OUTLOOK
The final week of August is here, and there is plenty to look forward to as we head into September. The big news this week is that the Fraser Mouth chinook fishery opens September 1, just five days away! This is one of our favourite fisheries of the year, with some of the largest chinook of the season typically moving into the lower Fraser. We’ve been working hard in Areas 28-6 and 28-9 this past week and have had some great chinook to show for it, so we’re excited for what the next few weeks could bring.
The Fall river season is also getting closer. Coho and chinook numbers have been encouraging this Summer, and we expect good returns to the Lower Mainland rivers. The big wildcard right now is water—river levels are extremely low, so we're going to need some rain to get those fish moving upriver. With some rain in the forecast next week, we're hoping to see the first signs of Fall conditions soon.
Closer to home, the Ambleside beach fishery is entering the tail end of summer with more coho beginning to gather around the Capilano mouth. As the season progresses, this can be a great opportunity for both fly and gear anglers looking for a local salmon fishery.
If you're getting ready for the September 1 opener, make sure you're up to date on the new single, barbless hook regulations and 22mm maximum hook gap, which also come into effect September 1. Remember to stay out of the SRKW closure zone off the North Arm.
September is almost here, and we're excited for what's ahead. See you on the water or in the shop!
CLASSES AND COURSES
Our courses for the Summer are sold out but it's never too early to start thinking about the Fall
Introduction to Fly Fishing
Fall Salmon River Fishing Floats, Spinners & Spoons
This 3hr evening seminar covers float fishing, spinner fishing and spoon fishing; the three most productive techniques to catch BC salmon in a river.
Cost: $85.00 +GST
Date: September 22, 2026
Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
INDUSTRY EVENTS AND UPDATES
Join Our Team
We’re Hiring! We have two great opportunities to join our growing team. Check out all the details below!
Retail Sales Associate – Full and Part Time Opportunities Available
As a Retail Sales Associate, you'll be the face of Pacific Angler. You'll build relationships with customers, provide knowledgeable product recommendations, and help maintain a clean, organized, and welcoming retail environment.
Our customers choose Pacific Angler because they trust our staff to provide honest, experience-based advice. While no one is expected to know everything, every member of our team is committed to continually learning, sharing knowledge, and helping customers become more successful anglers.
Full job description is here
Product Data and Ecommerce Coordinator
Working closely with our ordering, marketing and retail team, you'll manage the flow of product information from supplier to customer. You'll be responsible for entering new products, maintaining accurate inventory records, publishing products to our Shopify website, and ensuring product information is complete, accurate and consistent.
This role is ideal for someone who enjoys solving problems, improving processes, and takes pride in producing high-quality, detail-oriented work.
Review the full job description here
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Fall Salmon River Fishing Primer
As we head into the final week of August, it is a good time to look ahead at what we expect for BC’s Fall salmon river fishing in 2026.
With a guide fleet of four Grady-Whites on the ocean all summer and two decades of experience, we have a strong sense of local salmon run sizes. The encouraging news is that coho and chinook fishing in the Strait of Georgia has been excellent this summer, and those fish will soon be moving into local rivers.
As with last year, coho numbers have been excellent, setting up the Lower Mainland rivers for another strong coho season. We have also seen plenty of white springs this summer, so we expect solid chinook returns to the Vedder/Chilliwack and Harrison this Fall.
The less encouraging news is that the sockeye return has been far below forecast, so there will be no sockeye fishery in the ocean or Fraser River in late Summer or Fall.
Low water levels are another concern. Snowpack on Vancouver Island and the South Coast was extremely low this year and melted early and quickly. Combined with a dry summer, this caused many southern BC rivers to run low as early as July, and levels are now very low.
Overall, the fish are out there, mostly staging near the mouth of the Fraser. Now we just need rain to move them upriver. Some rain is forecast for mid-next week, which should help early fish push through. Sunny, dry weather is expected to return until mid-September, but if more rain arrives later in the month, local chinook and coho fishing should improve significantly.
Have a great river fishing season—we’ll see you out there in the coming weeks!
Jason Tonelli
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
This past week we have been fishing Area 28-6 and 28-9 for chinook and coho. We’ve worked hard on the bites, but the reward has been some very nice chinook!
Some chinook from our efforts at 28-6 and 28-9 this week!
5 more days and the Fraser Mouth will open for chinook salmon retention, 2 per day, 62cm or greater, no max size limit, hatchery or wild! This much anticipated fishery features some of the largest chinook of the year, which are typically white chinook headed to the Harrison or Chilliwack/Vedder River. There will be some Tyees (30 pounds or greater) caught in the coming weeks so make sure your mainline is in good shape and those leaders are fresh!
These chinook are generally travelling quite shallow, testing out that lower salinity water, smelling out the North Arm and South Arm of the Fraser. We are usually fishing 25 to75 feet on the downriggers. Bait is also one of the most popular ways to entice these big chinook to bite. We are running anchovies in Rhys Davis teaser heads with a 6 foot leader to a Gibbs or Oki flasher.
Want to see my top choices for flashers and teaser heads for the Fraser Mouth chinook fishery? Check out this video!
The shop is fully stocked with anchovies, salt, flashers, and teaser heads so shop in store or online for all your Fraser Mouth Chinook fishery needs:
DON’T FORGET…..
A quick reminder, stay out of the SRKW Zone off the North Arm, which is no fishing for salmon.
Also remember the single, barbless hook restriction goes into effect on September 1st. The gap from your hook point to the shank must not exceed 22mm! Most 4/0 and 5/0 hooks are okay, but best to measure and make sure. You can run a tandem rig (2 hooks on 1 leader) so you can run some bait, but no trebles!
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
Beach Fishing Report
This past week, we had some great morning tides at Ambleside, with this week coming up showing the flood going into the afternoon.
When accessing the main beach out on the sand bar, anglers will want to look for a tide that drops below six feet. This will allow the greatest amount of area for anglers to spread out and try their luck.
Being so close to the city, this is a great opportunity for both fly and gear anglers.
As we head into the tail-end of summer, anglers can expect more and more fish to start congregating at the mouth of the Capilano, with a few fish already squeaking their way up and into the river itself.
When targeting these fish on the fly off the beach, especially under tougher conditions (full sun, middle of the day, etc.), anglers may try their luck with smaller offerings.
Muddler minnows, Beach Boys, and small comet-style flies are common options, but don’t forget to match the natural foods such as krill and other various euphausiids.
Outside of the common choices, we have some great patterns tied locally as well that imitate these small foods.
Some small and tempting offerings for our local beach coho
With the tides being more in the afternoon as the week progresses, fly anglers may want to take the morning the practice their casting. This would include the ever-important double-haul if you are looking to make salty fisheries a part of your life. This casting technique generates extra load and line-speed (note that I didn’t say rod speed…), that when used with the proper casting stroke can help anglers cast farther easier. Double-hauling also means anglers to do less false-casting, which equates to more time fishing.
Saturday’s tide for Vancouver.
Note that the tide moves ahead by roughly 45mins-1hr ahead each day
Floating lines with fluorocarbon leaders and tippet round out the fly outfit, but good optics help a lot too.
Polarized sunglasses are often overlooked and should be considered a part of your fishing gear.
Though frame styles are a personal choice, the one thing I would say is important is having the right lens colour: this will help reduce glare, cut white light, as well as offer contrast against various shapes at depth. A great all-round lens colour would be anything with a brown base such as copper, amber, and brown itself. This shade gives the greatest contrast between blues, greens, and reds and will also help with seeing navigational lights and signage.
Remember to wade safely and keep hydrated!
Cheers,
Jordan Simpson
