Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report The Cap Mouth has been slow this past week.  There are still a few chinook and coho being taken, but for the most part the fish have moved up the river with those rains we had late September and early October.  If you are looking for a quick flood tide fish, it’s worth a shot.  The coho numbers have been building in recent days in the Albion test sets as coho destined for rivers like the Vedder/Chilliwack and Chehalis are coming in.  If you look at the test sets you will see there are a few chinook around as well.  If you have the right sea conditions, the South Arm can be a good bet for hatchery coho and a chinook or…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report  As we approach the back end of September there are two main fisheries that we focus on.  The Cap Mouth and Sandheads, aka the South Arm of the Fraser.  The Cap was fishing well prior to last weekend’s big rains and has since slowed down as some fish went up the river.  There are still some chinook and coho being caught, but it has been quite a bit tougher since the rains.  There are more fish coming, but there is more rain in the forecast as well.  Hopefully it doesn’t rain too much, and the river stays relatively low, so the fish stack up at the mouth and we have a chance to catch a few.  As usual, the best tactic is a flasher and anchovy fished close to…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report Rain, rain, go away.  That is the theme of this week’s report.   The river anglers will be rejoicing about much needed rains to bring the river levels up and bring in fresh waves of chinook and coho, but the ocean anglers will be shedding a tear.  These heavy rains will push some of the chinook and coho into the Capilano and up the Fraser this weekend.  All is not lost though, there are still more fish to come for both areas, but we will need the rain to back off and a few more fish to stack up.  Prior to the rain we were having some good success at the Cap Mouth, but it’s a whole new ball game now. …

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report Well, opening day was slow for the most part, pretty much a you should have been here a week ago story, and if you want the politics on why you weren’t able to fish a week ago, look at last week’s report.  Better yet, go to this link and listen to me on the Jill Bennet Show. Go to 29:16 and listen to Jason talk about Fraser chinook https://omny.fm/shows/the-jill-bennett-show/full-show-ubc-okanagan-afghan-refugees-chinook-ope Although opening day was slow, don’t fear, as more fish are on the way.  The abundance of pinks didn’t make things easy either.  The pinks will thin out and there are a lot more chinook on coming, predominantly the larger white chinook headed to the Harrison and Chilliwack/Vedder. The best way to target the next…

Special Chinook Report With opening day of September 1st fast approaching, it’s time to talk chinook.  Although the announcement hasn’t come out yet, the Integrated Fisheries Management Plan does show an expected opening as of September 1st, 2021, for 2 chinook a day, min size 62 cm, no max size, clipped or unclipped (hatchery or wild), in our local waters.  So, in short, you can fish the Fraser mouth area again and keep chinook on the morning of September 1st. The bulk of the red fleshed fish, aka red springs, has passed.  Numbers usually peak later in the third week of August.   There will still be some around on Sep 1 and there will be a few white fleshed chinook, aka white springs in the mix.  The white spring numbers will increase and eventually peak late…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report  There is quite a bit going on, so let’s get right to it!  To start off with, we will talk about pink salmon.  For a good 3 weeks or more now, the fishing for pink salmon has been good to great in the South Bowen area.  Best depths have been 50-80 on the riggers most days, out in 300-600 feet of water.  Your favorite brighter flasher like a Salty Dawg or Lemon Lime, paired up with a smaller pink hootchy from Delta or Yamashita has been producing well.  Leader length has been from 28 to 40 inches, depending on how fast your boat trolls.  If you want more action, use a shorter leader.  For less action, if your boat trolls fast, try a longer leader.    I am not entirely sure…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report We have a brief saltwater update this week from our guide team who have been out on the water daily. We have had great trips off Bowen for pinks.  When you can find schools of them on the sounder, flashers and pink hoochies have been quite productive.  The guys have also been picking up coho consistently off of South Bowen with some chinook mixed in.  Please note the chinook are all catch and release in this area.  Another item that is worth paying attention to is that there have been one or two sockeyes hooked in this area over the last week so take care to identify your fish properly and be sure to carefully release all sockeye.    The North Shore in tight has produced a couple chinook and this is an area where you can retain one fish 62-80…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report  Locally things have picked up this past week.  There has been some decent fishing for coho from Point Atkinson all the way down to the Cap Mouth.  It hasn’t been red hot, but most mornings we are getting our shots at hatchery coho and a few pinks are also showing up.    A little further afield, off South Bowen up to Gower, the fishing for pinks has been very productive.  Best depths have been 50-80 on the downriggers.  There are also some coho getting caught, a mix of wild and hatchery fish.  A reminder you can only keep hatchery coho with no adipose fin and there is still no fishing for chinook.    If you want to focus on chinook, you can try W of Gower Point…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report  Locally we really haven’t heard too many coho reports.  There have been a few coho taken off the Cap Mouth, Ambleside, and South Bowen, but nothing consistent so far.  This can change in a hurry, so hopefully this is the week that happens.    If you are focusing on coho, think shallow.  Usually, the best depths are 25-65 feet on the riggers.  For flashers try the Betsy, Herring Aid Betsy, Twisted Sista, Green Onion, or Purple Onion.  You can’t go wrong with a white or UV white hootchy and a shorter leader, around 28 inches.  Skinny G spoons are also an excellent choice in the nickel finishes with a 4 to 5 foot leader to the flasher.  Recently we have been suggesting…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report  In this week’s report we are going to focus on coho.  Hatchery coho, with a missing adipose fin, are open for retention in most sub-areas of area 28 and 29.  Consult the area 28 and 29 regulations and area maps for more details.    Area 28 Fishing Regulations  Area 29 Fishing Regulations  Remember coho retention is for hatchery only, 30 cm or greater, and coho have white gums and only a few spots on their tail, usually on the upper part of it, if any at all.  Chinook have black gums and their tails generally have quite a few more spots.  Here are some good pictures from our friends to the north.  Pacific Salmon Marine Phase Identification  There have been a few coho caught…