ALASKA CAPT GYGER AUG 2008

4012 Best Street, Terrace BC V8G 5R8, Canada

Tel/Fax: (250) 635-2568

Cell: (250) 631-2678

E-mail: noel@noelgyger.ca

Home Page: www.noelgyger.ca

Fishing Reports: www.noelgyger.ca/past-fishing-reports.htm

RECORD SALMON & STEELHEAD Spin or fly-fishing

RIVER, LAKE, STREAM or OCEAN!!!

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Home Page: www.noelgyger.ca

Noel Gyger - WEEKLY FISHING REPORT dated August 10 – August 17, 2008

(Number 84)

Dear Fishing Friends:

SUMMARY: It rained at the beginning of the week but by the weekend the sun was shining and we were back to very warm daytime temperatures. The mainstem Skeena River came up quite a bit but seems stable and starting to drop. Through all of this the fishing remained pretty good. I have been out to the Nicholas Dean Lodge “out-post” camp twice during the week to shoot some video and still photos. I must say, I had a ball. Be sure to check out the four new video clips posted this week, two Steelhead (one over 25-pounds) and two double-headers (Sockeye and Coho) All fish caught were on fly rods. At the present time there seems to be a good number of Sockeye, Pinks, Coho and summer-run Steelhead migrating upriver. I have reports of late run Chinook (King) Salmon being landed also. Both spin and fly techniques are working well. The Kitimat River is slow for Chum but it looks promising for Coho. Be sure to check the detailed report and photos from Ron Wakita below.

The views from the out-post camp are spectacular

Skeena Camp Package - spots are still available – let me know if you are interested

July 13 to September 13, 2008

Simply put, Northwestern British Columbia’s Skeena River is the Steelhead and Salmon superhighway. In summer and fall the lower main channel Skeena hosts vast numbers of migrating Steelhead, Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Chums, and Pinks headed for numerous upriver tributaries. To take full advantage of this prolific fishery and offer a high-quality, high-value fishing adventure, Nicholas Dean Lodge has developed an on-river Skeena Camp package. Renowned rivers such as the Babine, Kispiox, Sustut, Bulkley, Morice, Copper (Zymoetz) and Kalum enter the Skeena above our camp and all fish bound for these rivers must pass directly in front of us before reaching their spawning grounds. Only a day or two out of the ocean, at the peak of their size, strength and beauty, these are among the biggest and most aggressive Steelhead and Salmon on Earth. To hook one of these fish on the fly in the broad, lower Skeena is to touch the heart of the wilderness – an experience not to be forgotten!

Cast to the the link for full package details: http://www.nicholasdean.com/Downloads/Package_SkeenaCampPackage.pdf

Cost of Skeena Camp Package: $2195.00 CDN per person

· 5 days of semi-guided fishing

· 6 night’s accommodation at the Skeena Camp (7 days total)

· Day of arrival includes, meals, accommodation and transportation to and from the airport (no guided fishing)

· Day of departure includes breakfast (no guided fishing)

“The Tyee test fishery shows a great early season return. It appears that this year's run will be one of the strongest in the past ten years. Currently the return is 26% ahead of the ten year average and the commercial fishery is just about to close. Already fish are being caught on the Copper and being seen at the falls on the Bulkley. NOAA has also released promising news on ocean productivity for this and the coming three years”, says Fly Water Travel http://flywatertravel.com

LIST OF “New” ITEMS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE THIS WEEK:
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- August 11/08 one video clip posted on “Video Clips” http://www.noelgyger.ca/video-clips-web.htm

- August 14/08 one item posted on “Conservation” http://www.noelgyger.ca/conservation.htm

- August 15/08 one video clip posted on “Video Clips” http://www.noelgyger.ca/video-clips-web.htm

- August 16/08 one video clip posted on “Video Clips” http://www.noelgyger.ca/video-clips-web.htm

- August 17/08 one video clip posted on “Video Clips” http://www.noelgyger.ca/video-clips-web.htm

NOW BOOKING FOR 2008 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 be disappointed - BOOK your preferred dates for fall Steelhead and Coho now.

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, 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.

FISHING GUIDE REPORTS FOR THIS WEEK ARE FROM:

Ron Wakita

Chad Black

Andrew Ruston

Tracey Hittel

PLUS – Guest photos, reports and testimonials.

CURRENT REPORT and summary for Skeena and Tributaries:

Type of fish caught: Chinook, Sockeye, Chum, Pink, Steelhead and Trout for river. Chinook, Coho, Halibut, Bottom Fish and Dungeness Crab for ocean.

Thank you for using barbless hooks.

