2023 Holiday Give-away! $1,500+ of Goodies! | Fishing with Rod
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- To thank all of your support throughout 2023, I am giving away some of my fishing products again this holiday season! To enter, leave a positive story from your fishing trips this year in the comment section by December 20th. Winners will be announced on December 22nd. (Edit: I am announcing the winners on Christmas Eve, sorry about the delay)
Prizes:
- Islander Steelheader centerpin reel www.islander.com
- Moby DK Special catch and release net www.mobynets.com
- Shimano Ultegra 3000 spinning reel www.shimano.com
- Fred's Custom Tackle 11'3" centerpin rod www.fredscusto...
- $100 BnR Tackle gift certificate bnrtackle.com
- Prime Lures prize pack primelures.com
- Jig Geek prize packs www.jiggeek.com
- Pacific River Outfitting Company 2 hour fly casting lesson & gift certificates www.pacificriv...
- North Arm Mallard Bird and Trout Knife northarmknives...
- Big Fish Coffee prize pack www.bigfishcof...
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Camera:
Rodney Hsu
Editing:
Rodney Hsu
Music:
Epidemic Soound
Copyright: Fishing with Rod Production
My name is Rod, and I am an avid fisherman, fishery advocate, conservationist and educator in British Columbia Canada. On this channel you will find:
🔸 700+ fishing episodes & video tutorials!
🔸 Targeting many different fish species including salmon, trout, steelhead, sturgeon, bass, pike!
🔸 Exploring new fishing spots in the Pacific Northwest and Beyond!
🔸 Conversations on current fishery and conservation issues!
🔸 Fun outdoor adventures with me, my friends and family!
I can't wait to read your stories! Enter by December 20th and please subscribe. 🙂
Update: I am announcing the winners on Christmas Eve.
I dont need your 1500 bucks giveaway so no story from me but i do like the little project you have going on so good stuff Rod and i hope the winner actually need and will use the giveaway:)
Took my friend fishing and he got his very first salmon.
Hey rod, this 2023 year was much more successful for me I went out with my friends and there dad and we ended up catching lots of pinks and chinooks. I was then encouraged to bring my brother out one day (he’s 9) he ended up catching a few adult springs that we realeased and myself the same day caught my biggest spring that was 20ish or more lbs, this my best year with my first coho,pink, and Chinook. Only thing left is a steelhead and one last thing keep bringing this positivity to the fishing community it’s very helpful learning tricks and just having a positive mindset and community.thank you
This year was the year for soft beads! Two years back I watched a video you posted that talked about your BnR bead setup, so I stocked up on a variety of BnR beads, different colors and different sizes, from 6mm to 20mm. It was the opening day on a local river and the weather was chili and foggy. I was fishing a 22g float, a size 2 hook, and a mottled orange bead (14mm). People to my left and right were getting takedowns back to back. I had one takedown and missed the bite. I kept changing my depth to locate them, but had no luck. By now the fog started to creep away and I had a few buddies fishing a different hole. A friend gave me a call and told me to move down to his location. Once I got there I decided to switch up my presentation to a size 2 hook and a 14mm mottled cerise soft bead. First cast, nothing. Second cast, middle seam, bobber down! Fish on! The coho was hooked and fighting like hell! She was a chromer, fresh from the recent high-tide. I banked quickly, put her on the string, and 😂😂my back into the water with another 14mm cerise bead. I managed to pull in a nice jack coho just before I pulled in my second adult coho😊😊. One week later I went back to the same hole and everyone but me was fishing roe. Needless to say, I bonked another line of coho that day on 14mm cerise BnR beads and out fishing people that were using Roe! Thanks for creating a video on BnR beads!
I took up fishing for the first time this year(in my 30s) after my father passed and left all his trout fishing gear. Well I live on the river so I took the gear to try to catch some river salmon… A nice man there helped educate me on what to bring next time and how to fish. I Return a month later (after watching several of fishing with rod tutorials) with a 9’ pole and some braided line and spoons. I then got to catch my first fish, I caught a Bull trout!!! Hard to catch and endangered. Luckily from your videos I knew how to responsibly let it go back into the river. THANKS ROD.
Hi Rod, and others. So I have been taking my son (and daughters) fishing since he was about 3. And we have done all types of fishing but every time has been me catching the fish and then passing the rod to him. However, he had been complaining, since the beginning, that he wanted to set the hook, fight, and land a fish all on his own. Then in march of 2023 he got his wish. We went to Ucluelet on a family trip and we went to Long Beach and we fished for red tailed perch. We used Berkley sand worms and he was able to fish all on his own without any help from me. MAN he must have caught 25 perch all by himself (catch and release of course). Although, he always liked to go fishing with me, I believe on that trip he contracted the "fishing sickness". I am very happy and proud. My girls also love fishing, but not quite like him.
Hi Rod, I am a national to International badminton player. I would like to try for new sport from the beginning. This is my first season for salmon fishing, It was tough when I first started and many random anglers were super helpful. I learning from them while I was fishing beside the pros. In early October, I began to watch Salmon fishing lesson on UA-cam. I was struggling to find useful videos until i found yours, and You are one of the best Chanel for salmon fishing lessons. I started with Pink Salmon fishing in early September and then i moved to vedder/Chiliwack and stave for Coho and Chinook. It was a wonder experience and I am ready for the next salmon season!
My positive story relates to a womens’ fishing group set up by Amy McCullough. I saw mention of it and joined it, and have been out a couple of times with one or more group members. Still haven’t caught anything I can keep - just a couple of chum and a seagull - not sure of the legality of keeping that but definitely chose not to! It is great to get some pointers from more experienced fishers and to at least be in a group where people are catching!
Your videos have become my background audio while driving :-)
Hi rod! Enjoy your videos! I’m from. The east coast 🇨🇦 like to come out there and fish one day! I like to shore fish for steelhead I’m the fall and with with my dad. Summer time float fish salmon in the river..I’m always willing to help out anglers in the out doors. I have met a lot of nice people and one of my good long time friends I met on the river 10 years ago. Happy holidays to you and your family.
14:35 My story this season is about how sometimes it takes friendship and teamwork to get a bad day to go good! My buddies talked me into heading to a river that I haven't fished in about 15 years... Hate this river. But I went, didn't mind the long ass walk.. I need the exercise. Got to the spot with some spotty directions from Brandon.. Fair amount of guys there. Got right
to drifting roe... annnd boom, get my line casted over with a dude and braided line. Man I love braided line. So easy untangle and work with. Anyhow, after only about 45 mins I get back to fishing roe... Lose one. Then beads... Nothing. Back to roe... Nothing. Bites off right, oh and did I mention that Mark and Brandon had limited out... And are now letting go Hatchery... On jigs and spinners. Or course because I'm smart like that, I brought my spinning rod. Cause I'm always ready right.... Not. Left it at home. So after going for another 15 mins and them continuing to catch fish and my muttering of super nice things..Mark hooked a nice one and I finally bowed to taking the rod and fighting a fish for him since he was so tired. Got it close, it was huge... and wild. Lol My luck this year. So many beauty coho, wild coho. Released him and looked over and Mark and asked if he was using that spinning rod. He said it's all mine and we tied on Nice spinner. Cause I didn't have the energy to deal with twitching. First cast... A huuuuge coho... Maybe 14-15 lbs. And that was the first of 4 hatch in about 20 mins. Thanks to my buddies. On a day I was gonna sit around and eat chips and dip.... I still look at pics of that big one every couple days... Thanks to my fishing Bff's.... And and you too Rodney for letting me outfish you on my Bday.
Look forward to this giveaway every year. Story time:
I was out fishing Shuswap lake this fall, within the first 5 minutes of fishing I caught a nice 3lb rainbow. As I was releasing it my boat motor died. I rowed to shore and realized there was no fixing it. It was a remote area of the lake with nobody around. The boat launch and truck were a few KMs down the lake.
