Capilano River

[Goats22]

How early do the salmon move into the river on the average year? i am wondering how early i can start fishing the river. salmon or not, the steelies are in there now are they not?

alternatively, do they school up at the mouth and congregate for a while before moving into the river? seems like it might be a decent time to start targeting the mouth from ambleside?

 

[Ringo]

Late April/early May. These are bluebacks we're talking about. It's a small early run that usually shoot up river with the first rain so not much stacking to be seen in the river mouth.

 

[Goats22]

Thanks Ringo! those bluebacks are my main target, and if i hook into a steely or tyee then that is just icing on the cake.

i have the rods all ready and am itching to get out on the river. these 3 or 4 weeks are gonna feel like a lifetime

have crocs, kohos, vibrax, various spoons and jigs and was also gonna baitfish some spawn bags and maybe shrimp. any suggestions on what has worked for others in the past? i know i caught coho in there as a kid using spoons but it's been a long time since i fished the cap so any advice is welcome!

tight lines!

 

[Ringo]

Small glob of cured roe under the float is all you need. Time your outing with the incoming tide and check the regs for bait ban. It's been over a decade since I last fished that river. Good luck!

 

[Goats22]

perfect! i was planning to start with roe bags and you just confirmed it for me.

looks like bait ban is aug 1 - oct 31 so i'll switch over to lures during that time.

gonna head over to highwater sometime soon and i will poke their brains a bit about the Cap as well. they always have good local knowledge there.

thanks again!

 

[wildmanyeah]

Late April/early May. These are bluebacks we're talking about. It's a small early run that usually shoot up river with the first rain so not much stacking to be seen in the river mouth.

Last year it was pretty big of a run actually, Lots back to the hatchery, Early run was actually as big as the average late. Attest what made it to the Hatchery

 

[Goats22]

Last year it was pretty big of a run actually, Lots back to the hatchery

View attachment 77429

very interesting.

fingers crossed we see another strong early run this year!

 

[lemmy]

Yup, those early Cap fish love roe or a small flesh coloured yarn fly. Most of the steel head in there are kelts by now, so please be gentle.
Cheers

 

[Goats22]

Yup, those early Cap fish love roe or a small flesh coloured yarn fly. Most of the steel head in there are kelts by now, so please be gentle.
Cheers

i remember seeing guys float fish with yarn as a kid. that was back when we called it granny's cove and none of the wooden pathways etc were build in that area yet. great cliff jumping back then!

i will definitely be respectful of all of the fish and the river while there. i grew up on the north shore so those waters have a special place in my heart. just a beautiful place to spend a morning.

 

[Sttr]

If you are planning to fish up river, try first light. If there are a few fish around this early in the season, your best bet would early morning to catch one of them. I also wouldn’t use anything over 6lbs line and try to keep your presentation small. These fish stack in the deeper pools and there are only a few accessible. Make sure to get your bait down to where the fish are. Smaller spinners can be gold if you can get it down to them.
Good luck!
Beautiful river to enjoy in the morning,
But keep in mind all the hazards

 

[Goats22]

first light sounds like the plan! gives me a chance to get on the river, get a few hours in and then back home and in the chair for work at 9.

i will definitely be careful. i remember reading the headline when that fisherman died not too long ago and as soon as i read just the headline i knew what had happened. sure enough, after reading the article i was right. scary way to go.

 

[Goats22]

I have been fishing the Cap a few times/week since my original post. A friend who works at the hatchery let me know on Sunday that coho were showing up in their tanks so I went out a few times this week. Yesterday hooked into and lost two and watched another guy lose one as well.
Went back this morning at first light and hit my limit in about 30 minutes. I also landed a small trout. It was only about 6 inches long, I am surprised it was able to pull the float under. It came unhooked as I pulled it ashore and flopped back into the water before I could even see what kind of trout it was.

was drifting roe under a float with about 3 feet between float and hook.

Gonna be some good eating this weekend!

 

[Salmon Seeker]

Dont drag a fish onto the rocks unless you are sure you're keeping it

 

[Goats22]

Dont drag a fish onto the rocks unless you are sure you're keeping it

they were both identified as hatchery fish while still in the water at shore. then immediately unhooked and bonked/bled.

not sure what you're referencing.

 

[Goats22]

No coho today, but the guy next to me landed this beauty (ultra late?) winter steelhead. I hooked into what we think was the same fish he landed an hour earlier but it got off.

Water level was quite low today and a lot of coho were pulled out of that hole the past few days so I think I'll wait for some rain to head back out. The coho were either not there today or really tight lipped. probably just spooked in the shallow water.

 

[Salmon Seeker]

they were both identified as hatchery fish while still in the water at shore. then immediately unhooked and bonked/bled.

not sure what you're referencing.

Was referring to this part of your comment: "I also landed a small trout. It was only about 6 inches long, I am surprised it was able to pull the float under. It came unhooked as I pulled it ashore and flopped back into the water before I could even see what kind of trout it was."
says you pulled it ashore and it flopped back into the water, which implies that it was on the rocks.

 

[Goats22]

Was referring to this part of your comment: "I also landed a small trout. It was only about 6 inches long, I am surprised it was able to pull the float under. It came unhooked as I pulled it ashore and flopped back into the water before I could even see what kind of trout it was."
says you pulled it ashore and it flopped back into the water, which implies that it was on the rocks.

setting the hook pulled the entire fish out of the water to shore. fishing with a 25g float targeting salmon with a 1/0 hook you aren't expecting a 100g trout to be able to get ahold of it, let alone take that size float under. Yeah, the trout came off at my feet, flopped once and was back in the water.

i don't even know why i'm explaining this, you're clearly just an unhappy person looking to spread that **** to others. do me a favor and don't post on my threads anymore, you clearly bring nothing positive to the equation so there really isn't a point.

 

[mooseimpressive]

setting the hook pulled the entire fish out of the water to shore. fishing with a 25g float targeting salmon with a 1/0 hook you aren't expecting a 100g trout to be able to get ahold of it, let alone take that size float under. Yeah, the trout came off at my feet, flopped once and was back in the water.

i don't even know why i'm explaining this, you're clearly just an unhappy person looking to spread that **** to others. do me a favor and don't post on my threads anymore, you clearly bring nothing positive to the equation so there really isn't a point.

Well said, the guy sounds like someone's eternally pissing in his cornflakes.