I have been spending a lot of time out on the water but I finally have a moment to provide you the latest intell. Early in our Coho season I had been concerned that the fish had sneaked past us and made it to the Capilano river after the rains we had a few weeks ago. There’s lots of fish in the river and in the fish ladder at the hatchery for you’re viewing pleasure. Since then we’ve had a pretty good dry spell with only a couple of days of drizzle and as a result more fish have started stacking up along the West Vancouver shoreline. Not only is the size of these new arrivals bigger but the odd Chinook has been hit almost on a daily basis. There are strong bites some days followed by slow days the next but overall fishing is pretty decent. I’ve been checking to see what the fish are feeding on and it’s mostly small crab spawn but I’ve recently started seeing 3″ to 4″ Herring as well. Sometimes the fish’s stomachs look like stuffed sausages with the crab they are gorging themselves on which to me might explain the odd day they don’t bite. It must take them a while to digest it all. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it. The best choice of gear would be white hoochies in the regular and mini sizes. Anchovies in your lucky teaser heads with glo white being a good choice. If you run out of bait, 3″ to 4″ spoons will also do the trick. A lucky 3″ Kitchen Sink works for me. I’ve been finding fish from about 60′ up to just below the surface of he water with 30′ to 40′ range working best. The other day a buddy hit a Chinook 25′ on a white hoochie where as I hit one at 60′ on the same gear.
A Beautiful West Vancouver Coho!
There has also been some very good days up the Howe Sound followed by some very slow days. The fish are migrating through so it a matter of being there when they are and you can have a really good day with multiple Chinook being hooked. The biggest I’ve heard of so far was 36lbs but a number of fish from the mid teens to the low 20’s are being landed. Anchovies in the 120′ and up are working over there. Clear Chartreuse, Bloody nose, The Frog, Light Spackleback teaser heads are good bets.
The “Banana” area is now open and a few boats are venturing off shore. I’ve heard the odd report of fish in that area but it will start getting busy soon especially later in August for the predicted Sockeye fest!
Tight Lines,
Eddie
Jason, Eddie, Dimitri, Gordy
We are rapidly booking up in late July for the coho and chinook fishing and August is also booking up so if you are looking to participate in the sockeye fishery, make sure you call us at 778-788-8582 to book a prime time date.