Pacific Angler Friday Fishing Report: May 2, 2025

OUTLOOK 

Welcome to May!  We have a sunny and warm weekend ahead of us.  Looking ahead at the 14-day forecast, we will see a bit of rain and a return to some cooler temperatures at night which will extend the season on some of our local systems. 

On the saltwater front, yesterday marked the opening of bottom fishing in certain areas.  Check out Jason’s report below for more information. on those regulations.   If you missed last week's report, be sure to have a read of Jordan’s Bottom Fishing Primer for more details on some of our recommended gear.    

For those who are stillwater fishing, we are seeing some heat in the Interior this weekend.    With that, most lakes above 4,000 feet are now iced off and any that were hanging on will definitely be ice free after the 48-hour heat blast.  Jason has a report on what he is looking for when he heads up to the Interior on his trips.    

Taylor tunes in this week with a special feature on Kokanee fishing.  This is a great fishery to take advantage of this Spring.   Have a read of his guide to get some great action and to take home some tasty table fare. 

CLASSES AND COURSES 

We have a great line up of courses set for this Spring.  Check out all of our upcoming March and April courses below and our full course listing here and sign up today online or over the phone at the shop - 604.872.2204!

Pacific Angler Course: Introduction to Fly Fishing

FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS 

Chilliwack/Vedder River Fishing Report

With the warmer weather and longer days of May come additional regulations on the Vedder River system, with closures continuing downstream on May 1st.  On April 1st the system was subject to closure from the upper boundary down to the Tamahi bridge markers, but as of yesterday the river is closed to fishing from the Vedder Crossing bridge to the upper boundary line.  This is also a great month for fly anglers, as the water from the crossing and down is now fly only before the entire system closes for the month of June.  Remember that all hatchery rainbow and cutthroat trout must be released so keep our little friends wet and swimming away strong for the next angler to enjoy! 

With water levels and clarity varying wildly throughout the month of May it's a good idea to carry a range of sink tips; T-8 to T-14 and/or a selection of Rio Versi-Leaders which will cover your bases nicely when paired with a fly box with different sink rates.    Remember that these fish have had a long season of seeing gear fly past their beaks, so this is a great time to fish some fun and less common colours like these egg suckers from my tying bench! 

Big, bright, egg sucking leeches are a May favourite! 

While there is less river available to fish, the name of the game is still to cover ground at this time of year.  May can be a bit tricky to find some peace and separation from other anglers, what with the combination of less open river to fish, fewer fish in the system, and beautiful weather enticing fair weather anglers out from winter hibernation.  We always like to say, “Fish the best of the bad water”! 

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Squamish River Fishing Report 

The Squamish has been on the rise the last couple of days with sunny skies and mild temperatures. The weekend river levels are edging up to max fishable height. It will be difficult to tell how much longer the main stem will hold up. The tributaries will still be fishable as their water levels are more controlled. The added melt will add some colour to the river and maybe move some fish around.  

Last week we had some solid trout fishing on the Squamish and a few steelhead encounters to leave lasting memories. 

  Steve with a great bull trout on an upper river drift.

With the added river velocity, we are giving a word of caution to those looking to drift in the spring.  Water levels can change quickly through the day so be aware of the conditions and have a solid respect for the river. No fish is worth the risk. 

Fly and gear anglers can still expect fish if they cover ground. With the bump in water, I often look for ways to cover larger runs faster. Gear anglers can cover water effectively with spoons and spinners. Fly anglers can effectively cover the same water using streamer tactics and swung flies. The basic technique is casting a medium to large fly usually on a sink tip and allowing it to swim and swing through the run. Cast - Swing - Step - Repeat. A range of rods from 5-8 weight in single handed and two-handed options are suitable. Faster action rods can help lift and cast sink tips, but most rods will do the trick. If you are looking to fish steelhead opt for the 7-8wt options. If you prefer to fish fry patterns for trout, look to a 5-6wt.  I like to throw fry patterns or larger sculpin/rabbit strip patterns when I have good clarity to the water, something white olive or brown. larger steelhead flies in a host of bright colours will stand out when the snow melt tints the water. Don’t go stingy on the leaders. Keep them heavy in the 8-10lb range for trout and 12-15lb for steelhead.  

