OUTLOOK
We can’t believe it’s already time for the last fishing report of September, where did the month go?
In this week’s report, Taylor, Eric, and Jordan have updates from our local river systems.
On the Chilliwack/Vedder, water levels remain low and clear, but there are still plenty of fish in the system. If you're heading up the Sea to Sky corridor to scout for the Fall fishery, don’t miss Jordan’s update as he covers the tail end of the pink salmon run and what to expect for the upcoming coho season.
Out in the valley, the Harrison River is beginning to show signs of life as we transition into the Fall season. Stay tuned for more detailed observations and conditions as they develop.
Jason checks in from the Interior lakes, where cooler temperatures are finally arriving. These drops in temperature will trigger Fall hatches and leading to more active fishing.
Last, but not least, Jake shares the latest from the saltwater scene. Our guide team has had productive trips near the Fraser Mouth when winds allowed, and shorter local trips have also been yielding solid results.
Be sure to read the full reports for all the details, or drop by the shop this weekend for the latest updates from the water.
Please note: The shop will be closed on Tuesday, September 30th, so plan accordingly if you’re coming in next week!
CLASSES AND COURSES
Introduction to Fly Tying
There is no greater satisfaction than catching a fish with a fly you tied yourself. This Introduction to Fly Tying course was specifically designed to give you the fundamental skills needed to tie proven fly patterns used here in BC for trout, salmon, and steelhead.
This course consists of 3 sessions, spread over 3 consecutive weeks. Each session is 3hrs. Location: At Pacific Angler from 6:30pm - 9:30pm. Choose your 3 dates below.
Students are required to supply their own vise, tools and materials. A 10% discount is available on fly tying materials and tools purchased for the course. Sign up here today!
Cost: $130.00+GST SPOTS AVAILABLE
Class Size: 7
Dates: (Jan 28, Feb 4, 11), (Apr 2, 9, 16), (Nov 18, 25, Dec 2)
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
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Winter Chinook Fishing With Jason Tonelli
Did you know there is excellent chinook fishing in local Vancouver waters from Oct to March? This is the winter chinook season and fishing the last few seasons has been excellent and this season is no different!
Learn the secrets on how to catch these hard fighting chinook, which are prized for their table fare as well. Your instructor, Jason Tonelli, will cover all aspects of what it takes to be a successful winter chinook angler. Jason has been honing his winter chinook skills out of Vancouver for close to two decades and is Pro-Staff for Gibbs Delta Tackle.
You will learn the top producing areas, including how to fish them productively and what tides, correct speed, how to fish close to the bottom, the most productive fishing tackle setups depending on conditions, how to use your sonar effectively to catch more fish, what weather patterns to avoid for boating safety, and many more winter chinook secrets.
Sign up here today!
SOLD OUT - Call Store To Be Waitlisted For A Cancellation
Seminar Cost: $100+GST
Date: Dec 10, 2025
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Chilliwack/Vedder River Fishing Report
The C/V system is continuing to run in an extremely low and clear state... which means that, despite the fact that there are tons of pinks, good numbers of chinook and a few coho in the system, fishing is tough. Having said that, there is some precipitation in the forecast, and that is a very good thing. Unfortunately, it looks like most of the precipitation will fall as scattered showers, which probably won’t be enough to increase the water levels very much; though it might be enough to dirty the water up a bit. As such, it would be a good idea to bring a variety of presentations if you plan on heading out there over the next week, just in case the viz drops enough to make your standard low water presentations ineffective. The current forecast is calling for some heavier rain to start falling on Sunday night, so we’ll have to wait and see if that materializes.
As I mentioned above, there are a lot of fish in the system right now- mostly pinks, but quite a few chinook and reasonable numbers of coho as well. We’re nearing the end of the pink run, so most of them will be coloured up... but, of course, there will still be a few fresh ones pushing into the system until the end of the month. The chinook run should be nearing its peak, and the coho fishing should be starting to pick up as we head into the last week of September.
A limit of clean pinks from last weekend. While the pink fishing will be slowing down from here on out, there will be a bunch of coho and chinook taking their place.
There’s still a ton of good fishing to be had; late-September/early-October is usually my favourite time on the C/V system... here’s hoping the rain comes and we get some more favourable fishing conditions!
Taylor Nakatani
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Squamish River Fishing Report
This past week has seen anglers continue to find success with encountering pink salmon, with catch-and-release being practiced now that the retention window is closed.
There have been a few reports of coho already, which is a great sign of things to come. Keep in mind they are catch-and-release, outside of the one (1) hatchery you may keep if in certain areas. Chums continue to be non-target and are not open to catch-and-release. It's always good to refresh yourself on the regulations before you head out.
Water clarity is still quite dirty and cloudy, but each day seems to see small improvements. Once we get some colder weather in the Whistler/Pemberton areas with glaciers starting to freeze up, we should hopefully start to see some improvements in colour.
Fly anglers looking to target char and trout are starting to find them on spawn and flash flies, as well as small baitfish patterns such as sculpins.
If tossing the hard lures, spinners and spoons should continue to be at the front of an angler's mind. Rooster Tails, Mepps, Panther Martins, Vibrax, and Prime are all popular spinners for targeting trout and salmon, with a variety of sizes and colours being thrown in the mix. Crocs, Koho, and similar shaped spoons are popular choices as well to round out the kit.
As I mentioned above, we are starting to see coho in the system, but conditions haven't been ideal to fish the common areas. Once the upper levels start to freeze, we should start to see the water slowly drop and clear up.
