Home / Fishing Reports / Vancouver Salmon Fishing Report: January 29, 2021

Vancouver Salmon Fishing Report: January 29, 2021

Fishing rod with blue reel and a fish on the line.

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Reports

I wish had better news for the weekend angler, but the good old SE is coming and with it, a low-pressure system and some rain.  It looks like we have 15-20 mm on the horizon for both Saturday and Sunday.   The winds actually don’t look too bad, especially a litter further up Howe Sound, so if you don’t the mind the liquid sunshine it might be worth chasing some winters this weekend.   

Not a whole lot of juicy info to dish out on the fishing side of things.  We are about midway through the winter season as February approaches and so far, I would give this season a grade of average.  I have seen better, and I have seen worse.  Seems to be quite a few small fish around right now, like ¼ inch under the limit, which is a bit frustrating, but more keepers will arrive as the season progresses and resident Howe Sound fish continue to grow.  If the min. size was smaller, like over on the Island, it would be easy limits right now.  That being said, with you only being allowed 10 chinook a year, not sure I want to keep one smaller than 62 cm.  

The harbour has seen some decent action, but like the last report a few weeks ago, the furry bandits are out in full force.  Very frustrating that we have the potential for such productive fishing, literally minutes from downtown, but the seals are so aggressive.  I do see pictures of fish from the harbour on social media though.  I don’t know how you guys do it, as the second I hook up there I get sealed, despite my best efforts to get away from them.  I think they have it out for me!  Maybe I can distract them for the rest of you guys so you can enjoy this fishery.  I would suspect things will pick up in the harbour later on in Feb. as more herring start to use the area as a pre-spawn staging ground. 

It is that time of year where I am starting to get a lot of calls, texts, and emails about this year’s upcoming regulations.  I wish I could report that we will be getting some sort of opportunity come April 1 instead of a no fishing for chinook regulation, but I am not at all confident that is going to be the case.  That opportunity door is not completely closed, there is a chance, and there are many people working on this through a variety of groups like the SFI, PFA, BCWF, and through processes like the Sport Fish Advisory Board.  I don’t have time to get into the details this morning, but I will provide more of an update in the coming weeks, perhaps with a special report next week, and how you can make a difference. 

In the meantime, stay safe, stay dry, and see you in the shop or on the water. 

Jason Tonelli