Slaying Fraser Run Sockeye Saltwater

[Brandonkop]

Thought Id post this here to let you guys know of the great fishing going on right now out of Vancouver off the mouth of the fraser river.

Well after being out on the Salt Friday and having a good day the wife decided Saturday was a good day to Deliver so 5:30 Am contractions start, get to the hospital at 7 AM and baby out by 7:16 am. Fastest limit for us yet… haha. Discharged 12 hours later to home. Yahoo!

My brother and dad were here for the weekend so got in a baby visit plus we decided to go out yesterday off the South Arm of the Fraser. They had never fished for sockeye before and thought it would be a great once in a four year lifetime opportunity.

Left the house around 6 am and out on the water around 730 fishing. To tell you the truth the first couple hours were the slowest part of our day. We would see the odd fish caught as we zig zagged our way through boats and out to deeper water. Then my 20 year old brother fell asleep and the deep rod released and line was pulling. I grabbed the rod and he quickly woke up, took the rod from me and after a fight we had our first fish on the boat. We circled around there and picked up a couple of more pretty quick. Then tides were changing and some really heavy weed lines on the rips were forming and we notice when we got close we either got weeds on our lines or sockeye. So then we just started trolling along this rip line. Then it came to a Y in the rip and right in the corner the fish were stacked like crazy. Every time we went through there we got a single or double header and quickly closed our limit of 12 and had lost another 6 or so. No crazy triple or quads today so took a little longer but was fun. We were running a little deeper today with balls as 77 and 70, two dummy flashers on each, lines at 67, 59, 60, 52. Even went down to 80 feet for a couple fish. All fish were caught trolling about 1.5 to 2.3 mph. I care more about the angle of the line. Like most guys say under 30 degrees for sox has been working for me. We were out in 45o feet of water when we found that good school and caught all our fish over 400 feet deep to the north off Sandhead light. We were using blue, chartreuse and green flashers with red, glow, uv and flash tape on them. All seem to work equally well. One key we seemed to notice was we add Mikes Krill Scent and at one point one side was getting all the action with two blue flashers. We were re scenting every time so we pulled up the other side and put fresh scent on. Then it was game on for both sides after that. So little details may sometimes pay off when the bite is a little tougher. Leader lengths were 22 to 26 inch. I usually put different lengths on all at once. Most fish on the custom googly eyed wild things I made or Pink hootchies.


Anyways my buddy had invited me out for Tuesday with him so might be back out there then!
IMG_5301 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5338 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5357 by Brandon Koperski, on FlickrIMG_5376 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5378 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5377 by Brandon Koperski, on
IMG_5382 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5384 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5414 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5418 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5420 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5427 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5428 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5435 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr

[Brandonkop]

IMG_5439 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5453 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr
IMG_5543 by Brandon Koperski, on Flickr

[dodger]

Great thread !! Thanks.

Dodger

[58thecat]

Got a few shinny things on your front lawn

Nice pics!

[Marty S]

Salmon rock!!!

Even friggen pinks!!!

But you better go jump in a river and do some sockeye on an 8 weight! Definitely entertaining! I love river sockeye. Never went after sockeye in the salt tho.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Marty S

Salmon rock!!!

Even friggen pinks!!!

But you better go jump in a river and do some sockeye on an 8 weight! Definitely entertaining! I love river sockeye. Never went after sockeye in the salt tho.

Was in the Chilliwack area after sturgeon and man oh man people camping on sandbars, shores littered with people as if they were standing in line at Tim hortans....what a cluster of googans.....would have to get away from population to enjoy the fishing. Even saw a helicopter land on a sand/gravel bar and a fella get out to fish
Wish I would have seen a fish cop in a boat just randomly cruising around checking anglers but spent two full days and saw not a one...

[marky_mark]

Fish cops were in the helicopter with the floats that was flying around

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Marty S

Salmon rock!!!

Even friggen pinks!!!

But you better go jump in a river and do some sockeye on an 8 weight! Definitely entertaining! I love river sockeye. Never went after sockeye in the salt tho.

Hey Marty, I agree on both. Pinks are my 2nd favorite for flavor after chinook. I've had heard so much about sockeye being the tops with lots of fat but I've tried a decent amount, all from rivers but fresh and silver, and have not been impressed. And yes, river fishing sockeye is such fun on an 8 wt. I used a 9 foot 10 wt and that was nothing but awesome as well.