There was one single boat across the lake I tried waving down. To my surprise they saw me and came over. I asked them for a tow back across the lake which they happily accepted.
It took about an hour to tow me back to the boat launch. Once we arrived I thanked them and offered them some money for their time. They declined.
This family out for a boat ride took a huge chunk of their day to help a complete stranger, and didn't expect anything in return. Just a true act of kindness with nothing to gain.
The fishing community brings people together in a special way and that's one of my favorite things about it. I hope I have the opportunity to pass this favor down one day to someone else who needs help.
There were many aspects that made this day of fishing special. I was fishing with my father and brother. We had never fished in this area before, but had heard the big tiderunners, as they are known, were in Delaware Bay. Quite a bit of daring was involved because we should not have been this far out in such a small boat, although I am not sure I really realized the degree of danger at the time. We were using light tackle, medium freshwater spinning gear with 8 or 10 lb test line.
We caught 37 weakfish that ranged in weight from 5 to 9 lbs. Many times the three of us all had a fish on at the same time and we had to constantly move around the boat passing our rods over and under each other as we fought the fish. We frequently were laughing hysterically. We must have set the drags on our reels well, because I don’t think that we broke off a single fish. All in all, a fun day of fishing without any incident.
Hi Rod, it’s nice to meet you and Linda on Dec 02 on a lake in Merritt, it’s my first time out for ice fishing in this year, I said Hi to you and Linda, we had a chat and we took a photo together. You offered me to use your power augur, now you made me want to spend more money and get one for myself😂.
Fishing was not very good on that day, I set my tent right next to yours, you hooked one but didn’t land it, I ended up landed four fish, I was surprised I out fished you haha.
I started watching your videos when I was a kid, your UA-cam channel inspired me to upload fishing videos, I started to shooting and editing since two years ago, now I have 45k followers on TikTok, I would like to say thank you very much!
Here’s my story for this year. My dad and me have been fishing the vedder for the past fue years and it panes me to say the we had been skunked every time. So on our second trip out my dad caught two fish a little 5 pounds jack and a chrome chinook pushing 40 pounds this is the happiest I’ve ever been on the vedder. ( your content is what got me in to fishing on the vedder. Thanks for all your videos)
Hey Rod
my best fishing story of 2023 was being invited to haa nee naw lodge in just outside of prince rupert there i got to catch my first coho on the fly aswell as black bass which are a blast on a fly rod but the best part is watching my cousin catch his first coho and spring salmon ever! and i won 400$ from catching the 2nd biggest spring of 22lbs thats my best story of the year for me
For me my positive, I decided to take up fishing for several reasons, 1) thought it would be a great activity I’ve always wanted to do 2) to do something with my daughters 3) being in nature’s setting with them and showing them the beautiful. But since we started fishing my oldest caught her first fish a day before her 4th Bday and about a month later her 2nd. Daughter 2 dad 0 😂 the beauty is when her and I go out and meet a random person she always tells her story how she’s out fishing me her 2 , dad 👌 zero. Makes me laugh hard and feel so proud of her 😊
A postive story was i saw this guy catching a bunch of trout with spoons and I wasnt catching anything with my lure. I was talking to him about technique and offered to give a spoon for free. After I started using the lure, I saw fish following it and eventually also got a bite!!! I hadnt caught a fish with a lure beofre so it was really exciting and really nice of him
I was fishing at the pier and as the day roll over, I got a snook on my line. As I reel it in, a bull shark came out of nowhere and gave me the fright of my life! Luckily it just took my snook and nothing else. I am just sad that my GoPro was not on.
My positive story for 2023 is back in September I got my good friend carter his first ever white spring on the chilliwack river it was his first time fishing the vedder and his first chinook ever!!
My 2023 story I stared making my own twitching jigs for cohos and got a couple coho this year on my jigs.
Love following your posts and videos. My positive story foe this year is since I retired I decided to learn how to tie my own flys. I came across an estate sale and purchased some fly tie tools and materials. Set up a place at home to be my fly tie station. I watched some videos and tied a few flys. Went out the next day and caught some nice trout at one of the lakes near Kamloops. Quite a good feeling catching fish on the first fly I tied! 😊
My best fishing story of 2023 was catching a 13 pound rainbow trout.
Hey Rod i just started fishing and just used my trout rod for salmon fishing. it was the first time and a couple of times after that it was amazing but i did not end up with a salmon i had a friend help me learn the basics and was very great to have when i was fishing i also met some nice people when i was fishing. i am excited for next year's salmon.
Hi Rod, once again many thanks for what you contribute to the fishing and outdoor community as a whole , would be very tough to find a truly kinder soul. You take on tough situations and stand up hard for protection and wellness of all species. Bravo!
My story this year is to do with my oldest son. He has joined my side on the river banks and in our boat for years and is truly becoming and ambassador of the sport. This past season he decided to start building , painting and tying coho and steelhead jigs. We bought him the mold and he was on his way collecting used lead by cleaning up the river banks and used tire weights found on the streets. He wears all the protective gear and runs fans when he pours his jigs. The best part is they really work. I was really proud when after 2 casts I was onto a beauty hatchery coho earlier this season on one of his chartreuse and magenta patterns.
Anyway the skys the limit and he lives and breathes fishing and the outdoors and at 15 it warms my heart he follows you and stays off the streets and out of trouble.
Thanks Rod and tight lines in 2024
!❤❤❤
This year i was hiking out of a spot and decided to fish a spot on the way out where a father and his 2 sons (7-10 years old) were. I already had a good day fishing and while i was talking to the father i hooked into a fish and let the youngest one bring it in. Feeling a bit bad i left the other one out i promised if i hooked another id let the older one have it. As the fishing gods have it 5 mins later hooked another one and let the other kid land it. I had to get going so as a departing gift i left the father with one of my hand tied jigs that seemed to be working that day. Ive had many days in the past where others gave me kindness and knowledge. It feels good to pass it on in what i hope was a memorable day for everyone.
Nick ternullo
My 2023 story is going stealhead head fishing and getting my first ever stealhead on a bead.
Hey Rod, this was my second year of volunteering at a local community hatchery and I put my name forward to be a brood stock angler. I was fortunate enough to be selected to do it this season with another fishing friend and while it was very tough conditions this year on the system we were fishing, we did manage to collect a coho each for the hatchery program. We even participated in the egg and milt take, using the fish we had caught, which was incredibly satisfying and educational as well. Your videos for sure inspired me to take the first step 2 years ago and I would encourage anyone who is interested in helping out with habitat restoration, volunteering at a hatchery, or even brood stock angling to reach out to their local stream keepers and community hatchery. Thanks again and happy holidays!
My story is pretty simple. This year I decided to spend some time taking some coworkers out to go salmon fishing. Showing them some really good spots so they could have some success and enjoy their experience. I kind of felt like a guide as I supplied all the gear And gave them some tips throughout the fishing session. They ended up getting some salmon, and it was so much better than catching my own! I made sure that they learned good fish handling techniques and Even the importance of bringing some garbage bags to pick up all the junk people leave behind. It’s important to leave the area. Looking a little better than when you got there. Thanks Rod for everything. You’re a great educator and I’ve learned a lot from you over the years.
This didn't happen this year, but it's the year of a lot of changes for you Rod... so it gets me thinking to one of my favorite times fishing with your dad. There were a few times on the Vedder and even stillwater fishing. It really is hard to pick since his beaming smile is perma-imprinted in my memory. Infectious personality and somehow always seemed to have a way with the fish. He crushed the chironomid bite with that float and spinning rod up in the interior.
The most impressive day for me, was that fabulous sunny November day when we went down and found him and your mom down on the lower river. I think as we popped through the trees he was hooked up to a beauty Chrome Chum Salmon.... you helped him net and unhook it. Before you were done with the fish I believe he was hooked up again. 4 or 5 times in a row this must have happened. You were the net man for the great Chum Slayer that day. A little purple/white jig was all it took for bobber down after bobber down. I think the whole row of people was enjoying the show on the run that day. Forever a part of my fishing memories. Glad I was able to meet him.
I wish the best of health, happiness and a Merry Christmas to you and the rest of the family. Also for unparalleled successes in 2024!!! You really do deserve it devoting your time to this industry!
That's a great line up of prizes Rodney. My oldest daughter has been fishing with me for many years and does well, but this year I introduced one of the younger ones to salmon fishing. We went out and I let her play a pink salmon that I hooked. She commented that it didn't fight as hard as she thought it would. The next time we went fishing on a salmon derby day. She hooked and landed 3 adult chinooks with no assistance, the biggest was about 13 pounds, good enough for first place in the juniors. Not bad for her first salmon! It was a proud dad moment and her next comment was that her arms hurt :)
Hi Rod, my positive story from this year was while fishing for stocked trout. A father and his young son had shown up to try their hand at catching some dinner. There were about 5 of us in the area and we were all having pretty good luck. After a while of them not catching, I hook up on a fish and immediately hand the rod to the son to reel in his first fish. He was over joyed to land one and he and his dad both thanked me. A few minutes later someone else hooked one and did the same thing. Sure enough we all understood the assignment and made sure the kid had a memorable day landing multiple fish, with everyone around contributing.
Hey Rod, I just wanted to say thanks for everything you do for the fisherman in bc teaching people what to do and how to do the right thing my most positive fishing story this year was when I caught my first ever red spring during the summer. It was an amazing experience and I hope to get an even better experience and catch my first ever steelhead this yearmerry Christmas Rod and have a great new year
Hey Rod, my positive story for this year is this. This is my second year fishing salmon after an extremely poor outting last year. My third trip into the season I met a long time older angler who I began chatting up. After spending a while fishing and learning about the beauty of centerpin which was new to me (to which I am now hooked) he ended up getting into a nice coho and we ended up going over to his place in Chilliwack to cook it up. I will be joining him later this month for my first steelhead outting with a centerpin float setup and can't wait.
I have been blown away by how welcoming the fishing community can be at times and am happy to be apart of it. You are a huge part of that and have always been a source of reliable knowledge for me and others like me who are new to angling and want to do it properly and with the correct information. Enjoy the holidays!!! 🎄
My positive fishing story for this year is that I caught my PB largemouth bass (6.36 lbs), PB walleye (13.64 lbs) and PB smallmouth bass (7.18 lbs) all this year. Love your videos- keep up the good work!
Waaaay back when I had a friend who performed exactly zero maintenance on his fishing gear. It was not then and to this day it is not uncommon for him to fish with only half a spool of line. On this day his line was looking mighty shabby. I said too him, "Your line needs to be replaced." Nope. So we're fishing a deep pool on a river. He's using a Rooster Tail (He always uses a Rooster Tail). He hooks into a nice bass. As expected, !!POP!!. Line breaks. My friend is bumming. I refrain from saying anything. We continue to fish.
The fishing begins to slow and I elect to fish the far end of the pool with a night crawler under a bobber. It isn't long before my bobber goes down and I pull in a good bass. One of the better ones I'd caught in my early fishing career. HUGE by our meager standards. Low and Behold! What does it have in its mouth? A rooster tail! I take it out and hand it to him, saying "You want your lure back?" Perhaps it was funnier at the time but back then...it was hilarious!
Our residential community organization have organized and took handi-caped children fishing on boats ( specialty designed ) who never thought they would ever be on one. Most were in WHEELCHAIRS. Yes, we took their families as well. Lots of videos, pictures and memories. Some were terminal and are no longer with us. But their memories are with me.
I'm sure we had some spiritual help, but we were never skunked. The fish always cooperated. Not always big catches but they managed to fight a fish. We ALWAYS used equipment that made it a little bit of a challenge. Yes, they even lost some but it just made them more determined on the next bite.
My advice. If you EVER HAVE A CHANCE to take any child fishing, please do! You never know, you might inspired someone. Especially if it's a child who normally wouldn't have a chance to do so!
One word of advice to you though. When you see the joy, the smiles, the gratitude they have for this chance, you may shed a tear! But it will be a good one. Especially, when you see the parents reactions!
Allô rod…. Great sponsors all the best ones,,,,Load’s of great moments fishing this year, my third in BC my second on centerpin, I’m à Life long fly fishing in the north east Atlantic salmon and brookies….principally…..
And lots of Mexican Pacific Ocean….. North Ouest is all new fishing type and teknique exploring and learning..
This year was the island year lots of pink’s in Campbell River,,, great people there, then the high light was Port Alberni fantastic chinook time with a week in little qualicum fly fishing playing pink’s and chinoua….. great time’s….
Finish the year back home on coho the Vedder and Harrison mill’s…. Can’t Spell or pronounce that river 😂😂….
Was a wonderful one to discover, and met a really nice fishing addict that I think you know very well great walk back from bottom part through a mystical forest we’re the bicycle hags in tree …… best time that 13 days there……
Maybee if lucky will be on the Vedder for Christmas……. Ti buckle this great learning season…..
Hey Rod, I’ve been a big fan of yours for many years now - in fact, your videos helped me catch my first Pink salmon! My positive story: every time I head-out on the river fishing or scouting I ALWAYS pack an empty garbage bag with the goal of filling it with found junk (e.g., line, bottles, cans, etc.)!
Love your videos...especially the ones around Merritt/Kamloops (grew up in Merritt,been living in Kamloops now for 40-odd years) I was fortunate to get a one day sturgeon fishing trip on the Harrison early November , we caught and released approximately 20 (gifted by my son) with Mainlanders guide (great guide-knows where the fish are all year round) Looking forward to next years videos...👍
My positive story for this year was there was no fishing trip at all! I'll positively maybe go fishing next year. I have a problem with commitments.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I've only been fishing for a few years but have quickly fallen in love with it. I have to admit as a beginner, your videos are very motivating and informative. They have helped me become a better angler and in turn I've caught many bucket list species and travelled all over BC. Such as: rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, brooke trout, pan fish like crappie and sunfish, all types of salmon (except for sockeye), bull trout, and even a couple sturgeon. And in locations like Squamish, chilliwack, local lakes, mountain lakes, kelowna, kamloops, port alberni, victoria, skagit river and more.... Best part is now sharing these experiences with my 2 (soon to be 3) kids. Thank you again for everything you do, merry Christmas and happy new year!
I took a long time tennis friend out fishing up near Squamish this summer, he was into fly fishing and I was using a spinning reel. We went to the river and it was quite low cool and drizzly, so we headed further up towards Whistler. The sun ☀️ came out and I have a favourite “secret” spot which I figured we might catch something 😎, Well as he was gearing up I cast across to the corner,,, and , BOOM 💥 just like that a BITE !!! I said Al this is a BIG fish 🎣, I started reeling in and it got stuck in the Lilly pads, he said “oh what are you going to do now? I said ahh that’s easy , Al you can wade in 😂, so yes he helped unhook it we got it in and it was a BIG Rainbow 🌈 “the size of a Volkswagen 🤣” we had it on shore and he said let’s take a quick pic of it , and I said ok, but I want to rinse it first, Well the rainbow 🌈 jumped out of my hands 🙌 and I had to lunge in after it 😅, BOTH of us half soaked we finally got the picture and what a beautiful fish 🐠 on such a wonderful sunny day ☀️, with my new fishing buddy😊
Hey Rod,
your videos are amazing, and I have learned so much about fishing from your videos. I want to thank you, for all your informative river fishing videos, as they helped me catch my very first salmon (a 26lb Chinook Salmon) in 2019. A fun story from this year for me was taking several of my friends out river fishing and lake fishing; I helped them catch their first salmons (Pink Salmon, Chinook Salmon, and Coho Salmon), and we also managed to get full limits of trout on the lakes. It was an amazing experience watching their excitement while they fought the fish. The best part was, that they all loved fishing so much that they will continue fishing as well as do their part to help in conservation (they are so excited for future fishing trips/experiences). I also taught them to always carry a garbage bag in their fishing packs so they can also help clean up the rivers while fishing (leaving with more garbage than they came in with). All-in-all, the 2023 fishing season was really good, and I really enjoyed teaching my friends, helping the other anglers on the rivers/lakes, and cleaning up the rivers. Looking forward to the Steelhead Derbies and the Steelhead Fishing Season!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Well my buddy and I mostly hiked the river looking for places to fish. 😂 90% hiking and 10% fishing. Hopefully next season we'll be able to catch and take home some fish 😅 🙈. Thankfully we love the outdoors!
