Squamish River fishing report

Vancouver Squamish Fishing Report Early March

MARCH FISHING REPORT

FOR VANCOUVER & SQUAMISH

The last two weeks of February have been a mix of warm weather, cold weather, snow and sun. Overall, the southcoast of BC has had a relatively mild Winter, which has allowed for some good winter fishing.  As we move into March and April, temperatures will warm and we should see improved river conditions and better fishing. Below is our condensed fishing report for early March 2021. Here’s a few key highlights of fishing in Vancouver and Squamish this time of year…

SQUAMISH RIVER LEVEL IS LOW & CLEAR

LOTS OF ANGLING PRESSURE ON THE LOWER CHEAKAMUS

SLOWER FISHING FOR EARLY SEASON STEELHEAD

SALTWATER SALMON FISHING IS GETTING BETTER

SQUAMISH RIVER FISHING REPORT

The Squamish River has been on a slow drop since it spiked on February 20th, with water levels at about 1.6 metres, that’s really low for the river. With cold temps this last week and a low freezing level this low water is expected. Low river levels do make fishing a bit trickier and the low flow at the estuary doesn’t usually bring in many new fish, we need some warmer weather or a few good days of rain to bump up the river.

If you’re fishing at low levels you need to dumb down everything you’re doing. That means smaller flies and lighter tippets. If you are conventional gear fishing you’ll want a delicate presentation with smaller size gear. Fish don’t like low river levels and super clear water, they’ll push into deeper water for protection or hover in tail outs and shallow riffles. Sunny bright days this time of year make things especially tough. Fish in shallow water can see you coming from a mile away. We’ve spooked a few steelhead and bull trout this past week, all sitting in very shallow fast moving water. Their shadows darting off on our approach. If you want to pick a good day for fishing right now look for a rising river level and an overcast or rain day.

We ran a few guided fly fishing trips this past week, all with limited success. The fish we did find seemed to be podded up, so we’d have a chance at one or two in a small section of a run and then see no signs of life in other sections. It is a nice time of year to fish though, not a ton of people around and there has been a few reports of steelhead being caught on the system.

Bull trout fishing will definitely become more active as we get river levels rising. Bull trout like when they can get a bit more protection with some colour in the river, and seem that much more willing to smash a fly.  Coming into March, make sure you have a few Mr. March flies in your arsenal.

I haven’t heard much of Cheakamus River reports. I do know that the lower Cheakamus has had a ton of fishing pressure, driving over the bridge at Sunwolf I’ve seen a lot of trucks and guys gunning for early morning spots. That said I haven’t heard of many fish being caught, maybe I’m out of the loop but still a tad early. There should be a few more Cheakamus steelhead rolling in over the next few weeks.

VANCOUVER SALMON FISHING REPORT

There hasn’t been much change on the Vancouver salmon fishing scene since our last report. Some slightly improved local chinook numbers locally, but lots of smaller fish. This is a good sign, these smaller fish are feeding and with the herring spawn upon us it should show good survival rate for Vancouver and Howe Sound juvenile chinooks. Salmon fishing in Vancouver has been pretty good this Winter. There were a few bright points in the weather over the past week, but also some cold days and high winds.

Signs of herring in local waters is looking good, there are increasing numbers of bait. This is key to enhanced fishing in March and April, with good amounts of herring around these fish will stay in local waters longer.

Crabbing and prawn fishing have been good through February. This will continue through March.

As we move into March and April salmon fishing in Vancouver will only get better, with more solid numbers of salmon around. We’re still waiting to see what salmon regulations will be for 2021, that announcement should come out in late March and will be in affect starting April 1st. Be sure to check out our Vancouver salmon charter page for more info and pricing.

March Fishing Report Vancouver
High winds have made charter life difficult this week.

STURGEON FISHING IN MARCH

There haven’t been many sturgeon fishing trips run through February, it’s usually a pretty quiet month overall for fishing. With warmer temperatures in mid March we’re hoping for some improved sturgeon fishing. That’s usually the case, as the Fraser River begins it Spring rise, the fish become more active.

There has been some good work by the Fraser Valley Angling Guides Association on tagging juvenile sturgeon. Good to see the association and our friend Kevin Estrada at Sturgeon Slayers get some press coverage about this important work.

Thanks for checking out our Vancouver fishing report. Check back often as we’re always posting reports and angling tips on our BC Fishing Blog. And be sure to follow us on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK for lots of fun stuff and pics from our fishing trips.

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.

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