Right on schedule, our offshore chinook fishery has started! Good numbers of 8 to 15 pound chinook salmon are now out in the deep water off the South End of Bowen Island and the outer reaches of Vancouver Harbour. It has been a good first couple weeks of April, really looking forward to the second half!
Every spring, the longer days trigger the first plankton blooms of the year in the Strait of Georgia. This plankton bloom draws the herring, stickleback and anchovies out into the deep water to feed. Right behind all the "bait fish" is the feeding chinook salmon. For the next 4 to 6 weeks the offshore waters will be a very good option that can provide some explosive angling opportunities. Having said that, we are fishing out in the structureless water and some days you have to spend some time trying to find them or you have to wait for the right current for them to bite. Good areas to focus on this time of year include the Hump, the QA Marker, the Bell Buoy and the Gulf Island's. Productive depths are typically in the 65 to 150 foot range. One thing to pay attention to out there is the currents, we find that these fish don't like to bite in heavy current this time of year. Quite often we will look for areas with softer currents if we are between tide changes or fishing days with big tidal swings.
The offshore fish we are getting into now seem to be keying on bigger herring and walleye pollock and subsequently bigger 4.0 spoons seem to working well. We have been running 4.0 G Force and Silver Horde Spoons. Our Gibbs Delta G Force Spoons this time of year are the Trailhead, No Bananas and the Bon Chovy. Irish Cream, Green Glow and Kitchen Sink patterns from Silver Horde have been productive as well. We have not been running bait much as on a lot of days it is hard to keep up with the undersized and the baits are constantly getting fouled.
It looks like we are in for another solid spring chinook fishery in our local waters. It is very encouraging to see the strength of spring fishery in Strait of Georgia year after year. It is truly one of the most consistent fisheries in British Columbia in April, May and June. Give us a call or an email to get out there! If you have the time, an 8 or 10 hour charter is always a good bet this time of year. On our 10 hour charters, it opens up the possibility to fish the Gulf Island's if weather and fishing conditons permit!
See you out on the water.....It looks like things are going to warm up this week.. FINALLY!
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Topic: Vancouver Salmon Fishing Report - Mid April (Read 3099 times)