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| Around 10% of the world's total fish species can be found just within the Great Barrier Reef. |
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| Starfish can re-grow their arms. In fact, a single arm can regenerate a whole body. |
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| Starfish do not have blood. Their blood is actually filtered sea water. |
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| Starfish don't have brains. Special cells on their skin gather information about their surroundings |
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| Not all animals with the word fish in their names count as fish. |
| Though their names may suggest otherwise, cuttlefish, starfish, and jellyfish aren’t actually fish. Generally-speaking, fishes must have skulls, gills, and fins. Surprisingly, though, not all fishes have proper spines. |
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| In three decades, the world's oceans will contain more discarded plastic than fish when measured by weight, researchers say. |
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| As of 2020, there were 34,000 known fish species around world. That’s more than the number of species in all other vertebrates: birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians combined. |
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| Just how man species of fish are there? |
| As of 2020, there were 34,000 known fish species around world. That’s more than the number of species in all other vertebrates: birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians combined. |
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| Even Catfish are finicky |
| Taste Buds ? Catfish have a more refined sense of flavor than humans. Our 10,000 taste buds may seem like a lot, but catfish can have as many as 175,000. This helps them find the exact location of their next meal. |
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| A bit of Humor |
| My brother has 2 German Shepherds named Rolex and Timex. You guessed it they are Watch Dogs. |
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From Jan 01, 1999 To Sep 22, 2025
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Feb 2, 2010; 03:25PM - IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO FISH REPORT - THE INDEPENDENT SPORTFISHING FLEET 1/28/2010
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Stan
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THE IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO FISH REPORT - THE INDEPENDENT SPORTFISHING FLEET
Captain Temo Verboonen provided a very favorable fish report for the
week that spanned a wide swath of waters throughout the Zihuatanejo
area. Most of the anglers had multiple opportunities for billfish
starting at about 2 miles from the Bay and out to about 12 miles or
so. Wyoming angler, Mark Kordus, landed and released 5 sailfish on
his first fishing day aboard the 'Bloody Hook'. The best bite was
taking place from just after sun rise and through the early A.M. and
slowing down later in the day. Along with the billfish catches were
a scattering of quality dorado in the mix, too. The inshore fishing,
especially in the area in front of Ixtapa beaches and Ixtapa Island,
were producing excellent numbers of jack cravelle that are chasing
the schools of sardines. Good results were to be had using the Mega-
Lure attached to 30 lb. fluorocarbon leaders and spinning tackle.
Also showing were some qualitty sized roosterfish to 65 bs. or so.
IZ Climate: Mostly cloudy days but warm and pleasant with temps from
69 nights to 90 daytime highs.
Sea Conditions: Light surface breezes, small swells and favorable
temps were consistent throughout the area and were holding at 81.5
degrees.
Bait Supply: Remained readily available for the area
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Feb 2, 2010; 03:23PM - Gordo Banks Panga Report Jan 31 2010
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: Eric Bricston
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Gordo Banks Pangas
San Jose del Cabo
January 31, 2010
Anglers –
The Southern Baja Californian winter time weather patterns continues to be mild and often has felt more like spring or fall rather than the heart of the winter. Days were mostly sunny and temperatures reached 80 degrees and despite variable winds, overall the ocean conditions were favorable for sport fishing anglers. Water temperatures are averaged warmer than during late January of last year, most areas are now in the 73 to 75 degree range. Clean warm water has moved in close to shore off the San Jose region and this is attracting a variety of game fish, including striped marlin, sailfish, dorado, yellowfin tuna and wahoo. It is not common to encounter all of these species at the same time of year. Perhaps it is an El Nino effect, weather patterns do seem to be warmer than average, with winds being more unpredictable. Finding baitfish has been a challenge at times, but also was worth the patience and travel time, as having the bait resulted in more options, particularly for the yellowfin tuna.
The striped marlin bite this season has not been as wide open as it was the previous few, schooling mackerel scarcer. There have been a mix of caballito, mackerel, sardineta and sardinas available most days, at times tougher to find and La Playita pangeros were having to travel as far as Vinorama in order to net supplies for the local charter fleets. Often the panga charters will troll lures early in the day, finding an occasional wahoo, dorado or yellowfin tuna while they were waiting for the carnaderos (commercial bait sellers) to meet you on the same grounds.
Not much consistent bottom fishing action being found now and inshore the sierra, roosterfish and jacks were not as reliable day to day, so the better action has been for surface species. Yellowfin tuna are being found close to shore from Punta Gorda to the Iman Bank. The yellowfin ranged from 10 to 140 pounds. Anglers used various whole baits, dead and live, as well as chunks, for spotty action, anywhere from one or two fish totals, up to over a dozen fish for others. Larger sized tuna were found associated with porpoise, as well as holding on structure, such as on the Gordo Banks.
Perhaps one of the biggest stories of this past week was the late season wahoo action that broke wide open on local fishing grounds and latest through mid week. These elusive largest members of the mackerel family are normally seeking out warmer southern currents by now, so this frenzy can be considered a winter time bonus.
