It is May 16th and the past 5 days the weather has been nice and sunny with clear blue skies.  Although this means great weather in the city and on the patio, for the fisherman it often means we have to contend with some NW winds that come along with the high pressure system and sun.

Last weekend the wind co-operated and I counted 47 boats fishing the Thrasher Rock area.  After the great fishing we had there earlier in the week, with a hot and sunny Saturday and flat calm seas, this was really no surprise.  The action was a little slower on the weekend and our boats hit 3 to 4 chinook each, and each boat came back with a few nice ones in the box.  There was also some good action off the Hump as well as some fish being caught right in the harbor around the freighters.

Two nice chinook taken from the middle of Vancouver Harbor on a sunny Satruday afternoon

The fish this week have mostly been red springs in the 10lb-15lb range and a fair number of hatchery fish.  We were catching these fish in Vancouver Harbor, on the Hump, and all the way over to Thrasher.  The white springs and marbled springs we were encountering the week before seemed to have moved on.

Fish have been caught anywhere from 40 to 180 feet in some spots, but the most productive depths seem to be in the 80-110 foot range.  Glow/Green spoons have been working well, the spatter back hootchies continue to produce (OG142R and OG144R), white UV hootchies have been good (OAL12R), and of course bait is always a good bet, both herring and anchovies.  If you need bait we have a good selection of anchovies and herring, even the larger anchovies which are often hard to get.

We aren’t heading out on the water today as it looks like it is going to gust up to 25 knots NW and that combined with the ebb tide is going to produce some nasty conditions this morning.  It looks like the NW wind is going to die off on Friday as a low pressure system comes in and things switch to SE.  We might get a few showers starting Sunday but I will take that chance as long as we get rid of these big NW winds so we can get out off the Hump or run over to Thrasher.  That being said, some of our charters in the harbor this week out produced the boats at Thrasher and the Hump, including guide Eddie boating the two nice chinook pictured above on Saturday, and guide Craig hitting a tripple header to start the day off on Sunday!  It just goes to show you that even if you can’t run across or fish offshore, it pays to get out there and get the lines wet.

We will be on the water Saturday, Sunday and Monday, so see you out there on in the shop!

Jason Tonelli

Yes, it has been a very solid week of fishing for the boys at Pacific Angler.  Our head guide, Eddie, hooked into chinook throughout the entire week.

The hump has been producing well for us this pas week.  Eddie did well with a flasher and spoon combo.  The smaller spoons were actually the hot ticket.  He noticed the fish he caught the day before was full of sticklebacks so switched to a smaller spoon.

And the smaller spoon did in fact produce.  Goes to show you sometimes it really pays off to be observant and go with your gut instinct.

Over the weekend the local scene was quite steady, however Thrasher Rock really turned on.  We heard some excellent reports from our customers and guides.  Some of the guys were saying that it was some of the best fishing of the year.  Hoochies and flashers were flying out the door all weekend as our saltwater guys headed out to Thrasher Rock.

Looking forward the chinook fishing off the Hump, Bell Buoy and QA should remain good as well as Thrasher Rock.  This is good news because when the wind picks up and you can’t get over to Thrasher Rock you can still fish some productive local waters.

We still have some availability on the Salty Dawg this Sunday.  If you want to get out on the water make sure to give Dave a call at Pacific Angler (604-872-2204).  Pacific Angler still has availability for Mastering Local Saltwater Salmon Fishing course in June.  This is quickly becoming Pacific Angler’s most popular course and fills up fast so make sure to call today to book your spot.

Well if you read our last post on April 9th you will see that we were expecting some chinook to show at the end of April and they are here.  It was pretty slow in April up until April 26th and then the fish really showed up.  The fishing over the weekend and up until today, May 3rd, has been consistent to excellent and will only get better through May and into June.

There has been some good action off the South end of Bowen Island on the “Hump” as well as some fish off the QA marker.  In these two areas most of the fish have been caught in the 60-120 range on the downriggers.  There haven’t been many small fish, lots of fish in the upper teens and some in the mid to low twenties.  Quality, hard fighting fish!

