The much anticipated 2025 recreational salmon opener is July 1 with a chinook fishery on the Chilliwack/Vedder River.
The Chilliwack/Vedder is one of the busiest angling rivers in B.C. and recent years serious conservation concerns have made it difficult for Fisheries and Oceans to approve openings for the recreational sector.
But as of Tuesday (July 1) retention for chinook salmon will one fish per day, from July 1 to Aug. 31, and four a day come Sept. 1, with two more than 62 centimetres.
"It's a great boost for the local economy and wonderful for sportfishing in general," said Dean Werk about the recreational opening. Werk is president of the Fraser Valley Salmon Society, and chair of the Upper Fraser Valley Sportfish Advisory Board, as well as owner of Great River Fishing Adventures.
"People will be flocking to the river for this opportunity to catch a fish. It's what people have been waiting for."
The freshwater fishing rules require barbless hooks, and a salmon conservation tag attached to the freshwater licence, with a printed copy to record any catch.
"Please be considerate of all users and avoid targeting any passing sockeye," Werk added, addressing the anglers who may be heading to the river this summer as of Tuesday.
"The Salmon Society has a long history of promoting good sportsmanship and angling ethics as it advocates for more fishing openings and opportunities for anglers."
The area of this latest fishery opening on the Chilliwack/Vedder including the Sumas River runs from a line between the fishing boundary signs on either side of the Chilliwack River, 100 metres downstream from the confluence of the Chilliwack River and Slesse Creek downstream including that portion of the Sumas River from the Barrow Town Pump Station downstream to fishing boundary signs near the confluence with the Fraser River.