Heavy boat pressure was factor to slowing down the action at times, as the news of the action spread fast , coinciding with the fact that any consistent action was hard to be found elsewhere, there were charter and private boats of all sizes congregating on relatively small hot spots. Wahoo were found in a wide range of sizes, from 10 to over 60 pounds, many boats landed one or more wahoo in their mixed catch, but some anglers had as many as a half dozen wahoo per morning while reportedly missing at least that many other chances at ‘hoo. These fish were striking on skirted chrome lead/jet heads, diving Rapalas and various dead or live baits. Many were also hooked into while casting yo yo’s to feeding wahoo. Fun action, also many lures were lost due to line splicing jaws of these speedsters.
Dorado were scattered through a wide range, striking a variety of baits and lures. Mainly traveling in smaller schools of fish averaging 5 to 15 pounds, but as normal there were always a few much larger bulls encountered.
If weather can stabilize in the coming weeks we expect similar type action will continue, though if weather patterns become more severe we might see this bonus action fade quickly. Actually, due to the strong south wind that did pick up on Wednesday afternoon the cooler Pacific currents swept in and by the weekend the water temperatures near Punta Gorda where this wahoo action had been found dropped to about 71 degrees and also became greenish, this combined with the full moon attributed to slowing the all around action down, with wahoo being off the bite and only a handful of dorado and tuna rounding out the average catches per day.
The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita/Puerto Los Cabos sent out approximately 81 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 12 striped marlin, 164 yellowfin tuna, 44 bonito, 16 amberjack, 10 cabrilla, 12 pargo (huachinango), 114 dorado, 15 roosterfish, 81 wahoo and 110 sierra.
Good Fishing, Eric
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson
Owner/Operator
800 4081199
Los Cabos 1421147
ericgordobanks@yahoo.com
www.gordobanks.com
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Jan 25, 2010; 12:01PM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
January 18-24, 2010
WEATHER: Our highs this week were in the mid 80’s and the low we experienced was 59 degrees, enough to require a light sweater in the early mornings and in the evenings. We had mostly sunny skies and some strong winds at the end of the week. We did have a bit of rain on Thursday night and during the day on Friday, but no downpours.
WATER: Water temperatures on the Pacific side of the Cape this week remained in the 73-74 degree range while well offshore 40 miles to the southwest there was an area of 76 degree water. On the Cortez side of the Cape the water was several degrees warmer at 75-76 degrees. The water on the Pacific side became very rough, almost un-fishable in the later part of the week as the southern end of the frontal system that struck the U.S. west coast came across our area bringing strong winds and rough seas. With the Cape protecting the Sea of Cortez from the strongest winds the water there was in much better shape with the seas beginning to get choppy in the early afternoon each day.
BAIT: Mackerel and Caballito were available at the normal $3 per bait.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Fishing for Striped Marlin was spotty this week, the success ratio was down as the fish were difficult to find, and once found were not in the feeding mood. This, combined with the rough seas made most of the boats try to target other species. One friend of mine did see, early in the week, several Blue Marlin and a Black Marlin feeding on a school of Dorado just off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side. He reported that the fish looked to be between 600 and 800 pounds but were focused on the schooled Dorado and would not touch what he had out, and even if they had, his #30 gear would have not been able to handle them. A few other boats reported seeing an occasional large Marlin on the Cortez side as well, but there were no reported hook-ups.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There have been some smaller school sized fish found on occasion along the ridge between the Golden Gate and the San Jaime Bank early in the week before the wind began to blow, but since then the Tuna catch has been pretty much confined to an occasional hook-up on the Gorda Banks. There was a decent bite for one day around the 1150 spot but those fish had moved on by the next day, and they were just larger than footballs anyway.
DORADO: We had some decent action on Dorado along the Cortez coastline between the Santa Maria Bay and Red Hill just off the beach. The fish averaged 12 pounds and while there were good numbers to be found early and mid-week, at the end of the week the fish had moved elsewhere. Watching the boats return Saturday afternoon there were not many yellow flags flying.
WAHOO: Still around and still biting, really amazing that boats are still getting Wahoo this time of year! There was a decent bite on fish averaging 30 pounds in the same area the Dorado were found, probably feeding on the same baitfish. While there were no big numbers, there were about two dozen caught each day. A few boats targeted them and were able to come in with two or three per trip.
INSHORE: With the strong winds and big swells almost all the action took place on the Cortez side of the Cape. The action was fair for Sierra most days but a few days the fishing really shined as when the schools were found the anglers were able to get limits on fish averaging 5 pounds fairly quickly. There was sporadic action on other near-shore species such as snapper and grouper with the action really spread out.
NOTES: Overall I have to say that we can’t refer to this past week as one when “You should have been here” as the fishing action was sporadic at best and occasionally just bad. The heavy, strong winds had a lot to do with it as about half the week the fish on the Pacific side were unreachable. Hopefully the situation will return to normal quickly. This weeks report was written to the music of the Bryan Flynn Band, once again back in Cabo and playing at the Cabo Lounge and at Tanga-Tanga. Brian will be playing at the Talketna, Alaska Folk Festival this year (how is southern rock folk music?) so if you get a chance, check him out. Until next week, tight lines!
