized trout and non stop action? Head to clear water lake in wells Gray provincial park. Use worms trolled behind a ford fender gang troll. Flatline troll the rig above 130, to 250 FOW.

[Kingfisher]

The Clearwater area has a bunch of jerks for game wardens.

They treat Albertans like xxxx and let the locals get away with anything.

An no I did not get a ticket.

And yes I made a formal complaint to their superiors in Victoria.

All I am saying is beware.

That's not always the case. I was just at Clearwater Lake in Wells Gray. Last week from the 13th to the 16th of July. I got stopped out on the lake by the F&W. They had a jet boat and approched me carefully. They asked me to bring in my lines. I did that and they came up to my side of the boat. One of them was a cute gal. She held the boat and they both asked me the routine questions. They checked one of my fly rods to see if my fly had a barb. After I showed them my license, we chatted a bit about the lake. They wished me luck and away they went. Couldn't have been nicer in my honest opinion.

Anvil the Clearwater river is open now as of the 16th of July. There are some amazing rainbows to be caught in there. But of course the water is quite high there as it is all over Western Canada. All the streams, rivers and lakes are high this year. Everything is later than usual. There are some great lakes around clearwater. Some close to town. Give me a PM if you want some suggestions.

Cheers
Rob

[Mike_W]

Not to deffer from your plan but if I was to do a river fishing trip I would take hwy 16 west to prince rupert stop and fish in various locations along the skeena and Tributaries on my way through Prince George I would hit the Fraser also.

I don't fish rivers myself but I have fished price rupert and if your gonna fish the Skeena I bet this is the prime time!!!