As I said, we are not sure how long the season will hold out so it's a great time to get out. Don't forget your polarized sunglasses and sunscreen. Cover water and have fun! 

Eric Peake 

FRASER RIVER STURGEON FISHING REPORT 

Fraser River Sturgeon Fishing Report 

We're busy getting geared up for another great sturgeon season in the lower Fraser. Fishing has been steady but big tides and rising water has been making the windows for opportunity smaller and smaller. The sturgeon are there and metabolisms are beginning to ramp up with the warmer water temps, but it can be challenging battling the current at certain times of day. 

Some stunning colours on this one! 

Best bet if you plan on heading out there is to have lines in the water on either side of a slack tide. This will give your bait a chance to settle nicely on bottom without excessive current blowing things around. Keep in mind if you're fishing from shore that as the temperatures continue to warm and freshet sets in, there will be high, unpredictable water with lots of debris coming down stream. Keep an eye upriver and be safe out there! 

Jake Comrie 

SPECIAL FEATURE 

Kokanee Fishing 

It’s already May, and that means that the kokanee fishing in our area will be picking back up.  The rather warm and pleasant late-April we had means that the kokanee in our local lakes are already schooled up and are aggressively seeking out the thermocline, so targeting them should be pretty straightforward, especially for folks who prefer to troll for them… once you find one school, you can be fairly confident that every other school will be at roughly the same depth.   

Having a decent fish finder and downriggers can make all the difference when trolling for kokes, because they are very temperature and depth sensitive, with a strong preference for water between 10-13 Celsius, and will aggressively seek out these temperatures in a lake.  Once they find these temps, they will stick to them for the whole season, moving deeper or shallower as necessary. I’ve heard varying reports from the interior lakes as well, with most of the lower to mid-elevations lakes such as Stump being post-turn, stratified and thus fishing well.  

While downriggers are undeniably useful when targeting kokanee, a 2116HP gets the job done but might be a bit overkill! 

As mentioned, downriggers and fish finders are a massive asset when trolling for kokanee. The fish finder tells you exactly how deep the fish are, and the downriggers put your gear at that exact depth.  You can troll for kokanee with divers or in-line weights, but these are much less precise.  Kokanee don’t like moving up or down to chase gear, so if the fish are at 45 feet and your gear is at 40 or 50, you probably won’t have much luck.  Kokes also like flashy gear, much like sockeye, so dodgers, gang trolls or mini flashers are very useful… almost necessary. Trolling speeds will vary; I’ve had luck trolling anywhere between 1.9 mph and .9 mph, depending on what gear I’m running.  Speaking of gear, kokanee aren’t too picky.  I’ve had luck trolling mini-hoochies, small spoons, wedding bands, small flatfish, Apexes, and even small flies… kokanee are biting out of aggression, not necessarily to feed. I will say, however, that I’ve always had the best luck on pink, chartreuse, or orange lures.   

Don’t have downriggers or a fish finder?  You can still anchor up and jig for kokes.  Of course, a fish finder is still helpful here because you can easily find how deep the water is and where the fish are, but they aren’t strictly necessary.  Just anchor up in a promising spot and drop a piece of bait like krill, salmon eggs, corn, or shrimp… and wait. If that’s too boring, you can drop a small spoon or jig and slowly jig away until something happens.  I find this particular method to be very boring and susceptible to unwanted bycatch, especially coarse fish like pikeminnow or sculpin, so I prefer to troll, but it can be very effective at times… especially early in the season.      

Kokanee are very tasty fish, and average about 11-14 inches in the Lower Mainland; often much larger in the fertile, productive Interior lakes.  However, they DO NOT handle catch and release well and often suffer a mortality rate greater than 50%, so I strongly recommend only fishing until you have retained your limit.   Kokanee also have very soft mouths, so I usually advise the use of a trolling snubber or a soft, slow action rod to absorb a lot of the jarring forces involved with fighting a fish.  Don’t play them too hard, or you’ll just rip hooks out of their mouths.  When retaining them, be sure to bleed them promptly and get them on ice as soon as possible, as they tend to spoil very quickly.  I find mornings to be the best times to fish for kokes for a few reasons… temperatures are more bearable in the summertime, the fish are usually a bit more “bitey”, and the water-skiers, wake-boarders, and other recreators are usually still in bed.  