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Jan 24, 2010; 10:22PM - Gordo Banks Pangas San Jose del Cabo
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: Eric Brictson
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Gordo Banks Pangas
San Jose del Cabo
January 23, 2010
Anglers –
As the west coast of the United States continues to be hammered by a series of back
to back powerful storms the Southern Baja California region has been enjoying warmer
than usual mild winter time conditions. There have been scattered clouds and high
temperatures are hovering around 80 degrees. Winds have been moderate, ocean
conditions have been comfortable for anglers, though the south wind is predicted to
gust up to 20 miles per hour the next couple of days. Water temperatures are
averaging 75 degrees throughout most of the area, this is several degrees higher
than normal for this time of year. Live bait has consisted mainly of caballito,
sardinas and sardineta, with mackerel being very scarce.
Billfish action slowed down, below normal for this period, charters targeting
striped marlin worked hard to catch one marlin and multiple billfish catches were
not common. It was strange that sailfish were still being hooked into on a fairly
regular basis. Casting live baits to tailing marlin was the most common method,
other boats did hook fish while drifting live baits deeper in the areas where they
had seen free jumping stripers.
Not much inshore action now, sierra and roosterfish were scattered and not numerous.
Bottom fishing was not producing consistent numbers of fish either, a few yellowtail
were starting to show in the reports, so hopefully more of these jacks will migrate
into the area and start providing a welcome option for anglers.
Yellowfin tuna were schooling on the Gordo Banks, fish ranged in size from 10
pounds to over 100 pounds. Lots of skipjack and pesky seagulls were making anglers
work that much harder to hook into the yellowfin tuna. Most strikes were coming
while drift fishing with sardinas or chunk bait from skipjack and sardineta. The
pressure also increased on these fishing grounds since this was one of the few areas
where there was a good chance at catching tuna.
Dorado were found spread out through most of the zone, being found close to shore,
as well as offshore. Striking on a wide range of baits and lures, most of these fish
were smaller schooling size fish under 15 pounds, but there were some exceptions of
fish over 25 pounds being landed.
This winter has had its share of unusually activity, among them being the
availability of nicer sized tuna on the Gordo Banks and the fact that there are
still wahoo holding in the area. The few wahoo that have been accounted for recently
have preferred striking on bait versus lures. Rigged dead baits have probably
accounted for more fish than live baits, with sardinetas being their favorite, more
wahoo were hooked mid morning after the surface of the ocean had a chance to warm
some than early in the morning when the wahoo were more in a hibernation mode.
The combined panga fleet launching from La Playita/Puerto Los Cabos sent out
approximately 58 charters for the past week, with anglers accounting for a fish
count of: 7 sailfish, 6 striped marlin, 9 wahoo, 118 dorado, 83 yellowfin tuna, 11
roosterfish, 29 sierra, 13 amberjack, 15 bonito, 10 cabrilla, 7 yellowtail and 16
pargo.
Good Fishing, Eric
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson
Owner/Operator
800 4081199
Los Cabos 1421147
ericgordobanks@yahoo.com
www.gordobanks.com
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Jan 24, 2010; 10:19PM - IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO FISH REPORT
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Stan Lushinsky
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THE IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO FISH REPORT - THE INDEPENDENT SPORTFISHING FLEET
Captain Temo Verboonen reports a much improved week for the
Zihuatanejo sport fishing fleet as the bite got better and better with
each passing day. He reported numerous sailfish being seen but still
not overly eager to bite and it was just a matter of finding the
hungry ones. Quite a few boats were reporting double strikes this
week and the overall catch numbers shot right up. The water clarity
has been very favorable this past week, and in conjunction with good,
stable sea temps, the dorado were again biting at about the 3-mile
mark, which was also a huge improvement from the last couple of
weeks. Most of the better bite has been early in the mornings with
the remainder of the day being on the slow-side, but even that has
improved over the past few days. Inshore fishing is good for smaller
fish, the sierra, jacks, needlefish, but still slow for the roosterfish.
IZ Climate: Mostly sunny & warm days with temps from 68 nights to 87
daytime highs.
Sea Conditions: Mostly calm with favorable temps at 84-85 and
excellent clarity. A pocket of warmer water is just west of Zihua
Bay and covers a small area of about 400 square milers, (20 miles X
20 miles or so).
Best fishing area: Starting at about 3 miles for dorado and working
on out from there for the sailfish.
Bait Supply: Continues to be readily available.
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Jan 18, 2010; 01:50PM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
January 11-17, 2010
WEATHER: We had great weather this week even if it was a little on the cool side for me. Our daytime highs never rose above 82 degrees where I was and I saw a low of 60 degrees on Saturday morning. We had a couple of days with blustery winds on Thursday and Friday but then it settled back down. We had mostly sunny skies with no rain for the week.
WATER: 40 miles to the southwest has been an area of warm water, 76 degrees with a solid appearing edge, but I know several boats that went to the area and could not find a really defined separation. Elsewhere on the Pacific side the water was averaging 72 degrees with swells at 3-6 feet with a decent amount of chop during our blustery days. On the Cortez side of the Cape the water was a bit warmer at 73-74 degrees and some swells from the east at 1-3 feet.
