Harrison River float - Oct 6th, 2012 Trip Report

As posted on my blog.

As fall descends on the Lower Mainland of BC the rivers quickly fill with migrating salmon.  We are accustomed to wet Spring and Fall seasons in this area of the province, but this year summer is not wanting to let go.  Maybe Mother Nature decided to give us a break since Spring never seemed to end around here?  The amount of rainfall we have had around the Vancouver area over the past couple of months has been almost nothing.  Salmon have been stacking up around the mouth of the Fraser River patiently waiting for the rains to come so that they can continue their journey home.  Unfortunately those rains seem to be on a permanent vacation.



That said, the fish can only hold off the urge to migrate up river for so long and many of the large rivers in our area are full of fish now.  One of my favourite rivers in this area is the Harrison River.  I know that there may be more productive areas to fish right now, but there are two things that draw me to this river.  One is the scenery, and the other is the fact that I am not fighting for a position to fish.  Most of the Harrison is only accessible by boat and it’s a kayakers dream.  I have anxiously awaited the arrival of fish into the Harrison system so that I could get out on my kayak to do some fishing.  As reports started coming in from local shops that Chum were on the move, I thought there was no better time to see if I could get a group together and head out.

Being Thanksgiving weekend, I wasn’t sure how successful my attempt to gather a group together would be.  I found out that one of the advantages of Social Media and technology is that it’s not that hard to get a group of obsessed fisherman together with a Facebook post and a couple of texts.  The plan was to launch at Kilby Park below the Hwy 7 bridge and then float down towards the mouth of the river to search for fresh fish.  We agreed that there was no need to be on the river for first light if we were targeting Chum so we decided on a reasonable time.  After a bunch of gear talk and comparing anchor setups, four of us hit the water.  There were definitely fish on the move as the water just off the beach was alive with migrating Chum.





It didn’t take long for Rodney (Yakangler) to hook up while trolling down river.  To his surprise a nice chrome Coho came up towards his boat and did the Coho shuffle on the surface while spitting the hook.  From excitement to disappointment all in a couple of minutes.  After that we all had a dry spell and decided to fish around the mouth of the river where the Harrison empties into the Fraser.  Frustration was now starting to set in a bit because we just couldn’t get a bite.  We threw out every piece of gear we had for Chum with no results.  David and Frank decided to paddle back up river to try their luck.  When I caught up to them sometime later they had good news.  One Coho lost near the boat and a bunch of bites.  Of course I immediately asked the questions of what lure, what depth, and what speed retrieve?  Everything they told me had Coho written all over it, so I decided to make the changes and forget about filling the smoker with Chum.  Within the next half hour or so I had finally had a hit, and Frank landed his first hatchery Coho on a kayak.  Perfect size for the barbecue, although I didn’t get the invitation?  Last time I lend Frank a kayak!



As the day started to fade away Frank and David decided to make their way back home.  Rodney and I thought that the lack of salmon success meant only one thing.  We were supposed to be fishing for Sturgeon!!!  After a quick trip in to shore to change up the gear we were off like a a couple of kids kicking and paddling to our hunting grounds.  A quick “secret” bait setup lesson from Rodney and we were ready.  Unfortunately darkness was coming quickly and our Sturgeon dreams were fading along with the daylight.  We decided that we would call it a day.  Although it wasn’t one of my most productive fishing days, I can say it was one of the best days I have had fishing the Harrison.  Fishing with people that share your enthusiasm for the sport and respect for the resources we have is great.  Even though we didn’t end the day with loads of fish stories we had only one wish; that we could do this every day.

The good news is that plans are in the works for another float down the river starting at Harrison lake with an overnight stop or two.  Fingers crossed it pans out.

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Nice story and photos,FW. Do you fish Lake Chilliwack? Camped there a few years back...beautiful spot...been wanting to return !

Looks like a beauty day, FW. My wife and her family are talking of doing a weekend at Harrison hot springs in November . Would there still be salmon in the river then do you think?
T2

  nice reportin style ...great reading and fantastic pics ...thanks for sharing
....hope to join you guys someday ...

keep up the good work

billy - I so love that Avatar!

Nice story and photos,FW. Do you fish Lake Chilliwack? Camped there a few years back...beautiful spot...been wanting to return !

I fished Chilliwack Lake for the first time a month ago with my daughter.  It is absolutely beautiful.  The water is so clear.  We went with some light spinning gear and my daughter caught one small trout.  I heard there are big Dollies in that lake but they are deep. It is on my radar to target next season for sure.

Looks like a beauty day, FW. My wife and her family are talking of doing a weekend at Harrison hot springs in November . Would there still be salmon in the river then do you think?
T2

Hey TS November is still pretty good on the Harrison depending on when you go.  There can be a lot of garbage swimming around too though.  Typically the Coho run in the Harrison peaks around the end of October and continues through mid November.  There area a lot of Chum in the system now and they will get pretty ugly fast.  I am hoping to do an overnight trip down the Harrison towards the end of October.  You can launch in Harrison lake and float down to Kilby Park and fish a lot of nice water along the way.  If you have someone able to pick you up then it would be a great run.  Let me know if you come over and maybe we could arrange a float down together.  Morris Slough is a great Coho holding spot.

billy - I so love that Avatar!

In full agreement with you YakTrap.  Well done Billy.

Billy if you are in Vancouver then you should get in touch.  We are building quite a group of us now that head out.  I created a Facebook group called Kayak Anglers of British Columbia for those of us that use Facebook.  It 's a growing group of 26 of us now and it seems to be a bit easier to get float invites out there.  It should be open to join but if you have an issue then let me know and I will send invites.

Update – Harrison River Take 2

On Monday I thought I would head back out again to see if I couldn’t hook up with one of those Coho myself.  David joined me again along with a good friend Andreas. No Coho were caught that day but I did manage to hook into a couple of Northern Pike Minnow at least.



Andreas hooked into a few large Chum.  One that he accidentally hooked by the tail put his light weight spinning rod to the test.  I hadn’t seen a rod bend like that for a long time.


A running Chum puts a light weight rod to the test.


 

Can’t wait to get back again.

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