OUTLOOK
First off, a big thanks to all who came out to Spring Super Sale last weekend! It was great to see so many of you in store and online.
With warming temperatures and improving weather windows, there are plenty of good fishing opportunities right now across both fresh and saltwater fisheries. On the Vedder, steelhead season is winding down, but there is still time to connect with late-season fish before the June 1 closure, especially if water levels settle. Local lake fishing remains productive, with stocked trout fisheries continuing to fish well throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. We’ll be back next week with an Interior lakes fishing report where things continue to be productive!
On the saltwater side, bottom fishing around the Gulf Islands has been very consistent, while local DNA catch-and-release chinook fishing continues to provide solid action. Crabbing and prawning have also been productive, although anglers should keep in mind the commercial prawn opener on May 13, which typically means we like to hang up our prawn traps for season!
Check out all the details below in this week’s report and we’ll see you in the shop or on the water.
CLASSES AND COURSES
Introduction to Fly Fishing
Introduction to Fly Fishing Trout Streams
Stalking trout on mountain streams defines fly fishing. In this course we will teach you the fundamental techniques for fly fishing trout streams; dry fly fishing, nymphing, and streamer fishing. This course will get you as close to being Brad Pitt (River Runs Through It) as you will ever be! This course is comprised of one 3hr evening seminar.
Cost: $85.00+GST
Date: June 16, 2026
Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm
INDUSTRY EVENTS AND UPDATES
Sport Fishing Institute of BC – Big Spring Raffle 
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Many of our readers are familiar with the SFI but if you are not The Sport Fishing Institute of BC, represents the interests of hundreds of thousands of anglers and works with communities and organizations across the province. They are dedicated to protecting, enhancing and promoting sustainable access and opportunity to the public fishery on BC’s west coast.
Your raffle ticket purchase will help support the SFI’s efforts to secure a healthy future for BC’s public fisheries and the marine resources on which they depend.
Check out the awesome prizes and grab your ticket here!
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORT
Chilliwack/Vedder Fishing Report
Steelhead season is starting to wind down on the Vedder River as we get close to the end of the season. The river officially closes to fishing on June 1st and won’t be open again until July when the red chinook fishery kicks off. We saw some spikes in the water level this month as the weather started to warm up. Water levels have fluctuated throughout the past few weeks; however, they currently are sitting relatively high.
Currently, the river is sitting at around 2.5 meters, which is high, but definitely fishable. There are still a few fish hanging around the river. If you haven’t made it out fly fishing on the Vedder this year there is still time for it. Big bright and heavy flies will be key in this Spring high water. Getting your presentation down to the bottom and noticed by fish can be tricky in such dirty water. Heavy sink tips and Versi leaders, will help get that fly down into the strike zone. Keep an eye on the water levels and clarity, it can be really un-predictable this time of year.
Overall, it’s been a pretty sweet steelhead season out in Chilliwack this year. I hope everyone had a chance to get out this year and hopefully encounter some fish. Red Chinook season is next up on the Vedder, which is a fun summer fishery to look forward to. Until then, get out fly fishing for some of the last few weeks of steelhead season; if the water is right, you have a solid chance of encountering a fish.
Jacob
Capilano River Fishing Primer
Well, it’s the time of the year we look at one of our favorite local haunts, the Capilano. This short urban river straddles the border between West and North Vancouver and makes a short run from Cleveland Dam down to the mouth at Ambleside. Because of the dam, salmon do not have access to the upper spawning portions of the river. This has led to the development of the Capilano Hatchery.
The hatchery puts out an impressive number of fish. On average we see close to 1.5 million coho, chinook, and pink salmon released annually. This leads to some unique fishing opportunities. The Cap has the earliest Coho return out of all the local rivers. Once things warm up and summer creeps closer, small pods of fish will push up when water levels are right. These early fish are small, but they are fresh chrome and some of the best eating coho around.
We can target these fish in several ways:
Float Fishing:
A lightweight float rod with a 20gram Clear Drift float will give you a nice, stealthy presentation. Small, bright 8-10mm beads or small chunks of roe or cured shrimp will work well when fish are moving up. My favorites are the Clear Drift 10mm soft beads. I have caught them on a few colours but I am partial to the Fire Cherry which is very effective in moving water.