BAIT: The normal Mackerel and Caballito were on hand for $3 per biat and there were Sardinas in San Jose at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Once again there were Striped Marlin caught but not in any numbers. The most flags I saw on any one boat this week for Billfish was two, but I did talk with a captain who said that on Saturday he had released two Striped Marlin and a small Black Marlin. Both of these fish were found close to home, as were most of the billfish found this week. A few boats went to the Golden Gate and Finger Banks to check out the activity and reported that there was no bait to be found either place, but reports from boats transiting the area between Mag Bay and Cabo have reported good numbers of fish midway, so hopefully soon they will appear here.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There have been some fish in the 20-30 pound class found to the south of the San Jaime Banks this week, and there have been reports of some very nice fish occasionally appearing to the north of the Golden Gate, but they have not been biting anything offered and disappear very quickly. The smaller fish were found with the white bellied porpoise and only the first few boats on the scene have been having any luck.
DORADO: These have been the fish of the week and have saved quite a few charters this week. I am surprised that they are still around with the water as cool as it is, but most boats are still able to get a few in the fish box by the end of the day. The Dorado have been scattered and watching the frigate birds has been the best way to find them.
WAHOO: Again these fish continue to surprise us. First that there are still some out there with this cool water and second that they are still willing to bite! There were not a lot caught this week but I know of at least one that was 60 pounds or so, it was dropped into the marina while being held for photos, and then they could not find it!
INSHORE: the bite has been hit or miss on the Sierra, when you found them the bite was really good, but otherwise it might end up being just a couple of fish in the box. There are still a few small roosterfish being caught and I had a report yesterday of a couple of small yellowtail being caught up by Migraino beach. Some decent snapper and grouper are starting to show up in the fish wells also.
NOTES: Whales, cool water, great weather and good football, it’s been a nice week, now if the Striped Marlin would just show up in numbers things would be perfect! This weeks report was written to the music of Boz Scaggs on his 1994 Virgin Records release “Some Change”. Until next week, tight lines
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Jan 18, 2010; 10:56AM - Ocean Winter Chinook and Crab
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Category: Canada
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Author Name: Noel Gyger
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The photo of the week shows me with a beautiful, bright Douglas Channel Winter Chinook landed on Saturday, January 16, 2010. The fish weighed 20-pounds. I was fishing with Ron Wakita and Wes Owens. We also caught a few Dungeness Crab. Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zr0yHthttQ to watch the 6 minute video clip. More information about this trip below:
Noel Gyger - WEEKLY FISHING REPORT dated January 10 – January 17, 2010
Dear Fishing Friends:
SUMMARY: Temperatures have been above average all week, plenty warm enough to get out fishing both river and ocean. The upper end of the Zymoetz (Copper) River is closed to angling (as of December 31, 2009) to protect the “wintering over” wild Steelhead. To be clear just the upper reaches of the river are closed but one still may angle on the very low end, just make sure you fish below the boundary at the first canyon. The Kalum River is open to angling all winter although access to some pools is difficult because of the very low water and snow. The Kitimat River is open all winter and if we get some warmer weather fishing for Trout should be OK. Winter Chinook fishing in the Kitimat Harbour and Douglas Channel is good right now but is weather dependent. Winter Chinook fishing in Prince Rupert is very good. Lake ice fishing is also good. Please be very careful on the ice, with the warmer weather there may be some weak spots.
Check out the video clip from Saturday, Jan. 16th below:
I fished with Ron Wakita and Wes Owens for Winter Chinook and Dungeness Crab in the Douglas Channel on Saturday, January 16, 2010. The weather was perfect and seas were almost flat calm. We had a great day landing five Chinook and a few Crab. The biggest Chinook weighed 20-pounds. Rods and reels were Shimano. Electric downrigger and rod holders were made by Scotty www.scotty.com Crab Traps distributed by Redl Sports www.redlsports.com Ace Line Hauler www.acelinehauler.com to effortlessly pull the traps, Danielson Bait cage (basket) and a Gibbs-Delta Tool Gauge www.gibbsfishing.com to measure the Crabs. The lead core rope used to pull the traps is made by Danielson. We placed five traps and caught a few Crabs in only one set. For a direct link to the video click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zr0yHthttQ
Let's have some fun with the 2009 Photos of the Week! Send me an e-mail to vote for your favorite one. I will let you know by the end of January 2010 which photo receives the most votes. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you to the folks who have sent their votes already. KEEP THOSE VOTES COMING.
Have “YOU” entered the following draw yet?
Cast on link to view full size http://www.noelgyger.ca/articles/win-a-FREE-driftboat-fishing-trip.doc?
With the participation of some of the Best Dealers (Tackle Shops) in the Northwest I have distributed DVD players and Video clips featuring the Best Fishing in the Northwest highlighting several of the Best Guides and Charters in the Northwest using a variety of the Best Fishing Products on the Market today. The dealers that have the DVD players are: Home Hardware in Kitimat, J&E Tackle and Hunting Shop in Prince Rupert, Oscars Source for Sports in Smithers and Fish Tales Tackle Shop in Terrace. Please visit these shops to watch the shows.
LIST OF “New” ITEMS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE THIS WEEK:
- One New item posted on 'Conservation' Jan 15/10
NOW BOOKING for 2010: Let me know if I can be of service to book you with the 'best' fishing guide and/or fishing lodges for both river and ocean. There are NO extra charges to book through me, just a lot of free information and advice from a person with years and years of fishing and fish guiding experience. It is like hiring two guides for the price of one. I will promptly answer your questions and concerns. Cast here http://noelgyger.ca/special-guided.htm to read more of what I have to offer.
Don’t miss the opportunity to be guided for Steelhead on the Kalum River the last two weeks in March 2010. Season opener begins March 15th. Please contact me for details. Limited spots available!
Many people book three trips per year to our area; one trip in the spring (March-April-May), one trip in the summer (June-July-August) and one trip in the fall (September-October-November). They love having the same guide but fishing for different fish in different areas.
Be sure to check out my website at www.noelgyger.ca for news bulletins, mid week fishing updates, conservation, my history, quality waters strategy, special guided fishing trips, video clips, podcasts, scenic river photos, wildlife photos and others, comments from past guests, informational articles, archived fishing reports from 1996 through 2002 and a sportfishing market place. I hope it meets with your entire satisfaction. I am at your service.
CURRENT REPORT and summary for Skeena and Tributaries:
TYPE OF FISH CAUGHT: Steelhead, Trout and Dolly Varden Char for river. Salmon, Halibut, Bottom Fish and Dungeness Crab for ocean.
LARGEST FISH OF THE WEEK: River: none reported this week. Ocean: 20-pounder by Noel Gyger. Lake: lots of Trout being caught in lakes while ice fishing.
WEATHER: Flurries changing to rain showers this afternoon. Snowfall amount 2 to 4 cm. Becoming windy this afternoon. High plus 2. Sunrise 8:46 AM Sunset 4:44 PM. Today’s yearly average temperatures: Maximum -1 degrees. Minimum - 6 degrees.
WEATHER REPORTS VIA TELEPHONE: Terrace 250-635-4192 Kitimat 250-632-7864 Prince Rupert 250-627-1155 Smithers 250-847-1958.
SKEENA RIVER: The Skeena River is frozen over in places. The places that are not frozen are filled with flowing ice. The graph below demonstrates these ice flows have jammed and caused the river to rise. Fishing is nearly impossible under these conditions. Please be careful walking on the ice.
Skeena River height: http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/fullgraph.asp
KALUM RIVER: Since the weather has warmed up more anglers are heading out to try their luck fishing for Steelhead. Anglers are reminded of a bait ban January 1 to March 15.
ZYMOETZ (COPPER) RIVER: Sorry, I haven’t checked the water conditions today but I think they would be OK now with the warmer weather. The upper section is closed as of December 31 but the lower section below the first canyon will stay open for the winter Steelheaders to enjoy.
Fishing Report from: Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters, Kitimat BC
Cast on link below to view New! flyer: http://www.noelgyger.ca/images/Instore_Flyer_Oct_2009.pdf
KITIMAT RIVER: We received milder temperatures and some heavy rain during the early part of this week. The rain caused the Kitimat River levels to rise and by mid week the river was dirty and unfishable. The higher river levels and milder temperatures also melted and /or flushed a lot of the snow and ice on the Kitimat River and opened up the most main channels of the Kitimat River. By Thursday and Friday the rain stopped and river levels dropped. The water cleaned and is now fishable. A few Trout fishermen were able to get out and catch some Trout.
Jan 15 Mike Campbell was out fishing the upper Kitimat River and landed 2 Cutthroat Trout and lost something big that he thought might have been a Steelhead. As Mike experienced there is a small winter population of Steelhead in the Kitimat River albeit very small. It is always a welcome surprise for any Trout angler to hook a Steelhead on Trout gear.
Summary: The Kitimat River will be productive for Trout but as always, depending on the weather.
DOUGLAS CHANNEL: The weather this weekend was perfect to do some Winter Chinook fishing in the harbour, crabbing or just boating on the Douglas Channel. Many boaters who keep their boats in the water over the winter like to enjoy time on the Douglas Channel. It is also a good idea to run the boats to charge up the batteries and circulate the fluids to ensure everything is in Tip Top shape.
Jan 14 Wes Owens was out doing some Crabbing and dropped a line for a couple of hours and lost a feeder Chinook. He did manage to get 6 Crab for his friend John.
Jan 16 I had the pleasure of fishing with my good friends, Noel Gyger and Wes Owens. We had an awesome day fishing for 'Winter Chinook' in the Kitimat Harbour. Wes and I started off our fishing trip by being pleasantly surprised to receive a wonderful assortment of baking from Noel's wife, Gail. Thank you Gail, they were delicious and they may have provided the inspiration for some good fishing. We landed five Winter Chinook in total but we released one.
The first two Chinook were landed using Gibbs UV Green Strip Highliner Flasher and a purple True Roll. This has been the bright star of our Winter Chinook fishing so far.
The next 3 Chinook were landed on Wes' favorite rig. It includes a Luhr Jensen Abe and Al #1 Flasher with an Anchovy in a Rhys Davis metallic blue/green Anchovy Teaser head. Noel landed a beautiful 20lb Winter Chinook on one of these rigs. Congratulations Noel. The Crabbing was slow although we did catch a few for Noel to take home to Gail who enjoys Dungeness Crab.
It was a great day fishing with Wes and Noel, we caught a few Winter Chinook, told a few fishing stories, ate some of Gail’s delicious baked goods and caught some Dungeness Crab. Thanks for the wonderful memories Noel and Wes.
Jan 12 Ariel Kuppers went fishing up to Ross Lake with his girlfriend Nicolette, his sister Emma and his buddy Travis. They hooked a few Brook Trout but only managed to land two. 'One was 3lbs' said Ariel. 'The other was smaller but we had quite the adventure to get two Trout'.
