Kayaking the Vedder/Chilliwack River.

Just got back from 9 days in the Surrey/Chilliwack area. I originally wanted to fish the Fraser for big kings but the slot limit wasn't what I was looking for so I spent some time on the Chilliwack River. I took along my Cobra Fish -n- Dive and set out last Wednesday after fishing from the bank at the campground just SW of Chilliwack for a couple of days (caught a few kings and sockeye - released the sockeye).

On Wednesday I had the bright idea of kayaking the (lower) river from the campground down. I had spoken to Chuck at Fred's Custom Tackle and he said it wouldn't be a very good idea. With so much pressure on the fishing spots I had to find somewhere new. I left the campground around 10:30 a.m. and headed off downstream like a bat out of hell. The water was moving fast but the lack of whitewater gave me a bit more confidence.

I stopped at a couple of pullouts to determine my route as I'd never seen the river before (except on Google maps) and didn't want to get into any trouble. The water was beautiful (but high) and I was surprised at how fast it ran over the rocks. I didn't scrape the bottom at all (thankfully). There were a lot of great spots to fish but I spent too much time enjoying the scenery. I called my wife and realized that I had spent a couple of hours just getting to the halfway point (near the train bridge). I took off from there and hit a couple of more spots fishing but didn't fish as long as I would have liked. I took off only stopping to look at the map and figure which side of the river to hit which worked well almost all the way to the end of the run - almost...

The only place I couldn't see was a huge log jam on the left (south) side of the river. Initially I went left as I approached it because ss I was heading down it looked clear but as I got closer I couldn't see an exit. CRAP!!! I thought I was too far left to get to the right side of the river but a bit of determination and a whole lot of paddling in 20 seconds got me to where I needed to be. Phew! As I passed it, it almost looked like I could have gone around some of the branches and slipped out of the side of the log jam but I'm glad I didn't take that chance.

I finished the rest of the trip uneventfully and pulled the kayak out just off of the No. 3 road just out of Yarrow. My wife and father-in-law were there to pick me up soon after and I told my wife of "True's Big Adventure." She was happy I was safe even though she reminded me that I was worth more money dead than alive (darn life insurance policies).

True

Beautiful river, nice people with a great sense of humor, and a place I'll definitely visit again.

Hey True,

I've fished the Vedder/Chilliwack for the past 12 years.  I would rather fish there than most rivers in WA because I've always caught fish.  I typically fish the fall run for white kings / coho, but did sneak up there for a long weekend in Feb for steelhead.  Sounds like you had a great time. I encourage you to go back in the fall for that run. If you can get up there during the week, you'll often have the place to yourself.   I may head up this weekend to fish for a couple of days.  I'll stick to the bank though.  I see a lot of white water kayakers and white water rafting trips in the fall and winter.

Here's a white spring salmon and a hatchery steelhead I caught.

~Brad