Coho Salmon Fishing in Prince Rupert, BC

Coho salmon run the North Coast from May through September, and Prince Rupert sits right in the middle of the migration. Numbers build through early summer as northern-bound stocks stage off the coast, then peak from mid-July into early August when Skeena and transboundary fish pack into Chatham Sound and stack around Dundas Island. September tapers off fast as the run pushes into the rivers, with only leftovers into October. Plan your trip for the second half of July and the first week or two of August and you are fishing the thick of it.

We cover 25 spots that hold coho here. Chatham Sound is the anchor, and the approaches to Prince Rupert Harbour hold bait through the summer. Work Digby Island Kelp Beds, Bell Passage and Edye Passage on the tide, or run north to Baron Island (North End), Holliday Island, Green Island and Dundas Island when the fish are staging offshore.

Downrigger trolling does most of the damage. Run trolling spoons, hoochies, plastic squids or cut plug herring from 30 to 80 feet, right on the bait schools. Bucktailing with weighted flies at speed covers aggressive fish pushing herring to the surface. When coho bust needlefish in the rips off Digby Island, cast metal jigs or casting spoons into them. Fish first light and the last of the evening, and time it so the tide is running at 1.5 knots or better. Slack water kills it.