29 Dec Winter Salmon Fishing in Vancouver
It’s Winter time and you want to go fishing. What is there to do? Well, a lot more than you might think. There’s some really good Winter salmon fishing in Vancouver BC, below you’ll learn more about our charters and the fishing you can expect.
You can go salmon fishing in the Winter?
Most people don’t think there is any good salmon fishing in the Winter but that certainly isn’t the case when in comes to salmon fishing in Vancouver. We have a 365 day a year season and the Winter months provide us with consistent saltwater fishing for Chinook (King) Salmon in December, January and February. Is the fishing crazy? Sometimes it is, there are Winter salmon charters that will see double digit fish days! But it does depend, on average we see a few salmon on every trip, both legal sized and slightly undersized.
What are you Catching?
The salmon that we find in local waters in Winter months are Chinook Salmon, also known as King Salmon in the US. Do Chinook Salmon get big? They sure do, but not so much during the Winter time. This time of year is when ‘feeder’ salmon forage on ample supplies of herring and anchovies. These are juvenile fish, generally 2-3 year old Chinooks that are resident to the waters of Howe Sound and southern British Columbia. Average size is 5-10 pounds, with larger fish caught as we move into the Spring months. Cold water salmon are hard to beat, certainly my favourite to eat during the year.
Winter fishing for prawns and crabs too!
One of the most fun aspects of Winter salmon fishing in Vancouver is you can drop traps for prawns and crabs too. The local prawns are Spot Prawns and are caught in traps in deep ledge areas, upwards of 300+ feet deep. Don’t worry, you don’t have to pull all that rope, there are line pullers onboard the boats. Dropping traps for Dungeness Crabs is also a fun part of Winter fishing and crabbing around Vancouver is usually very consistent through from December to early March.
I’ll be freezing out there right?
Mmmm, not necessarily. Dressing warmly is easy and temperatures in Vancouver don’t really get too cold. Certainly, wearing warm layers is key. Bring along a good rain jacket and warm hat and some nice under layers. This will make for a comfortable day of Winter salmon fishing for you and your group. Stay warm in the heated cabins of our boats. The protected areas we salmon fishing are generally sheltered from the elements. Worried about being sea sick? You really don’t have to, the areas we are salmon fishing in the Winter are very close to shore. Futhermore, you’ll always see land from the protected bays and inlets we fish.
Taking your catch home. Of course you can.
We’ll get your catch prepped to take home, ready for you to enjoy. Salmon will be filleted and bagged. Prawns and crabs will also be cleaned and packaged. You can enjoy a Winter’s harvest at home with friends and family. Finally, if you are travelling internationally we can make arrangements for packaging your catch for travel.
Watch our Winter Fishing video here
Okay, we’re not going to win any awards for this, but just a quick edit of some Winter salmon fishing in Vancouver. If you like what you see and would like to book a trip you can email us chromersportfishing@gmail.com or call toll-free 1-877-902-3393. You can also follow the link to learn more about our year-round salmon fishing charters in Vancouver BC!
About the Author
Yos Gladstone is the owner operator of Chromer Sport Fishing, a guiding company and booking agency based in British Columbia, Canada. A full-time salmon & steelhead guide, Yos spends 200+ days a year on the water fishing, guiding and hosting trips.