Hello Rod!
My name is Flynn from North Van, this is my 3rd year of river fishing and my 2023 season was definitely my most significant season I have had. I was fortunate to go on a 12 day camping and fishing trip to Kitamat, BC and Terrace, BC with acouple of fishing buddies. While there, we fished the Kitamat River for the first half of the trip. The river was pretty slow for our target fish of coho, but managed to catch a lot of pink salmon. Things turned around when we went up to Terrace to fish the Skeena River. We caught probably the largest Coho salmons we have caught with some reaching 17lb. It was unreal. To top it off we ended up catching all 5 salmon species in the river with catching my first ever sockeye Salmon. But to end off the trip on the high, my buddy caught a 26lb summer steelhead, but I’m yet to catch one! This completed our most highlighted trip I have had. Fishing up north is like no other. The wild life, fishing, great times. I can’t wait to get back up there and fish again.
Thank you Rod for your videos in helping me fish more frequently and advocating such an awesome sport.
Merry Christmas!
Hi Rod. I'm new to fishing (started in 2022). Have not many stories yet. But I can definitely say that I'm learning every fishing trip, as well as from your videos (thank you for that). The only positive thing I can say is that fishing in BC is very enjoyable experience, highly edictive and sucking out my family budget ha ha. Thank you again for all the videos and information, I've learned a ton from it. All the best to you'll!
Hey Rod, On the Vedder River this fall, I met an old-timer while salmon fishing. We struck up a conversation, and he shared years of wisdom.
When my rod hooked a lively Chinook, we teamed up, laughing and swapping tips.
Together, we landed the fish, turning a solo mission into a shared prize. Merry Christmas rod
-Liam
Hey Rod, On the Vedder River this fall, I met an old-timer while salmon fishing. We struck up a conversation, and he shared years of wisdom.
When my rod hooked a lively Chinook, we teamed up, laughing and swapping tips.
Together, we landed the fish, turning a solo mission into a shared prize. Merry Christmas rod
-Liam
Hey Rod, On the Vedder River this fall, I met an old-timer while salmon fishing. We struck up a conversation, and he shared years of wisdom.
When my rod hooked a lively Chinook, we teamed up, laughing and swapping tips.
Together, we landed the fish, turning a solo mission into a shared prize. Merry Christmas rod
-Liam
Hey Rod, On the Vedder River this fall, I met an old-timer while salmon fishing. We struck up a conversation, and he shared years of wisdom.
When my rod hooked a lively Chinook, we teamed up, laughing and swapping tips.
Together, we landed the fish, turning a solo mission into a shared prize. Merry Christmas rod
-Liam
On one trip in the Southern Gulf of Mexico in August, we caught and released a Blue Marlin, a White Marlin and a Striped Marlin. Then we got into a big school of Yellowfin Tuna in a feeding frenzy. We caught 23 Ahi and released the smaller ones. But, still managed to filet 250+ lbs. of Ahi Tuna steaks at the dock. We had to buy three more coolers to take them home. We also caught 11 Mahi-Mahi and spotted a Whale Shark the size of a school bus in the feeding frenzy. We had delicious fish for months. Now that is what I call a successful fishing trip and memories for life.
Hit the water early this morning around 6:45 am. Was fishing with a Reed Runner with a trailer hook topped off with a white 4 inch twister. Fished along the bank till I got to two weed bed points forming a channel into a small bay off the river. That was the HOT spot! Started off by catching this nice Bass, then caught two Blue Walleye 10 minutes apart. The second one was a beast measuring 28 inches and weighing 6.8 lbs. I also missed another Walleye and a Bass. Wow! What a morning.....
Salmon fishing in Yakutat, Alaska. We fished in the ocean and caught our limit every day. But, the best was the day spent on the Yakutat River. It was a perfect day of fishing. The sun was shining, it was about 50F, no wind, bald eagles were flying overhead, water was moving fast but didn’t impede our wading, a grizzly bear visited us from the shore, the coho fought valiantly and we had our limit by lunch time.
Both of my biggest fish were caught after everyone else has given up, but I wouldn’t stop fishing. One was a 38 lbs cod out in the Atlantic off Montauk Point, the other one was a 108 lbs striped marlin in Cabo Mexico. So you never know what is swimming under you and when they will give you the thrill of your life. Never say Never!
Went down my local park lake to practice with my old baitcasting reel that I never really took time to learn. Got a few 'Bird's Nest' but was able to get a hang of it pretty quick. Wasn't really expecting anything big to bite but she did. A 26 inch LargeMouth, it weighed in at 4.9 lbs. Nice Hog! And pretty lucky at it too.
Surf fishing in September of 2018 @ Floridana Beach I had perfect conditions. The mullet were running, I had a high tide in a nice deep trough and it was 3 hours before dark.
I throw my cast net out, no taco! Pull in so many mullet I had to throw most of them back. I hooked up a huge one and threw it out with my Shimano Baitrunner 5000 outfit, pretty heavy duty fortunately. It wasn't long before I had a tremendous pull that had my drag peeling off pretty good. I was really getting worked by this devil, I thought it might be a tarpon at first but it wasn't coming up to the surface. I finally decided it was a big Redfish. This fight went on for a good half an hour. Several people had to reel in to get out of my way as the fish was pulling me South. I finally get it to the last breakers and pulled it up, I knew it was a 40 lb fish. To my surprise, it wasn't a Redfish or Snook or Jack. It was a Cobia! I was.thrilled, never had I known you could even catch them from the surf.
Hi Rod,
2023 wasn’t my best year landing fish 🤷♂️,but overall it was still a good year
I lost gear,ripped my waders,almost flipped my float tube,and lost more fish than I caught.
I also made some new friends while fishing,explored and found some new spots,got spun around on my float tube by a big trout,and while not many,I did manage to land a few fish on both flies and jigs that I tied myself.
Hopefully next year will be as good,if not better the this year,but we’ll see what both the dfo and the weather have in store for us!
Merry Xmas to you and your Rod
Jeff
Hi Rod!
My Story, I was out fishing with a casual charter on the North-West part of Vancouver Island and we were planning to head out to deep water for Halibut along with a couple other boats, but when we got to the open water, it was too rough for us so we stayed in the sheltered area and began to set up so fly rods for mooching with cut-plug herring. We had 12 pound leader and set out the rods for trolling in 44 ft of water. After about 30 min of no activity, I felt a light tug on the reel, so i let out a bit of line. Then another tug, so another 5 ft of line. Then a 3rd, strong tug and I set the hook. Immediately, it began a slow, steady tugging, heading for deeper water, so we followed it out to deeper water. 50ft. 70ft. 120ft. 140ft, then finally began to guide it to the surface after half an hour of having the Sage fly rod bent right over. When it surfaced, I remember the not being able to see it as the guide just said "Ohh, ahh, that might be too big... We cant gaff that, its too close; We'll have to net it" that's when I saw the 55 pound halibut. On the fly rod. With the 12Ib leader. And before we could get the net, it got a second wind and began to run! It took another 30 min, but finally managed to land it at 122cm. It was a crazy experience, but I'm proud of heck about it! The charter was Winter Harbor Marina and RV :) It was really nice to go with a guide that emphasized the sports element, using as light as realistically possible tackle to catch big fish. It's changed my entire outlook on the sport.
