The Fraser River is the longest river in British Columbia, traveling almost 1400 km and sustained by a drainage area covering 220 000 sq. km. Its source is near Mt. Robson on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains in central British Columbia. The Fraser flows southwest, draining into the Pacific Ocean just south of Vancouver. It discharges 112 cubic kilometers of water per year, dumping 20 million tons of sediment into the Pacific.

The discovery of gold near the Fraser River in 1859 brought thousands of people from all over the world to Vancouver. With their dreams of wealth they travelled north to small mountain stream where an English sailor , Billy Barker , was digging in the mud for gold. A town of gold ,miners , Barkerville as they called it , grew up , and of a short time them miners were producing twenty kilos of gold every day . A few became rich , often those who sold supplies to the miners :many lost everything . When there was no more gold , people left. On September 16, 1868, Barkerville was destroyed by a fire that spread quickly through the wooden buildings. Rebuilding began immediately, and at an impressive pace. Within six weeks, ninety buildings had been rebuilt. Today Barkerville is ghost town, but popular with tourists.

European explorer-merchants from the east started to discover British Columbia. Three figures dominate in the early history of mainland British Columbia: Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser, and David Thompson. As employees of the Northwest Company, the three were primarily concerned with discovering a practicable river route to the Pacific, specifically via the Columbia River, for the extension of the fur trade. In 1793, Mackenzie became the first European to reach the Pacific overland north of the Rio Grande. He and his crew entered the region through the Rocky Mountains via the Peace River, reaching the ocean at South Bentinck Arm, near the site of present-day Bella Coola. Shortly thereafter, Mackenzie's companion, John Finlay, founded the first permanent European settlement in British Columbia, Fort St. John, located at the junction of the Beatton and Peace Rivers.
The Fraser River takes its name from the first white man, Simon Fraser, who went all the way down the river to the Pacific in 1808.When he reached the mouth of the river ( today the fast growing city of Vancouver), he discovered that it was the wrong river. He was not exploring the Columbia River as he thought, but a different one !



        

When Simon Fraser travelled down the river, Indians helped him along the way , especially over the rapids. For centuries this was their river, and their lives depended on it, on the salmon that swam up the river every year. In the spring when millions of fish left the ocean and came up the river , the Indians were able to catch enough for the whole year. There were so many that they cloud catch them in nets and dry them in the sun for later use.

Surprisingly, very few Northwest anglers are aware that the Fraser River offers some of the most spectacular salmon fishing in North America. Salmon stocks, returning to spawn, far exceed any other river on this continent, or for that matter, any other river in the world. When tourist salmon anglers think of B.C., they often dream of the west coast and its luxurious lodges, unspoiled wilderness and world-class salmon fishing. This ocean paradise is supplied with seemingly endless numbers of migrating salmon. Most anglers have a tendency to overlook this very basic fact; a major portion of these migrating salmon stocks are bound for the Fraser River, and thence homeward to the streams and rivers of their birth.

The first salmon of the year to begin their journey homeward are the magnificent chinook (spring or king) salmon. The springs will start to enter the Fraser River in March, and will usually peak in June, about the same time the river crests with spring run-off. Although it can vary from year to year, depending on the snow pack and weather conditions, it's approximately the third week of June. The spring salmon will average 20 pounds, and can exceed 60 pounds, they are also highly prized for their firm-red meat and delicate flavor.


        

Today, as in many other places, the river and the salmon are in danger . When a railroad or a dam is built, when trees are cut down, people interfere with nature and sometimes lose more than they gain .