When targeting these fish, outside of the above-mentioned lures, flies are a great choice as well. Small sparse flies offered in a mix of sparse and neutral, as well as bright and flashy are all great options when stripping to laid up or resting/stacked fish. Muddler minnows, small nymphs, and other small sparse flies are great options.
If looking for small and flashy, a mix of custom flash-flies tied by a variety of local tyers will round you out.
When targeting traveling fish, swinging spoons like the Gibbs Koho is a great way to get aggressive and explosive takes.
On the fly, swinging larger prospecting patterns is a great choice, with Prom Dress-style and the like being common.
If looking for a custom selection, or a few additions to complete your kit, come on in and talk to us- we'd love to help you build out your Sea-to-Sky Selection.
If you happen to come across a bull trout wearing a patch, his name is Fsh. You'll recognize him as he's missing an eye...
Cheers,
Jordan Simpson
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Harrison River Fishing Report
The Harrison is still an option leading into September. Pinks are around and the hopes of early coho can make it worth your time.
Low water levels will give shore anglers a good chance of getting out to the fish. We have a few days left of pink fishing. If you are looking to use the pink twitching jigs and tazzi devils this is the spot. It is getting late in the season so you may encounter side channels and lower river areas with spawning fish. Do your best not to disturb spawning fish and the redds they are building. Limit crossing on side channels and shallow flats.
As the season progresses, we start to anticipate the arrival of the early aggressive coho. The low water conditions will allow anglers to target coho on the fly or with the standard spinning gear. We have a replenished stock of custom jigs and Andre has re stocked his famous coho flies. Check them out before they are gone!
Salmon flies – Salmon Jigs
Another bright spot out in the estuaries has been the trout fishing. Look for hungry trout and whitefish following the aging pink salon upriver.
Spawning fish also brings a variety of wildlife to the river. Whenever I am adventuring, I will have bear spray at hand. This is an overlooked piece of kit when fishing close to home but essential when wandering river estuaries. One spray for every two anglers. Having it in your bag is not good enough. Stay safe have fun.
Eric
STILLWATER FISHING REPORTS
BC Interior Lake Fishing Report
As we enter the last week of September, we are finally starting to see some single digit temperatures in the evenings for the lower elevation lakes in Region 3 and Region 5. This means water temps are now dipping down below 60F and this has triggered some of the fall chironomid hatches we would have normally seen much earlier in the month. Hopefully it doesn’t get too cold too quick and we can get a few weeks of chironomid fishing on some of these lakes.
For the lakes that don’t see strong fall chironomid hatches, as water temperatures cool down fishing will pick up. For the past 2 weeks reports in general have not been good, with a lot of lakes being too warm with fish suspended mid water column and generally not feeding aggressively. This will start to change with these cooler nighttime and daytime temps. I am already hearing some better reports the last few days and fish heading towards the shallows and being taken on shrimp and leeches in less than 10 feet of water.
Fishing success will invariably be tied to water temperature this time of year and that is a tricky game with weather patterns and lake elevations. It does seem most lakes are 1-2 weeks behind where they “normally” are this fall season, so I hope that helps in your decision making process. A good example is a friend of mine goes every year to a certain lake this week and there is always a good chron hatch. He just got back, got skunked, and the water was still unseasonably warm and the lake “needs another week” to get the temps down to trigger that fall hatch. Normally it would be in full swing by now. Things can get cold quick so the fall chron window on some lakes might be short lived this year. It will be all about the weather the next few weeks.
A nice Blackwater rainbow caught on a chironomid earlier this month. Timing has been tricky this fall but worth the effort for fish like this.
Some of the best fall fishing is definitely yet to come with many lakes fishing well into November and even December. Things are literally just getting going. So, grab your cold weather gear and get ready for the shallow water game, it’s coming, albeit slowly!
See you in the shop or on the water,
Jason Tonelli
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Vancouver Saltwater Salmon Fishing Report
The past week required a bit more finesse, but the saltwater fishing has still been productive at the Fraser Mouth and closer to home. The weather over the past few days limited our ability to head south, but earlier in the week, before the northwest winds set in, boats at the Fraser Mouth had no problem hooking into chinook and coho. Later in the week, stronger winds kept the guide boats in the harbour, though this is the time of year when the Cap Mouth starts to heat up.
Still some big fish swimming around at the South Arm! Hopefully keeps up a bit longer.
The Capilano has shown some good moments but remains a bit tricky. Bite timing has not been very consistent throughout the flood tide, although the PA guide boats have had the most success around high slack rather than low slack or mid-tide. While some fish have been taken mid-water column, most of the action has come from running bait tight to bottom. Given the low river level and the time of year, we expect to see more fish stacking up at the mouth soon. This fishery can remain steady into October until the first big bump in river flow. Once the river rises, things usually taper off, although a few stragglers are often around until the end of October.
On route to the Cap before the tide change!
The coho caught this past week have been impressive, with plenty of fish over 10 pounds, both hatchery and wild. These big coho have been putting up incredible fights, often with an initial run strong enough to make you think it was a chinook. As always, please handle these wild fish with care. We want these giants to spawn!
A big hatchery coho that even dwarfed some of the chinook that were caught.
As noted in last week’s report, we are continuing to encounter a good number of feeder chinook on recent charters. The time spent in the harbour over the past few days has only confirmed this, with more “winter” chinook showing up. Seeing this many this early is an excellent sign for the months ahead. While many have been undersized, there has been a surprising number of keepers, which bodes well for a strong winter chinook season. October is often a transitional month as anglers decide when to shift from river mouths to deeper spots, but if these early chrome feeders keep showing up, the choice may be clear sooner rather than later.
Tight lines,
Jake Comrie
