Today's best fishing in Gold River: 7 AM to 10 AM
This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Gold River.
The next 14 days in Gold 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 Gold River reaches that day. Green is good, amber is fair, red is slow, and you can read it from across the room.
3,360 scores behind it
10 spots, every hour of every day, out to 14. This row is the best of them.
Hour by hour today at Hump 1.3 km E of Victor Island
All times PDTOne real spot
A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Hump 1.3 km E of Victor Island, the most fished mark in Gold 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 Gold River, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.
The spots people actually fish in Gold River
4 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 Gold 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.
- 90Hump 1.3 km E of Victor IslandKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Low slack · Flat · Rock reef
- 90Hump 2.1 km E of Victor IslandKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Low slack · Flat · Rock reef
- 90Hump 2.0 km NE of Victor IslandKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Low slack · Flat · Rock reef
- 90Guaquina PointKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Low slack · Flat · Rock reef
- 90Hump 1.7 km NW of Victor IslandKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Low slack · Flat · Rock reef
- 90Hump 2.4 km NE of Muchalat InletKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Low slack · Flat · Rock reef
Every spot we score in Gold 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.
10 marks, all scored
Every spot we cover around Gold 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 Gold River today
- Chinook SalmonKeep2 a day · min 45 cmOpen at all 10 spots we cover
- HalibutKeep2 a dayOpen at all 10 spots we cover
- LingcodKeep3 a day · min 65 cmOpen at all 10 spots we cover
- Coho SalmonKeep2 a day · min 30 cmOpen at all 9 spots we cover
- Black RockfishClosedShut at all 3 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 Gold 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 | ||||||||||||
| Halibut | ||||||||||||
| Lingcod | ||||||||||||
| Coho Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Black Rockfish |
Chinook Salmon: January none, February none, March poor, April poor, May fair, June peak, July peak, August peak, September peak, October fair, November none, December none. Halibut: January none, February poor, March excellent, April peak, May peak, June peak, July peak, August peak, September good, October none, November none, December none. Lingcod: January good, February good, March excellent, April good, May fair, June fair, July fair, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair. Coho Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April none, May poor, June excellent, July peak, August peak, September peak, October peak, November none, December none. Black Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March good, April good, May good, June excellent, July excellent, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair.
- Chinook Salmon. Gold River (Nootka Sound, BC) Chinook show a spring run building April–June with feeder/resident Chinook holding through summer, then a strong terminal peak in late August through early September as mature fish stage for the Gold and Burman rivers. Winter months are lowest as spawned fish die off and remaining feeders are sparse, with only scattered resident 'winter springs' present.
- Halibut. Pacific halibut off Gold River (Nootka Sound area) migrate to deeper offshore waters in winter to spawn, leaving nearshore banks sparse from December through March. They return to summer feeding grounds as water warms, with abundance building from April, peaking early summer and again in late summer/early fall (a bimodal feeding-driven presence) before declining as fish move offshore again in autumn.
- Lingcod. Lingcod are resident year-round on nearshore reefs, so abundance never drops to zero. The strongest peak is late winter/early spring (Feb–Mar) when males aggregate on rocky structure to guard egg nests, with a secondary rise in late summer/early fall as juveniles recruit and fish feed heavily before cooling water.
- Coho Salmon. Gold River coho are dominated by a strong fall run staging and entering the river from late September through early November (weeks 37-40 peak), with returning adults building from late summer. A minor spring 'jack'/immature coho presence appears in late April-May (weeks 17-21) as ocean-feeding fish stray near the estuary, and the stock is biologically absent from local waters through mid-winter and early summer.
- Black Rockfish. Black rockfish are resident, non-migratory reef dwellers so they remain present year-round with only modest seasonal shifts. Abundance peaks in late spring through summer (weeks 24–30) as fish move shallower onto nearshore reefs with warming water and abundant baitfish, while winter storms push some fish deeper and disperse them, slightly lowering nearshore density.
Before you go
Water around Gold River falls into 2 areas, and the rules can differ between them. Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets them.
- 25-1
- 25-2
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 Gold River
Gold River sits at the head of Muchalat Inlet on Vancouver Island's west coast, with its fishing grounds spread through the inlet and out toward the connecting channels. Chinook Salmon carry the fishery from May through September, while Pacific Halibut hold from March into August and Coho Salmon fill in from June through October. Most of the productive water lies over a series of submerged humps scattered through the inlet, sheltered structure that concentrates bottom fish and passing salmon. Anglers work Chinook here mainly by trolling along these edges. Lingcod and Canary Rockfish round out the bottom fishery, with lingcod strongest in late winter and again in late summer.