OUTLOOK
The BC Day Long Weekend has arrived, and there has never been a better excuse to get out on the water. Whether you're chasing chinook, coho, trout, or simply looking to spend a day outside with family and friends, there are plenty of great opportunities across the province.
Saltwater fishing continues to lead the way this week. Area 17 chinook fishing has been outstanding, local coho fishing remains excellent, and beach anglers are continuing to connect with fish close to home. If you're looking to make the most of the long weekend, now is the time to go. We also have a limited number of our Pacific Angler Chinook Trolling Kits available after the first batch sold out almost immediately, so if you're looking for a proven setup, don't wait too long.
Freshwater anglers will find plenty of useful information in this week's report as well. We take a look at what to expect on the Vedder this Fall, provide an important access update for anyone planning to fish the Skagit, share the latest outlook for Fraser River sockeye, and offer some tips for making the most of summer stillwater fishing.
If you're getting ready for a trip this weekend, be sure to stop by the shop before you head out. We're here all weekend long to help you get geared up with tackle, bait, flies, electronics, clothing, or any last-minute essentials you might need.
Please note that we will be closed on Monday, August 3, for the BC Day holiday, so be sure to swing by before then if there's anything on your list.
From all of us at Pacific Angler, have a safe and enjoyable BC Day Long Weekend. Good luck on the water, and we hope to hear all about your adventures when you get back
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
PRODUCT FEATURE
Pacific Angler Limited Edition Chinook Trolling Kit
The first round of our limited edition chinook trolling kit sold out in a few hours but fear not – the team put together another 10 kits so get yours before they are gone!
Designed by the Pacific Angler Guide Team, this is exactly what our 4 guide boats are using every day to get limits of chinook in the Strait of Georgia.
This Chinook Trolling Kit features 4 flashers with hoochies, tied in house by the PA Team, all conveniently organized in a Gibbs Flasher Storage Box.
Each Kit Contains:
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Gibbs Flasher Storage Box
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Gibbs Brain Freeze Flasher with Delta Glow Blue Breeze Hoochie
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Oki PA Custom Black Flasher with Delta Glow Blue Breeze Hoochie
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Oki Salty Dawg with Yamashita Glow Chartreuse Spatter Hoochie
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Gibbs Lemon-Lime Chartreuse Flasher with Delta Glow Green Spatter Back Hoochie
All leaders are tied in house by Pacific Angler with Maxima Ultragreen Leader. Barbs are pinched, leaders are the correct length and attached to the flasher, just clip the flasher on and start fishing!
All items needed to make this kit and tie the leaders are over $200 when purchased separately. Special pricing on the kit is $150 plus tax, limited quantities available!
Watch our chinook trolling tactics video to see this Chinook Trolling Kit in action and learn how to fish it.
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Chilliwack/Vedder Fishing Report
A quick report on the Vedder and what to expect this Fall. The summer chinook fishing is winding down now, with the bulk of the run having entered the river mid-July. August is a good time to give the river and the fish a break.
The good news is things are looking great for the Fall. The coho numbers out in the ocean are fantastic and a lot of those fish are headed for this river. Coho returns in recent years have been very good with numbers increasing each year and this is once again the case for this Fall. So, expect some excellent coho fishing very soon, with the first fish showing up early September.
Chinook fishing should also be very good. Just like the coho, there are a lot of white springs out in the Strait of Georgia right now and those are all headed to this river and the Harrison.
Overall things are looking to be excellent this Fall and we expect fresh coho and chinook to start showing up in about 5 weeks.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
Skagit River Fishing Report – Access/Closure Update:
As of writing, DriveBC is listing the road into the Skagit Valley as closed with barriers blocking access.
The closure point is on Silver Skagit Road approximately 6km south of Flood Hope Rd due to the Provincial Parks closure caused by the Hozomeen Mountain Wildfire.
This closure extends from the 6km mark down to the U.S border.
If you are looking for another other fun trout stream opportunity for this long-weekend, the Thompson River can provide a different experience for anglers depending on tactics used. Whether you like to see big surface eats on dry flies, or seeing indicators drop while nymphing, either of this river can provide both.
If you’re wanting to start fishing for the Thompson River’s large-shouldered trout, there are some great areas to start getting your feet wet. Such areas would include Juniper Beach Provincial Park just East of Cache Creek off Highway 1, any of the many pull-outs along the highway upstream from Ashcroft, and the area around Spences Bridge just North of town where access is a little easier as the ground flattens out a bit more.
Remember to wade and rock-hop safely, and to keep an eye on changing water levels.
Stay safe and hydrated,
Jordan Simpson
Fraser River Sockeye Salmon Update
We have received a lot of questions about sockeye, so I wanted to provide a brief update. I sit on the Sockeye Working Group Committee, which meets regularly through the Sport Fish Advisory Board process, and meets directly with DFO managers. I attended a meeting on Thursday, and this is the latest information.
The run size is estimated to come in around 7.5 million for Fraser River Sockeye this year. This is the p50 estimate, so the median. The early and mid-run timing stocks are expected to do well and less so for the late run.
The plan is to have a sockeye opening in the Fraser River around August 15 for those mid run fish if things are tracking around the p50 level. In this scenario there likely would not be a marine opening off the Fraser Mouth because too many of the late run fish (of which there aren’t predicted to be many this year) stage off the Fraser Mouth where the mid run fish generally go right into the river.
