Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
It’s looking a bit wet and windy this weekend, but you might want to get out there and get after it as fishing has been pretty good these past few weeks. There has been some nice fish caught in Vancouver Harbour and the usual Howe Sound spots. Mostly the 8-pound class but there have been a few fish in the low teens as well.
Keep in mind we are likely going to see the no fishing for chinook regulation come in on April 1st, so if you want to retain or even fish for chinook, you better do it in March. The SFAB, PFA, and SFI have all been pushing DFO very hard for some opportunity come April 1st, but it has been an uphill battle. There will be meetings and more pressure put on DFO right up until the end of this month, you can count on that.
If you are heading out this week, this time of year chartreuse if often the go to colour when it comes to flashers, spoons, hootchies or bait teaser heads. The days are getting longer, the surface temperatures are getting warmer, and we start to see some algae blooms which colour up the water. In these conditions the brighter chartreuse gear seems to work the best.
There are a lot of good combos out there, but some of our all-time favorite this time of year are the Salty Dawg or Lemon Lime Chartreuse flashers paired up with 3.5 Kingfisher Irish Cream or Skinny G Trailhead spoons. These bright setups with a bit of anchovy or herring gel scent on the spoon are always solid producers in March. A chartreuse glow spatter back hootchie is also a great choice, in particular the Yamashita OG140R with a 32-36 inch leader behind the flashers as we’ve already mentioned. If you want to roll some bait, the No Bananas in glow is great this time of year.
Crabbing is picking up a bit, as per usual for March. Prawning is getting tougher as the grounds have been picked over for a good 4-5 months now.
See you in the shop or on the water,
The Pacific Angler Team