I got a few other crazy stories from the trip, but that took the cake!
Merry Christmas everyone!
I went to the 🚗 squamish with a fly I tied to go catch a 🐟coho salmon and then I used that 🐟 salmon as bait for stergeon I went to maple ridge and used a RC boat 🛥 to drive out into the river and drop the line with a piece of velcro and set the hook to drop the line it went down into the depths 3 hours later I caught a 9 footer craziest moment of my life. Me and my buddy from school best moment of our life were both 14. We cleaned up our spot while we waited as we waited a long time lmao. 😂 thanks Rod
Hey Rod. Recently discovered your great channel after watching friends fishing with Murphy's Sport fishing out of Kyuquot.
I 'rediscovered' fishing over the last couple of years. I spend much of my time out at Horne Lake. I met an old timer who took me under his wing and showed me what was possible. I have since been actively sharing his stories, and wisdom to Amy who will listen.
Over the last year I heard more success stories than ever before - what goes around, comes around - caught my first 5lb trout.
Thanks Rod.
I'm with friends fishing off the end of the ocean pier and it's crowded, shoulder to shoulder crowded and we're all fishing heavy gear for cobia.
After a couple of hours go by an old guy makes a cast and throws his rod and reel in the water. Oops. We have shipyard workers, lawyers, mechanics, all sorts of people there and not one person made a noise. A few people started turning blue from holding it in.
The guy's wife was sitting behind us on the bench. We found out when she said, "That's the second time you've done that this weekend." - Silence on the pier....
We started dragging the bottom with 4-ounce metal lures with treble hooks and after 20 minutes a foreman from the shipyard snagged a line. After about 200 yards of mono he looked at the guy and said, "You did tie it on the spool, didn't you?" Then we laughed. And the man got his gear back.
Hi Rod, Big thanks for your informative and educational videos. Hoping will keep us more educated what ever we do in the fishing the Vedder river specially. One of my positive fishing stories this year 2023 was when my son came with me for fishing that day and he got his first white spring salmon. Not only we got a good memories but also our bonding together with my son was precious. Hoping to replicate this activities every year. And Thank you again for all your educational videos everytime I need to check my do’s and don’ts. Happy Holidays!🎣🎣🎣
I brought my 9 year old daughter this 2023 pink salmon season in our local fishing pier by the Fraser river in Maple Ridge.She was so excited to catch her first ever “pink”as se was unsuccessful the previous season.Armed with spin casting rod and a pink marabou jig,I let her fish on her own beside me with few pointers.And after several cast she asked me “Is this a fish?”I said I dont think so as there was a simultaneous log drifting under her line.When I took the rod to prevent snagging on the drifting log I felt a tug and I told her “ its a fish!I gave her the rod back and let her land the fish on her own!I can’t explain the joy on her face landing her first salmon.From then on,she wanted to come with me every time I go fishing!!!This is my story Rod!
Godbless and Merry Christmas!Thanks for your and sponsors generosity!
Hey Rod, love the channel and all the work you do to support good fishing practice. There's nothing like catching a fish on fly you tied. My positive fishing story for this year has to be my own learning and growth at fly tying. Had the chance to take a lesson in 2022, and picked up my own vice in January of 2023 (would be happy to share some pictures of my early flys / today's flys to see how far I have come). Needless to say I won't be buying flys anymore. I've been working on a whitefish style streamer with the intent of targetting Kootenay bulltrout. My first time using the new pattern, I picked up a nice and fat cutthroat trout on the first cast. A few casts later while I was retrieving it in, I had what would have been the biggest bulltrout of my life following the fly. He inhaled it, but an 'overzealous' and 'eager' trout set meant I never had a chance. Happy to know the new pattern works for multi-species!
Hello Rod, I want to thank you for having taking time to respond to me on Facebook, about my questions on licences in BC. My story is about our visit, my girlfriend and me, in BC: we experienced a lot of good fishing. We did our quota of rainbow and cutthroat trout in lakes and ate all of them (in camping or smoked). It was on the Vancouver Island. We also caught salmon (almost the limit in 5h) on the sea with a friend. He used islander mooching reel, and that’s true, this piece of equipment is fire. Honestly, the only thing that was tougher was to catch salmon in rivers (dry conditions), but they arrive the day we leave. We will have to comeback for sure!
Hey Rod,
Thanks for posting all of the content this year. I really appreciate it as it is some of the best fishing content on UA-cam, and probably the best salmon fishing content out there. I especially appreciate the salmon fishing tutorials, as I was able to catch my first chinook AND first hatchery coho, both on the same day, all thanks to your videos. And one last thing: thank you for promoting prime lures on your channel, they really are the best spoons and I would not have found them if it wasn't for you. (And I would have caught half if the amount of salmon that I caught this year). Wishing you the best in 2024,
Riley
Hey Rod, My favorite fishing memory from 2023 was in February. I was at a lake near the west coast of Vancouver island camping and fishing. Mid day Saturday the sun came out and it was warming up. I got a nice wild cutthroat on my croc spoon, i saw trout taking dry flys so i threw my fly rod out and bam first cast a big cutthroat on the fly! Was getting fish for about 30 mins. Couldn't believe there was a hatch in February.
I have a love and hate relationship with fishing as my husband goes away on fishing trips!! But he’s extremely happy before and after he comes home no matter what the outcome is. (Usually skunked)
I followed your advice and got him the G3 boots this year and hopefully he loves it!! ❤️ (thank you for responding to my dm!)
I appreciate your recipe/cooking video the most! I wish you do more of those!!!
Hey Rodney! Thank you for all that you do for the fishing community!
Hmmm this year was my first time really using soft beads, having used roe since forever I was some what skeptical especially watching people use 5-10 foot leaders and beads. The morning bite was good for roe but by late morning the fish turned off of roe so I tied on a 12mm BNR and first drift the float rockets under, big ole spring which turned into more than a few fish all on soft beads. So you can kinda say I am a "bead-liever" now. :P
Hi Rod, I’ve been watching your videos in the past year and I love them! 2023 is the first year that I started fishing. After I moved to Illinois, I started to try salmon fishing. Initially, I cast jigging spoons for 6 hours at the harbors but I couldn’t even get a single bite. I met a helpful local angler after I got skunked on an early morning. He introduced me the local fishery, the habits of salmon, and how to catch and release them. He also introduced me to the steelhead facility in Wisconsin. I visited the steelhead facility. There, I saw how people helped hatch salmon and preserve the species. I knew better about the fish from these experiences. After 2 months of skunks, I finally landed my first two chinook salmon on skein in October just a few days from my birthday. I was so happy and the catches were my best presents ever. I learned so much from your videos this year and I applied lots of things I leaned in my fishing. Please keep producing these amazing videos and I look forward to watching them in 2024!
Hi Rod!
I just started fishing for salmon this year after moving to Vancouver Island from the mainland 2 years ago. I have had a blast fishing on the local rivers, and have to say that everyone I have met has been so welcoming. I was fishing for pinks in Campbell River and could not figure out why everyone else was catching fish, and I was having such a hard time. A gentleman noticed my inexperience and went through my tackle, noticing that I did not have anything appropriate. He quickly provided me with 2 flies and some pink wool. Within a couple minutes I had a pink and was so grateful for his help. This has happened to me more than a few times between Courtenay and Campbell river. The culture of willingness to help others is something I have came across numerous times on my adventures in 2023, and is one big reason why I will be continuing with the hobby. Thank you for all the informative videos you provide; I have learned a lot from them!
Great idea Rod. Sometimes putting a positive spin on a situation is all that's needed to evoke change for the better. My tale reflects that and I now use it as a tool (example) in my own life.
