The QA Buoy

The QA Buoy sits off Vancouver in DFO subarea 29-3, marking a mid-exposure patch of sand bottom that runs from 10 to 50 feet. Chinook Salmon are the primary draw here, with the run peaking from June through August. Downrigger trolling dominates the approach, with anchovy in a teaser head, hootchies, trolling spoons, and flashers worked along the depth contour to find fish holding on the sand flat. Mooching cut plug or whole herring produces when Chinook stack tighter to structure, and jigging metal jigs or soft plastic swimbaits covers the water column when the bite turns vertical. The mixed bottom and moderate depth range let anglers adjust presentation quickly as tide and light shift through the day.