Vancouver Saltwater Fishing Report: June 7, 2024
The first week of June is in the books and it’s been a busy one out on the salt. Our boats have been out daily, and the guides have had their work cut out for them DNA sampling the record numbers of chinook swimming around our local waters.
The highly anticipated hatchery coho opening has arrived which has brought a bit more traffic to the popular spots, but still, plenty of room to try various methods for targeting these exciting salmon. So far there hasn’t been overwhelming reports of coho being caught, but they are definitely around, and it seems to be improving by the day. Our guide boats have been running into pockets of coho off South Bowen with reports of other boats finding decent schools throughout the tides.
Smaller Skinny G style spoons tied with a shorter 30lb leader have been doing well along with hoochies. I find using 30lb mono as opposed to 40lb mono leaders gives the spoons a bit more play and erratic action which can be key in getting these opportunistic fish to bite. Running shallower on the downrigger is typically the best play for running into coho, and we can’t say it enough, TROLL FAST. It’s pretty hard to troll too fast for coho. The speed you should troll will depend on your boat’s direction in the current and cannon ball weight, but an easy way to know you’re fishing effectively is to watch your downrigger cable angle. With 15lb cannon balls, a 45-degree cable angle and a bit beyond is a good place to start. Once it starts to get too parallel with the water you may not be fishing the depths you want to be at as accurately.
If you missed it, Jason has a quick video on some of the gear as well as leader setups and notes on speed for targeting coho. Check it out here.
A quick reminder that chinook fishing is closed in our local waters, and I only say this again because it is inevitable that you will run into some while targeting coho. Best practice is to release them at the side of the boat, leaving them in the water. After nearly taking a flasher and spoon to the face during a boat-side seal encounter the other day, it reminded me of the importance and utility of gaff releasing. Releasing fish with a gaff takes a bit of practice but will save you and the fish a lot of time and frustration that comes with trying to use pliers or bringing them onboard. Gaff releasing involves grabbing the leader with the gaff hook and sliding it down to the fish’s mouth where you can then use leverage to pop out the hook. Reel West Coast did a great video detailing how to perform this maneuver. Check it out here. Could save you some fingers if the seals are lurking, and in my case, the gaff acted as a shield for the leader to wrap around instead of my face.
Good Luck out there!
Jake Comrie