The setting comes from the Fraser River pink salmon opening in September. For one reason or another, I’ve always missed the opening anytime it comes around. This year I made it, but on the very last day of the opening. I planned to stop on my way home from work. I had a terrible morning and an even worse day at work. The desire to fish was pretty much gone but I ultimately decided that I shouldn’t be wasting the opportunity. It only took a few casts before things started looking up. 3 pinks and 1 whitefish. Record numbers for someone like me. I released them all. I found myself saying to the fish: “Just because I had a bad day, doesn’t mean you have to too.” (I laugh thinking back on it). Anyways, while this was happening a mother and her young son came down the bank. He was so excited to be there. His mom remarked after the third fish I brought in that I must really know what I’m doing. I laughed and said “This doesn’t normally happen!” She shared in the laugh with me and asked if I could help her boy out. He was getting frustrated and was starting to rip his line through the water towards the fish near him. I walked down the beach and took a look at his setup. It was a classic red/white bobber setup that you’d see for lake fishing. Sounds like his Dad had just left it on for him thinking that he couldn’t catch anything anyways. With his permission, I removed the setup and clipped the million-dollar-lure off of my line and tied it onto his. He was very thankful. After giving him a quick run-down he was able found a nice shiny Doe of his own. I unhooked the fish once he got it to shallow water and mom was able to snap a great picture of him holding it up quickly before releasing it. He was stoked, mom was stoked, I was stoked. I left him with the lucky lure and a fantastic memory.
Fishing can often become more about yourself and your own levels of enjoyment/success out on the water as you progress, get more serious, have less free time in your life, etc. -- but really it can be just as enjoyable if you are able to share those things with others around you. I was so miserable that day and honestly didn't want to talk to (let alone help) anyone. I'm so glad I shed that skin for those people. He was able to learn some good practices for salmon fishing and I was able to see the results of a change in headspace. Happy holidays everyone!
Hi Rod, I have watched and studied alot of your videos. Keep em coming!
I am self employed and weekends are not always free, but I do get the occasional weekday off. I started fishing rivers 2 years ago. It's been quite the Learning curve. In that time I've run into some really friendly and talkative individuals who have shared techniques and experience with me. I must really need it cause I get alot of advise. 😅
I just wanted to share how great it is when you don't know anyone when you go, but meet guys enjoying the great outdoors. The only good Samaritan thing I did was helping a guy who didn't speak English order food from a food truck at peach Park. While looking awesome in my camouflage hip waders. 😂
Hey Rod, really enjoy your fishing videos and the wealth of knowledge you offer up.
I’ve been fishing for over 60 yrs now. The first time I fished was when my father took all 6 of us boys out on the River Thames at Hampton Court, just outside of London. You might know that name as it was the summer home of King Henry VIII. We fished for roach, dace and other coarse fish right across from King Henry’s palace.
I’ll always remember those damp, dark mornings in London getting rousted out of bed in the black of night with my brothers. We’d catch a red double decker bus to Waterloo Station and then the train to Hampton Court. I’m pretty sure my dad did little fishing himself because his hands were full trying to keep track of his kids. If we weren’t falling into the river we were losing some of his fishing tackle or just being a nuisance. I don’t know if dad ever managed to get a hot cup of tea or sandwich all day because we boys would have eaten and drank the lot before 9:30 in the morning. Dad certainly gave me the love of fishing and patience that it takes sometimes to get lucky.
Jump ahead several decades to Terrace, BC of the early 70’s where I found myself living and enjoying the incredible fishing paradise of the Skeena river and its tributaries. This is where I “honed” my skills in the art of fly fishing for steelhead and the Skeena’s many species of salmon.
Just within the past 7 years we again relocated to Chilliwack where my old shoulders told me it was time to give up my beloved singlehanded flyrod. At the age of 74 I decided to try and learn to Spey fish with the two handed rod. This year I fished strictly with a fly. I watched as fishers all around me pulled in beautiful coho while I just struggled to cast the fly and get it down to the fish. One day as I went through my daily tribulations, a young fly fisherman, whose casting ability I had been admiring, came over and offered some advice to this frustrated old guy. He started me down the Spey path with a lesson in underhand casting which he promised would ease the pain in my shoulders. After watching my performance for several minutes he corrected my technique and left me with the encouragement and confidence I needed. Later that morning I caught my first coho salmon on the Vedder with one of my own hand tied flies. So satisfying!Unfortunately I forgot to get this young fella’s name but will be forever grateful for the kindness and time he gave me while his fishing buddies were nearby slaying coho.
Thanks, Rod, I sure appreciate these give-aways.
This was an epic year for me, I've been fly fishing for 44 years now, and this year, I learned TWO new ways to fly fish. The first new method was "euro-nymphing" with nymphs in rivers. I thought it seemed kinda silly at first, but then I got my first fish, and it was brilliant! I've tried it quite a bit now, and it's definitely my new favorite way to fly fish in rivers! The second method is "naked line" fly fishing with chironomids. Until this year I had always used an indicator for chironomids but I went with a guide buddy who was very much into fishing the naked line and he taught me the way to do it. What a fantastic way to fish for trout - I loved it! Thanks again Rod.
Hey Rod, love your channel! My story is from this past September. My wife and I were invited with another couple to join friends and stay at their cabin on Green Lake near 70 Mile. I’ve heard it’s no good for fishing, but brought some spinning gear anyway. My two buddies don’t really fish and assumed it’d be boring anyway. I woke early the next morning and tried casting a chartreuse Panther Martin from the dock, and within 10 minutes landed a 7lb rainbow trout. I guess my hollering woke up one of my buddies, Duncan, and he helped me land and release the fish. He’s never really fished before, but borrowed my rod and on his third cast hooked an even bigger trout (he must have taken a dozen pictures with it). I don’t think he knows anyone that he didn’t text a pic of himself with that fish. The next morning Duncan woke me up way early in the morning, ready to hit the same dock and try with my spinning gear again. He was hooked. Turns out that even at 52, a guy can still discover a new love and passion for the excitement of fishing, something that I discovered when I was 4 years old. We’re all planning our next trip together already, and now all of my friends are investing in their own gear…. a new tradition begins.
Hi Rod, big thank you for your video and giving away all these items. I’m entering this giveaway for my son, who is a big fan of your content. My positive story is about dropping him off and watching him fish- and all his love and passion for the hobby. After taking him to the chilliwack river 3 times, he caught a bright silver coho, a “hatch” he called it. Needless to say, we had a great dinner that night! Best of luck out there and enjoy your holidays!
Rod, all my fishing experiences were good in 2023, but there's one that stands out.
I live in Port Alberni and I often go to Stamp Falls just to see what's in the river. This day I took my rig out, it's got heat when it's cold and the toilet,😂, just planning on spending the day.
When I got to Stamp campground, I saw two young men I know very well from an RV dealership here in town, with their rigs all set up. They invited me to join them for the weekend. ❤❤ So, I squeezed my 25 ft rig in beside them, put my awning out, got my fire pit and we started to fish.
Stamp River was almost overflowing, so the likelihood of catching a fish was unlikely😂, but that really didn't matter.
I'm old, and cranky, and I live on TV dinners😂😂. These two guys cooked, did the dishes, kept the fire going, had the big tarp over top so when it rained we didn't get wet. I felt like a queen.❤
There was one steelhead caught on the very first morning, and that was it. I would do it again in a moment.
There are two things I by:
1) The only constant in life is change. Learn to embrace it.
2) Accept it, change it or walk away.
Thank you for doing what you do.
I have three positive experiences that I would like to share. The first began with me wanting to try fishing a new body of water in the mountains. As I was approaching my destination, I noticed an official road sign next to a very small creek. The sign read “Source of Hudson River”! My second positive experience was at a benefit dinner where Henry Winkler was the honored guest speaker. Before sitting down to eat, I talked with Henry, and knowing he loves fly fishing for trout, I gave him a pair of hand tied flies for his collection. And my third positive experience was when I was trout fishing, a river otter emerged from its burrow, looked at me, then laid down on the bank and fell asleep. It knew I was not a threat! Oh, and I caught a trout.