FISHING THIS WEEK:

POOR
FAIR
GOOD
EXCELLENT



J

LARGEST FISH OF THE WEEK: Specie: estimated 25-pound Steelhead Where: Skeena River Angler: Chris Gilles

Weather: A mix of sun and cloud. Showers near Stewart this afternoon. Fog patches dissipating this morning. High 25. UV index 5 or moderate. Region normal: Max. Temp. 22 degrees C. Min. Temp. 11 degrees C. Sunrise 6:15 AM Sunset 9:02 PM

WEATHER REPORTS VIA TELEPHONE: Environment Canada taped messages constantly updated, giving current conditions and three-day forecasts. Terrace 250-635-4192 Kitimat 250-632-7864 Prince Rupert 250-627-1155 Smithers 250-847-1958.

For current Terrace weather information please cast on:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cities/can/pages/CABC0292.htm?ref=wxbtnold

WATER CONDITIONS: Skeena, lower Kalum, Kitimat and smaller coastal streams are in fair shape.

current water heights FOR:

sKEENA rIVER:

http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/fullgraph.asp?stnid=08EF001

KITIMAT RIVER:

http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/fullgraph.asp?stnid=08FF002

Skeena River: The water heights have been up and down but stayed in fishable condition. Fishing for Sockeye is excellent. I also have numerous reports of summer-run Steelhead being caught.

Kalum River: The water is in good shape. The whole river is now closed to fishing for Chinook (King) Salmon. It closed on the upper end on May 25th and now the whole river is closed as of August 6th. The BIG Chinook are left to spawn without anymore fishing pressure. Soon the Coho Salmon will be coming into the river. I guess a few summer-run Steelhead will be coming in also but as far as I know most of the Steelhead are a fall run…coming in around September, October and November.

This is a Classified River year round and can be guided from March 15 through October 15 only. The Steelhead record is 32-pounds. To see a photo of this fish cast to: http://noelgyger.ca/records/Record003.jpg The angler is Dennis Therrien.

Kasiks River: The Coho should start coming in soon.

EXCHAMSIKS RIVER: The Coho should start coming in soon.

EXSTEW RIVER: The Coho should start coming in soon.

Zymoetz (Copper) River: Fishing for Chinook closed upstream of Highway 16 bridge on July 23rd. Steelhead and Coho will start coming in soon.

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.

CURRENT REPORT and summary for Northern Coastal Rivers:

Fishing Report from: Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters

KITIMAT RIVER: With the poor Chum return on the Kitimat River this year and the daily quota for Chum reduced to zero retention the content of this report has been reduced dramatically. There is a definite void in the angler experience created on the Kitimat by this poor return of Chum. We have become so accustomed to the abundance of the salmon stocks created by the Kitimat Hatchery that it is difficult to fathom such a poor return of any of the species that are being enhanced.

August 12. Hooked four Coho landed two. Landed six Chum. Lots of Pinks

There was a late surge of bright Chum reported by some anglers fishing the Hatchery Island and the gravel bar below the Kitimat Hatchery this week but the rest of the Kitimat River Chum counts remain poor.

August 13. Ariel Kuppers, Kimiko Wakita and Donald Rolf. Hooked two Coho landed one.

Plus over 20 Pinks.

The Kitimat Hatchery Brood collection team remains diligent in their efforts to collect their targeted brood stock numbers so we remain optimistic that the Kitimat River Chum stock abundance will return. We are indeed fortunate to have the Kitimat River Hatchery.

August 14. Angler Magnus Pedersen. Coho 16lbs. Caught at the Eurocan PumpHouse. Photo taken by our Mobile Tackle Van

On the bright side there has been some early Coho caught this week and the odd late Chinook still being hooked by unsuspecting anglers using light gear. The early return of Coho is bright.

DOUGLAS CHANNEL: Halibut and Bottom fish catch numbers remain really good on the Douglas Channel. David Payjack fishing with two of his fishing partners reports, "The three of us hooked into 13 halibut in total. We landed a total of 10, kept 6, released 4 and lost 3. The largest halibut for this trip was 87 lbs. Along with the lingcod, snapper, sea bass and other cod this trip to the open water sure turned out to be worth it, even with such a late start on Saturday. Wish all of the trips were like this".

August 9. David Payjack with a huge Halibut

Coho catch numbers are also improving on the outer waters of the Douglas. Alain of Alain's Deep Sea Charters reports boating 16 Coho on his last trip. Alain also caught a 20lb halibut while trolling for Coho. This must have been a nice surprise!

Hi Noel: This 53lb Halibut was caught by James Eckstein age 10. His father John operates Blue Heron Charters. Thank you Ron

Sam Avila of Ocean Breeze Charters reports boating 26 Coho and 8 halibut on his last trip with clients. John from Blue Heron Charters reports a great day on the Douglas with his clients. Judging by the smiles in the picture, a great time was had by all.

August 16. John of Blue Heron Charters. Clients: Claude and Andre Greinier had a great day on the Douglas Channel. In the bosses own words, “Hello Ron, An excellent charter today. Claude and Andre were wonderful guests and we loaded the boat with coho. Picture is attached.