An average Lower Mainland Kokanee.

Fishing for kokanee is one of my favorite Spring/Summertime activities.  It’s a lot of fun… basically just a scaled-down version of trolling for salmon in the salt, and you get to take home some great eating fish.  Be sure to check regulations on your specific lake before you head out, and be mindful of the fact that a lot of our kokanee lakes also have populations of other fish that may or may not be open for retention, so be sure to properly I.D. your catch before you take it out of the water.    

Taylor Nakatani 

STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS 

BC Interior Lake Fishing Report 

The heat cometh!  The forecasted high for Friday is 32C in Kamloops, 23C in 100 Mile House, and 22C in Williams Lake.  After that temps drop considerably, which is probably a good thing, and we get some cloud cover, also a good thing for hatches, but overall things look great. 

Most lakes above 4,000 feet are now iced off and any that were hanging on will definitely be ice free after the 48-hour heat blast.  This is a dynamic time of year with a lot going on.  You could be doing ice off fishing with leeches, blobs, boobies, baby damsel, blood worms, and scuds.  You could be fishing chironomids in 10-15 feet, or you could be deep lining chironomids in 30 feet of water on lakes where the ice has been off since March.  It really depends on how low or how high you want to go. 

I am usually trying to hit the chironomid hatches and stable water conditions.  So, I am looking for lakes that have iced off, turned over, cleared up and warmed up.  This means I am looking to hit a lake about 3 weeks after ice off.  If it is hot out, maybe a bit sooner and if it is cold out, maybe a bit closer to 4 weeks.  As mentioned in previous reports, keeping a journal form past trips and knowing when a lake iced off is key for trip planning.  

 Fish, chironomids, and good sonar.  A productive scenario in the making. 

If you didn’t read my article on Forward Facing Sonar from last week’s report, check it out. 

Forward Facing Sonar Review 

I am looking forward to my next trip and some more time with the forward facing sonar and some more chironomid fishing.  If you have any questions about sonar in general and what to use for lake fishing, give me a call at the shop 604-872-2204 or send me an email jtonelli@pacificangler.ca 

Prime time season is upon us for many of the low to mid elevation lakes, so get out there now and good luck! 

Jason Tonelli  

SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS 

Vancouver Saltwater Salmon & Bottom Fishing Report 

Welcome to May!  This means we can now fish for and retain lingcod and rockfish.  Although there are no retention opportunities for these fish right in Vancouver waters of Area 28 & 29, a quick run across the Strait of Georgia over to Area 17 and we are in retention waters. 

The limit for lingcod is one a day with a min size of 65cm, no max size.  We do recommend releasing the larger fish as these are generally females and it’s a good idea to let them go so they can spawn.  These fish are also older, and you are better off keeping a lingcod in that 10–15-pound range for eating and letting anything bigger than 20 pounds go to keep the population stable and growing.   

The limit for rockfish is 1 per day, all species combined, no min or max size limits.  Remember to let your yelloweye go as they are endangered and closed to retention.  Always make sure you use a descending device to release your fish.  You must have a descending device onboard, ready to go, and know how to use it.  Failure to have one on the boat will result in a hefty fine. 

If you want to get setup for bottom fishing, come by the shop to check out our awesome selection of rods, reels, and lures for lingcod, rockfish and halibut.  You can also shop online for in store pick up or we can ship it to you.   

We are fully stocked for all your bottom fishing needs! 

This is a great time to book a charter as we can fish for lingcod, rockfish, catch and release chinook (C&R fishing for them is open and red hot in Area 17) as well as drop crab traps and prawn traps.  It’s a great day when you come home with lings, rockfish, crabs, prawns, and some great chinook memories! 

Looking ahead, coho open June 1 and we are expecting another great coho season, so stay tuned for more info on that as things progress.   

See you in the shop or on the water, 

Jason Tonelli