OUTLOOK
August is off to a fantastic start, with excellent chinook and coho fishing both locally and in Area 17. The beach coho fishery is also building, with more fish showing up around the river mouths each day. If you've been waiting for a good time to get out on the salt, now is the time!
Freshwater anglers have options too, with August and September shaping up to be prime months for Fraser River sturgeon, while bass continue to provide a fun local summer fishery. Just remember to check the latest access information before heading to the Skagit, as wildfire closures remain in place.
Looking ahead, Fraser chinook test sets are encouraging for the September 1 opener, while current sockeye numbers remain low and an opening is unlikely at this time.
Don't forget to check out our latest Saltwater Salmon Series video on fishing Tomic plugs for summer chinook, and as always, we hope you get some time on the water this weekend.
Tight lines!
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
FEATURE
Summer Chinook on Tomic Plugs: Our Favourite Trolling Tactics
If you've spent most of your time trolling flashers and hoochies, this summer might be the perfect time to mix things up.
In our latest Saltwater Salmon Series video, we take a deep dive into fishing Tomic plugs for summer Chinook in the Strait of Georgia. From selecting the right plugs and colours to rigging them for maximum action, this video covers the little details that can make a big difference on the water.
One of the biggest reasons we love fishing plugs is the way Chinook eat them. The strikes are aggressive, the fights are exciting, and there's nothing quite like watching a fish charge to the surface after crushing a plug.
Whether you're new to fishing Tomic plugs or looking to fine-tune your setup, this episode is packed with practical tips we've learned after years of guiding and fishing these waters.
Watch the full video below and see why Tomic plugs remain one of our favourite ways to target summer chinook.
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Skagit River Update
This past week has seen an increase in the size of the fire, with it travelling further into the Canadian side.
The Hozomeen Mountain Wildfire is burning near the end of Silver Skagit Road, close to the U.S. border and within Skagit Valley Provincial Park. To support public safety and wildfire response efforts, BC Parks has closed Ross Lake Campground and Skagit Valley Provincial Park as of July 24, 2026 at noon.
As of writing, the road is still closed at the 6km mark, with no current indicator of when it may open.
We are suggesting that anglers do not enter the park in any way, and to avoid the area.
More information can be found on the DriveBC website here .
Jordan Simpson
STURGEON FISHING REPORT
Vancouver Fraser River Sturgeon Fishing Report – August
August is one of the best months for Fraser River sturgeon fishing. Warm weather, stable river conditions, and the arrival of summer sockeye and chinook salmon create ideal conditions for targeting giant white sturgeon. As salmon begin their migration upriver, trophy sturgeon become increasingly active, making this one of the most exciting times of the year to fish the Fraser.
Summer is a favorite season for Vancouver sturgeon fishing. Comfortable temperatures, calm river conditions, and aggressive fish combine to create an unforgettable day on the water. Warmer water temperatures mean these prehistoric giants fight harder than ever, with powerful, line-peeling runs and spectacular jumps that make every hookup an incredible experience.
August and September offer some of the best opportunities of the year to catch trophy Fraser River white sturgeon like this!
The Fraser River is home to the largest freshwater fish in North America, and late summer consistently produces some of the biggest sturgeon of the season. Whether you’re an experienced angler or trying sturgeon fishing in Vancouver for the first time, our experienced guides provide an exciting, safe, and memorable adventure just minutes from downtown Vancouver.
If you’re looking for the ultimate guided sturgeon fishing trip in Vancouver, August and September are the perfect months to get on the water and experience the thrill of catching a trophy Fraser River white sturgeon.
To learn more about our Vancouver sturgeon fishing charters, visit us at Sturgeon Fishing Vancouver or call 778-788-8582 to book your trip today.
Jason Tonelli
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
Summer Bass
While local trout fishing usually slows down significantly during the dog days of summer, largemouth bass fishing can remain a viable summertime opportunity for those who still want to get out there and wet a line... they are a warmwater fish, after all.
While bass can be caught at all times of day and in all conditions, your best bet is going to be mornings, evenings and/or cloudy days... though suddenly weather shifts are no good. On bright, sunny days, you’ll probably want to focus on areas with a lot of cover- think lillypads, fallen trees, docks or weed beds.
