Valley Fishing Guides

How to Tie A Pheasant Tail Nymph for BC Rivers

Clint Goyette — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 23:00:07 +0000

How to Tie a Pheasant Tail Nymph for BC Rivers – The 511 Turbo Nymph

The 511 Turbo Nymph is a simple and effective variation on the classic Frenchie fly. This is fly designed to sink fast (in BC we can only use one fly) and it represents many food items! When “Tight Line” or “Contact Nymphing” with a single fly Euro nymphing set up, this fly will get into the zone quickly.

Fish take this fly as a mayfly nymph, a stonefly, or a small salmon fry, as it seems to work year round! The name comes from the 11 wraps of lead-free round wire followed by 5 wraps. Applying the wire that way builds a nice tapered body on the hook. I suggest having at least 5 in your box because when it’s on….it’s on! The 511 Turbo fly will work for rainbow trout, bull trout, cutthroat trout, and steelhead.

Fly Tying Material List:

Hook: Hanak Competition H450BL #14
Bead: 3.8 mm slotted tungsten gold bead
Thread: UTC 70 Fl. Fire Orange
Underbody: .015 lead free round wire
Body: Natural Pheasant Tail
Wire: UTC Ultra Wire X-Sm Copper
Wing: Natural CDC

Fly Fishing the 511 Turbo Pheasant Tail Nymph

When fly fishing with the 511 Turbo I suggest that you use short, medium, and long distance euro-nymphing techniques. Trout seem to take this fly drifted vertically as well as swung in the current. The BC rivers we fly fish in Squamish , Whistler, and Pemberton including the Squamish River, the Mamquam River, the Cheakamus River, and the Birkenhead River are fast and deep. It is not uncommon to fly fish in up to 6 ft of water. Because this fly is so heavy and slender, the 511 Turbo fly can get down to the bottom quickly, cover all zones of the river, and most importantly it will help keep your line tight!! The added CDC (you should be adding CDC to most of your nymphs) makes this fly really come to life subsurface! To learn more about how to fish this fly try booking a half day or full day fly fishing trip with one of our guides!

Tight lines and fast tying,

Clint Goyette

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The Goblin – Coho Fly

Clint Goyette — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:47:21 +0000

The Goblin Coho Fly

Use When Fly Fishing for Coho Salmon

The Goblin was first tied in 2012 and is fast to tie and very effective for fly fishing for coho salmon. It works in both salt and fresh water and will also catch pink salmon, sea trout and cutthroat trout. It is a “Guide Fly”. Enjoy and happy tying! – Clint Goyette

Tying Material:
Hook: Hanak Competition H260BL
Bead: 3.2mm tungsten gold bead
Thread: Fl. Fire Orange UTC
Body: Medium Palmer Chenille Fl. Chartreuse

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25th Wedding Anniversary Spent Heli-Fishing

Clint Goyette — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 18:00:18 +0000

Heli-Fishing in July

How about going fly fishing on your 25th wedding anniversary? Sounds great right? Well how about adding in a helicopter, two guides, and a professional photographer? Now that is the way to do it! Ryan and I were fortunate to take this lovely couple out for a great day of heli-fishing on the Pitt River recently. Joern from Whistler Traveller Magazine was happy to come along for the ride! The fly fishing for big bull trout was awesome!

Whistler, BC; July 16, 2019: Heli fishing to the headwaters of the Pitt River with Clint Goyette of Valley Fishing Guides. Photo: Joern Rohde/www.joernrohde.com

Check out more photos of heli-fishing here.

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Squamish River Fishing Report – Feb 1, 2019

Clint Goyette — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 20:50:00 +0000

The rivers are rising today due to the rain we are experiencing , however, that will be short lived.

Squamish River Level

The weather forecast is for overnight temps in Squamish to drop to -9C (sorry Ontario but that is cold for us!) which will continue through early to mid next week. That will cause the rivers to drop dramatically fast and fishing will slow way down.

Future Cast

The Squamish Snow Pillow Data shows that the current snow pack has now fallen below 2018 levels. That said the early snow in December and January is keeping the levels above normal. It is still far too early to predict how the final snowpack will play out on the summer pink salmon return but we will keep you posted.

Squamish River Basin Snow Level

Lower elevation snow is minimal at this time, however, most roads in the Upper Squamish are covered in 60+ cm of snow and mostly single lane with serious ruts. It is not recommended to travel without proper recovery equipment and tires.

