What would you recommend to anglers fishing in Nanaimo, British Columbia for the first time?

Winter fishing is hit and miss, so go more for the experience vs filling your freezer. Even though we reeled in a lot of fish we couldn’t keep them. Frustratingly fisheries has strict rules in the area and makes it hard for charter captains to allow clients to keep what they catch even if it’s 1cm too short. It’s absolutely beautiful and I’d definitely come back in the summer when there are bigger chinooks we can keep.

The winter fishing is slower but less crowded and the scenery is amazing with snow capped mountains on the Island and Mainland and whales frolicking in the bay if you are lucky. Dress warmly with layers

Make sure to wear a hat or sunglasses, it is quite bright. Because we did a morning trip we wore pants and a sweater, it was definitely a good thing. Dressing in layers / bringing clothes for weather changes is recommended. Make sure you have some snacks just in case, you can get hungry spending time in the outdoors. Water is also a must. Have fun! Regardless of how many bites you get or how many legal fish you pull in, just enjoy the day, it's a great experience.

We were catching salmon but not the ones we could keep. Check the best times to fish for types of fish you would like to keep. For catch and release fisherman, you are in for treat.

Fantastic guide, what an awesome experience. My sons had a great time and we caught a ton of fish! Definitely wasn’t expecting to reel in 18 salmon that morning!

It was nice to wait until the Chinook were in season so we could take one home for dinner. The weather was great, but layers are a must. Go with a good captain, like Captain Turk.

It's early in the season for alot of big salmon. However, they double in size by summer. You still get plenty of catches in a trip even if you can't keep them all

In Colorado we don't have fish this big. My son and I caught 8-10 lb fish right at the start. Very fun.

Ask the captain about recommendations on time and days to book! Sucks for everyone when your not getting action and the captains job becomes much easier when you're catching!

If you want to keep your limit, go after July 14. But there is a lot of good fun out there!