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.