For recent photos follow us on Instagram: @valleyfishingguides or https://www.facebook.com/valleyfishing

Local fishing regulations:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations/docs/1719/fishing_synopsis_2017-19_region2.pdf

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Squamish River Fishing Report – Jan 21, 2019

Clint Goyette — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 22:09:00 +0000

Summary:Low, Clear & Busy
Local rivers are all at low winter flows of at or less than 2 meters as you can see from the chart below. Low and clear means fishing will be very slow. Water temps are close to freezing. The metabolic rate in bull trout and rainbow trout are all going to be at minimal levels as they are cold blooded meaning feeding will be almost nil. The clarity will make them very skittish so finding them out feeding will also be a challenge. 2018 chum fry have not emerged and we won’t see those for quite some time. There are some yearling coho and chinook fry in the shallows which are great food items for the few fish eating. Common patterns at this time of year are woolly buggers and smaller zonkers / sculpin imitations. Egg patterns can also work. I guess the most important thing to remember is to fish your flies slow no matter if you are swinging or nymphing. Incidentally, for the number of active fish and the tough conditions, the angler traffic on the rivers is very high even through the mid-week.

Local regulations:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations/docs/1719/fishing_synopsis_2017-19_region2.pdf

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Whistler Fishing Report – Jan 21, 2019

Clint Goyette — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 22:06:00 +0000

Local lakes are all frozen. Alta Lake and Green Lake are closed to angling until April 1, 2019.

Here is a link to local angling regulations:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations/docs/1719/fishing_synopsis_2017-19_region2.pdf

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Squamish Fly Fishing Trips

Clint Goyette — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 21:41:00 +0000

Squamish Fly Fishing with Valley Fishing Guides

Pure Wilderness fly fishing trips in Squamish BC.

Squamish Fly Fishing Trips

There is no question that the Squamish area rivers, the surrounding mountains, and the flora and fauna provide some of the most spectacular fly fishing locations in British Columbia. However, the scenery isn’t the only reason to make the trek to this mountain town. Rainbow trout, bull trout, steelhead, and four species of Pacific salmon frequent the Squamish river system.

River Fly Fishing

Each of our Squamish area rivers offers a unique fly fishing experience.

Cheakamus River

The Cheakamus river, or “Check” as we like to call it is a tributary to the Squamish river. There is a run-of-river project on the Cheakamus and the flow rates are controlled by the operations at Daisy lake dam north of Squamish. Barring the flow rates are not too high this river is fishable most days of the year. Coho and chum salmon return to the Cheakamus in October and November , with steelhead returning in the spring. Resident rainbow trout and bull trout are available to fly anglers all year.

Angler fly fishing on the Cheakamus river in Squamish BC.

Squamish River

Our main local river, the Squamish, is fishable in the months of August through May. Resident trout are available from September through May with pink salmon returning in the odd years (2019, 2021, 2023 etc) and coho and chum salmon returning every year in late September through November. Steelhead return to the Squamish river as early as January, however, the bulk of the Squamish steelhead return does not occur until March through May.

Mamquam River

The anadromous reach of the Mamquam river is relatively short compared to the other tributaries of the Squamish. The Mamquam can be quite finicky as it can be out one day and in the next. Salmon also return to this river in the summer and fall with some trout fishing available throughout the year.

Pitt River

Since 2003, the Pitt River continues to be one of our favorite heli-fishing destination rivers for anadromous bull trout to 15 lbs and coho salmon. Being a wild river, every year the Pitt changes, new runs appear and old ones vanish! That said, it is always a producer of some of the largest wild char we have caught on a fly rod.

Heli fishing to the headwaters of the Pitt River with Clint Goyette of Valley Fishing Guides. Photo: Joern Rohde/www.joernrohde.com

Walk and Wade Fly Fishing Trips

Our standard walk and wade trips are between 4-8 hours long. Trips can start anywhere between 6am and 10am depending on the season and the target species. Granite and basalt stones that are not much larger than a bowling ball or soft ball line the rivers making the walk and wade trips quite enjoyable.

Float Trips by Raft – Drifting the Squamish River

We offer float trips for steelhead in February through May and trips for coho salmon in October through November where rafts and inflatable boats are used to get from run to run. These are remote trips often well out of cell phone range. As such our guides are trained in wilderness first aid, are certified in swift water rescue, and we carry satellite communication for your comfort and security.

An angler rigs his set-up while on a Squamish fly fishing trip.

Heli-Fishing Trips

Spectacular! Amazing! Unbelievable! My best fishing trip ever! These are just a few of the exclamations of our clients having gone on one of our heli-fishing trips. The flight through mountains, over ancient glaciers and into river valleys quite possibly is the most exciting way to arrive at a fly fishing location. The opportunity at crossing paths with a fish of a lifetime is always a bonus!

