Portland Inlet Mouth

Portland Inlet Mouth sits at the confluence of Portland Inlet and Chatham Sound northwest of Prince Rupert, a deep tidal junction where currents sweep across bottom structure ranging from 60 to 400 feet. The spot holds Pacific Halibut through the April to August peak, Chinook Salmon in two windows spanning February to April and April to July, and Coho Salmon from May into September. Halibut anglers work the deeper edges with drift jigging using leadhead jigs and soft plastics or heavy metal jigs, switching to bait fishing on anchor with whole herring, salmon heads, or octopus when tide slackens. Chinook hold along the current seams and respond to downrigger trolling with whole herring, anchovy in teaser heads, or hootchies behind flashers, while mooching cut-plug herring covers the shallower transitions. Coho track bait through the upper column and take trolling spoons, hoochies, and cut plug herring on downriggers, with bucktailing productive across surface rips.