Vancouver Winter Fishing for Chinook Salmon – Mid January Report
As we enter into mid-January, we are right in the middle of the winter chinook season, which generally starts early November and closes March 31st. Current regulations are 2 chinook salmon per day, wild or hatchery (missing adipose), 62cm or greater.
Fishing last week and into this week has been great, with a definite push of larger chinook into Vancouver Harbour and Lower Howe Sound. In terms of where to go, that will depend on the size of your boat and the marine forecast, as a lot of spots are now producing some really nice fish.
One of our friends and fellow guide down on Granville Island got a 90cm fish, which would put its weight into the high teens (in pounds), off the Cap Mouth. Other anglers have had some nice fish in the Freighters and off the Bell Buoy. Eddie was out on Thursday and had some great fishing in Howe Sound. On previous trips, we ran over to Gabriola and had multiple keeper chinook there as well. Just like previous years, the winter chinook population in and around Vancouver is doing extremely well.
Eddie’s guests with 5 nice winter chinook from Thursday.
With the mild temperatures and all the rain, the water really isn’t that clear for this time of year. As a result, we have been doing well on brighter presentations that include green, chartreuse, and of course glow. Productive flashers have been Gibbs Lemon Lime in green or chartreuse blades, Phantom in chartreuse, and of course the Salty Dawg from Oki Tackle. For spoons, the same colours have been doing well, so green and chartreuse with glow. Kingfisher 3.0 or 3.5 in Irish Cream, Skinny G in Trailhead or Irish Cream or G-Force 3.0 and 3.5 in the same colours. The glow chartreuse splatter back Yamashita G140R hootchy is also a must have all winter long and has taken its fair share of fish this past week.
If you want to book a charter, now would be an excellent time, the fish are in and we are running our Winter Chinook Special.
1-4 guests, fishing and prawning, for $1,300 plus GST
5-6 guests, fishing and prawning, for $1,500 plus GST
To book a trip give us a call at 778-788-8582 or email us at kathryn@pacificangler.ca
Jason Tonelli