Stave River Fishing Location & Species
The Stave River is located in Mission, British Columbia. It’s a short length river that starts at the Ruskin Dam and dumps into the main stem of the Fraser River. Albeit a small river the Stave holds a decent number of species like Chum Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead, native Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat, Whitefish and Northern Pikeminnow to mention a few. This river becomes extremely busy in October and November when the Salmon begin to enter the system. This often creates close proximity fishing and highly pressured fish.
In 2019 BC Hydro opened the new picnic site on the east side of the river (near the Ruskin Dam). This picnic has a gate that opens at 7:00 am and provides amble parking and river accessibility. Beside the picnic area and parallel to the river there is the Ruskin Spawning Channel and there is NO FISHING ALLOWED in this section of the river. However, it’s a great place for families and anglers to watch the Salmon spawn.
Silvermere Lake
This lake is not a part of the Stave River but is tucked in on the east side of the river along highway 7. This lake is private and has created a lot of controversy on fishing access with anglers and the residents. I’d recommend getting some sort of permission or treading lightly if you try to fish this lake. The lake has a decent largemouth bass fishery.
Ruskin Dam / Stave Boundary
The Stave River fishing boundary is just the Ruskin dam and is accessed on the east side of the river.
Ruskin Spawning Channel (NO FISHING ALLOWED)
Ruskin Spawning Channel, there is absolutely NOT FISHING ALLOWED on this side channel. This is a great place to observe and photograph spawning salmon.
West Side Channel (upper Stave River)
The west channel of the Stave River has some long stretches of water that can (and do) hold a lot of anglers. The upper run is accessed along Wilson Street and a short walk to the river. I’d recommend waders or expect get wet as you access some of these upper runs. Parking has become an issue for the residents of this neighborhood and authorities are cracking down (especially during Salmon season), so make sure you’re parked in a valid spot.
The Toilet Bowl
The toilet bowl is a round (“bowl”) shaped section of water on the east side of the river. The first run below the boundary dumps into the toilet bowl. This section has very little current from the river and is great place to fly fish, float fish or cast a spoon or spinner into.
East Side Channel
The east side channel is a long stretch that has both easy and tough access points. The upper sections of the channel are easy to access from the picnic park/parking lot (just below the “toilet bowl”). The lower sections you’ll need to do some bush whacking through the marshy area and tall grass.
Stave River Mouth & Fraser River Confluence
The Stave River dumps into the lower section of the Fraser River. At the Stave River mouth there are a number of species you can target both in the Stave and in the Fraser. In fact, this is a unique location as you can bank fish for White Sturgeon from this location.
Fall Salmon Fishing
If you want to see some fishing videos on Stave River check out my BC Fishing Journal YouTube channel. I’ve got lots of Salmon videos posted from this video and a fun little video series called “The Zombie Chum Awakening” which highlights these Chum Salmon. If you check out the channel I’d greatly appreciate a subscription! And I respond to every video comment if you have any questions.
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