Region 2 Fishing Regulations – Lower Mainland

No Fishing: in any lake in the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest near Maple Ridge.

Single barbless hook: must be used in all streams of Region 2, all year. See definition of “angling” and “streams” on page 80.

Dead fin fish as bait: only permitted in Region 2 when sport fishing for sturgeon in the Fraser River, Lower Pitt River (CPR Bridge upstream to Pitt Lake), Lower Harrison River (Fraser River upstream to Harrison Lake). See page 8 for details.

Steelhead fishing in the Lower Mainland Region: Your basic licence must be validated with a Conservation Surcharge Stamp if you fish for steelhead anywhere in B.C. See page 6 for details.

When you have caught and retained your daily quota of hatchery steelhead from any water, you must stop fishing that water for the remainder of that day.

Protected Species: it is illegal to fish for or catch and then keep protected species. In Region 2, these include:

• Nooksack dace
• Salish sucker
• Green sturgeon
• Cultus Lake sculpin

See page 9 for details.

Trout/char: 4, but not more than

• 1 over 50 cm (2 hatchery steelhead over 50 cm allowed)
• 2 from streams (must be hatchery)
• 1 char (bull trout, Dolly Varden, or lake trout), none under 60 cm

And you must release:

• Wild trout/char from streams
• All wild steelhead
• Hatchery trout/char under 30 cm from streams

NOTE: There is no general minimum size limit for trout in lakes

Bass: 20 (excluding Mill Lake - see page 24 for quota)

Crappie: 20

Crayfish: 25

Kokanee: 5 (none from streams)

Whitefish: 15 (all species combined)

White Sturgeon: CATCH AND RELEASE ONLY

• Fraser River: CLOSED TO ALL FISHING in the Fraser areas of Jesperson’s Side Channel, Herrling Island Side Channel and Seabird Island north Side Channel, May 15-July 31 (to view a map of this area see page 26).

Possession quotas = 2 daily quotas

Annual catch quota for all B.C.: 10 steelhead per licence year (only hatchery steelhead may be retained in B.C.)

Please refer to the NOTICE on page 77 for Salmon Regulations.

NOTE: Provincial freshwater regulations apply upstream of these boundaries and Federal tidal regulations apply downstream of these boundaries:

• Brunette R.: Burlington Northern Railway Bridge
• Campbell R.: Burlington Northern Railway Bridge
• Capilano R.: CN Railway Bridge
• Coquitlam R.: Mary Hill Bypass Bridge
• Fraser R.: CPR Bridge at Mission
• Kanaka Cr.: CPR Bridge
• Nathan Cr.: CN Railway Bridge
• Nicomekl R.: Burlington Northern Railway Bridge
• Pitt R.: CPR Bridge
• Serpentine R.: Burlington Northern Railway Bridge
• Seymour R.: CN Railway Bridge
• Squamish R.: a line running true west from the tip of the Squamish Dyke (“Windsurfer Spit”)
• Stave R.: CPR Bridge
• West Cr.: CN Railway Bridge
• Whonnock Cr.: CP rail line
• York Cr.: CP rail line

From one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise fishing is prohibited on portions of the Fraser, Harrison, and Pitt Rivers (see Water-specific Tables for details). To find out the time of sunrise and sunset consult a local newspaper or the National Research Council of Canada website at nrc.canada.ca/en/ for a sunrise-sunset calculator.