Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
If you are heading out this weekend, Sunday looks to be the much better of the two days. Saturday has some significant SE 20-30 knot winds and rain, no thank you. Luckily, on Sunday the winds back off, the high-pressure ridge settles in, and the sun is going to come out.
We have been out locally and are finding fish in the harbour, around the freighters on the ebb or the flood and around the Cap Mouth on the flood. The harbour always seems to pick up in December and remains a good option right through March.
There has also been some good fishing around South Bowen and lower Howe Sound. We haven’t taken the run farther up Howe Sound yet, as there have been too many strong outflow winds on a lot of days. Nor have we been over to the Gulf Islands recently. I would suspect the fishing is good in those areas as well, but with good fishing closer to home there currently isn’t the need to burn the fuel.
A productive local trip with chinook and prawns on deck
As usual this time of year, the bait is close to the bottom. That means you want to keep your gear there as well. We like to use 18-pound cannonballs this time of year so we can keep close to the bottom, troll fast, and cover a lot of water.
Productive gear this past trip was a black glow flasher such as the Gibbs CB55, Oki Black Double Glow, or PA Black Custom, paired up with a blue glow splatter back hootchy or the new Skinny G Herring Aid with the glow back. The original Herring Aid spoons from Gibbs had nickel backs. These are still available, but they are now also available with a glow back, which increases its effectiveness when down deep, say 100 feet plus. In the winter we are often fishing at least that, so it came as no surprise this spoon produced well on its first foray this winter.
The new Gibbs Skinny G Herring Aid Glow back (left) and Gibbs G-Force 3.0 Herring Aid Glow Back (right). Two excellent choices for local winter chinook. Sticker is the Riverwalker Chinook Edition
Prawning has been decent for most and chinook fishing should stay consistent going forward. If you have some time this holiday season, now is a good time to book a trip or get out there on your own boat.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli