Fishing is a popular pastime in this part of the world, where Pacific salmon return each fall to the rivers and streams they were reared in to spawn the next generation.
A favourite fishing spot in Maple Ridge is the Alouette River. It flows from Alouette Lake to the Pitt River, cutting across Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, and creating favourite swimming spots and fishing holes along the way.
It’s both easily accessible for residents, and it’s easy to catch fish.
At Horseman’s Park on a fall weekend, the banks of the river are busy with anglers.
“It’s a really good place to fish – you’ve just got to know what time of year you’re coming down, and the rules and regulations,” said Jason McGillis.
“By all means, come out, enjoy your day, hook into a couple and release them.”
There are regulations about what species of salmon can be caught, catch limits, length requirements, and what must be released – rules all good fishing enthusiast must know. For instance, people can only fish during daylight, and with barbless hooks.
McGillis has fished the Alouette for 15 years, and said he has a teenage daughter who enjoys coming to the river with him to cast for trout. He was surprised by how much she got into it.
“She was hooting and hollering, screaming and yelling, and afterward it was all ‘When are we going again’.”
Catching fish makes it fun, and the river is reliable.
“It’s usually at least one you’ll catch, but I don’t come out here to catch fish, I come out here to enjoy nature,” he said. “So it’s always a win in my eyes.”
“It’s a beautiful spot,” he added, looking down the river… “absolutely wonderful.”
The other A-List’s favourite local fishing spots are Mike Lake, near the entrance to the Golden Ears Provincial Park, and Whonnock Lake.
Both of these little lakes are considered great places for families, as they are stocked with rainbow trout each year. They are conveniently close, easy to launch a small boat into, and anglers can cast their lines from docks.