South Thompson Salmon

[B-rad]

just wondering if anyone been out yet on the south thompson,,,,,,was out 2 days ago catching some big rainbow,,,,,,quite few chinook and few sockeye where making good push first thing in the morning,,,,i havent chased the salmon yet,,,,i usually dont chase them till around the 25th

[RyoTHC]

just wondering if anyone been out yet on the south thompson,,,,,,was out 2 days ago catching some big rainbow,,,,,,quite few chinook and few sockeye where making good push first thing in the morning,,,,i havent chased the salmon yet,,,,i usually dont chase them till around the 25th

this is something I’ve never done since moving here, chased them salmon and I’ve lived near Kamloops the entire time! Wouldn’t even know where to begin, but good luck sir !!

[B-rad]

this is something I’ve never done since moving here, chased them salmon and I’ve lived near Kamloops the entire time! Wouldn’t even know where to begin, but good luck sir !! lots of good shore casting from cambell creek all way up to chase,,,,,as for boats,,,,there is a few good pinch points between pritchard and banana island,,,,and 2 pinch points just above banana island

[RyoTHC]

lots of good shore casting from cambell creek all way up to chase,,,,,as for boats,,,,there is a few good pinch points between pritchard and banana island,,,,and 2 pinch points just above banana island

I was told shore casting the Thompson is a waste of time because the deeper channel is in the middle and you can’t cast into it and fish the length of it.

never have been a salmon fisherman so that’s all it took to discourage me haha

[walks with deer]

My daughter has been killing salmon from shore since she was 4

[RyoTHC]

My daughter has been killing salmon from shore since she was 4

what exactly are you implying !? Aha

[walks with deer]

You said shore casting is a waste of time...

Those goofs wasting fish this week where shore casting.

[Troutslayer.]

Ryothc he's implying you lack motivation after one buffoon said it wasn't good when in actuality it is good you just have to actully spend time finding your spot or using a large sized Reel and a heavier weight cast in to that supposed middle channel and the south thompson is exceptional for rainbow trout dolly varden and littered with squaw fish /pike minnows so you always catch something so he's implying you lack motivation and effort and it is rather pathetic the fact that one false comment discouraged you that person just probably was just probably using the wrong tackle/ gear and casting in the places were it is 2 feet deep for 50 feet

[RyoTHC]

Ryothc he's implying you lack motivation after one buffoon said it wasn't good when in actuality it is good you just have to actully spend time finding your spot or using a large sized Reel and a heavier weight cast in to that supposed middle channel and the south thompson is exceptional for rainbow trout dolly varden and littered with squaw fish /pike minnows so you always catch something so he's implying you lack motivation and effort and it is rather pathetic the fact that one false comment discouraged you that person just probably was just probably using the wrong tackle/ gear and casting in the places were it is 2 feet deep for 50 feet


lol welcome to the forum dick nuts, you’ll fit in with a few of the other mouth pieces that talk a lot.

[walks with deer]

Lol trout slayer coming in hot and aggresive lol...i am guessing he fishes the south thompson alot...maybe even last night and right now!

[B-rad]

son in law 1st south thompson chinook,,,,nice fish,,,,,14 poundshttps://i.imgur.com/rWBpljoh.jpg

[B-rad]

lots of fish to be had again this year on south thompson

[RyoTHC]

lots of fish to be had again this year on south thompson

first year for me this year ever salmon fishing..

spent 40 hours on the river before hooking my first fish, took a subsequent 24 hours accumulative for me to catch my monthly limit. Steep learning curve but a blast once you figure it out!

[B-rad]

yeah,,,,its a hoot,,,,,

[Jagermeister]

Was out trolling the "hole" on Little Shuswap yesterday. Twenty-eight boats including mine. There were a few fish caught, but not by me. The only public launch at Lion's Park must have been gridlock. With the water level receding rapidly, launching a boat will take some dexterity. Jets will be okay, but props might get some scuffing. I launch of a private one and even that has low water, good thing it is sand, removes the paint but no ding marks.
My finder was showing lots of fish at varying depth, but I would say the majority are jacks.

