Harbour Chandler
Nanaimo fishing report - April 28, 2018
By Steve Vavrik, Harbour Chandler
The last two weeks have been the best fishing I’ve seen since coming to Nanaimo 15 years ago. There are more Chinook swimming past us than I thought was possible. However, I’d expect it to be a little slower early this week due to the full moon.
Friday's reports were decent, but not as great as last week. On the upside, the Campbell River and Comox fishermen are doing well, so that means we have more fish heading our way.
Almost any lure has been working. The main thing is just get your lines in the water. I’ve heard guys getting limits on everything from ratty apexes and old school nickle/brass 6” Superior spoons, to the brand new silver knight spoons. Green glow hootchies, and Peetz Sylvester’s Secret spoons are also reportedly working. Best flashers are still glow/chartreuse. I particularly like the new Phantom flashers from Gibbs, as they combine glow and ultra violet.
Best depths have been anywhere from 130-180 feet off shore, in 800-1000 feet of water. If you get into one of the patches of smaller fish, try changing your depth, or location. There are bigger fish out there, so don’t keep fishing the same location if you aren’t getting the size class you want.
Some of the larger fish have been taken a little closer to shore than where the majority of the fish are. Its a nice colourful mix of red and white springs, with the whites being on the larger size.
Prawning is still very good, and ling cod should open on May 1.