Time is ticking down to Chinook salmon closures effective April 1st. Winter fishing for Chinook salmon started months ago and continues to be strong with number of catches throughout the Howe Sound and Vancouver waters. Winter fishing used to be for the die hard fishermen that didn't mind a little chill (or a lot of chill) in the air and fishing pressure was light. Now that we are entering our 5th year of Chinook salmon closures from April 1st to August 31st on our side of the pond, fishermen have adapted to fishing the other half of the year on a regular basis and often with as much success as in the late spring and summer months. The feeder Chinooks move around with bait and with herring moving in to spawn starting now and into March, so are the salmon. Catches recorded of late by other guides and recreational fishermen are getting salmon hitting the scales in the low and high teens as well as multiple keepers in an outing. Water clarity is really good this time of the year so try glow and non-glow spoons and hootchies to match the bait. I have found success using spoons of all sizes from 3" to 5" and colors but my go to has been the Herring Aid and Outfitter in Wee Gee, Skinny G and G Force by Gibbs Delta and E Phat by Westcoast Fishing Tackle. For hootchies I like the chartreuse , the green or the blue splatter backs as well as the Blue Meanie. Run your gear deep and match the depth of the bait balls on your sounder. Typically this time of the year, I don't use bait as we are fishing fairly deep and it's a pain to keep checking the bait to see if it still intact and rolling after being dropped to 200 plus feet as well as the amount of shakers and undersize salmon being hooked up.
Also there are more prawn traps buoys populating the usual prawning grounds. If prawning, always check the regulations for the newest sponge reef closures as well as prawning closures as we are now entering prawn spawning season. Good luck, good fishing and we are the stewards of our environment and fishery. "Let's Go Fishing"