For your info we could not get out to Money Point as the fog was too heavy. I pulled into Sue Channel instead and the fish catching started as soon as the lines hit the water. The wind never came up and we had a great ride home. Thanks for the referral, John”

The Kitimat Harbour fishery is still spotty but there are some big tides in the next few days that will help migrate more Coho up to this end of the Douglas. Stay Tuned! Regards, Ron Wakita

Cast to this link for Kitimat tide tables http://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/cgi-bin/tide-shc.cgi?queryType=showRegion&language=english®ion=1

Fishing Report and Photos from: Nicholas Dean Lodge

Chad Black reports the Skeena River “out-post” camp had a very successful first week. The fly fishing has been reasonably good. Many happy clients leaving for home with amazing fish stories. New clients are coming in today. Water has been up but the river remains fishable. Sockeye has been good. Pinks have been slow. Coho has been good. Steelhead has been good.

My client Chris Gilles “massive” Steelhead landed on a tiny red fly. Noel shot a video of this fish. To watch the clip cast to: Video Clip 0050 MASSIVE Skeena River Steelhead on the fly New Aug 11/08

PS: I tied many of these red flys this week for clients. Please be sure to remember to pinch the barbs.

Tight line and screaming reels…

Chad Black

Operations manager

Nicholas Dean Lodge…where every cast is an adventure!

Fishing Report and Photos from: Kalum River Lodge

Hi Noel, here are a couple of big Steelhead we caught today, August 15th. The big buck is Mr. Nakamoto 21lbs (see photo of the week) and the big female is 19lbs Mr. Arimoto. Thanks, Andrew Rushton

Fishing Report and Photos from: Steelhead Heaven

Skeena River Report – August 16, 2008

Summer in Skeena Country is a wonderful time of year, Salmon and Steelhead are running and the fish are always splashing as you Jetboat the green emerald water.

This day begins with a misty morning as I start the motor on the Jetboat. The fog is so thick I can see maybe 10 meters in front of me. I idle the boat from the small creek and suddenly feel the force of the mainstem Skeena River, and it turns the boat and wants to take us down river. I power up and the boat is now getting an upstream motion, I barely see the sand bar in front of me, it is littered with a dead fall of logs, probably from many miles above. I cut back on the throttle to get my bearings straight. My client for the day is Mr. Hirakawa, he looks at me with confidence and I wonder if I should pull over and wait for the hot sun to burn off the morning mist. I think not, and find my route into paradise and upstream we go. Within a minute or two the sun peaks thru the morning freshness and we arrive at a pool I call forever. Surrounded by waterfalls and jagged mountains this pool is a full day fish, not many walk the entire distance without a break.

Hirakawa makes effortless casts time and time again waiting for that pull of a sea run Steelhead. As you can see in the pictures below Hirakawa has a tight line on a chrome hen and she is priceless. Also attached is Big Steelie Phil with a beauty 80cm Skeena Steelhead. Our threesome Alexi, Eric and the German Boy did a overnighter with me and we traveled the area for Chinooks on the fly, Alexi did just the thing and his video is on Hook TV. When the Chinook felt the pull of the spey rod, he went ballistic and the sound of Alex’s drag singing is what makes us drool! Eric did a fine job banking some fresh fish during his stay and the golfer from Ontario is all smiles for the camera.

River conditions are coloring up as the hot sun has the rivers on rise and some of the tributaries are milking the Skeena, still allot of fish moving thru for the next month or so. Guests arriving next week are the David Party, tight lines. Report and Photo by Tracey John Hittel

Fishing Regulation Websites:

2007-2009 BC tidal waters and freshwater Salmon fishing information:

www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish

Effective April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2009

2008-2009 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis:

www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish

Effective April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009

Note: For In-season Regulation Changes posted on the web check the above URL’s

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.

The above are more photos from Tom Boxler and Cy Johnson, who say they really enjoyed the time here being guided on both river (jet boat and drift boat) and the saltwater. The boats above are from one of their guides: Gill McKean of Westcoast Fishing Adventures. They were also guided by Nicholas Dean Lodge.

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)

MARKETPLACE (Sportfishing related items only please) Contact me anytime to list your items

Buy, sell, trade or swap your item or items by listing them here today

Your Ad will receive LOCAL, REGIONAL, NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL exposure:

· Your Ad will be posted on my website

· Your Ad will be promoted in my Weekly Fishing Reports

· Your Ad will be posted on other websites who host my fishing reports

Examples of what to list: Boats and accessories, Motors, Vehicles, Air Craft, Rods, Reels, Tackle, Real Estate (i.e. fishing lodge), Rentals (Cabins Cottages), Lakeshore, Tourist accommodation, ATV, RV's, RV sites, Taxidermy, Books, Magazines, Videos, Photographs, Antiques, Artwork, Clothing, Employment, Trade/Swap and Wanted, Help Wanted, etc.

To view the items currently listed please cast to: http://www.noelgyger.ca/market-place.htm

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

Back to: http://noelgyger.ca/past-fishing-reports.htm

Home page: www.noelgyger.ca