Hi Rod, thanks for the content, Really enjoy the stories and information that you provide.
I have only been able to spend about 7 days on the river over the past 2 years and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Finally caught my first Coho and it was fantastic. I was using BnR beads, prime lures and spinners. Even though the some of the practices were suspect of my fishing partners, I stuck with the proper ways to fish and was rewarded. Hooked into 4 the last day but was only able to land one. Still a time spent somewhere along the river! Though i was successful with my spin rod that was my highlight for sure.
Thanks again and Merry Christmas to you and your family and all the other anglers. Tight Lines peeps!
1963 a 7yr old boy has been bugging his dad to go fishing one Saturday morning in mid September he finally says OK we take a bus from n Burnaby to Kootenay loop we walk down Skeena Ave come to An old rail and car bridge across to NV had to wait for a tug boat then across we went about 200 yrs after the bridge we go down the road bank beside Seymore river mouth secound cast pinh croc seven year old boy catches 3 pinks .that kid is 68 today and there likely not a creek or a river within 100 miles of Burnaby I haven't fished .yup that kid was me !
Love the channel, and genuinely attribute all my salmon fishing succes since moving to BC to your videos and blog. I took a 6 month sebbatical from my job this year and spent a lot of that time off fishing. That included a 30 day road trip into Montana and Wyoming to chase trout on the fly. Despite that being an incredible trip filled with so many memorable positive experiences, my favorite fishing memory in 2023 was in Ontario. I grew up there fishing bass on hard tackle. When I moved to BC my dad bought me a fly rod as a present for finishing school and making the big move out west, even though he'd never fly fished. After a lot of false starts, I finally hit my stride this year and really started to enjoy fly fishing in rivers. When I went back home to Ontario this year I brought the fly rod, and decided no more gear, I was gonna land a smallmouth on my 6wt. All day my dad was landing fish, but nothing for me. That night a tied a fly to imitate the white plastic bait he was using. The next day with my newly tied creation, the fishing was tremendous. I even managed to outfish my dad, which I never do. It was extremely rewarding and so cool getting to bring my new fly fishing skills from out west, back to my home water in Ontario. Not only did we catch lots of bass, but they were beauties! Pound for pound smallmouth bass fight like hell!
Hey rod, again awesome video, I have always watched you since I could remember as my dad showed me your channel.
My story is about catching my first ever coho by my self. Me and my dad were at the lickman run about 13years ago. Still remember it like it was yesterday. I was casting bait then I got bored and just started goofing around (typical 8 year old) then all of a sudden while I was jumping on the rocks my rod bent over! I set the hook then boom! I fighted the fish with all my might while my dad was over my shoulder telling me what to do. Got it in the net and it was a nice hatchery buck coho. My dad was so happy for me as he jumped around full of excitement.
Ever since then I’ve been hooked! I appreciate your videos every time you post! Keep it up and hopefully I will get my kids watching your videos as well! Cheers
Happy Holidays Rod to you and your family! Thanks for all the great content and info shared.
My entry: This past September was going to be my second time fishing for Pink Salmon on the Fraser. The last return I was persistent but didn’t even get a bite.
This year was different. I’m fortunate to live somewhere where I can fish for Salmon without having to go far. The tidal Fraser in New Westminster is my spot. The riverbank full of anglers every day in week of Pinks. This year, I caught my first Salmon. Over the course of the run I would catch many more, but as fulfilling as the fishing was, were people I met.
In particular, a father and young son who I regularly encountered while going to the river during the return. Both of them were super kind and I had fun chats with the school aged boy about baseball and fishing. One day while they came down to fish next to me, I got a fish on and the boy was a rockstar and came over to help net the salmon, which can be tricky to do on the rocky shores near the mouth of the Fraser. He ended up netting two salmon for me and was great help. The people I encountered on those rocky banks over the nearly 3 week opening were some of the kindest, most chill, and overall solid group I’ve spent time with. It was a wonderful period of community while forming some core memories for me.
Can’t wait for the next pink return!
Hi Rod,
I really appreciate the giveaway!
I only just started fishing this season, and so I don't really have a specific positive story to tell. My friends and I all recently turned 30, and we made a pact to either become golfers or anglers. Most went for golf, but a few of us decided to take on fishing. We've been to a few stocked lakes across the lower mainland, and we tried our luck at Cohos on the Chilliwack River. Although we haven't caught anything yet, we've been having a blast! It can be hard maintaining friendships as we've gotten a bit older, but fishing has been a great way for us to get together.
I just wanted to say thank you for all the great tips, and helping us newbies get started with this awesome hobby. Me and the gang are looking forward to checking out some of those local shops you mentioned.
Happy Holidays!
Hello Rod, this year my 11 year old grandson came out with my son to fish with me on the Chilliwack River. I was staying at Vedder River Campground in my trailer and they stayed overnight. My grandson caught his first salmon, a nice clean chum that was gently released. He is hooked and wants to do more salmon fishing. While fishing Gibbs representatives came by with a giveaway for spoons for those that they found were fishing with a barbless/pinched barb hook. I spun the wheel and won a box of lures that I was able to share with my grandson. Many good memories.
Hi Rod,
Here are a few 2023 highlights, which was a very good year for me.
- the day i saw you release a wild steelhead in the run above peach just as i was arriving
- had 14 steelhead on that season, landed 6 (3 hatchery, 3 wild)
- was able to enter 2 of the hatchery into derby and won $100 with one of them
- you helped me with landing 1 of the 3 wild steelhead with your moby net and had quick pic of it
-got another spey setup in april and have been out with it about 5 times recently to improve my skills
Thanks Chris
I have not gone fishing much in my life, but recently I went fishing with some friends at Eagle Nest Lake in Northern New Mexico. We caught 100 fish. It was exciting. Great friends. Great time indeed!!
It was the best fishing trip i have ever experienced.
Hi Rod. Thank you for all that videos you make. For me as a newcomer and beginner in salmon fishing they were essential :)
Last funny story I remember was taking my wife trout fishing in Rice lake. She never fished before and was just learning. She lost my last spinner in that lake but with next attempt she caught me somebody’s else, which was kinda funny and unexpected.
I cast out into the water and sat down to wait for some action. I had no idea what was coming. The stillness of the water around my bobber was disturbed as the bobber went suddenly under. Far under. Whatever it was felt big.
I worked to reel it in when suddenly it came to the surface near the edge of the dock where I could see it. I shrieked. It looked like Loch Ness. My friend was on the other side of the dock and all I could do was shout “What do I do?! What do I do?!” I was so freaked out I don't know what he said, but I was so glad he was there. In a flurry the fish was off my hook and gone.
My screams had traveled across the lake to the other fisherman previously enjoying their quiet morning. Shouts came back, “Is everything okay?”
The fish wasn't Loch Ness, but it was a 5 ft. long channel catfish, as big around as a baby. And just as terrifying.
It was the one that got away. And thank god it did! The end!
My son is a two-time cancer survivor which left him vision impaired. He has no depth perception so he can’t see huge distances well or walk well on rough ground.
But this does not stop his love of fishing. He fought cancer from 13 months until his sixth birthday. He doesn’t let it slow him down. He is 16 now and though he needs some assistance at times, I wouldn’t trade him as fishing partner for anyone. Whether it’s a bluegill, crappie, catfish, bass or carp, each catch is like his first.
This year he caught his personal best bass of over 5 pounds. The smile never left his face for weeks. He amazes me when I think of his battles but yet how his love of fishing keeps him focused and laughing.
