Today's best fishing in Port McNeill: 7 AM to 10 AM
This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Port McNeill.
The next 14 days in Port McNeill
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 Port McNeill 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 1.2 km W of House Islet
All times PDTOne real spot
A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Hump 1.2 km W of House Islet, the most fished mark in Port McNeill, 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 Port McNeill, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.
The spots people actually fish in Port McNeill
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 Port McNeill 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.
- 91Hump 1.2 km W of House IsletKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Flat · Rock reef
- 91Fire ShoalKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Flat · Rock reef
- 91Hump 0.9 km S of Sedge IslandsKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Late ebb · Flat · Rock reef
- 91Punt RockKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Mid ebb · Flat · Rock reef
- 91Fresh RockKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Mid ebb · Flat · Rock reef
- 91Gull RockKnown markBest 7 AM–10 AM · Mid ebb · Flat · Rock reef
Every spot we score in Port McNeill
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 Port McNeill, 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 Port McNeill today
- Chinook SalmonKeep2 a day · min 62 cmOpen at all 39 spots we cover
- HalibutKeep2 a dayOpen at all 40 spots we cover
- Coho SalmonKeep2 a day · min 30 cmOpen at all 37 spots we cover
- LingcodKeep1 a day · min 65 cmOpen at all 40 spots we cover
- Black RockfishKeep1 a dayOpen at all 17 spots we cover
- Copper RockfishKeep1 a dayOpen at all 20 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 Port McNeill
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 | ||||||||||||
| Coho Salmon | ||||||||||||
| Lingcod | ||||||||||||
| Black Rockfish | ||||||||||||
| Copper Rockfish |
Chinook Salmon: January poor, February poor, March fair, April good, May excellent, June peak, July peak, August excellent, September fair, October poor, November poor, December poor. Halibut: January none, February poor, March fair, April excellent, May excellent, June peak, July peak, August peak, September good, October fair, November poor, December none. Coho Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April poor, May good, June peak, July peak, August peak, September peak, October none, November none, December none. Lingcod: January fair, February good, March good, April fair, May fair, June good, July good, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair. Black Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March fair, April good, May good, June good, July good, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair. Copper Rockfish: January fair, February fair, March fair, April fair, May good, June good, July good, August excellent, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair.
- Chinook Salmon. Port McNeill sits on migratory routes through Queen Charlotte Strait and Johnstone Strait, where feeder (immature) Chinook provide a moderate winter/spring baseline, and the dominant peak comes from mature returning Chinook staging through June–August en route to mainland and Fraser-bound systems. Abundance tapers sharply through September as the run passes and remains low through fall and early winter.
- Halibut. Pacific halibut migrate onto the shallower feeding banks and inshore areas around Port McNeill through spring and summer, driving peak abundance from late spring into early fall as they follow warming water and abundant baitfish. Numbers decline through late fall as fish move offshore to deep-water wintering and spawning grounds (Dec–Feb), leaving a broad winter low but never true absence in the region.
- Coho Salmon. Coho around Port McNeill and Queen Charlotte Strait build through summer as feeder/ocean coho arrive, peaking sharply in late August through September during the northern Vancouver Island fall run staging and inshore migration. Presence collapses in October as fish push into rivers, with a low winter/spring baseline reflecting near-absence of ocean coho in these waters.
- Lingcod. Lingcod are resident, non-migratory ambush predators in Port McNeill's rocky reefs and are present year-round, so the curve stays broad and near baseline. Abundance peaks late winter through early spring (Feb–Apr) when males aggressively guard nests in shallower structure and fish concentrate for spawning, with a secondary summer bump as young-of-year and feeding activity rise; the mildest dip is late summer/early fall post-spawn dispersal.
- Black Rockfish. Black Rockfish are resident, non-migratory reef fish around Port McNeill and Queen Charlotte Strait, so they're present year-round with only modest seasonal swing. Abundance peaks late spring through summer (May–August) when warmer water, baitfish (herring, sand lance) concentrations, and reduced storm activity draw fish shallower and increase feeding; winter shows a slight dip as fish hold deeper and less active but never leave the reefs.
- Copper Rockfish. Copper rockfish are non-migratory, long-lived resident groundfish holding on nearshore rocky reefs year-round, so abundance stays near baseline with no true absence. A modest summer-through-early-fall peak (July–September) reflects warmer water pushing fish shallower and more active feeding, while cold winter months see slightly reduced localized presence as fish stay deeper and less concentrated.
Before you go
Water around Port McNeill falls into 5 areas, and the rules can differ between them. Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets them.
- 12-6
- 12-7
- 12-8
- 12-18
- 12-19
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 Port McNeill
Port McNeill sits on northern Vancouver Island's east coast, fronting the sheltered channels and reef-studded passages of Queen Charlotte Strait. The area holds 40 fishing spots, from inside reefs and shoals to more exposed points along the outer edges of the strait. Lingcod anchor the bottom fishery, with peaks in February through March, June through July, and August through September, while Pacific Halibut run strongest from May to August across the deeper drifts. Chinook and Coho Salmon fill out the summer, with Chinook holding through May to August and Coho stretching into September, most productively taken by trolling. The fishery carries through spring and summer, with rockfish rounding out the year-round bottom action.