Brandon, nice catch there
If you don't mind, could you post back on how they tasted and what you thought?

[Scott h]

Thanks for the great write up and excellent pics ! Kinda make me miss living on the coast. Sounds like the sockeye run ended up better than they were projecting.
Congrats on the new little fishing buddy!

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

Fish cops were in the helicopter with the floats that was flying around

Didn't see that one, the one I saw was red, no floats, on a gravel bar. Rich mans toy....

[marlin1]

very nice , looks like a good run this year . Any idea when the season runs until?

[Brandonkop]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Hey Marty, I agree on both. Pinks are my 2nd favorite for flavor after chinook. I've had heard so much about sockeye being the tops with lots of fat but I've tried a decent amount, all from rivers but fresh and silver, and have not been impressed. And yes, river fishing sockeye is such fun on an 8 wt. I used a 9 foot 10 wt and that was nothing but awesome as well.

Brandon, nice catch there
If you don't mind, could you post back on how they tasted and what you thought?

I love sockeye. I prefer it to all the other salmon. I think my taste buds are programmed different than yours though. For me I'd probably rank them Sockeye -> Chinook -> Coho and i don't really eat pinks and chum. Not really a fan of them.

Fishing on the salt is way better than the Gong show on the river. They're all just flossing sockeye anyways since they don't bite in the river. The river fishery closed and the last day was Tuesday. I went for my first time down to the river after work on Tuesday just to see what it was about and bounce a ball. Not my cup of tea at all. I'm not into involuntary snagging of fish when I can actually catch them out on the saltwater and way fresher fish then the ones I was seeing caught.

For now the Ocean fishery remains open but guys are guessing DFO will close it any day since they already shut the river down since no longer able to sustain a fishery. Guys are still getting limits out on the ocean. Just not as many people out there as you find on the river.

The river gong show really turned me off. I won't be doing that again.

Apparently they projected 13 million and now they corrected their forecast to more like 7 million fish because it doesn't seem the late summer run is as good as the early and mid summer run.

Here's an underwater video I got sockeye fishing

https://youtu.be/Qm87V6d4SuU

[Marty S]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Hey Marty, I agree on both. Pinks are my 2nd favorite for flavor after chinook. I've had heard so much about sockeye being the tops with lots of fat but I've tried a decent amount, all from rivers but fresh and silver, and have not been impressed. And yes, river fishing sockeye is such fun on an 8 wt. I used a 9 foot 10 wt and that was nothing but awesome as well.

Brandon, nice catch there
If you don't mind, could you post back on how they tasted and what you thought?

Salmon fact... if you didn't enjoy salmon of any type, you forgot the bowl of hot salted dunking butter!!! Now the best of salmon, those with a good heavy dose of salmon oil don't need much, but anything lean and/or overlooked? Bring in the butter.

One can get hungry eating dungeness and snow crab! But if you eat up some salmon just like you eat crab... Well just plain old yum! And you actually get full!

Yup, even good ole chum! Way better than eating all this rough fish from the southern prairie with its hot algae water. No don't eat the rotten ones that have been laying in the river for two weeks, but def do save the fresh chum that are packing the sea lice. Sea lice mean the fish are ocean fresh, even if they are coloured up and not brite silver. Again, the nice 20 lb+ size are the ones packing the oil. You don't have to smoke chum to eat them, but if you eat any salmon hot out of the smoker?? Oh my!

My most favourite sockeye are the big ones. The bigger they are the more oil they are packing, the merrier! Yum! Beater sockeye? Like as in little bitty beater size. Lean but the lethal dose of butter fixes all. Yup visit a Hutterite colony and get to know the milk guy who controls the butter freezer!

Best part of the fish tho is the bellies, causes your fish to be succulent during cooking. I'm very unhappy when I see the processors trimming the bellies off my fish and hucking them in their ($$$$$$) oil recovery bucket. Now the bad part of the belly, it is the first part of the fillet to start tasting old in the freezer, but leave mine on please. If a little discoloured when I cook, then I'll do the trim.