Watch our Video on Fly Fishing in Squamish

In the video you’ll see some of our guides fly fishing together on the Squamish River and Cheakamus River in April while on a walk and wade as well as drifting the Squamish river in one of our NRS rafts.

European nymphing, sometimes referred to as Czech Nymphing, as well as spey fishing and single hand fly fishing are used throughout the video. We teach more than one fly fishing technique on our guided trips!

The final day was an actual guided heli fishing trip to the Pitt River in July and our expressions are as authentic as it gets. Enjoy the video!

Book a trip with one of our fly fishing guides today!

Topo Films produced this video in conjunction with Tourism Squamish and FishingBC.com. The goal was to present some of the fly fishing opportunities that exist in the Squamish area. Sit back and enjoy a glimpse into what our Squamish fly fishing trips are all about…..

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Squamish and Whistler Fishing Report – Squamish River Watershed Snow-Pillow at All-Time Low

Clint Goyette — Sat, 23 May 2015 04:24:00 +0000

The following image is from the River Forecast Center – The Squamish river is on track to reach summer flow rates by the first week of June! Currently the Squamish is out. Do not even bother fishing the main-stem unless you are at a confluence of a tributary stream.

Currently the Cheakamus river and Mamquam rivers are flowing at fish-able levels, however, both have turned colour due to the glacial till.

The Birkenhead river is currently running high but there are some pockets that hold fish. The clarity of the Birkenhead makes wading deceiving. Be careful as this river is very swift at this time of year.

All of these rivers have a BAIT BAN! Today I found Power-Bait on a river as well as I ran into an angler who admittedly had been fishing with Power Bait. Power Bait, Worms, Salmon Eggs (Roe), and any flavored/smelly plastics are ILLEGAL on any stream in Squamish, Whistler, or Pemberton rivers. Conservation Officers are on the lookout! Be sure to report violations to the authorities. 1-877-952-7277

Enjoy the weekend!

Tight lines,

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Launch Day!

Clint Goyette — Fri, 15 May 2015 13:44:00 +0000

Launch Day!

Finally! Today is the day! Today is a very big day! We are finally launching our new website and video! I know, I know, the old site was dated (2004-ish) but for those of you who have never put together a website or worked with a company to build such a thing….it takes a long time! You just want the damn thing to be done so you can show it off and get back to important things like fishing!

For those of you who did not see the old website here is a screen shot:

Here is a shot of the new site coming later today! I’m so excited!

But I like fishing with multiple flies……so I had to put another one on-the-line…(he he he…see what I did there).

So over the past two months, in between fly fishing trips and competition angling, I put some video on a drive and fired it in the mail to a wicked video production company and said “I hope there is something to work with there.”

This is what they sent back with the words “Here is the first cut…”

I said Pardon!! That might be an understatement of what actually happened….but you can let me know what you think of the video as we are on the Facebook and something called Twitter .

So there you have it. A new website and a video. I would like to thank all those involved including Dave at Infuse Design, Joern Rhode at Whistler Traveller Magazine , Nick at Vantage Point Media House and all the clients and guides that made this all possible. You’re an amazing group of talented individuals!

It has been a long process and like fly fishing…we are always learning and trying to get better along the way.

Time to get off the line and back on the water…it is a long weekend after all!

Cheers,

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Loop to Loop Sink Tip Connection

Clint Goyette — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:50:00 +0000

The other day I was asked by a fellow angler whom I had seen on the river in the past about what sink tip line I recommended for fly fishing for the chum salmon. Usually we are fly fishing in just 3ft of water that isn’t moving too fast (chum hold in slower water). I told him that I preferred to use the Type III sink tip lines and a leader not more than 3.5-4ft. Heavier lines tend to snag too many fish or too much bottom and casting 45 degrees downstream helps prevent both snagging bottom and fish.

With that information he began to change his sink tip line. I noticed that when he was switching his sink tip to something lighter he made a common error. He put the loop of the sink tip through the loop of the fly line and then put the tip of the sink tip line through itself. Putting a sink tip on that way will result in the line cutting into itself under tension especially with a big chum on!

Here is a bit of instruction and a short video I took to show how to properly put the loops together.

Step 1. Put the loop of the fly line through the loop of the sink tip.
Step 2. Put the end of the sinking tip though to loop of the fly line
Step 3. Pull the sink tip through the loop of the fly line until it forms a square knot (reef knot).

The reef knot does not allow the line to cut into itself. That is when you know you have done it right!
Good luck out there, those chums are strong!

Tight lines,

Clint Goyette

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