Unfortunately, the data that came in this week shows the run is tracking well below the p50 level. If the run continues to track below the p50 level, there will be no in river opening mid-August and the limited First Nations openings that are now in place will be scaled back appropriately.
Things can change rapidly as test set data comes in each week, and next week will be a very important one. Once the data comes in next week, we will have even more clarity if the river opens or not. The test sets will really need to pick up if that is going to happen, so we will have to sit back and wait and see, fingers crossed.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
BC Interior Lakes Fishing Repor
A quick update on the BC Interior lakes fishing scene. Conditions have been a bit tough lately with the high winds and the fires. If you are heading out for some summer lake fishing be sure to do your research on what highways and roads are closed, where the fires are, and check on the smoke using the Accuweather Smoke Map.
When the winds have allowed, there has been some good fishing on bloodworms and on the lakes that have summer chironomid hatches. When the bloodworms or chrons haven’t been producing, leeches and blobs have been working well. I’ve been out a few times in July and had some great fishing.
A sample from a trip I did recently in Region 3 to a high elevation lake. Some bloodworms and summer chironomids.
Don’t write off the summer, it can be quite productive and there are a lot fewer boats on the lakes. Stick to your high elevation lakes and do some exploring and I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
If you do some exploring and put in your time you can have some great summer fishing for big trout like this!
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
Fantastic fishing continued around Vancouver this week, making for a great finish to July with strong catches of coho and chinook.
Locally, coho fishing remains excellent, and the fish are getting bigger each week.
Another productive day fishing for hatchery coho only 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver!
On our longer trips, chinook fishing has been red hot in Area 17.
The chinook fishing off Gabriola has been outstanding!
For an inside look at how we fish deep for summer chinook and what gear we use, check out our new video, Chinook Trolling Tactics - Down Deep with Flashers and Hoochies. This blog post covers the tactics in detail and includes links to the featured flashers and hoochies, as well as a pre-packaged kit while quantities last.
Looking ahead to August—it’s hard to believe it starts this weekend—the strong coho and chinook fishing should continue. For those of us fishing out of the Vancouver area the Fisheries Notice for Area 28 Chinook Management Measures was released this afternoon (FN0814) which goes over the chinook openings for this area coming up August 1, 12 and September 1. As always be sure to read all fisheries notices and familiarize yourself with them before hitting the water.
If you haven’t booked your trip yet, there is still time. Give the office a call at 778-788-8582.
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
Beach Fishing Report
Coho are still rolling off the west Vancouver beaches, with a few anglers making the most of the tides to get a shot at some chrome. It will be important to check tides and go prepared with a few presentations to fish shallow when the water is up and get distance when the tide ebbs. We have high early AM tides with lows midafternoon. Second high tide will be right at dusk.
There are numerous lures and presentations to consider when heading out. I am a fan of the Coho and Croc spoons in medium sizes. These are staples for Westcoast beach anglers and transfer over to river duty when the Fall season brings in the bulk of the later running fish.
Large and medium spinners like the Prime spinners, Blue fox, and Agila spinners produce a large amount of vibration and clatter underwater to help crack those tight lipped fish when the spoons are not producing. Many of these spoons are light weight so getting the distance from the beach can be a bit tricky. If you’re after more distance, try adding an egg sinker or pencil lead in front of your spinner. This is usually rigged with a weight down to a swivel followed by a 3-4 ft long leader to your spinner. Bass anglers will know this as a Carolina rig. This will allow you to change weight depending on the water depth and casting distance desired.
One lure that can’t be beat for distance is the good ol Buzzbumb. These heavy casting lures excel as long range presentations when you are casting out to deeper water. Be careful when selecting your lure size here as larger sized Buzzbombs can overload lighter action rods. A good alternative is a Zzinger… basically a fish shaped Buzzbomb. These are a little lighter for smaller rods but still produce the spinning “Buzz” action when casted and jigged.
Reports have been mixed but that’s typical for this fishery. Some days the fish push closer, and we get plenty of shots at fish. Other days we find fish moving further out, and success can be limited. I have seen a few regulars taking fish along with some very new anglers connecting on their first salmon.
Fly anglers have also been taking fish on the tide changes. Try smaller “shrimp like” patterns, Cali Neils and muddler minnows. Small is key here as they generally outperform larger heavy flies. On the fly I like to use a longer saltwater Rio bonefish leader. These may not look like salmon leaders, but they are stiffer and excel in turning over flies in windy conditions. Lastly, fly anglers should invest in a good stripping basket to keep their fly lines tangle-free and out of the piles of shells and debris. One misstep on the rocky shell covered shore and you can shred your expensive fly line.
It’s warm but that salt water can be chilly in the morning. Most anglers will choose to wear waders. After a day of saltwater use make sure to take some time to rinse and clean your waders and boots properly. If you plan on making the beach your primary fishery you may want to look at a specific saltwater wading boot Like the Simms Freesalt. These boots have a gum sole to aid in traction on the rocks and have less drainage holes to prevent fine sand from accumulating in the footbed. Don’t forget to clean your rods, spoons and flies. I keep any “fished” lures and flies separate from the rest of my kit to prevent any rust and corrosion on the rest of my tackle.
As the season progresses, expect to see more anglers making the trek to the shore. Give everyone space and lend a hand if someone needs a little help. Keep your fishing environment clean and pack out whenever you bring with you.
Eric Peake
