Where did August go? It sure did fly by, but I guess that is okay because as of September 1st we are back to 2 chinook a day, min size 62 cm, no max size. In the meantime, the poor West Van shoreline has seen its share of action this summer. Coho fishing has been lack luster lately, and a few Fraser and Cap chinook have been taken each day, but I think most of us are ready for a change.
Once Sept. 1 rolls around, the vast majority of angling pressure will shift to the Bell Buoy, North Arm, T-10, and South Arm. For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you will have read my post about some DNA sampling I did this week. I am happy to report there were still very impressive numbers of “red springs” around. This will definitely thin out over the coming days, but I do expect decent fishing opening day. The numbers of reds will diminish but the number of larger “white springs” will increase as the days of September roll on. My favorite part about this fishery is the depth. The fish are shallow, basically they are in the top 60 feet of the water column, so fish your rigger depths accordingly. Bait is definitely a top producer for these fish. Anchovies or smaller herring in chrome, UV green, or green glow or chartreuse glow teaser heads all work very well. Pair these up with the appropriate chrome, UV, or glow flashers and you have a winning combo. Fish the chrome or UV setups on your shallow rods and the glow rigs on the deeper rods.
A typical late summer Fraser River chinook
We are still doing quite well over at Gabriola and Entrance Island. I am impressed how this fishery just keeps producing. There is a huge amount of bait over there right now and the springs are on the bottom, right where the bait is, getting that one last meal. Productive depths have been 260-300 on the rigger and chartreuse glow flashers and hootchies have been the ticket.
Some nice chinook taken from Entrance on Thursday
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli