Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report Fishing pressure has been light locally, as one would expect with the lack of chinook retention opportunities in Vancouver waters.  Some boats have been heading across to the Gulf Islands where there are retention opportunities for lingcod and rockfish and you can fish catch & release for chinook.  We have been doing that when winds allow and have had good bottom fishing and chinook fishing.  On our local trips we have been doing some DNA sampling and there are quite a few chinook around, as usual for this time of year. Most Vancouver anglers have been waiting for some coho to show up and the first ones are already in the Cap with the recent rains.  These summer run coho…

Vancouver Saltwater Fishing Report If you are heading out this weekend it looks like the winds will be good for the most part.  Some SE to deal with but nothing major until Sunday afternoon.  The SE brings in the lower pressure system, so no surprise that the weather forecast is for some clouds and a few rainy periods. I would suspect most anglers will be heading across the Strait of Georgia, over to Area 17 to fish for lingcod and rockfish, which open for retention on May 1st.  The limit is 1 rockfish per day and 1 lingcod per day.  Make sure to consult the regulations for details on size limits, daily limits, and possession limits.  We have a great selection of gear for these…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report  SPECIAL REGULATION REPORT:  Well, how tragic is this?  I am writing the fishing report on April 1st, the day our area shuts down for fishing for chinook.  Let me be specific, as per the fishing regulation notices that came out last week and are now on the DFO regulation website, you cannot target chinook salmon in the vast majority of our local waters.  There aren’t any coho around for at least a few months, so that pretty much shuts things down for the public at large until later in the summer.    To make matters even more painful we are coming off what has undoubtedly been the best winter chinook season in most people’s lifetime.  It started in October with gusto…

Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report It’s looking a bit wet and windy this weekend, but you might want to get out there and get after it as fishing has been pretty good these past few weeks. There has been some nice fish caught in Vancouver Harbour and the usual Howe Sound spots. Mostly the 8-pound class but there have been a few fish in the low teens as well.  Keep in mind we are likely going to see the no fishing for chinook regulation come in on April 1st, so if you want to retain or even fish for chinook, you better do it in March. The SFAB, PFA, and SFI have all been pushing DFO very hard for some opportunity come April 1st, but it…

Vancouver Salmon Fishing Report Potential SRKW Measures for the Mouth of the Fraser River:  You may or may not know that there are some proposed SRKW management measures for a lot of important fishing areas, including off the mouth of the Fraser.   Some of which would end our September chinook fishery and make it very difficult to fish for sockeye this summer if we get an opening.  These options can be found in a document called the Proposed 2022 Management Measure Options in Support of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery.    You can comment on these options by completing this SURVEY but before you do, please read my personal thoughts on the subject which are specific to the Vancouver area and our fisheries.  There is…

Vancouver Salmon Fishing Report: February 11th, 2022  Not much new to report on the Vancouver saltwater front.  Fishing continues to be good, especially compared to seasons past.  Pressure has picked up this past week, as we have had some nice calm days and warmer weather.  With record boat sales the last few years and the chinook fishery being closed all summer, busier winter fishing should not be any surprise.  In fact, it is the new normal until we get some more opportunity in the summer months.  I wouldn’t hold my breath there, but more on that in future reports and what you can do to help make it happen.  Prawning has been good, but just like the chinook fishing, the pressure will increase substantially in…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report  Fishing activity has certainly picked up this past week as the weather warmed up and the winds dropped down for the most part.  Not much has changed, and by that, I mean there are still some good numbers of fish around, as has been the case for 4 months now.  Seals also continue to be an issue but if there is one good thing about more boats around, is that it gives you a better chance at landing your fish among the pack.  Probably the one stand out piece of information this week is Vancouver Harbour.  I saw pictures of some nice fish taken there and had some decent reports.  So, if the fog or winds have you staying closer…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report  Well, that was some true winter weather these past few weeks and for the most part it did keep many of us off the water.  It’s hard to head out when the boats and docks are frozen solid, and the water is shut off.  Luckily things have thawed out and heated up a bit, including the fishing.  We have been out a few times this week and the fishing has been very good.  There just seems to be good numbers of fish around in general.  I am hearing a lot of good reports from further up the mainland coast as well as from mid Island down into the Gulf Islands.  It has been good for about 3 and a half…

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report  We haven’t been out lately because of the extremely cold temperatures, snow, winds and time with family over Christmas.  Just prior to Christmas we did get a few days on the water and fishing was very good.  Some of our friends and customers were also out around Christmas and had some good fishing, as has been the case for the last 3 months.  It hasn’t been easy to get out with very limited weather windows, but it looks like things are going to warm up slightly this coming week.  The rains on the weekend should wash away some of the snow as well.    Speaking about that, it’s always a good idea to go down to the docks and get the…