A healthy summertime bass, caught on a swim jig in the evening
Crankbaits, soft plastics, jigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, poppers, frogs or even just plain old bait will all work, so I usually just suggest fishing whatever makes you happy. For what it's worth, I usually cover water fairly quickly and put emphasis on cover during the warmer months, using swim jigs, swim baits, shallow crankbaits or creature baits to search for feeding fish. I also like fishing frogs around heavy cover in the mornings and evenings; few things are as exciting as seeing a bass explode on a frog... though the hookup/landed fish ratio with frogs is undeniably worse than with any other lure. Note that weed growth is usually severe during the summer months, so needless rigging techniques are a good idea.
Senkos and other soft plastics that are fished slowly can also be effective, though I usually reserve them for when I know exactly where the fish are, or if they're being very finicky.
Bass fishing usually stays good all summer, and there are a ton of good places to head in the lower mainland, so it's a great fishery for when there's nothing else going on and you aren't able to get out of town. Remember that bass are an invasive, non-native species, so transporting them is extremely illegal and can have disastrous consequences for local ecosystems... so don't!
Taylor Nakatani
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
It’s been a great first week of August down at the Pacific Angler docks. On our 5-hour trips we have been into coho along West Van and South Bowen. Area 29-6 also opened for chinook, which means we can now target chinook on our half day trips. 
It’s been all smiles down on the docks this week with lots of coho and chinook around!
On our 8 and 10 hour trips we have been heading over to Area 17 when winds allow and the chinook fishing has been as good as it gets. Double digits have been the norm, with plenty of chinook on the line, lots of double headers and big smiles.
When the fishing is this good, we often take a break from our productive flasher and hoochie chinook setups and put on the Tomic plugs! Check out this new video on our favorite Tomics and how we like to fish them. Trolling for Chinook with Tomic Plugs
If you missed our video on how to catch chinook on flashers and hoochies make sure you check it out Chinook Trolling Tactics - Down Deep with Flashers and Hoochies
It’s prime time Area 17 chinook fishing right now!
The rest of the month should continue like this, with good coho and chinook catches. Fraser chinook test sets have been excellent, so the highly anticipated Sep 1 opener should also be very good. Sockeye test sets are low, so at this time it is unlikely we will see a sockeye opening this summer.
If you are looking to book a trip for August or September, give us a call at 778-788-8582. Things are filling up fast so don’t delay!
See you on the water!
Jason Tonelli
Beach Fishing Report
The beach is seeing a good number of fish schooling up at the river mouth. Every day more coho have been showing up and anglers have been hard at work chasing them down.
Reports from anglers seem to tell the same story. The schools are there; it’s just a matter of getting in-front of them and making your shots count. The salty regulars have been hooking up with a mix of wild and hatchery fish, with a few good sized fish being encountered.
This week the hot lures have been blue foxes and spinner/hoochie combos. If your unfamiliar with the “spinoochie”, its a spinner lure (usually a weighted variety like the prime lures clean up crew) with a small sized soft plastic hoochie attached at the hook or slipped up the body of the lure. This gives a leggy alluring action combined with the vibration of the blade that seems to help crack those tighter lipped fish. Most anglers will use a pink red, but small green or blue variations take fish as well.
Seals have also been making the most of the schools and you will usually see a number of hunting pinnipeds. If I’m fishing an area that is being haunted hard by seals, I usually pack up and move down the shore. Once the fish are on the move from a predator it’s pretty hard to get them to turn on your lure… and no one likes losing a hard earned catch to a seal.
The water is looking good, heading into the weekend, with a nice low morning tide. It might be worth it to set the alarm and get out early to fish the ebb and low slack. This is usually the calmest part of the day and the best fishing. Fish the outgoing tide and as more beach comes available, move out to target the deeper water. The next few days should be good, and I expect to see a fair number of anglers out there.
As with any urban fishery this area can get a little busy. Make sure to respect your neighbors and fishing environment. Dispose of any garbage and fishing line properly and leave the parks areas and beaches cleaner than when you found it for the rest of users.
Eric Peake