[B-rad]

Was out trolling the "hole" on Little Shuswap yesterday. Twenty-eight boats including mine. There were a few fish caught, but not by me. The only public launch at Lion's Park must have been gridlock. With the water level receding rapidly, launching a boat will take some dexterity. Jets will be okay, but props might get some scuffing. I launch of a private one and even that has low water, good thing it is sand, removes the paint but no ding marks.
My finder was showing lots of fish at varying depth, but I would say the majority are jacks. how deep where you on average tracking fish at?? last week i was tracking fish 60-80 feet deep

[lovemywinchester]

Lots of big fish in the river and lake. Lots hanging around 80 ft. Here are some screen shots from my Humminbird on the Shswap.

https://i.imgur.com/pLTVM0Yh.png
https://i.imgur.com/dMpXwvKh.png
https://i.imgur.com/YQL2tSAh.png
https://i.imgur.com/lVfWHioh.png
https://i.imgur.com/HKuzmCTh.png

[Danny_29]

Ewww zombie salmon. Trout fishing is phenomenal though. They taste like garbage once they've been feeding on eggs for a while.

[B-rad]

Lots of big fish in the river and lake. Lots hanging around 80 ft. Here are some screen shots from my Humminbird on the Shswap.

https://i.imgur.com/pLTVM0Yh.png
https://i.imgur.com/dMpXwvKh.png
https://i.imgur.com/YQL2tSAh.png
https://i.imgur.com/lVfWHioh.png
https://i.imgur.com/HKuzmCTh.png did you by chance get any screen shots of the tracking fish in river??

[Jagermeister]

how deep where you on average tracking fish at?? last week i was tracking fish 60-80 feet deep
Most of the fish, (comprising mostly of smaller fish that I presume are jack with a few larger fish) are in the 45-55' depth. Then there are a fair number of fish from 80' to 100', occasionally some down to 120'.
I have seen a larger number of fish surface rolling this past week compared to the previous weeks. I think these are post spawners.
One of my neighbors was catching them at 35 to 40' trolling just off the shore. This was a couple of weeks ago. He hasn't been out since so I presume that he and his wife have limited out or caught what they wanted.

[RyoTHC]

One of the boats out by Pritchard was consistently marking his fish 4-5’ under the surface and not off the bottom, started using less weight and coming up the water column with my presentation and limited out 3 days later.

I forgot to mention, I started fishing the last two days at legal light, and was limited out within 30 minutes both days with additional bites/hookups and lost fish in that time, while others beside me didn’t get anything.

[B-rad]

nice 2 man limit,,,,4 landed,,,,,2 lost at boat https://i.imgur.com/tOBSi4t.jpg

[B-rad]

my final fish for my south thompson year limit https://i.imgur.com/NqYp4O1l.jpg

[Bugle M In]

Firstly, congrats guys.

I don't know if it is the photos, but it is amazing to me how much weight these salmon lose on their way up the rivers.
From the images, you can see all the spine and rib bones starting to appear.
Even on the Vedder, I don't see that being as apparent as it is up on the Thompson.
Makes sense, but still interesting to see the change.
Years to put on the weight, weeks to start losing it all.

[RyoTHC]

Firstly, congrats guys.

I don't know if it is the photos, but it is amazing to me how much weight these salmon lose on their way up the rivers.
From the images, you can see all the spine and rib bones starting to appear.
Even on the Vedder, I don't see that being as apparent as it is up on the Thompson.
Makes sense, but still interesting to see the change.
Years to put on the weight, weeks to start losing it all.


didn’t have any spine or rib bone showing what so ever on my august and very early September fish.. maybe I just got lucky but they were pretty meaty fish still!

[B-rad]

wow,,,seen 4 guys today on river,,,,still keeping salmon,,,,,i seen 2 fish possibly 3,,,,,the CO is goin crazy checkin peeps,,,,,,,,,,we sooooo need more CO to help out

[Blacktail1]

wow,,,seen 4 guys today on river,,,,still keeping salmon,,,,,i seen 2 fish possibly 3,,,,,the CO is goin crazy checkin peeps,,,,,,,,,,we sooooo need more CO to help out
First of all yes more man power needed, second yuck why the he’ll are people keeping 3/4 spawned out fish.

[Bugle M In]

First of all yes more man power needed, second yuck why the he’ll are people keeping 3/4 spawned out fish.
Jerky???????????

[B-rad]

it all tastes good smoked :)

[REMINGTON JIM]

First of all yes more man power needed, second yuck why the he’ll are people keeping 3/4 spawned out fish.

some LOOK like old black GUM boots ! :tongue: RJ

[Jagermeister]

nice 2 man limit,,,,4 landed,,,,,2 lost at boat https://i.imgur.com/tOBSi4t.jpg

These fish all appear to be female(jaw does not extend past the eye). Did they still have roe in them? They look spawned out.