And then them goofy pinks! Some of the best salmon I have eaten were in fact pinks! But they were mostly taken in salt water and cut and flash frozen very shortly after killing. Like let's kill a few pinks in the last hour of the trip to top up our quota and they get filleted in an hour or two and flash froze immediately. They can't sit in a cooler for a day and might as well have a heavy dose of ice. Any pink that's been in the river any length of time? Yuck. Same goes for pinks laying in the cooler for a day plus before dealing with them, maybe not yuck, still much better than algae fish!

Ok, that's the end of my salmon eating gluttonry rant.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Brandonkop

I love sockeye. I prefer it to all the other salmon. I think my taste buds are programmed different than yours though. For me I'd probably rank them Sockeye -> Chinook -> Coho and i don't really eat pinks and chum. Not really a fan of them.

Fishing on the salt is way better than the Gong show on the river. They're all just flossing sockeye anyways since they don't bite in the river. The river fishery closed and the last day was Tuesday. I went for my first time down to the river after work on Tuesday just to see what it was about and bounce a ball. Not my cup of tea at all. I'm not into involuntary snagging of fish when I can actually catch them out on the saltwater and way fresher fish then the ones I was seeing caught.

For now the Ocean fishery remains open but guys are guessing DFO will close it any day since they already shut the river down since no longer able to sustain a fishery. Guys are still getting limits out on the ocean. Just not as many people out there as you find on the river.

The river gong show really turned me off. I won't be doing that again.

Apparently they projected 13 million and now they corrected their forecast to more like 7 million fish because it doesn't seem the late summer run is as good as the early and mid summer run.

Here's an underwater video I got sockeye fishing

https://youtu.be/Qm87V6d4SuU

I think that would be fun catching them on the ocean and likely makes a difference flavor wise. Good video! Takes a bit for the eyes to adjust at what you are seeing but very cool to see the sockeye keep trying and then get hooked up
Thanks for that.

I hear you on snagging. There are areas in Alaska were the locals can do that (I think) plus dip netting. Not my cup of tea either. I definitely understand why you would prefer ocean fishing versus river fishing.

That said, give the river another thought. There are plenty of spots around Terrace that offer the opportunity to experience solitude and fantastic river fishing. It is a pleasure to put all the gear away and get into simple fly casting for turbo charged salmon...with decent current. It is a blast!

All mine have been caught in the lips. I watched in Alaska as a big female chased my fly up in the water column and grabbed it. So not all sockeye seem to have the final death wish and egg release on their minds

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Marty S

Salmon fact... if you didn't enjoy salmon of any type, you forgot the bowl of hot salted dunking butter!!! Now the best of salmon, those with a good heavy dose of salmon oil don't need much, but anything lean and/or overlooked? Bring in the butter.

One can get hungry eating dungeness and snow crab! But if you eat up some salmon just like you eat crab... Well just plain old yum! And you actually get full!

Yup, even good ole chum! Way better than eating all this rough fish from the southern prairie with its hot algae water. No don't eat the rotten ones that have been laying in the river for two weeks, but def do save the fresh chum that are packing the sea lice. Sea lice mean the fish are ocean fresh, even if they are coloured up and not brite silver. Again, the nice 20 lb+ size are the ones packing the oil. You don't have to smoke chum to eat them, but if you eat any salmon hot out of the smoker?? Oh my!

My most favourite sockeye are the big ones. The bigger they are the more oil they are packing, the merrier! Yum! Beater sockeye? Like as in little bitty beater size. Lean but the lethal dose of butter fixes all. Yup visit a Hutterite colony and get to know the milk guy who controls the butter freezer!

Best part of the fish tho is the bellies, causes your fish to be succulent during cooking. I'm very unhappy when I see the processors trimming the bellies off my fish and hucking them in their ($$$$$$) oil recovery bucket. Now the bad part of the belly, it is the first part of the fillet to start tasting old in the freezer, but leave mine on please. If a little discoloured when I cook, then I'll do the trim.

And then them goofy pinks! Some of the best salmon I have eaten were in fact pinks! But they were mostly taken in salt water and cut and flash frozen very shortly after killing. Like let's kill a few pinks in the last hour of the trip to top up our quota and they get filleted in an hour or two and flash froze immediately. They can't sit in a cooler for a day and might as well have a heavy dose of ice. Any pink that's been in the river any length of time? Yuck. Same goes for pinks laying in the cooler for a day plus before dealing with them, maybe not yuck, still much better than algae fish!