Thanks to everyone for providing pictures and info for this report.
Good Health and Good Fishing!
Sincerely
Ron
PS: Reliable Guide and Charters is also booking for the 2010 season. Any interested Anglers please contact Noel Gyger noel@noelgyger.ca
Fishing Report from: Chad Black of Nicholas Dean Lodge, Terrace BC
Starting in January and building through March, fresh Steelhead like this mint bright hen enter the Skeena River and its tributaries. These fish are amongst the largest of the year and with warming water temperatures can be incredible fighters...
Hello Anglers, First off, I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year and hope that you had an enjoyable holiday season this year with your family and friends!
You know, I've been told by a few people that I might have chosen the worst couple of years to pick up and move to northwest BC, at least by Winter Steelhead fishing standards. Both this Winter 2010 and the Winter of 2009 have certainly been challenging in the sense that fishing conditions have been less than ideal. Starting in mid-November this past year, the weather was, for lack of a better phrase, just plain bad. Very cold (down to -20C was common) temperatures, and winds consistently in the gale force range are two very tough opponents when trying to spend quality time on the river, and a few fishing buddies have said that this lasted all through the holidays.
So, upon my arrival back in Skeena Steelhead country late last week, instead of finding the Kalum, Copper and Skeena Rivers in fishable shape, I unfortunately found the opposite: rivers mostly frozen over and little in the way of fishing opportunity. Or, so I thought. I'd based my observations on driving over the local bridges, and hadn't gone that extra step at checking in at my favourite pools. Jeff Langley and Sky Richard had, and said that the rivers were very much fishable if you did some hiking, though there were still sections frozen over. Apparently Sky has done quite well trout fishing on a few rivers in the area and had managed to land a few Steelhead as well. I suppose the moral of the story is always do your 'due diligence...'
For the past few days, I'm happy to report that temperatures have risen and steady rains have helped to melt shelf ice and open up our best Winter Steelhead fisheries. With rivers on the rise and the fact that there is generally a strong push of Winter Steelhead into the Lower Skeena and its tributaries at this time of year, I'm optimistic for my chances on the weekend...
With the start of the new year underway, and to help give our readers information and direction on the best techniques, tackle and presentations when targeting Salmon and Steelhead on the Skeena and its tributaries, I've also decided to add a new section to our fishing reports, titled: 'Skeena River Fishing Tips.' Whether you're a spey caster who loves swinging large Intruder flies for Steelhead or a trophy Chinook angler after the leviathans of the deep, there will be something for you to enjoy which just might help you land that next big fish you've been dreaming about. This week's tip is on the Hawaiian Punch fly, a popular and venerable pattern that has helped our guides and guests get into many, many Steelhead and Salmon here on the Skeena.
All the best for a successful and enjoyable year ahead and, as always,
Tight lines and screaming reels. Chad Black, Operations Manager
Fishing Report from: J & E Tackle Shop, Prince Rupert BC
Ray Hascarl and his son Dylan holding a 74lb. Chinook Salmon caught 30th of June out off the north end of Dundas Island.
The high winds and pounding rain continuing to be a problem for the majority of the winter anglers. For the few hard core fishermen that do take to the water, they are on the most part still being rewarded for their efforts. There has been a number of Winter Chinook reported being caught off the waters of Port Simpson ranging in size from 5 to 25lbs.
Ray and his son Dylan are long time friends of mine which have been coming to Prince Rupert from their hometown of Nakusp BC. for the past 6 to 7 years. They always stop in to J & E’s Tackle to gear up and get the latest up to date fishing report before heading out on the water. Here is their story of the BIG ONE that didn’t get away.
We caught it around 7:15pm and were one of the last boats on the water that evening so we had lots of room to fight it. We fought it for about 40 minutes with me on the rod, my son Dylan running the boat and brother Dean doing the netting. Once it was in the net I reached down and grabbed the gill plates and steered the head of the fish into the side of the boat as it was trying to swim through the net. It thrashed around for about a minute straight before I could pull it over the side. One note is we fished from 4:30 that morning all day while only catching one other fish around 5 lbs. It would have been my worst days ever fishing the ocean and then I caught the big one and made it one of the best days ever. We were supposed to be in at Dundas 101 at 6pm to eat dinner but my watch quit working that day so I was using my cell phone and the time on it was 1 hour behind because of Alaska time. Had my watch not quit, we would have been at supper and not even fishing when I caught it. Funny how things work out.
Just a reminder to all those Halibut sport fishermen that the month of January is closed to Halibut fishing.
J & E’s Tackle January 1st – 31st 2010 Sale
MUCK BOOTS
http://www.muckbootcompany.com
RIVERS WEST CLOTHING
http://www.riverswest.com
PENN FISHING TACKLE
http://www.pennfishingstore.com/penn-gt-ugly-stik-combos.html
To book your charter for Winter Chinook please contact Jeff Carlson of BC STYLE Fishing Charters www.bcstylefishingcharters.com
Prince Rupert Weather: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cabc0236
Prince Rupert Tide Charts:
http://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/cgi-bin/tide-shc.cgi?queryType=showFrameset&zone=18&language=english®ion=1&stnnum=9354
Thanks. Jeff Carlson – owner
Fishing Report from: Fish Tales Tackle Shop, Terrace BC
Good Day Noel! Well, Jack Frost has loosened his grip on us. The warmer weather has put the anglers in the mood. There are a few Steelhead being caught but as reported to me “You have to put the work in”. There also has been some reports of good trout fishing on the Kitimat. Sorry Noel, no monsters to report this week! Been pretty quiet. Have a super day!
