This year's Fall fishery has been HOT!

Since the Chinook retention opened up September 1st for us Vancouver area based fisher people, the fishing has been hot off T-10 and Sandheads off the mouth of the Fraser River. The amount of boats on the water with flashers in the air, nets going into the water and limited out boats returning back to the docks early definitely indicates that there's something extraordinary going on. The Chinook return numbers at the test fisheries along the Fraser River have been very high and some reliable sources state highest in decades. Normally I start concentrating my fishing efforts over towards the West Vancouver waterfront to the Capilano River by the 3rd week in September to the last week in October for the returning Cap River Hatchery run of Chinook. But as of 2 days ago, the "bite" was still going strong with some very bright chrome Chinook and large numbers of wild coho salmon in the mix (wild coho must be released.) Normally bait (anchovy and herring in teaser heads) is king but on many days I have found certain spoons (Westcoast Fishing Tackle Black Herring Phat-E and Seahawk Knot-E) and hootchies (Blue Meanie and Glow White double skirt) to have been just as productive and every better. Off the Fraser areas, fishing 40-120 foot depths on the downriggers in shallow to over 400' bottom depth have been the norm but while fishing off the Cap areas, generally bounce the downrigger ball off the bottom and then up a few feet. While fishing the Cap, please remember the right rod to shore courtesy rule through out BC while you are tacking (in other words, counterclock wise like at an ice rink during public skating) and to do your u-turn prior to the green marker at the mouth of the cap. Fishing is prohibited east of the marker and the Port Authority has better things to do than enforcing this rule every time a large ship is leaving or entering the port. Members of the Vancouver Sports Fishing Guide Association work tirelessly with the Port to ensure we maintain this area open to sports fishing. Be safe on the water and have fun!