April 30, 2019

​We’ve been enjoying some great fishing throughout April with consistent feeder Chinook in the 8-10 lb range on every trip. Most of the fish we’ve caught have been feeding on herring but some have been stuffed with other small bait fish as well. Crabbing and prawning has continued to be very productive. We’re currently dropping crab traps on every trip & prawn traps on the longer charters (6hrs +) - it takes more time to set and pull prawn traps given the depth of water we fish them in making this most feasible on longer charters.

​Given the fish are aggressively feeding this time of year, they tend to be less selective and are hitting many different lures. We have mostly been using a variety of glow spoons in various shades of green to imitate herring. There’s been no need to run bait since the artificial lures have been working so well but we always have some on board ready to deploy if the fish show signs of being picky!

​The government agency that manages our tidal water species, Dept of Fisheries & Oceans ( or DFO), has recently modified the regulations requiring catch and release for Chinook salmon until August 1st. Other salmon species such as Coho can be retained. In mid to late June, we will see schools of Coho salmon showing up in Vancouver and guests can retain 2 hatchery Coho each. These Coho will be in generally the same areas as the Chinook and feeding on the same schools of herring & anchovies. This is always an exciting time anticipating if the next hit will be a Chinook or Coho! Once they arrive, the Coho will be prominent in our local waters into early October. As we progress through July into August, we will also see the arrival of schools of Pink & Sockeye salmon. 

Prior to releasing any Chinook, we’ve been bringing them onboard for a few quick photos before safely sending them on their way.

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed seeing several guests catch their first salmon this April. Now is a great time to get out on the water to catch your first salmon as well!