Spinner & Spoon Fishing:
I never hit the Cap without a spinning rod. Small Blue Fox spinners, and Croc Spoons are excellent to cover bigger pools when fresh fish hold up to rest. A nice fast sensitive spinning rod can be a huge piece of your coho gear. Check out the G Loomis GCX for an added edge on salmon.
Fly Fishing:
My favorite method to target these fish is with small flashy flies on sinking lines. As I mentioned, these fish are not huge, so your trout sized 5-6wts will do the job. At the end of summer when the fish start to get larger, I move back to my usual 7-8wt coho gear. The new Orvis Recon makes for a deadly salmon stick. A little word of warning for the fly chucker’s… it’s not an easy place to learn to cast. The Capilano is characterized by its steep canyon walls and dense forested banks. Expect to catch some trees and rocks and go prepared with a pile of flies.
Some tricks for all anglers out there would be: Invest in fluorocarbon leader material. Check out range Seaguar STS leader material or the SA Absolute Foloru. Both are excellent for stealthy presentations to picky fish in clear water. Also, keep your eyes on the upcoming weather. I like to try and get out on grey or drizzly days if possible. A spring or summer shower can make some great fishing. The first light bite is a big deal on this river. If it’s bright, sunny, and you can see the fish, it might be hard to fool them.
Lastly, there is ongoing construction on the dam itself. This has led to some unpredictable water releases. Keep checking the Vancouver water site for updates on the levels before your trip. You might even see an unpredicted bump in the water leading to some good fishing.
Eric Peake
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
Local Lake Fishing Reports
The Lower Mainland lakes have continued to fish well this week, and this beautiful weather will help keep fishing both productive and enjoyable!
Local lake fishing is a great outing for the morning.
There’s been some strong fishing at Sasamat and Buntzen lakes in Ioco, as well as some of the Harrison fisheries like Grace and Hicks. Rice lake has been a bit slow, but that’s to be expected with the amount of angling pressure it receives! Explore the stocking reports at gofishbc.com/stocked-fish to see which lakes have been stocked and push a little bit out of the city and you’ll find both more trout and less people.
Vary your depth from bottom between 12” and 24” to pinpoint the cruising depth for trout when the temperatures climb!
This time of year, can mean some serious swings in temperature, so don’t be discouraged if the temperatures climb and the trout bite turns off. Look for shade cover and structure that can provide cooler water and protection from predators and you’re likely to find fish, but if shade and structure are hard to come by, a bottom rig can get you down to where fish are holding. There are some great floating bait options available like the Berkley Gulp Floating Salmon Eggs that do a great job of mimicking the scent of the feed trout eat in the hatchery, but I like to be prepared with different flavours for pressured fish. Small cooked deli shrimp, sweet corn, and earthworms are all trout favourites but need a little help floating up off the bottom, which is where I reach for mini marshmallows! They float like corks and absorb scent very well, so a little bit of gel scent like Pro Cure Bait Gel can really help boost your scent profile but doesn’t require frequent re-application as compared to a spoon or spinner bait. For floating baits off bottom, I prefer a small, light wire hook like a Mustad C67S in a size 10 or 12, but in a pinch a small baitholder will work.
Jay Awrey
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
We’re just over a week into May and our guide team has been seeing some great fishing out on the saltwater. When the weather cooperates, we’ve been making the run across the Strait to the Gulf Islands, where bottom fishing has been very consistent with good numbers of lingcod and rockfish coming to hand.
Eddie with some nice lingcod from a trip earlier this week.
Locally, our catch-and-release chinook trips have continued to produce solid action as well. We are participating in chinook DNA sampling again this year to help better understand the stock composition of fish moving through our local waters. The long-term goal of gathering this data is to support future opportunities in areas and times where stocks of concern are not present.
Alongside the fishing, both prawning and crabbing have been good as well. The commercial prawn fishery opens on May 13 this year. Once the commercial fleet starts fishing there is a significant amount of gear set throughout most productive areas and because of that, we generally recommend pulling recreational traps after opening day, as success rates tend to drop considerably.
Crabs are a great addition to the spring dinner table.
For our own trips, we typically shift focus and spend more time targeting productive dungeness crab grounds while prawn numbers recover through the spring and summer.
If you’d like to get out for some bottom fishing and help contribute to the Chinook DNA sampling program while you are out, give us a call at 778-788-8582 to book a trip with the guide team!
