Weekly Fishing Report: Kitimat River and Douglas Channel Mar 27 to Apr 3, 2011

PHOTO OF THE WEEK:

Fishing Report from: Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters
cell:   250 632-1275
email: wakita@telus.net
www.reliableguideandcharters.com

City Centre Hardware & Sporting Goods
“Kitimat’s Largest Tackle Store“
380 City Centre
Kitimat BC V8C 1T6
bus.250 632-3522  fax 250 632-3528
wakita@telus.net

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Kitimat River

The Kitimat River has been up and down in river height this week with some rain that we have received.  The water clarity has been marginal at times the but fishing has been very good for both Steelhead and Trout.  There have been many reports of exceptional Trout fishing.  There are also reports of very bright Steelhead as well as some that have turned to spawning colors.

Mar 28 Eric Neidert and Trent Vines landed 2 Steelhead and hooked 4 on the upper Kitimat River.  Eric and Trent are both Associate guides for Reliable Guide and Charters and are doing some pre-clients trips in preparation for the upcoming season.

Mar 30 Jesse Houston and Ariel Kuppers landed 4 Cutthroat and lost 2 Steelhead.  Great Job Jesse and Ariel!

April 1 Dave Garuk landed this beautiful Steelhead on the lower Kitimat.  Dave was using a Pink worm fishing by himself.  He was kind enough to share the photo he quickly took with his phone prior to releasing this Steelhead.  Thank You and Congratulation Dave.

April 3 Matt Thompson caught and released 3 Steelhead on the Kitimat River.  Congratulations Matt.  Sorry no photos available.

Drifters Beware

Mike Mckenzie drifted the Kitimat River and reports that there are 2 logs across the river.  One is between Crown Z and Big Wedeene and the other in the middle channel above the Power Lines.  Drifters are advised to beware of the these areas.

Summary

We received warmer weather and some rain this week causing the snow banks along the river as well in our front yards to noticeably shrink .  Steelhead fishing on the Kitimat River will continue to get better with every incoming tide.  There is an atmosphere of excitement in our tackle store while anglers are renewing their fishing licenses after reading reports.  Stay tuned!

Douglas Channel

April 1 Rob Lafferty and his fishing partners trapped 16 King Crab.  Rob reports that there were mostly females which were appropriately released but it is always exciting when the trap first clears the water to see that it is full.  Well done Rob and friends!  Bon appetite!

With the nicer weather forecast for the weekend many more boats are de-winterizing and heading out for Dungeness and King Crab.

There have been mixed results this week with King Crab.  Some have done really well while others …not so good.  Everyone has done well with Dungeness.

Please see Important Halibut Information below.

Thank You to everyone who provided info and photos to this fishing report.

Good Health and Good Fishing!

Sincerely

Ron Wakita
Reliable Guide and Charters
380 City Centre
Kitimat B.C
V8C 1T6
bus.250 632-3522  cell.250 632-1275
fax. 250 632-3528
wakita@telus.net
www.kitimatfishingguideandcharters.com

Important Halibut Information

Our worst fear is that if the Conservative Party is elected with a majority government without having to make a commitment during the campaign to change this Halibut policy, sport anglers will suffer the Halibut policy forever.  We also fear that once the precedent of ITQ’s (Individual Transferable Quota) has been set with the policy Halibut we will suffer the same process in other fisheries.  Crab and Prawn next and Salmon down the road

The Federal Election is a critical  time for Sport Anglers to be asking the respective candidates in your ridings some specific questions about their positions in regards to Halibut.  The BC Sportfishing Coalition is requesting concerned anglers to write the candidates in their electoral districts and ask the questions enclosed below.  We are asking everyone to participate to elevate the Halibut Issue to become a priority election issue by getting commitments from candidates to change this policy in a written response during the campaign.  We can all hold the successfully candidates accountable to their commitments after the election.  Contained below are the questions that candidates should be asked.

