Skeena Bar

Skeena Bar sits at the mouth of the Skeena River near Prince Rupert, a broad tidal shelf where river outflow meets saltwater and concentrates baitfish along the drop. Chinook Salmon are the primary draw, with peak windows running February through April and again April through July, followed by Coho Salmon holding through May to September. Most fishing works water between 20 and 80 feet, with tide changes pushing bait and salmon across the bar edges. Downrigger trolling dominates for both species, pulling whole herring, anchovy in teaser heads, trolling spoons, and hootchies behind flashers for Chinook, and spoons, hoochies, plastic squids, and cut plug herring for Coho. Mooching cut-plug herring and jigging metal or soft plastic swimbaits cover Chinook on slower tides, while bucktailing and casting spoons or metal jigs take surface-oriented Coho.