[Bugle M In]

There bellies don't look all that extended anymore.

As for the quality of the fish, just remember folks, that not everyone has the same opportunities as others.
I live down by the coast, so i am fortunate to get the salmon on the ocean or early on the rivers.
Others only at the the end game.
So yes, much more of a smoked/can salmon quality.
But good to see folks getting out there.

But then again, those guys only have minutes to go out hunting compared to me down here.

[B-rad]

These fish all appear to be female(jaw does not extend past the eye). Did they still have roe in them? They look spawned out. they where 2 males,,,2 females,,,,,,yes females had roe still,,,and male had sperm sacks still,,,,,,its quite possible,,,these fish where destined for adams river run

[knockturnal]

I know of 5 fish caught on the last day of the season in little shu that still had sea lice on them.

[ruby]

These fish smoke up real nice, I fish them each year. These later arriving fish are mostly south Thompson and little river, with some also spawning in the Thompson below Kamloops lake, and some spill over into the Adams. Earlier component of these summer 4-1’s are heading to the mid and lower Shuswap. They will be spawning shortly. We are all quite fortunate to be able to target this strong run of Chinook, most other Chinook, stream type, are doing very poorly and conservation actions are needed to try and rebuild those runs.

[ElectricDyck]

Sorry Im super ignorant about other fisheries besides the vedder...are these whites or reds? If 2 of those are males in the pic they got a lot more turning to do yet...look like all females to this amateur fisherman...

[ruby]

Sorry Im super ignorant about other fisheries besides the vedder...are these whites or reds? If 2 of those are males in the pic they got a lot more turning to do yet...look like all females to this amateur fisherman...

Theres a mix of white and red, and some are even marbled. Ive caught bright silver ones in late September, just depends how long they have been in fresh water.

[Blacktail1]

There bellies don't look all that extended anymore.

As for the quality of the fish, just remember folks, that not everyone has the same opportunities as others.
I live down by the coast, so i am fortunate to get the salmon on the ocean or early on the rivers.
Others only at the the end game.
So yes, much more of a smoked/can salmon quality.
But good to see folks getting out there.

But then again, those guys only have minutes to go out hunting compared to me down here. this is a very fair statement!

[Jagermeister]

The eagle river could be recipient of these fish also. DFO were checking the Little Shuswap outlet in November a couple years back and told me that a lot of late chinooks go to that river.
I was fishing the LS outlet a week or so ago and I do not recall any terminated mature springs. Just jacks and the really big surprise was some pinks.

[ruby]

It’s a big run of Chinook and they likely spill over to several places. Pinks are really widening their range, far up the north thompson as well.

[lovemywinchester]

These springs travel 600 km + upriver to spawn. Amazing.

[B-rad]

next year is the big sockeye run,,,,fingers crossed DFO will let us harvest a few here on the south thompson,,,,,,,,2014 when DFO had them opened,,,,,,,,i did just as good on the sockeye up here as i did anywhere else in BC,,,,,,had my daily limit in just over 1 hour

[Bugle M In]

Quite often, come mid/late August, many of the Chinook stacking and returning up the Fraser are Whites.
That's what i have been told. (I think it was mentioned in the thread of mine with the chinook i recently caught).
But as folks are saying, there are Reds still in the mix (and some are a marbled variety also)
I don't really know how fast they can travel up rivers to say Kammy.
(depends how long sea lice can live in freshwater before they fall of or die).
But the Reds must be in the Fraser sooner and longer and do travel further depending where their natal grounds are.

Lets hope that 600+ million actually gets spent well.
I worry that much will get pissed away in bureaucracy and the on going trend of geared towards FN issues related to salmon only.
I hope they get this right for "everyone".
Everyone deserves a healthy population for the future, otherwise this shit show will never stop.

And yes, next year is the Sockeye run.
Not sure how that is going to pan out.
Last time around, when it finally became open, the early on fishing was great and you could be done in a few hours easily.
By the end, lots of folks sitting there all day hardly getting a single one.
Even the folks on jet boats finding more solitary sand bars to hang out and fish from were having a hard time.
By then, it really depended upon how many nets were set up down river.
At times i heard it got pretty bad out there and made it a real challenge to catch much.
Fingers crossed there is an opening.
I will definitely be there if it does, and certainly during a weekday vs a weekend!!!!!!!

