January 1, 2025 catch of the day

The spring fishing for a catch and release only of Chinook salmon has been fantastic and the non-retention will continue until September 1st in the local Vancouver waters. However retention for Chinook will start July 15th but only over across to the Vancouver Island side of the Salish Sea. It's a 20 miles run across or about an hour depending on the sea state and only for 8 hour charters. Locally as of June 1st, we can keep hatchery coho and pink salmon. There is an estimated 27 million Pink Salmon expected to return to the Fraser River which is historically a very huge number. Fishing for coho and pink is fast and furious which makes it a lot of fun and chaos on the boat as there are double, triple and quadruple headers more often than not. Book an amazing fishing adventure soon.

Well after some record setting coho fishery in mid summer to another September to remember for large and feisty Chinook Salmon returning to the Fraser River, it's time to layer up and stay on the fish. The "winter fishery" just rolled over without a lull moving away from the Fraser River arms to the more traditional grounds in Howe Sound, the Vancouver Harbour and over across to the Nanaimo side. We've have changed tactics from fishing shallow on the riggers to going deep just off the bottom of the ocean in depths anywhere from 120 feet down to over 250 feet on the riggers. We have been most successful when we let the cannonballs hit the bottom then bring it up a couple feet. Our go to tackle in the winter is glow hootchies and glow 3-3.5" spoons with glow flashers. Notice the key word "glow" as the gear is deep. There is a vast difference in glow qualities amongst the tackle manufacturers. I believe in the adage of you get what you pay for. Westcoast Fishing Tackle is the premium equipment I recommend. Charge up the glow with a UV flashlight, deck light or your cellphone and change up gear every 20-30 minutes. Using bait at these depths is not "fun" as the bait could blow out as it descends as well as any little bite requires a lot of reeling to check the bait. Troll faster than with bait to cover more distance and watch for bait on your plotter/fish finder. This is good time of the year to consider switching to a 50 lb braid mainline with a 30-60 foot topshot of 30 lb monofilament on your reels. It is much easier on you and your rod when tripping the line off the retention clip. Good luck, stay warm and "Let's Go Fishing!"

Well it was a fast and furious productive summer fishery in which after September 1st, we were able to retain Chinook Salmon along with hatchery coho and a late opening for Sockeye Salmon. Now its time to go on the hunt for the deep running resident Chinook Salmon. These 2-3 year old feeders that are over the minimum 62 cm run between 8 and 12 lbs and occasionally an18-20 lb lunkers will give you a pleasant surprise. Dates are very flexible as we only venture out on ideal conditions. Book your next fishing or winter adventure with Amazing Fishing Charters! "Let's Go Fishing"