Cheers, Jason Munday
Everyone is invited to check out our New! instore flyer http://www.noelgyger.ca/ads/fish-tales-instore-flyer.pdf Out of town orders are always welcome. Come in for a coffee
Fishing Report from: Cory Koenig of Webflyz, Smithers BC
Cory is taking custom fly orders now www.webflyz.com
Highest Quality, Durable, and Competitively Priced Flies for any Species!
Hi Noel, here is what you asked for, not much fishing 'round here, but there is still die-hards!
This warm weather reminds a person in the Bulkley Valley of SPRING in January! All roads leading to any lake are very icy, and caution is to be taken for all your fishing trips in January.
Ice fishing is still your best bet, emphasis is on the lakes close to Smithers and Houston. Chapman, Babine, Fulton Lakes are great for Char up to 12 lbs. Ross, Call, Barrett, Klinger Lakes all support Rainbows, Brookies, or both up to 8lbs, with an average of 1-2lbs. The staff at Oscars Source for Sports reported that this week many anglers had really good success at Klinger Lake for brook trout. Irrigation, Johnson, Helen and Lake Kathlyn support CUTTHROAT TROUT and some CUTTBOWS up to 3 lbs.
There are some larger, older Char in the lakes in the rear of Houston B.C. at the top of the Fraser River watershed, close to Francios Lake, but a full day is needed. Gummy Minnows are a hit, used for any species, any time of year. Use sizes #6 to #1 for trout, and #4/0 for large lakers.
Meat and tater flies are still the conehead black and olive leeches, pheasant tail nymphs, and flash helps for these flies, as the lakes are most often dark!
Lyman lures www.lymanlures.com are a hit for any fishing, and Pink Deadly Dicks have brought many large trout to the ice over the years.
The use of the moon phases may help you, fish the 26th to the 29th of January for some of the better times to catch fish this month.
Any of these flies can be custom made for your specific fishing situation. Contact Cory at WEBFLYZ B.C. www.webflyz.com for more ice-fishing flies that work.
Check newly added fly photos weekly…or if you are planning a trip to hotter destinations this winter, check out WEBFLYZ B.C. website for flies that catch any species in the saltwater, even Marlin!
Check your 2009-2011 Freshwater fishing Regulations synopsis for all details concerning Lakes in Region 6.
Good luck everyone. Yours sincerely, Cory Koenig
PRODUCT PROFILE Normark – Rapala www.rapala.ca
Go to Rapala for ALL your ice fishing needs
http://www.rapala.ca/products/icefishing
Swede-Bore Brace Rapala IRC35 Cortland Specialty
& Bit Ice Drill Series Ice Lines
Rapala is distributed by Redl Sports Distributors www.redlsports.com and these fine products are available at these Best Dealers in the North West, City Centre Hardware and Sporting Goods in Kitimat, J and E's Tackle in Prince Rupert, Oscars Source for Sports in Smithers and Fish Tales in Terrace.
For ALL your ice fishing needs please click on the Rapala link www.rapala.ca for more selection and information.
AREA RIVER RECORDS: Chinook Salmon: Skeena River, 92.5-pounds; Kalum River, 85-pounds; Kitimat River, 74-pounds; Steelhead: Skeena River, 45-pounds; Coho Salmon: Skeena River, 27-pounds.
GUEST FISHING PHOTOS:
*** If any of you have special fishing photos, testimonials, scenic river photos, wildlife photos or articles I would love to see them.
Catch & Release formula:
- Chinook: girth squared x length x 1.54 divided by 1000 (inches)
- Steelhead: girth squared x length x 1.33 divided by 1000 (inches
Fiberglass fish reproductions:
This 42 x 23.5 inch Steelhead was estimated to weigh 30-pounds. There are many sizes and positions available, and pretty much any species. Call Carey Braun anytime at 250-639-3769 and he will be happy to build one for you. Yes, that’s Carey in the photo. Place your order NOW
WIN a FREE one day DRIFT BOAT FISHING TRIP down the Kitimat River for three people by signing-up your friends, family and fishing partners for my WEEKLY FISHING REPORT. This trip is supplied by Reliable Guide and Charters and is for the 2010 season. The LUCKY WINNER will be drawn on April 30, 2010. Cast to this link to open a form showing how to enter names. Send the completed form via e-mail or postal mail. When I receive it I will reply confirming your name is entered into the draw - GOOD LUCK
To receive my WEEKLY FISHING REPORT and PHOTO via e-mail please send your name and e-mail address to: Noel Gyger noel@noelgyger.ca
GOOD LUCK and GOOD FISHING!
Yours sincerely,
Noel F. Gyger
Home page: www.noelgyger.ca
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Jan 11, 2010; 01:32PM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
January 4-10, 2010
WEATHER: It seems as if we have settled into the winter weather fairly well as for the past month we have been consistently in the low 60’s at night and the mid 80’s during the day. This past week had us happy with mostly sunny skies and light winds.
WATER: There were no large swells this week; everywhere you went it was an average of 2-3 feet on the Pacific and 1-3 feet on the Cortez side. Along the beach on the Pacific side it was an average of 77 degrees with an occasional spot of 76-degree water. On the Cortez side it was a little cooler with a cool area from just to the north of Cabo all the way up to San Jose where the water was 76 degrees.
BAIT: Caballito were still the most common bait available but there were a few Mackerel to be found, all at the normal $3 per bait. There were Sardinas up in the Palmilla area at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: I heard of a Black Marlin in the #450 range being caught at the very beginning of the week between the 95 spot and the 1150 area but the larger Marlin were few and far between. As the water continues to cool I expect the numbers to reduce even further, but as long as there are large baits in the area there is a chance at a Blue or Black Marlin. The bite on the Striped Marlin has been very sporadic this week as one day the bite is on and the next day it is off. The favorite and best producing area continues to be from the lighthouse on the Pacific side to the lighthouse on the Cortez side. Boats that have been drifting with baits deep have had most of the luck, as it seem the fish are feeding deep. Fish on the troll have been caught, but not in the numbers as on deep drifted live bait. The expected action at the Finger and Golden Gate Banks has yet to happen, and it may be a while before it does.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Yellowfin fishing this week was a repeat of last week. Football fish were the fish most often caught but there were a few boats that got into fish in the 30-40 pound range. All Yellowfin were few and far between this week but the Pacific side between the Golden Gate and the San Jaime Bank seemed to produce more than other areas, at least areas that were reachable by the day charters. The Gorda Banks were reported to continue to produce an occasional larger fish, up to 100 pounds, but it was a scratch fishery, nothing steady.
DORADO: Our wide open bite on Dorado stopped at the beginning of the week before last and i9t has not gotten any better since then. The cooling waters have had a lot to do with this and I don’t expect the bite to get much better unless you are able to find something floating that has been in the water a long time. Most boats were happy to get several Dorado and a few were lucky to get a half-dozen or so during a trip. We had fly fishermen this week who caught a few on the fly every day after hooking one on the troll, casting to following fish resulted in some nice fish in the 10-18 pound class. Most of this action occurred just up the beach on the Pacific side.
WAHOO: There were a couple of days this past week when I heard of boats getting one or two fish a day, most of them coming from the area of Gray Rock, and they were biting regular Marlin lures, or getting hooked on drifted live bait. Other than those two days, there were few Wahoo in our area. I heard of reports of decent catches from the San Jose area though, with some fish on the Gorda Banks and others around the Punta Gorda area.
INSHORE: The Sierra bite picked up, but you had to go a ways up the Pacific coast to get into the numbers. From Migraino and to the north the numbers were good with limits happening on a regular basis. There were reports of some small Roosterfish, but the water is starting to cool down and the action on the bigger fish is cooling as well.
NOTES: The fishing is still not great, but it has improved over the first week of the year, and hopefully this is a trend that will continue. The whales are giving a good show every day; the weather is great, even if it is cool enough for a sweater in the evening. This weeks report was written to the music of Ernest Ranglin from his album “Grooving”. Until next week, tight lines!
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Jan 7, 2010; 06:41PM - Lake Toho Bass Fishing
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Category: Florida
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Author Name: Capt Tim Fey
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Lake Toho Bass Fishing
The end of December proved to be yet another good week of bass fishing on Lake Toho.
Southern end of the lake is still producing some good numbers for us. Live bait has been a big key to catching bass on a consitant basis but the artificial bite is was still producing some good catches.
Most of our time had been spent targeting reeds and scattered patches of lily pads with some pretty good success.
Yushi and his son Atsushi had one awesome day out here, not only catching some good numbers, but also some quality bass at a steady pace. Water temperatures were running right around 59 degrees which did have the bass somewhat scattered, but as long as we were within casting range of the reeds and pads with our shiners, the bass played pretty good.
With the artificial baits, Gitem K.O's wacky rigged and twin Liz was the definate way to go. Altho the bite with artificials was more of a light tap and not the wanted aggressive hit, allowing the bass to swim a few extra seconds with your bait was the trick. Keeping track of every cast you made was needed, as these bass would lightly grab the bait and slowly swim away from cover to deeper waters, several times clients have made casts, and did not feel a thing until their bait was within feet of the boat. This is not uncommon, especially when the waters get cold like this.
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Jan 5, 2010; 04:52PM - Red Devils are back
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Category: Fly Fishing
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Author Name: Stan Wright
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On Saturday we had a great day of fishing... nothing in the way of catching to talk about.... but the company, and being out on the water was great. Landed lots of 'fingerlings'. Mostly in the 5 and 6 inch size. Randall refused to let me take his picture with his peacock bass.
Finally started seeing Red Devils. Every time you cast at them they scattered in fright. They were located in huge schools along the north fork.... mostly in brush piles warmed by bright sunshine. Water visibility was 3 or 4 feet and they were usually down 3 feet or deeper. We caught 5 or 6 Red Devils for every 100 we cast at. On Sunday the wind was up and the water temperature down. Clouds made it hard to see the schools of red devils. (we gave up on trying to catch any peacock bass) Water temperature was 75/76 degrees (cold)
As the water warms up the tropical fish should get a lot more active.
Aloha,
Stan
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