There continues to be an excellent return of chinook salmon into the Fraser River, with lots of fish in the 25-40 pound range, and most are red springs.

There is a lot of debate about the merits of red springs versus white springs, but the overall consensus is that they taste equally wonderful on the barbecue. Simply keep in mind that the fresher, the better.

Water levels are receding steadily, making gravel bars appear where a couple of weeks ago there was only water. This is good news for bar fishermen as well as bottom bouncers. For the novice fisherman, bottom bouncing is not a form of risque behaviour probably leading to divorce, but a technique of casting into the river, and letting a lure bounce along within a foot or so of the river bottom. This can be rather tedious after several hours and no hookups, not to mention probably producing sore arms.

The bar fishing technique consists of throwing the lure out a goodly distance, but with a much heavier weight so that the lure is “anchored” in place, and simply waits for the fish to come along and snap at it.

Both methods produce fish; it just depends how energetic you are, and what you enjoy. Personally, I love bar fishing, because it gives me a chance to visit with my fishing buddies, as well as relax in a lawn chair with a well-provisioned cooler. I guess you could say it can be a more social form of angling entertainment.

Having said that, I was out on the river the other evening with Richard Kesslar of Hook, Line, and Sinker Fishing Adventures, and we were bottom bouncing, anchored at Grassie bar. Three hours of solid casting produced zero springs, but we did hook three bright, clean sockeye which had to be gently released, as there is no retention of sockeye salmon yet. There should be a season for sockeye sometime in late July/early August, and details will come as available.

There are also chinooks in the Chilliwack-Vedder which are being taken by trolling with T-spoons and spinners at the mouth, or drift fishing in mid-river with wool combinations. Concurrently, there is a run of sockeye (destined for Chilliwack Lake) in there at the same time, and these fish MUST be gently released in order to preserve this fragile run.

Sturgeon fishing is picking up as the water drops, and fresh chinook roe is probably the best bait at this time. The fishing season is truly upon us, and the forecast is very good.

See you on the water.