Ok, that's the end of my salmon eating gluttonry rant.

All makes good sense to me. Agreed on the belly portion and that it is the first to go due to fat content. Thanks for the great info.

[Brandonkop]

Originally Posted by Marty S

Salmon fact... if you didn't enjoy salmon of any type, you forgot the bowl of hot salted dunking butter!!! Now the best of salmon, those with a good heavy dose of salmon oil don't need much, but anything lean and/or overlooked? Bring in the butter.

One can get hungry eating dungeness and snow crab! But if you eat up some salmon just like you eat crab... Well just plain old yum! And you actually get full!

Yup, even good ole chum! Way better than eating all this rough fish from the southern prairie with its hot algae water. No don't eat the rotten ones that have been laying in the river for two weeks, but def do save the fresh chum that are packing the sea lice. Sea lice mean the fish are ocean fresh, even if they are coloured up and not brite silver. Again, the nice 20 lb+ size are the ones packing the oil. You don't have to smoke chum to eat them, but if you eat any salmon hot out of the smoker?? Oh my!

My most favourite sockeye are the big ones. The bigger they are the more oil they are packing, the merrier! Yum! Beater sockeye? Like as in little bitty beater size. Lean but the lethal dose of butter fixes all. Yup visit a Hutterite colony and get to know the milk guy who controls the butter freezer!

Best part of the fish tho is the bellies, causes your fish to be succulent during cooking. I'm very unhappy when I see the processors trimming the bellies off my fish and hucking them in their ($$$$$$) oil recovery bucket. Now the bad part of the belly, it is the first part of the fillet to start tasting old in the freezer, but leave mine on please. If a little discoloured when I cook, then I'll do the trim.

And then them goofy pinks! Some of the best salmon I have eaten were in fact pinks! But they were mostly taken in salt water and cut and flash frozen very shortly after killing. Like let's kill a few pinks in the last hour of the trip to top up our quota and they get filleted in an hour or two and flash froze immediately. They can't sit in a cooler for a day and might as well have a heavy dose of ice. Any pink that's been in the river any length of time? Yuck. Same goes for pinks laying in the cooler for a day plus before dealing with them, maybe not yuck, still much better than algae fish!

Ok, that's the end of my salmon eating gluttonry rant.

I cut the bellies off when I am processing my fish and smoke them all, absolutely delicious melt in your mouth when hot out of the smoker. Plus if left on I think makes the fish too fishy after a while in freezer.

You're right about the pinks. They deteriorate fast. If you can bleed, gut and put on ice right after catching they are quite edible.



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[Brandonkop]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

I think that would be fun catching them on the ocean and likely makes a difference flavor wise. Good video! Takes a bit for the eyes to adjust at what you are seeing but very cool to see the sockeye keep trying and then get hooked up
Thanks for that.

I hear you on snagging. There are areas in Alaska were the locals can do that (I think) plus dip netting. Not my cup of tea either. I definitely understand why you would prefer ocean fishing versus river fishing.

That said, give the river another thought. There are plenty of spots around Terrace that offer the opportunity to experience solitude and fantastic river fishing. It is a pleasure to put all the gear away and get into simple fly casting for turbo charged salmon...with decent current. It is a blast!

All mine have been caught in the lips. I watched in Alaska as a big female chased my fly up in the water column and grabbed it. So not all sockeye seem to have the final death wish and egg release on their minds

Yeah you are right some sockeye will take a lure occasionally especially when the runs are big I heard people catch on spin glow fishing for chinook.

I do enjoy river fishing and got into in last fall for coho on the vedder river. They agressively take jigs, spinner, spoons, row. Lots of fun out there and they stay nice and chrome longer than the other salmon. Hooked into a few chum as well and man do they ever fight.

The fish can get mouth hooked fly fishing as well even if don't hit the fly. I think I've even flossed fish casting jigs. The line goes through mouth and then eventually get hooked as line passes through. Kind of works like flossing too. I'm sure some hit it but others get flossed. So many fish with their mouths open its bound to happen. I love watching them hit though. Very exciting.

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[TROLLER]

Congratulations on the new baby. Life is sweet with children for sure.

[Brandonkop]

Originally Posted by TROLLER

Congratulations on the new baby. Life is sweet with children for sure.

Thanks Troller! It sure is fun.

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