A nice solid chinook from April 27th 2012

There has also been some good fishing over at Gabriola (Thrasher Rock and Grande area) offshore in 800 to 1200 feet of water.  It is a large area to cover and often one boat will have tough fishing while another lucks out, goes over a school, and gets into some good action.  If you aren’t hitting fish right away keep covering water. When you find a school of fish save the pictures for later and get the gear down right away and you will often be rewarded with another quick hook up.

Andy and Tim with a double header at Thrasher Rock on April 29th 2012

On Sunday I boated 6 chinook from Thrasher Rock and on Monday it was Eddie’s turn to guide and he landed a nice fish from the QA area and on Tuesday Eddie was out guiding again and hooked 5 off the Hump.

6 chinook from Thrasher Rock April 29th 2012

At both Thrasher, South end of Bowen, the Hump, and QA, a variety of baits and lures have been working.  Herring and anchovies in glow teaser heads have been good.  For spoons the Irish Cream and Cookies n Cream in 4.0 have been good and for hootchies the spatter back in blue and green have been good and UV white pearl as well.  For flashers anything with glow on it has been a good choice.

These hootchies, spoons and teaser heads have been working well.

It looks like the weather and winds will be in our favor this weekend, some sun at last and only light variable winds in the forecast!  Fishing should really only get better as we go into May so I expect some good reports over the next few days.  If you need any of the gear shown above or would like to book a trip please give us a call.  We have some prime time dates for charters available but we are filling up fast.

See you in the shop or on the water.

Jason Tonelli

Well it is that time of year, the Holidays are over, the retail rush has subsided, and we start to head out on the local salt scene in search of some winter chinook.  We had a charter on Monday, Jan 2nd, our first of 2012 and despite the forecast for rain and gale force winds, the morning was stunning.

A beautiful winter sunrise looking out from our dock in Coal Harbour

We were the only boat out this morning as we left the dock at 8 am to fish the flood tide and the high slack at around noon.  We started off in the W. Van area from the mouth of the Capilano up to the Pink Apartments.  We marked a good amount of bait close to the bottom and as the tide backed off towards noon the bite turned on.  We hooked two decent chinook and unfortunately both got taken by seals before we got them close to the boat.  We were fishing right off the bottom with flashers and spoons.  On one side we were running an Oki Big Shooter Kinetic, Jelly Fish, UV Green flasher with a 6 foot leader and a 3.5 Glow Green spoon.  On the other side we were running a Hot Spot Purple flasher with glow tape on one side, silver on the other, with a 6 foot leader and a 3.5 Night Rider Spoon (black and glow).  We released 3 undersize chinook as well as the two that got eaten by seals, so there was a pretty good bite on the last two hours of the flood.

The 3.5 Night Rider spoon is a great imitation for the bait this time of year.

One of the chinook we released had this small herring in its mouth.  You can see why 3.5 and 4.0 spoons like the 3.5 Night Rider in the picture above work this time of year.  They imitate juvenile herring very well.

As the tide turned to the ebb, the bait seemed to disperse and the bite died off.  We pulled our crab traps and did well with limits of Dungeness crab.

Expect the fishing to pick up this month and some larger fish to show up as the season progresses.

If you are interested in booking a charter, please call Dave at Pacific Angler, 604-872-2204.

If you have a boat and want to learn from the pros, you can sign up for our Local Saltwater Salmon Course where we teach you how to hook salmon in the local waters 12 months a year, with a theory session at Pacific Angler and full day on the water as well.  Here is our 2012 Course Schedule for a list of all our courses and dates.

I am looking forward to some more winter chinook charters and some personal fishing as well.

See you on the water or in the shop,

Jason Tonelli

We had a few charters in the very end of October and we hit some Capilano chinook into the mid 20′s right up until the end of the month, but that is all a distant memory now.  The rains have come and the last of the chinook have headed up the river.  So this time of year we start to think about the feeder springs, aka winter chinook.  These fish frequent our local waters feeding on herring and pack on the pounds week by week.  A few boats were out over the weekend with the sunny weather and calm seas and there are some fish around already.  Most of the fish are still under size with the odd barely legal fish being taken, but the numbers of fish seem to be strong.  This is a good sign of things to come.  The fish get bigger and the fishing picks up as November comes to a close and we get into December.  We had some great fishing last winter in the local Vancouver waters, up Howe Sound, and over at Thrasher.  We will keep you updated as the winter chinook fishery progresses.

