Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
It’s December! That came fast and with it seems to be all the storms and rain that we usually get in November. Time to talk about that rain and how it affects your boat if you are going to keep it in the water this winter so you can experience the excellent winter chinook fishing in Vancouver.
The main thing is check on your boat, at least every second week. Wash it, check the bilge pump float switches, check your battery levels, and make sure no critters have taken up residence inside the cabin.
Washing your boat will keep the debris and bird poop off your boat which can stain your gel coat, metal, or your boat top. In fact, the acid in the poop can eat up fabric, so get down there and give your boat a wash. It will also help reduce bacteria on your bolsters, and that is where those annoying pink stains come from.
A lot of boats “make water” and by that, I mean water gets in the bilge from drink holders, cracks in the floor panels or caulking, and all sorts of other places. Your bilge pump float switch should take care of this, but with extended and frequent use it will drain your battery. Solutions are to periodically charge your batteries or be hooked up to shore power and keep your battery charger on if you have one built into your system. This will keep those batteries topped up to keep those bilge pumps flowing when needed. Every winter boats sink at the dock, so don’t think it can’t happen to you, it’s happened to a lot of people I know.
If you can, keep a little heat in your boat. There are low amp space heaters available that are specifically designed for boats. Keeping one of these going in your cabin will reduce moisture build up. The moisture can lead to mildew. I’ve also found taking the time to wipe down the interior of the cabin with a disinfectant cleaner in the late fall really goes a long way in reducing mildew in the boat during the winter.
The winter chinook fishing so far this season has been great!
On the fishing front, looks like we have a fair bit of wind and rain in the forecast, especially mid next week. Keep an eye on the weather and if you can get out to lower Howe Sound the fishing for winter chinook has been very solid. Seems to be good numbers of fish around this year. We have been fishing the Harbour as well, and it’s been a bit slower, but it should pick up soon as it usually does later in December.
This is a great time to get out, get some nice chinook and get some prawns! If you want to book a holiday season charter for yourself, family or friends, the fishing has been good, so give us a call at 778-788-7852. Charters also make great gifts!
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli