Vancouver Saltwater Fishing Report: Friday, August 16, 2024
Here is your report for salmon fishing in and around Vancouver for mid-August!
Locally we have been fishing along the West Van shoreline from Point Atkinson down to the Mouth of the Capilano for chinook and coho. We have had to work for our fish this past week locally with things being quite dynamic with some chinook around one day and not the next.
Most of these fish are Fraser River bound chinook that get pushed over to West Van on the flood tide. Peak chinook migration into the Fraser isn’t for another week to week and a half, so more fish should be showing up soon. We will also start to see more chinook that are destined for the Capilano River showing up in the coming weeks. The end result is we should have better fishing off West Van for chinook in the coming weeks and more Capilano coho should be showing up as well. Productive depths for chinook and coho in the area have been 45 to 75 on the riggers and bait (anchovies or small herring) seems to be slightly more productive than spoons and hootchies. No surprise there, as these mature Fraser chinooks are always gluttons for bait.
A nice Fraser River chinook salmon!
There have been a few coho off South Bowen, but it has slowed down dramatically compared to the red-hot fishing we had from mid-June to the end of July. A lot of those coho were likely headed to WA and have headed south. There are still a few around and few Cap coho, but you must work for them. Productive depths have been 50-80 on the riggers.
Fishing in the Gulf Islands has been excellent. There have been lots of chinook, coho and lingcod fishing has been very good for this time of year. Porlier, Thrasher, Entrance and Five Fingers are all producing well. We have been fishing Thrasher to Entrance on the days we can cross, and the fishing has been outstanding each time. Lots of fish and smiles! This fishery usually continues all of August and into September. 4 people with fish on boat.
A productive day in the Gulf Islands! One chinook each, and 2 hatchery coho each. Well worth the run!
Remember that September 1st the Fraser mouth will open for chinook, 2 a day, so there will be a big shift in effort to that area. The Bell Buoy down to the Mile Markers, Iona Jetty down to T-10 and of course the South Arm, Sandheads, will be producing well September 1. Remember about the SRKW sanctuary off the North Arm, that is a no fishing zone. We will post more specifics next week just before it opens up. A heads up the DFO announcement has already come out that it will open, so it’s officially a go.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
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Capilano Beach Fishing Report
Last week the salt had some good morning tides and anglers were out to make the best of the ideal conditions. The rain never materialized, and the cloudy cool mornings were a welcome change from the heat of the day. The tides won’t be as good this week, but we still have a long outgoing morning tide to produce fish. The weather shows more mixed sun and cloud with some increased chances of rain. I encourage anglers to use the cloud cover to their advantage and fish the grey days.
Gear anglers are taking most fish on spinners spoons and hoochie/spinner combos. Regulation changes took place last week, opening the retention of chinook at the mouth of the Capilano. You will start to see more salmon boats cruising the shore. This also presents a unique opportunity to shore cast for chinook. It’s still a little early for springs to be stacking up but it might be worth your time if you have a heavy casting rod and a few extra-large buzz bombs.
Fly anglers are still in the mix and finding fish on Andre’s small beach patterns. If you want to improve your beach casting experience, we have still have a broad selection of floating, clear, and shooting head style saltwater fly lines to get after these fish. Do not forget a striping basket to keep that line out of the rocks and barnacles… one bad miss step and its game over for that new fancy line. We also have some re stocks on our favorite flashy beach materials and quality saltwater hooks for those looking to tie up some beaching ammunition.
This week we see a small chance of rain in the forecast. If the rain materializes, we could see some increased action in the river. The river graph has flatlined to conditions continue to be tough with few new fish pushing in.
The beach fishing will continue to be the main source of excitement for shore bound anglers the next month or two, so get out there and try your luck. A friendly reminder to pack in whatever you pack out and be courteous to your fellow anglers.
Cheers,
Eric Peake