The chinook fishery in areas 28 and 29 opened up September 1st and certainly did not disappoint anyone that was out on the water. There was a large area around the north arm of the Fraser River that was closed for the killer whale foraging area, so for the informed fishermen, T10 and Sandheads was the place to be. We even had an opening for sockeye salmon September 18 onward. The chinooks were hitting my bait rigs and hardware with such force that many hook ups after an initial lengthy run, the 6 foot 40 lb. test leader was all we got back. I stepped up the leader strength to 60 lb. test and that solved the problem of the chinooks biting through the leaders. Most of our success was caught using anchovy or herring with glow teaser heads. However, on some days spoons and hootchies held
their own so basically, get the bait or gear in front of the fish and hope it will trigger a response. Later into September, the Capilano fishery really got going with the returning hatchery Chinooks and Coho. Again bait seems to trigger more bites but gear spoons and hootchies worked too. When fishing the very crowded Capilano River tack, courtesy and attention to your direction makes for an non-confrontational day. The rule of thumb for the whole BC coast is right rod tip to shore has the right-away. The boats generally all go in a counter clockwise rotation. It's challenging when someone bucks the trend and goes against the flow of traffic. The weather has played a huge part in the great fishing. We haven't had any rain all summer so the returning salmon are still holding outside
of the river systems waiting for the scent of fresh water to get them started on their long journeys back to their birth creeks. October is here now and I usually start to target feeder Chinooks around Bowen Island, Howe Sound and when the winds cooperate, across to Entrance Island/Nanaimo areas. Get your gear down deep and watch your fish finder for bait balls. Find the bait and you'll find the fish. If the wind kicks up, stay local as their is still plenty of fish around.
Good Luck and "Let's go Fishing."
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