Love your work, Rod! Good stuff. I have been fishing all of my life. Lakes, rivers, streams, all sorts of species, but only during last couple of years have I started salmon fishing, hence watching your videos. My story is from last year fishing at Puntledge river. Me and my buddy Dan went early morning to try lure fishing. It was a glorious morning and we were pretty much by ourselves. After a few throws I hit a bird in flight. What a crazy timing that was, there was only one bird and somehow my lure hit it. I don’t remember what kind of a bird that was a seagull or a duck or something like that but it was only one bird flying through the river valley and I hit it. After a brief scramble we n the air it took off with my lure still stuck in his ass. Eventually it got free and flew onwards never looking back. Turns out I was bird fishing that day.
Hey Rod! Great year of videos for 2023. Totally understand your tired but keep them coming cause whether you know it or not you are an ambassador to the fishing community for your outdoorsman ship. I wanted to enter your contest to hopefully win a prized to regift to a new angler who is a friend of mine and has built such an awesome photo gallery of his 2023 outings. He loves the challenges and for his last outing though he might try dropping a Sabiki rig for herring in Richmond. It maid me laugh to see his excitement to land a dbl hooked catch. Any thought my buddy Randy would be a great candidate for a prize. Cross my fingers. Merry Christmas to all you outdoorsman.
Rod thank you on everything you have done for the fishing community around the world.
My story.. well in the 1990s our country ( former yugoslavia) had a massive war . Our father still managed to take us fishing to a local swamp ... getting shot by a sniper and all .. in early 2000 we moved to canada and my dad picked up fishing in the local rivers.. we spent all our free weekends fishing and he always made sure us boys were having fun and most importantly catching fish. Once youtube poped up and we eventually found your chnl , we would spend our non fiahing days watching your videos and following your advice.. we always hoped to run into you at one of the lakes or rivers to say thank you.. well in 2021 my dad suffered a massive stroke which left him disabled, unable to speak and preety much whiped his memory....now that he is unable to go fishing we spend our visits rewatching your videos and trying to refresh his memory .. eitherway thank you for everything you do .
All the best
PM
I love your videos; I even share them on Facebook pages, especially the flossing video you created! This year, I didn't get to go out much, but I have a nice story to share. I have a friend who always wanted to get into salmon fishing. It took a lot of patience and time to teach him the setup for centerpin (he did not want to listen and just wanted to begin centerpin fishing, lol). I brought him to Chilliwack Vedder, taught him everything I knew, and he landed his first fish - a coho too, haha! I am so proud of him. Now, he spends so much money to buy Sage and Milner, and him and I always just talk about fishing, lmao. I also was able to help a guy get his gear back. The funny thing was Fred Kappler had it; he took the post down, but I was able to reach out to people to inform the guy Fred had his stolen gear. So glad the guy got his Sage and Milner back.
My name is Jen Black and I’m from Chilliwack BC… where do I start!? There are so many cool stories from this year! From releasing a snagged fish caught in a line snag to helping all the little guys at the river all summer.
The one amazing thing that has happened this year though is the strengthening of the bond between my son and I.
I’ve fished since I was little but not SERIOUS fishing until this year and I kinda stopped for the last few years. My son really got into fishing this year with me and it awoke my love for fishing again!
He had never caught a salmon before this year. I always told him “once you catch a salmon, you’ll be hooked forever”. He caught his first (and many more) salmon this year, a red spring, and I was right, he is HOOKED (no pun intended).
Since Aug this year he has caught red and white chinook, summer steelhead( I know crazy), pinks, chum and a few coho!
There’s one left that he is aiming for … the winter steelhead! Of course :)
His dad passed away when he was very young and people often ask him if his dad taught him how to fish and I get joy when he points over to me fishing and says, “my mom taught me everything I know”. He is a natural and loves the sport of fishing. He advocates for the fish and hopes to be a fisheries officer in 5 years.
We also watch A LOT of your videos so thanks for the great, often local, content! Keep it coming! Merry Christmas 😊
Hi Rod.
Fishing is always a positive experiance for me, even when I go for months without getting one.
You see, I decided about 10 years back, that I would learn to catch salmon and steelhead with only a fly rod.
I got to be OK at indicator fishing, swinging, stripping but I still figure a good gear rod on my local system is gonna out fish me maybe 10 to 1.
I decided to dig out my gear stuff and was quite dismayed to find that my float fishing skills have receded. I was pretty good teen or so years ago.
I stuck with gear for a bit, and finally I had a couple of decent coho days. Even getting a few more than the elite gear guys, on a couple occasions.
I realized that I can still use gear.
I switched back to flies. Something about it, it's just a different kind of fun.
Hey, i am from Czech Republic and traveled to Canada to catch a salmon for the first time. I went through hell. I am a newbie so learning everything was a challenge. I had whole summer to learn. I traveled basicaly from Calgary to Kelowna and then all the way up to Fort st John. I had amazing time. I feel very lucky that i had a chance to try fishing in so many streams of BC. From Fort st John i went to Bowron lakes where i spent 8 days on canoe just fishing all the lakes there. Had amazing catch of 70cm lake trout. Then i finally went to Squamish area where i caught 2 beautiful Cohos. Thank to you actually. Your videos about salmon fishing helped me a lot. Until i got to south, there was not much garbage, lines etc so there was no need of cleaning. But as it was more crowded down south, i saw lines and lures everywhere. So my strategy was to go fishing just for an hour. After an hour i went all around the stream where i was fishing and started cleaning. I took it as foraging. I didn't have to pay for lures and weights. I did something good for the nature and also saved some money on lures which i found. I have a health condition so there must always be someone around me. While i was fishing, my girlfiend was cleaning because she didn't want me to spend too much money on lures as well. Haha. I could write a book about everything i experienced this season. Actually my girlfiend does. Whole year here in Canada was an amazing adventure for both of us and we are looking forward to another one. I want to learn fly fishing next season.
PS: It might look suspicious but it's not. I have so many stories in my sleeve but you need to read others stories too. I'm happy I can live my life. Thank you again.
We had family visiting from the UK this summer and wanted to get out for pinks. We had talked up the fishing so much that we were worried it would be a let down. We picked a day and prayed for weather. The day arrived and winds had turned from “light and variable” to “NW15-25”, a bit much for the 3 of us in our little tinny.
We were trying to get to Bowen Island as that’s where we had had great luck in the past week and wanted to replicate it. We were unable to get there and had to admit defeat but said we would drop lines just off the nearest point and hope for the best. We apologized that the day wasn’t panning out and were worried it would be a bust.
We moved gear and people around and started fishing, no sooner had we gotten one line down and began explaining what could happen next, the one rod in the water sprung to life with a lively pink salmon. In the confusion we lost the fish but got both rods down and immediately had a double header! Our relative couldn’t believe it and quickly had his first salmon to hand. This frenzy continued for another 40 minutes and we had 3 pinks in the boat each.
Feeling overly confident we changed tactics, move closer to shore and targeted the recently opened chinooks. Our first pass produced another pink which was swiftly sent on its way. The next hit looked like a freight train, my dad set the hook and handed the rod over to the Brit. This was a different beat entirely. I gritted my teeth nervously looking at my dad muttering “this is the fish we came for.” After a 10 minute tussle, the fish was brought to the net, and the exhausted Brit was buzzing on adrenaline. We were worried the fish was over the 80cm cap but were relieved it taped out to exactly 79cm, taped it twice to be safe!
With the Englishman safely limited out, it was time for us to have some fun. I took the next fish, another beautiful red chinook measuring 71cm. With that we called it a day and made our way back to show the rest of the family.
After returning to the UK, he still says it was the highlight of the entire trip. For a guy who hadn’t fished much before, he just might have the buzz now!
This was my first year editing UA-cam videos, so i think i have a brand new appreciation for the amount of work you put in. Its incredible. As for a fishing story, its was another season with thoughts of my late father as I fished the Vedder river. Probably the most memorable morning was, after a couple of skunked outtings, I did my best Rodney Hsu impression by pulling 4 hatchery Coho out of the river in the first hour of fishing. It was a shame to have to go home! Great day. Thanks for all you do Rodney, always appreciate it. Cheers 🥃