Dear Mr. Candidate:

On behalf of the BC Sport fishing Coalition I am writing to seek your views on the challenges facing the recreational halibut fishery in British Columbia. As you may know, the Coalition has been raising the profile of the recreational halibut fishery for the past several months and has organized a series of town hall meetings up and down the coast that have attracted standing room only attendance from thousands of voters across BC who want to know how they can ensure that recreational anglers will get reasonable access to the halibut resource that they all own as Canadians.

The IPHC process handles all conservation issues. Our concern is with the current halibut allocation policy only.  This is NOT a conservation issue.

Our questions for you are simple:

1. Do you support the present privatization of Canada’s common property pacific halibut resource?
2. Do you believe that Canadian recreational halibut anglers should have reasonable catch opportunities over the course of their normal fishing season?
3. Do you believe that commercial halibut quota holders (slipper skippers) should be able to sell or lease their quota, even if they are no longer participants in the fishery?
4. Would you support that the present recreational angler’s individual halibut limit of two fish be able to be taken in one day?

Thank you in advance for your timely answers to these questions.

Best regards…

During the 2010 “Halibut Transfer Mechanism” meetings a senior DFO member told me the only way to change the current halibut allocation policy was with political pressure. I believe that DFO never thought the recreational sector could unite and stand up for their collective rights. The B.C. Sportfishing Coalition proved them wrong. The flawed halibut allocation policy has now become a political issue and rightfully so.

The BCSFC is committed to informing the public on the issue of Canadian Halibut Allocation. Over the past few months the coalition and recreational anglers have established an interactive website, written thousands of letters to Provincial and Federal politicians and held town hall meetings in communities up and down the coast that have been attended by avid anglers and concerned Canadian citizens. In short, recreational anglers rallied to the cause like never before.

On February 15 (what is now referred to as “Black Tuesday”) Fisheries Minister Gail Shea ignored us….at least for now. Shea tossed fuel on the fire by announcing that DFO would pursue a status quo 88/12 allocation for this season and has suggested that if recreational anglers require more quota, then they will have to pay the gifted commercial quota holders for it. She and her fellow Conservative MPs in B.C. have dismissed recreational anglers and sided with a small group of well-connected commercial quota holders. The decision to leave the halibut allocation policy unchanged will punish the 100,000 recreational anglers that fish for halibut each year, the businesses that support them and the thousands of people who are employed in sport fishing in the province.

DFO knows that in 2003, former Fisheries Minister Robert Thibault made a mistake when he gifted 88% of Canada’s Total Allowable Catch (TAC) to 436 commercial quota holders and allocated only 12% to the province’s 100,000 recreational halibut anglers. Recreational anglers have long opposed the policy and argued that it privatizes Canada’s common-property halibut resource.

Since 2003, recreational anglers have faced shortened seasons and a 50% reduction in normal catch limits. During the same period, commercial halibut quota became a tradable commodity. I have been at International Pacific Halibut Commission sessions when some of the commercial sector has voted in favour of a lower TAC for Canada. Commercial Quota holders simply raise the price of their quota to accommodate for reduced TAC, less work and the same amount of profit for them. In 2010 less than half of the 436 commercial quota holders actually fished their catch. The rest simply leased out their rights and collected royalty cheques. Amazingly, while DFO claims that the commercial fishery is accountable, DFO staff has now acknowledged that they do not know who actually owns the 436 commercial quotas that control 88% of Canada’s halibut TAC.

Minister Shea’s suggestion that individual anglers can now seek to lease quota from commercial quota holders is confirmation of her view that Canada’s halibut resource is private property owned by a lucky few. This is simply unacceptable. The coalition will press on and make sure that every BC Conservative MP knows that they will be held accountable for this ill-conceived decision. At the time of writing this an election is in the offing and I expect that Conservative MPs will soon come looking to our community for support. I know that recreational anglers will remind them of how we were treated when we needed their support.

Visit www.bchalibut.org for regularly updated information.

Rob Alcock
President – Sport Fishing Institute of BC

“Proud member of the volunteer based BC Sport Fishing Coalition”

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