Tugwell Island

Tugwell Island sits in the outer approaches to Prince Rupert, a rocky headland fringed by kelp and current-swept structure that holds bait through the open-water season. Chinook Salmon are the primary draw, with peaks from February through April and again from April into July, followed by Coho Salmon running strongest from May through September. Anglers work the shoreline drop-offs and tide lines in 30 to 100 feet of water, where salmon stage along the edges as bait pushes through. Downrigger trolling with whole herring, anchovy in a teaser head, spoons, or hootchies behind flashers covers the water efficiently for Chinook, while mooching cut-plug herring near the structure and jigging metal or soft plastic swimbaits work when fish sit deep. For Coho, trolling spoons, hoochies, and plastic squids near the surface produce, with bucktailing flies and casting metal jigs or spoons effective when fish show on top.