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April 9 2012 Vancouver Fishing Report

Well! It has been a while Pacific Angler fans! With the store move, everyone has been very busy working on the move. Now that we’re all settled in, it’s time to get down to business….uh oh…and you know that is…FISHING! Hahaha! Bet you saw that coming didn’t you? LOL.

Today’s  write up will be centered around the locals and our recent strategies.

I could go on about the local fishing over the past few months since our last entry. However, I’m going to refrain from that as it is no longer relevant to the fishery over the immediate past (from April 1).

This year is shaping up to be a typical Vancouver April fishery. The tide swings are getting larger and we’re finding that we have to put on some miles to find the fish. At this time of year, us guides prefer to guide 8 hour trips so we can go to where the greater numbers of fish are. A 5 hour trip doesn’t offer a lot of options as there are many miles of water to cover.  However, finding them offshore can  be challenging and you do need to have a keen “instinct” and “fish sense”.  Much of the activity over the last week has been found in the outer portion of English Bay and the offshore area of South Bowen. However, if you can time it right on high slack tides, fishing on areas of structure such as the Cap Mouth, West Vancouver, Howe Sound (Tunstall Bay to Hutt Island) are good options. However, once the tide begins to push in these areas, it’s best to move off to open waters and target fish migrating through.

Over the last week, the largest Chinook landed that we know of went 21.5 lbs on the scale and it came from the South Bowen area. There have been many fish landed ranging in size from the “just legal” to the 15 pound range. Although recreational effort has thus far been low (could it be that everyone is doing their taxes??), us guides have been out on a few occasions putting in some effort in these areas. Best water depths on South Bowen have been from 400-800 feet deep.

The most productive depths have been from 90′ to 130′ on the downriggers. Medium Anchovies (5.5″) fished behind bright flashy flashers seem to have been producing the biggest fish over the last 2 weeks. However, spoons have also been producing well. Best spoons patterns over the last couple of weeks have been the COYOTES and SILVER HORDES in GLOW COP CAR, GREEN GLOW, GREEN/SILVER and BLUE/SILVER. The SILVER HORDE IRISH CREME has also been producing well. We have all of these in stock at the shop. The 4.0 or 5.0 Size Spoons have been popular. Leave the smallish stuff in the box for now as most of the bait in local waters seems to be 4-5″ long right now.

Outlook:

Down on the dock there is once again a consensus between the Pacific Angler Guide Team and our associates. In the next 3 weeks there should be a big influx of Chinooks into the Vancouver area and it’s best advised that you be ready and/or book a charter during this time. I recommend booking a trip in the last 3 hours of the flood tide and fishing through the ebb. This is a highlight to the Spring fishery in Vancouver and I know it’s something that all us guides plan for and if we’re not guiding, we’re out on our own boats or fishing for ourselves. If you have had limited or no success in past years with this fishery, you may wish to consider a local saltwater fishing course with us which includes an in shop theory session and an 8 hour practical on the water charter putting all the knowledge to work!

Pro Tips of the Month!
A. SHARP HOOKS. A hook sharpener is the cheapest piece of equipment you can buy.

B. Check your downrigger cable. If it’s rusty or frayed, replace it! Our cannonball sales spike in the spring because people were too cheap or lazy to maintain their downrigger cable!

C. How long has it been since you replaced your line on your reel? If you have fished it for 2 seasons, it’s time to cut off the first 100 feet and/or consider a respool!

Tight lines!

The Pac Ang Guide Team.

South Bowen: Bring on the Bite!