Steelhead Fishing the Vedder River

Steelhead Fishing the Vedder River

The lower, middle and upper reaches of this beautiful river are located in the town of Chilliwack BC; just 1 1/2 hours drive east of Vancouver. Part of the lower end of the river runs through the town of Yarrow, BC.

The Vedder River gets its water supply from Chilliwack Lake, as well as various streams accumulating runoff and rain water from the surrounding mountains.

The river produces both hatchery and wild winter run steelhead. This river fishes consistently for the most part of steelhead season, as it does not change much, unless in the event of a prolonged rainfall. The river most often has some color to it, especially in the mid to lower river sections, below the landslide. Fishing for steelhead can be productive at any given time in the months of January right through until April, with few early fish showing up in December. Following a rain fall resulting in rising water levels, new fish do tend to push into the river. New fish also move into the lower river on incoming tides.

Some of the more popular and effective steelhead catching techniques on this river are: wool ties, pink worms, Jensen Eggs, spoons and spinners, and quality salmon or steelhead roe. Some of the more effective wool colors include pink, peach and orange. The Vedder River is one of fair size and the average fish size is around the 12+lb. Range. There are fish in the 20-lb. range caught each year.

Most of the river is quite easily accessible by paved or gravel roads due to urban development. For this very reason, it is still possible to find your own water. However, if you are looking for the company of other anglers you will want to fish some of the more popular spots such as the Limit Hole, Allison' Pool, Tamahai, Crossing Bridge, Peach Road or Lickman Road. The upper and middle sections of this river are much faster and rockier than the bottom section with a lot of pocket water. The lower end of the river has more slower, pooling water. Good luck and we'll see you on the river.