Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
The past week required a bit more finesse, but the saltwater fishing has still been productive at the Fraser Mouth and closer to home. The weather over the past few days limited our ability to head south, but earlier in the week, before the northwest winds set in, boats at the Fraser Mouth had no problem hooking into chinook and coho. Later in the week, stronger winds kept the guide boats in the harbour, though this is the time of year when the Cap Mouth starts to heat up.
Still some big fish swimming around at the South Arm! Hopefully keeps up a bit longer.
The Capilano has shown some good moments but remains a bit tricky. Bite timing has not been very consistent throughout the flood tide, although the PA guide boats have had the most success around high slack rather than low slack or mid-tide. While some fish have been taken mid-water column, most of the action has come from running bait tight to bottom. Given the low river level and the time of year, we expect to see more fish stacking up at the mouth soon. This fishery can remain steady into October until the first big bump in river flow. Once the river rises, things usually taper off, although a few stragglers are often around until the end of October.
On route to the Cap before the tide change!
The coho caught this past week have been impressive, with plenty of fish over 10 pounds, both hatchery and wild. These big coho have been putting up incredible fights, often with an initial run strong enough to make you think it was a chinook. As always, please handle these wild fish with care. We want these giants to spawn!
A big hatchery coho that even dwarfed some of the chinook that were caught.
As noted in last week’s report, we are continuing to encounter a good number of feeder chinook on recent charters. The time spent in the harbour over the past few days has only confirmed this, with more “winter” chinook showing up. Seeing this many this early is an excellent sign for the months ahead. While many have been undersized, there has been a surprising number of keepers, which bodes well for a strong winter chinook season. October is often a transitional month as anglers decide when to shift from river mouths to deeper spots, but if these early chrome feeders keep showing up, the choice may be clear sooner rather than later.
Tight lines,
Jake Comrie