Robyn with a nice winter spring from last year.

Hey there folks! It’s time for a Mid-Month update!

Since our last report we haven’t been on the water much, however, there is something to  report. On Saturday October 15  the usual 25 boats were plying the West Van Shoreline-Cap River Mouth. We left the dock at the crack of 8 am and headed out and dropped the lines for HIGH SLACK TIDE. It was definitely chilly but the warm sun made things quite nice as it climbed higher in the sky. I hadn’t been on the water in a while myself personally so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but it wasn’t long until we were into a TRIPLE HEADER. The first fish hit right off the bottom at 92 feet. Within a few seconds, the second fish hit at 78 feet and as I was clearing gear, a THIRD fish hit at 89 feet. We landed 2 of the 3 fish and I wish I had seen the third fish as it gave some massive headshakes, didn’t budge when I set the hooks and took off corking the 10’6″ Mooching Rod. Unfortunately it came unbuttoned at the end of it’s first run. Oh Well,  a nice CHROME Red Chinook in the 20 pound range and a CHROME Chum in the teens is nothing to be disappointed about.

Chrome Chinook and Chum Anyone?

 We hit a 4th fish in similar fashion after we got all the gear back down but it didn’t “stick”.

Today, Monday October 17, I was speaking with some close associates of ours and between these 3 boats, they had 6 bites of which 3 of the 6 materialized into fish on and 2 of them were boated. They were NICE chrome Chinook!

Gear to use:

Brined Anchovies on 6 foot leaders behind flashers in the bottom 1/3 of the water column.

Outlook for the next 2 weeks:

As I said in my last report, late October STILL offers some  good Chinook, Coho and Chum Fishing in the saltwater around Vancouver. The “bite” times will be short and we continue to recommend the flood tide for peak fishing success. We haven’t seen any of the late October Cohos off the mouth of the Cap yet and we haven’t targetted the schools of Chum which are staging in marine waters aroundVancouver. If the weather remains dryish and we continue to have limited precipitation, I expect the Capilano fishery to continue as it has been over the last week. Just a reminder to positively identify your catch as we are only allowed HATCHERY COHO at this time in Area 28 and 29.

If you are so inclined and looking for some more action, SCHOOLS of CHUM are around. Fish for these in a similar fashion as you would for Sockeye but use Purple/Pink mini hoochies. Anchovies will also work.  TROLL SLOW. Chums can be finicky biters but are fantastic sport and they are very aggressive. They’ll fool you with their long runs and aggressive strikes…and you’ll think you have a Chinook on. Where? The QB to the Coal Ports at depths of 40 to 80 feet. Imagine hooking a dozen Chum on a fall day? It can be done.

Well there you have it…it’s that time of year when the “Tail End” of the season is upon us and the days are quickly shortening and the temperatures are in the single digits…and there’s no mistaking it for anything else but the FALL season.

For those looking for charters, we have a fairly open schedule and are usually available on short notice. We also have variety of boats available for charter and are able to accommodate all group sizes.

Stay tuned for our next update and coming blogs about the EXCELLENT WINTER  CHINOOK FISHING Opportunities the Vancouver Area has to offer!

Tight lines and Sharp Hooks!

Andrew for the Pacific Angler Guide Team.

Hey there folks! It’s time for the “after the long weekend” fishing report. Over the last 4 days, we’ve been fishing the local area hard and doing our best to  hook fish at the best bet in town, the mouth of the Capilano River.  Since our last Guide Journal entry, things have changed significantly. Significant rainfalls have raised the Capilano River and the fish have followed the cue and headed into the River. Friday and Saturday were very quiet and we did not put a fish on the cleaning table. On Saturday, I did everything except for stand on my head to catch a Chinook, and I doubt that would have made a difference as to my knowledge, there were no Chinook taken after 12 noon. There were a handful of incidental Cohos landed, but no Chinook. On Sunday afternoon I was right back at it and somewhat pessimistic that we would be in for the action we had experienced just a few short days ago. Again, it was tough fishing and there were not many springs hooked by the 2 dozen or so boats out there. However, the Salty Dawg and her guests under my direction managed to land 2 nice Chinook in the high teens on 4 bites. Not bad given the slow fishing. Today, Monday October 10, we were again back at it for the afternoon flood tide. We fished from 1:30pm to 6:30pm in Vancouver’s infamous liquid sunshine  and had only one Chinook bite. We “made it count” and landed a chrome Chinook in the high teens.

Anglers, it’s that time of the year and our days are numbered for the West Vancouver Saltwater Capilano fishery.  The forecast calls for plenty of wet weather over the coming days and while there will be more fish arriving off the mouth, they won’t be sticking around for long. I could see that the Capilano was putting out plenty of coloured fresh water. 

So, for the immediate future, I anticipate that the saltchuck fishing off West Vancouver will be “hit and miss”. There will be the odd Coho (make sure the ones you keep are adipose fin clipped), the incidental Chum, and the odd Chinook around which will bite your bait. We’ll keep you updated the moment anything changes in this fishery.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving,

Captain Andrew for the Pacific Angler Saltwater Guide Team.

Well the solid fishing continues…  The word is out that the big springs are in and the mouth of the Cap was packed on the weekend with the nice weather.  Despite the crowds our boats did extremely well and hooked multiple chinook and clients had big smiles and soar arms!  Guides Eddie and Andrew have had great catches for multiple trips in a row now, so I was excited to get out with one of my regular clients, Gus.  A short 5 minute run from the dock and fish on!

Gus with a chrome chinook for the BBQ

We only kept the one fish today and chose to release many others as we both have all the fish we need for the winter.

This big buck was released after a quick photo

The hot setup today was a new flasher, well new to me anyway, called the Purple Onion.  It has some great properties to it, like a purple UV finish, purple stripe on one side, and some pretty amazing reflective tape on the other that changes colors at different angles.  Attached to that was a 7 foot leader of 30lb test Suffix Fluorocarbon and an anchovy teaser head in glow with a little red on the nose (aka Bloody Nose). We were using 5.25 to 5.5 inch anchovies.

Purple Onion flashers, notice the purple UV hue of the plastic.

The reflective tape on the Purple Onion really lights up, even on a dark day.

We had some herring down as well, with the old standby glow flasher and glow herring teaser head, but this “Purple Onion Rig” was on fire so we put this down on both sides of the boat and then things really got going.

Another chinook that was released after a great battle.

Gus was nice enough to let me play a few fish today, a rare occurrence for a guide.  This arm burner above gave me some renewed respect for the power of these chinook salmon.

A smaller chinook that came flying out of the water two times

It’s only October 4th and last year we had good fishing until late in the 3rd week of October.

If you haven’t got out yet, you still have time for some of the best chinook fishing of the year.

Give Dave a call at Pacific Angler 604-872-2204 to book your trip or come by for some Purple Onions!

See you on the water,

Jason Tonelli

Wow…it is Tuesday September 26.  The month of September has rolled by and we are just a few days away from October.  It is simply amazing that we are still blogging about the spectacular saltwater salmon fishing or more particularly, the amazing spring/chinook fishing.  Seasoned Vancouver veterans are calling the fall of 2011 “the best ever”.

The boys are catching good numbers of springs and most of them have been hot-to-trot fresh chromers.  Yesterday with winds topping the charts at 50 knots guide, Jason, was not expecting to make it out on the water.  However, the winds tapered down mid-day  and Jason had his best day ever at West Vancouver.  The group hooked 16 springs on a 5 hr charter.  Simply amazing!!!

Some of the huge chinook that hit the dock Monday night after two of our boats were out and got into well over 25 springs between the two of them.

So here we are with three more weeks left and it looks like we’ve saved the best for last.  So if you have been thinking about going out on a charter, give us a call today at our full service fishing and tackle store “Pacific Angler“, 604-872-2204.

There are still a couple of prime slots available!!!  This is a great experience for the out of towner or the local looking to enjoy a beautiful fall day.

Here are a couple of more pics from recent trips…enjoy!!!

A happy fisherman with a nice spring!

A couple beauties!!!

Some for the BBQ!!!

Fishing Specifics

Gear:  Standard 5.5 to 6 inch Anchovies with teaser heads (Green & glow, etc) and flashers (Blue and Green)

Depth: The zone seems to be anywhere in between 80 to 90 feet