Dan MacLeod Pursuit Sport Fishing
Dan MacLeod Pursuit Sport Fishing
By Dan MacLeod of Pursuit Sport Fishing Charters
As the short, wet, winter days give way to longer, warmer spring conditions here in Vancouver, multiple saltwater angling opportunities also present themselves. Not unlike the analogous reference to bears and trees slipping into a hibernation state for winter, many anglers put their rods, reels, boats and canine fishing buddies into a state of hibernation as well. Although some have chosen to rest their gear, boats and dogs after a warm great summer and fall fishery, most are just simply unaware of the fantastic winter and spring fishing available in the local Vancouver waters.
There is no shortage of winter saltwater angling opportunities here in Vancouver but, like the trees and the bears many anglers would rather lay dormant than untarp the boat and dust off the mooching reels. Vancouverites are always the first to see the arrival of spring much to the chagrin of our eastern neighbours doing a second oil change on their snow blowers. We are also the first to see a sport salmon fishery come alive.
Like clock work, late April and May presents us ‘die hard’ saltwater anglers a new opportunity to change gears from the winter chinook fishing spots and techniques, to intercept early Fraser River chinook runs. Late April to July chinook destined for rivers such as the Birkenhead, Pitt, Bonaparte, Coldwater, Horsefly and many smaller Cariboo rivers start showing up in good numbers in Georgia Strait and in particular along the sunshine coast, Bowen island, the hump of Bowen and the outer reaches of Vancouver harbour. These spring and early summer and fall runs can be fantastic angling and at the very least warm us up for the larger late summer runs of July, August, September and October.
We change from traditional techniques of dragging bottom with our favourite spoon/flasher and hoochie/flasher combos, to running more anchovy, herring and larger spoons, and hoochie combos suspended higher in the water column in deeper water; often still fishing deep on the downriggers as we move out into deeper water off Bowen Island, Nanaimo, Gabriola and the outer reaches of the harbour.
Migrating chinooks as well as our local winter chinook holdovers are now focusing on the mature herring bonanza in the Strait of Georgia and Howe Sound. Traditional herring spawning grounds along the eastern side of Vancouver Island and Howe Sound are milky with herring roe in late March and the spawn weary herring are making there way back into deeper water from the kelp beds. Hot on their heels are hungry chinook and ‘blue back’ coho.
Some of the best ‘winter’ chinook angling can occur during the months of April and May inside the Vancouver harbour, Tunstall Bay on Bowen, Coal Ports, Horseshoe Bay and Sechelt areas, so giving up on local feeders and the winter techniques is not a good idea just yet. Chinook that have spent the winter months gorging on herring in our local waters have put on considerable weight. These fish have doubled and tripled in size from the 3-5 lb chinooks seen in December to become fat and chrome 15 pounders in April and May. Crab and prawn fishing is also very good during these months.
As summer arrives so do the local commercial and aboriginal fisheries for shellfish, and the numbers drop considerably during summer. Unfortunately over the last five years we have seen overfishing by commercial and aboriginal boats here in local waters so spring is often the best time to take your limit. Of course harvesting only what you and your family will eat is wise.
April has arrived and it is time to take the tarp off the boat, dust off the reels and wake up the dog, so head down to your local sporting goods store and stock up on gear for this fantastic spring fishery. If you don’t have a boat, or are not confident in your knowledge about this fishery, then grab a few friends and take a charter from a Vancouver sport fishing company.
Good luck and enjoy the beautiful outdoors in our spectacular province.
Dan MacLeod
Pursuit Sport Fishing - Vancouver, B.C.