A large run of Chinook salmon has been heating up the waters around Powell River this spring.
Jim Coulton, manager of Marine Traders, said the fishing is unbelievably good. “It’s better Chinook salmon fishing than I’ve ever seen in Powell River,” he said.
While a few anglers have been in the know about the great fishing for about six weeks, more people have been finding out about it in the last two weeks, Coulton said. “Saturday morning [June 8] was the heavy bite with lots of boats out there,” he said. “Just an unbelievable amount of fish, people coming back early with their limit.”
The largest fish weighed in at the store was 34 pounds. “There have been lots of fish in the 20s, lots of fish in the high teens,” Coulton said.
Van Anda and Coho Point off Texada Island have been the two hot spots, Coulton said. “But there’s fish just about everywhere.” Spoons and anchovies have been the hot lures, he added.
Sam Sansalone, owner of Powell River Outdoors, said it’s the best fishing in the last 20 years.
Fishing started to pick up last year, Sansalone said. He remembered that a friend of his caught two 25-pounders on May 25. “It went from May 25 to June 31 last year,” he said. “It was very similar fishing, not quite as spectacular, but very similar.”
This year, the run started a couple of weeks earlier, Sansalone said. He described the run as a mixture of migrating, Columbia River and hatchery fish. “There are quite a few different runs, which means you’ve got fish from 10 pounds to the biggest, 43 pounds,” he said.
The Chinook salmon, which are also called spring salmon, are running down through the Strait of Georgia, Sansalone said. “The biggest thing I’ve noticed and other anglers have noticed, is the health of these fish. They’re the fattest fish I’ve ever seen. A 12-pound salmon, you’ll filet it, then you’ll have to filet it again, because it’s so fat.”
That tells him, Sansalone said, that there are lots of herring out there. There have also been a number of Orcas in the area, Sansalone added, as well as hundreds of white-sided dolphins, which is another indicator of a large number of herring.
While the salmon run has peaked in the last two weeks, Sansalone said Campbell River has been slow over the last little while. However, he just talked to a friend of his who said the fishing is very good there now. “We’ve got another run coming,” he said. “The fish hit Campbell River, then they hit Grant Reefs, then they hit Texada.”
The best way to catch the fish is to use herring or anchovies, Sansalone said. The best way to find out where the fish are biting is by networking. The best places have been the entire north end of Texada, from Coho Point to Van Anda, as well as the west side of Texada. Grant Reefs is getting hot as well, he said. The most consistent spot in Powell River is Harwood Island.
Sansalone also said the run is attracting a lot of anglers and some of them are not wearing life jackets. “There are so many more boaters out there, some inexperienced. You’ve got to wear your life jacket, especially if you are by yourself.”