[RyoTHC]

I’m not sure the difference but 6/10 of my fish were red and not white meat, none seemed to be marbled.
all caught behind kamloops lake.

[Bugle M In]

I am no Bio or deep into the salmon runs by a long shot.
But i know that certainly the earlier runs up the Fraser (those that are stocks of concern) are Reds.
And, just outside the mouth of the Fraser (ocean), it didn't open until Sept 1st for retention.
So, I am guessing the salmon you are picking up are some that are of the earlier runs when it was still closed down here.
I think around mid August is when the Whites start to show up at the Fraser Mouth.
I fished Parksville not too long ago, also in August, and 2 of those were whites vs 1 red.
I thought these might be French Cr salmon.
Maybe they are or maybe the whites were still on their way down to the Fraser or even USA bound?
I think also due to hatcheries, you have whites in some areas they weren't before???
Again, someone else here might have much better insight on salmon.
I didn't run into that Salmon DFO Bio out of Merritt this summer when i was fishing, but had i , i would certainly have picked
his brain on more info on the local runs.

Definitely a lot to learn when it comes to salmon.
My understanding that there is still a ton even the experts don't know, but that pertains more to when they hit the oceans.

[B-rad]

im not 100% sure,,,but i was raised to think flesh colour was attributed to diet before going up-stream,,,,,,,,i was told,,,,white meat is cause fish where feeding on crustaceans,,,,,,and red meat fish where because of bait fish,,,,,,,,truth----false i dont know to this day,,,,but i generally average same amount of white meat as i do red meat

[Ride Red]

These springs travel 600 km + upriver to spawn. Amazing.

They travel 3000km up the Yukon river from the Bering sea to the BC/Yukon border.

[Ride Red]

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=738

A little reading.

[Jagermeister]

next year is the big sockeye run,,,,fingers crossed DFO will let us harvest a few here on the south thompson,,,,,,,,2014 when DFO had them opened,,,,,,,,i did just as good on the sockeye up here as i did anywhere else in BC,,,,,,had my daily limit in just over 1 hour

The peak South Thompson sockeye run has been in serious decline.
In 2010, there was an enormous run. Walk the beach of Little Shuswap, it was littered in wall to wall carcasses, not to forget the stench of expired fish. There were so many that even the eagles and crows stopped noshing on them.
In 2014, there was a significant decline in the run. I would estimate that it was ⅓ the size of the 2010 run.
And then there was the 2018 run. If it appeared that the run could get worse, well, it did. Not nearly the size of 2014. It looked like any off year.
What to expect in the 2022? I would not be holding my breath. The fry run to the ocean in the spring of 2020 was not that spectacular so I am not expecting a large return.

[ElectricDyck]

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=738

A little reading.

I've never had a white out of the ocean, they are probably much better, out of the vedder they are oily, fishy and in my opinion good for nothing but the smoker, where as the reds and marbles can be bbq'd. I think there's more going on than just their ability to process caratene....

[Ride Red]

I've never had a white out of the ocean, they are probably much better, out of the vedder they are oily, fishy and in my opinion good for nothing but the smoker, where as the reds and marbles can be bbq'd. I think there's more going on than just their ability to process caratene....

I posted for some basic information. Whites definitely seem to get more slimy once they hit fresh water. Used to catch/release the big ones out of the Harrison years ago and they too seemed a little different. Kept a 43lb spring from Grassy bar one year and it was marbled all the way through. My preference for all salmon is smoked anyway and I’d take a halibut steak over them any day.

[Bugle M In]

I know that these salmon often enough are referred to as the "Harrison Whites"
That was a good link.

As for taste, those out of Parksville (Ocean caught) tasted just fine.
Haven't had the white out front of Fraser yet nor the marbled one (Ocean).

That link posted talks about how the chefs call them "melt in your mouth" (whites).
Not sure if on the river they taste different as another has mentioned.
I will be targeting Coho on the rivers, not Chinook if i can.

And yes, Hali is good (have half a 50lb at home right now in the freezer) and i cant really say if i like Hali or salmon better.
BUT, i know one thing:
I will take Pacific Cod all day long over either the salmon or hali!!!
Next time those Cod snap up all my salmon bellies while out hali fishing, i will no longer be upset!
Fishing partner agrees with that as well.
If we could catch our limit on that, we wont care about the hali!