I'm sometimes questioned about my belief that water temperature is one of the key factors in fish feeding activity.
Most well-seasoned anglers agree that each species of fish has an optimum temperature where they are most active. In my opinion, just knowing this is not enough. You also need to know why.
Water temperature regulates everything in a fish's life, including hatching, feeding, growth and spawning. Fish do not hatch from an egg until the water is warm enough.
Then, warming and cooling of the water through the seasons determines the species and quantity of food sources available. Being cold-blooded creatures like reptiles, a fish's metabolism is regulated by the surrounding temperatures.
This does not only apply to their activity level, it also applies to the digestion of their food sources. So not only are fish slower in cold water, they also don't need to feed as often.
Aside from spawning, fish migrate continuously throughout the year in search of their optimal temperature.
Knowing this and knowing the preferred water temperature of the fish species pursued, an angler can improve his or her chances of finding and catching fish with the simple use of a thermometre.
THE REPORT
Fishing on our Lower Mainland lakes has been slow this week, due to the unsettled weather. Look for things to improve when the sun returns.
Concentrate your fishing from late morning through mid-afternoon in and around the north western sections of your favourite lake.
The Fraser River is good for cutthroat and dolly varden. The Vedder River is good for steelhead, dolly varden and, by the weekend, resident rainbow.
The Stave River is fair to good for steelhead, rainbow and cutthroat.The Chehalis River is good for steelhead and cutthroat.
The Harrison River is good for cutthroat and rainbow.
