Fishing Fever BC

Public Access sites on the Fraser River

Welcome to the home of “Fishing Fever“ – Your online and print guide to WHERE, WHAT, WHEN AND HOW TO FISH THE FRASER RIVER , BRITISH COLUMBIA – WITH GPS!

“Fishing Fever” is the first authoritative book on the subject of public access to the Fraser River for sport fishers. We have now brought some of this information in the way of “Excerpts, Guides, Maps, Images, Articles, Reviews and general info to the world wide web to get you started on your fishingtrip, but of course, the full book ( 400+ pages and water resistant cover ) itself is available for purchase right here!

“Fishing Fever” is the first authoritative book on the subject of public access to the Fraser River for sport fishers, boaters, campers, photographers, picnickers and staycationers.

“Fishing Fever” is primarily a book on WHERE to sport fish and outdoor recreate along the lower Fraser River, between Mission and Hope. Directions are given to over eighty fishing and outdoor recreation sites, with maps and GPS settings to help you.  Information on public access is given for each fishing and outdoor recreation site. Facilities, trailered boat launching sites and car top boat launching sites are also noted.

Fishers may engage in river fishingor creek mouth fishing along one of the many sloughs or tributaries of the Lower Fraser River. Method of fishing may vary – the fly fisher, bar fisher, crift fisher or troller will find a place to go in this book/site.  HOW to fish and which method to use are mentioned in an excellent article entitled “Fishing Techniques of the Fraser River.”

Nicomen Slough on the Fraser River

WHEN to fish. Basic information on the seasonal migrations of salmon and anadromous trout is given for the benefit of beginner fisher and those fishingthe Fraser River for the first time.  Bill Otway’s article “Fraser River Salmon/Steelhead Calendar” and Fishery Officer Glen Kostiuk of Mission has contributed information on favorable local conditions for fishing, and the best times to fish, in his article “Fishing Tips for the Fraser River – Mission to Hope.”

WHAT to fish. Fish Identification. “Fishing Fever” is mainly concerned with the five species of Pacific salmon and Steelhead ( which is now considered to be a salmon ), Sea Run Cutthroat and Sturgeon. Other species are mentioned and indeed there are many other species which can be caught in the lower Fraser River. The British Columbia Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Guide, published by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, has an excellent guide with color photographs for the identification of the five species of Pacific salmon. To assist you in distinguishing the many species of fish you may catch in the Lower Fraser River, “Fishing Fever” includes a section on fish identification with drawings and diagrams. Thanks to J.D McPhail and R.Carveth for permission to use exerpts from their book “Field Key to the Freshwater Fishes of British Columbia”, 1993. This field guide can be downloaded from the provincial government Integrate Land Management Bureau, Resource Information Standards Committee website. http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/risc/pubs/aquatic/index.htm

It can also be ordered online at http://www.publications.gov.bc.c.aor from one of the following numbers at the Government Publications Center: Phone (250) 387-0388 or Toll free: 1-800-663-6105 or Fax: (250) 387-0388. The Government Publications Order Number for the pulibcation is 7610000688. See the article in “Fishing Fever“, “Identify Your Catch – Fraser River Salmonids and Other Fish Species Commonly Confused” by J.L Hart, Fisheries Research Board of Canada 180, 1973, 740 pages, available at the Vancouver Aquarium and the UBC Bookstores: and “Freshwater Fishes of Canada” by W.B Scott and E.J  Crossman, Bulletin 184, published by Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 1973, 966 pages, with illustrations and dichotomous keys. |Both publications may also be ordered through your local bookstore.

by Eileen McGuire taken from “Fishing Fever” – 3rd Edition.