Sockeye Gear

[Marty S]

Planning a trip west, hoping/praying that sockeye will be open in August???

Skeena I hope...

Need economical 8 weight line recommendation... spare gear for the spare fishers thus I dont want to break the bank but do want an extra fly outfit or two for daughter and wife.

What is a good weighted line to buy, relatively economical, non-complicated, no head this and change that.

Cheap decent rod for the purpose? tough ideally

What is ideal leader material to use? I think we were running 20 lb big game but has been years, were dragging fish up, not netting or gaffing. Best length?

[britman101]

On a river system like the Skeena why not bump it up to a 9 weight rod. When fishing for salmon, especially sockeye they rarely bite, so using finesse is not required. Also if you will be fishing for the pinks, why not take some spin fishing gear with you as well as spoons. As long as you get it in front of a pink salmon's face, odds are in your favor you should get a bite. As it gets closer to August I would call the guys who run the Oscar Source for sports in Smithers. They sell licenses for salmon and will let you know if there will be a season for sockeye salmon either on the Bulkley/ Babine river system, or the Skeena, good luck.
Also, although it is more of a travel to get there, the most reliable place for a sockeye salmon season for the recreational fisherman seems to be Port Alberni on the Island.

[britman101]

Also add, for fly gear I would use at least a 10 foot sink tip that is either T8 or T10. You could use fluorocarbon line as a leader, but monofilament leader material would work as well.

[Mr Flyguy]

Long leader for sockeye to get an effective "flossing" drift with the fly.

[Camp Cook]

I moved here from Fraser Valley BC 1 year ago I have caught hundreds of sockeye so have a little knowledge of sockeye fishing techniques .

If you have any questions ask away I'll try and answer your questions?

Most important and this does not matter if you are fishing from shore or a boat sockeye swim in 4' - 8' of water.

Most people anchor their boats to deep right where the basically right where the fish are swimming I anchor where I can step out into appr 2' or knee depth on the shore side.

If from shore you do not need to wade deeper than your knees.

For spin/level wind reel casting set ups I like 10' - 11' rods my spay rod is 14'

Key is length of rod leader

It does not matter what color of fly/corky you use just as long as you are able to keep it just off the bottom while I have had a few take the fly/corky they normally do hot hit it.

[britman101]

Marty, the way things look right now the Fraser River is projected to have the lowest return of Sockeye ever, And the same would also apply to the Skeena River system so I cannot see there being a Sockeye opener. On the Skeena there will probably be a season for Coho and Pinks. However, with the wildfire situation in BC if travelling by car this may also affect your travel plans due to road closures.

[Esox]

Expecting one of the biggest returns in recent memory for the Skeena. There was an opening for 1 sockeye retention which is getting bumped up to 4 retention on the skeena starting yesterday (July 27). Even starting to see the odd steelhead already on the skeena which is typically a couple weeks early.

[britman101]

Honestly I am shocked, but encouraging to hear about the rebound in Sockeye numbers for the Skeena.