Today's best fishing in Campbell River: 7 AM to 10 AM
This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Campbell River.
The next 14 days in Campbell River
Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCasterTwo weeks ahead
Most forecasts stop at the weekend. This one runs a full 14 days, so you can pick the day before you book the time off.
One number, out of 100
The best score anything in Campbell River reaches that day. Green is good, amber is fair, red is slow, and you can read it from across the room.
13,440 scores behind it
40 spots, every hour of every day, out to 14. This row is the best of them.
Hour by hour today at Hump 2.2 km E of Shelter Point
All times PDTOne real spot
A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Hump 2.2 km E of Shelter Point, the most fished mark in Campbell River, scored for Chinook Salmon.
Six readings, one clock
Tide, current, wind, sea, air and sky, all lined up on the same hour, so you can see what is actually driving the score.
Currents, not just tides
Modelled flow for the water off Campbell River, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.
The spots people actually fish in Campbell River
34 more on the mapA year of catch reports
The order here is how much each mark actually gets fished, not today's guess. The busiest water in Campbell River comes first.
Today's number too
Beside each name is the best score that spot reaches today, so you can weigh a proven mark against a good forecast.
Every mark has a page
Its own chart, its own species and its own rules, worked out the same way as everything above.
- 89Hump 2.2 km E of Shelter PointKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late flood · Flat · Rock reef
- 88Hump 2.0 km SW of Wilby ShoalsKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Early ebb · Flat · Rock reef
- 88Wilby ShoalsKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · High slack · Flat · Rock reef
- 88Hump 0.6 km W of Wilby ShoalsKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Mid ebb · Flat · Rock reef
- 88Middle PointKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Early ebb · Flat · Rock reef
- 87Hump 1.6 km NE of Wilby ShoalsKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · High slack · Flat · Rock reef
Every spot we score in Campbell River
Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCanReal charted seabed
Depth soundings, not a stock map. The banks, reefs and drop-offs are where you can see them.
40 marks, all scored
Every spot we cover around Campbell River, each one carrying its own number for today.
Point at any of them
The name, how busy a mark it is, and the tide, sea and seabed at its best hour.
Create custom spots
Our full model on your custom private spots.
- Drop a pinAnywhere on the water. The ledge you found, the bay nobody talks about.
- Name itYour name for it, not ours. It stays private to your account.
- Choose speciesPick what you fish there, and it starts scoring from the next run.
What you can keep in Campbell River today
- Chinook SalmonKeep2 a day · min 62 cmOpen at all 40 spots we cover
- Coho SalmonKeep2 a day · min 30 cmOpen at all 35 spots we cover
- HalibutClosedShut at all 40 spots we cover
- LingcodClosedShut at all 40 spots we cover
- Black RockfishClosedShut at all 11 spots we cover
Rules differ between PFMAs and change in season. Check DFO for the PFMA you are fishing before you keep anything.
That was one day. Pro opens the next fourteen.
Every spot on this map, hour by hour, two weeks out, with alerts when your water crosses the score you set.
$0 today, then $33 CAD a year, which is $2.75 a month. Card required, cancel any time.
When to fish Campbell River
Each row is shaded against that species' own best month here, so a dark cell means a good month for that fish rather than a comparison between them.
| Species | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinook Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Coho Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Halibut | ||||||||||||
| Lingcod | ||||||||||||
| Black Rockfish |
Chinook Salmon: January poor, February poor, March fair, April good, May good, June peak, July peak, August peak, September fair, October poor, November poor, December poor. Coho Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April poor, May peak, June peak, July peak, August peak, September peak, October none, November none, December none. Halibut: January none, February poor, March fair, April excellent, May peak, June peak, July peak, August peak, September good, October poor, November none, December none. Lingcod: January fair, February fair, March fair, April fair, May good, June good, July good, August good, September good, October good, November fair, December fair. Black Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March fair, April fair, May good, June good, July excellent, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair.
- Chinook Salmon. Campbell River sits on the migratory highway to the Fraser and local Campbell/Quinsam systems, so summer abundance peaks mid-July through mid-August (weeks 29–31) as mature Chinook stage off the Discovery Passage before spawning. A secondary winter/spring presence of resident feeder (blackmouth) Chinook holds a moderate baseline through the colder months, giving the curve a bimodal but summer-dominant shape.
- Coho Salmon. Saltwater abundance is zero in winter as adults die post-spawn. Immature resident 'bluebacks' appear in spring (April/May) and build until the massive migratory run of large 'Northern' Coho funnels through Discovery Passage from July to mid-September, before rapidly exiting the saltwater to spawn in the Campbell and Quinsam rivers by late October.
- Halibut. Pacific halibut migrate from deeper offshore wintering/spawning grounds into Campbell River's shallower feeding banks as waters warm, with peak abundance from late spring through mid-summer (May–July) driven by feeding aggregations. Numbers taper through fall as fish move back offshore, leaving a low but non-zero baseline in winter since some fish remain in deeper local waters year-round.
- Lingcod. Lingcod are a resident, non-migratory bottomfish present year-round in Campbell River's rocky reefs and channels, so abundance stays near baseline with no true zeros. Spring peaks reflect post-spawn males guarding nests and aggregating on structure (late Feb–Apr males are catchable but egg-guarding lowers the early-season count), while a broader late-summer/fall peak reflects concentration on productive reefs and improved feeding activity before winter dispersal into deeper water.
- Black Rockfish. Black rockfish are non-migratory resident reef fish in Campbell River's waters year-round, so abundance stays close to baseline all seasons. The modest summer bump (July–September) reflects warmer nearshore water pulling fish shallower and more concentrated over rocky structure and kelp, with juveniles recruiting to nearshore reefs, while winter fish remain present but disperse deeper.
Before you go
Water around Campbell River falls into 8 areas, and the rules can differ between them. Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets them.
- 13-1
- 13-3
- 13-4
- 13-5
- 13-6
- 13-13
- 13-14
- 13-15
Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence
Fisheries and Oceans Canada · 2026-27
Annual, Canadian resident, 16 to 64: $25.86
Salmon Conservation Stamp $7.39, required to keep any salmon. Releasing does not need it.
This is the federal tidal licence. Fishing fresh water in BC needs a separate provincial licence, and one does not cover the other.
Fishing Campbell River
Campbell River sits on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island along the Discovery Passage, where tidal channels and offshore banks funnel migrating fish through its waters. Chinook Salmon anchor the fishery with a peak from June through August, while Pacific Halibut hold through the spring and summer from April into September and Coho Salmon run from May into September. The area's 40 spots span sheltered passages and island shorelines through to exposed shoals and deeper open banks. Anglers work the Chinook run mainly by trolling across these currents, and the calendar carries steadily from the halibut and Lingcod months of spring into the salmon-heavy summer.