It looks like Thrasher is pretty much done for the year as this past week has seen some difficult fishing over there as both Eddie, Dimitri and I had some lack luster days there in the back end of June. We are hearing of some good fishing up by Campbell River, and perhaps some fish will be pushing south, but by that time the fishing locally will have picked up enough that we won’t be heading across the Strait.
The coho are starting to trickle in off W. Van and Eddie boxed a nice one on Wed morning after making a pass on his way back from Hole in the Wall up in Howe Sound. This area has been producing a few chinook, but it has been hot one day and cold the next as these chinook cruise up the Sound on their way to the Squamish and Cheakamus rivers.
Eddie made a pass along W. Van and picked up this nice hatchery coho. They are starting to show up!
There have also been a few chinook caught off the Bell Buoy and out towards the QA marker, but again, it has been spotty with fish there one day and gone the next. This is typical for the beginning of July, there a few coho around off W. Van, there are few chinook around the Bell Buoy and QA, there are a few chinook around up in Howe Sound, and Thrasher is winding down. The best thing to do is pick your spot and put in the time and with a bit of luck you will be there on the right day and have some pretty good fishing. Things will be picking up over the coming weeks as more coho start to populate the W. Van shoreline and more Fraser River chinook start to show up.
Here are the latest fisheries announcements that you should be aware of regarding coho and chinook retention. Chinook will be open off the “Fraser Mouth” July 16th and there are some limited opportunities for retention of wild coho in Areas 13, 18, 19, 29. You can not keep wild coho off of W. Van. Please read the fisheries notices below and then click on the Area 29 Map so you know where you can and can not keep wild coho. It is exciting to see that the coho stocks are on the rise in general, and that there are now opportunities for retention of wild fish, but the areas are limited, so take the time to learn these areas. It is also nice to see the chinook opening up in a few weeks, and we are looking forward to heading down to T-10 and Sandheads.
Jason & Eddie