Fresh Lulu Island Fishing Reports

Although we are lucky enough in Vancouver to be able to fish for chinook salmon year round, Spring marks the beginning of our main salmon season, as migrating fish also begin to show up in local waters. And for weather and fishing, Spring came in like a lion this year! May saw hot, summer-like weather, virtually no rain, and the chinook salmon fishing was on fire! In fact, on a lot of days its seemed like double-headers were more common than catching single fish! June has been more seasonable, and the first coho of the year showed up in numbers, adding to the already great chinook fishing! Vancouver area waters will also see a big run of Pink salmon soon, as they are on a two year cycle. This year, Pinks will arrive in the millions starting in July and they always provide lots of action and good fun. Add it all up and we’ve already enjoyed a great start to what promises to be a terrific salmon season this year! Let’s go fishing!

Currently, the chinook fishing is exceptional. Although it is catch and release only we are having amazing catches of chinook salmon. Crab fishing has been decent. This is a great opportunity to create memories. Take some great photos and have a wonderful day perhaps doing something you’ve never done before.

We’ve been having some very good chinook fishing the last month here in local waters around Vancouver. Trolling a variety of artificial spoons and squid patterns have been producing on the Tide changes. Crab fishing has been average and prawn fishing has been good.

Well it was a fast and furious productive summer fishery in which after September 1st, we were able to retain Chinook Salmon along with hatchery coho and a late opening for Sockeye Salmon. Now its time to go on the hunt for the deep running resident Chinook Salmon. These 2-3 year old feeders that are over the minimum 62 cm run between 8 and 12 lbs and occasionally an18-20 lb lunkers will give you a pleasant surprise. Dates are very flexible as we only venture out on ideal conditions. Book your next fishing or winter adventure with Amazing Fishing Charters! "Let's Go Fishing"

After a phenomenal winter Chinook fishery in our local waters that started in October and didn't slow down even up to March 31st, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has implemented for the 3rd straight year a Chinook fishing closure in our local waters until at least July 15th or July 31st depending on what side of the pond you are fishing. On a positive note, August 1st opening is better than the two previous years' September 1st openings for fish management areas 28 and 29. I could ex-pound on the Science and evidence based marked selective fishery (hatchery salmon with the adipose fin clipped) which continues to fall on deaf ears at he upper management levels above DFO: Justin Trudeau, Joyce Murray (Fisheries Minister) and Rebecca Reid (DFO regional director). Under a DFO sponsored program, I am licensed to catch and release Chinook after obtaining a DNA sample, fishing guests can still enjoy getting out on the water, set prawn and crab traps and then fish for science. As of May 1st, lingcod and bottom fishing is open and can be targeted on the Vancouver Island side of the Salish Sea. July 15th, Chinook retention opens on that side as well. Come August, we are hoping for a Sockeye salmon opening as every 4 years there is a large return expected. But no one can predict any science based decisions from the previous forementioned politicians and bureaucrats. Come out and get a bucket of succulent spot prawns and dungeness crabs which will definitely quench your seafood cravings for the time being as were only 3 weeks away from targeting some tasty lingcod. Let's go fishing!

As we finally get a break from torrential rainstorms, then snow and freezing temperatures, both the weather and the winter Chinook salmon fishing around Vancouver is heating up! Over the past week, we've been getting good action on spoons and hootchies trolled right off the bottom, behind green or black flashers. Winter or "feeder" chinook around Vancouver range about 8-12 pounds, are scrappy and very good eating! In our area, these fish need to be 62cm to be legal, and over the past week, our ratio of undersized to keepers was about 3 to 1, but they are all great fun when the bite comes on (see video). Catches of delectable spot prawns have also been good - a staple part of our winter fishing program! After almost two months of really bad weather, it is nice to get back out on the water and find good fishing!