Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
Well, the Fall rains are finally here in full force and any fish hanging out off the Fraser, the Cap Mouth, or in the Strait of Georgia, will certainly be heeding the call to spawn with all the rain and the rising rivers.
Looking back on the past 6 weeks, I have to say we had some truly amazing fishing. The one thing that really stood out to me was the breadth of the white chinook run. These are chinook that are going to the Harrison and Chilliwack Rivers. The run started strong, got stronger, and just kept going right up until Thanksgiving weekend. There were also quite a few Tyee caught, which is great to see.

PA Guide Jake Comrie got his client into a double header of 23 and 32 pound chinook salmon from Thanksgiving weekend! The guests are smiles on the back deck!
Test sets for chinook, coho, and now chum have exceeded forecasts, and we are officially seeing a return of Fall salmon to the Fraser and its many tributaries. Earlier run timing interior chinook continue to have their issues, but overall chinook and coho numbers this year have been great! I know the river guys are having an absolute banner season so far, this rain will bring in the last of the fish, and once those rivers clear up after the weekend rains, river fishing will be phenomenal.
So, what’s next for Vancouver saltwater salmon fishing? Well lucky for us, winter fishing in Vancouver is fantastic, and particularly so in the last 5 to 6 years. The same productive ocean conditions that have given us great summer chinook and coho fishing also make for some productive Vancouver winter fishing.
From November to late March, we fish for winter chinook or “feeder chinook”. These are fish that will spawn next Fall or maybe even the year after that. Our local waters see lots of these fish that are actively feeding in Howe Sound and Vancouver Harbour on herring and anchovies, which means we have great fishing 5 to 35 minutes from our docks.
I’ll be taking a few brief weeks off from the saltwater report (time to do some work on the boats) and in November I will start reporting on Vancouver winter chinook fishing. Until then, have a great October.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli