About Olsen Island

Olsen Island is an outer-exposed rocky drop-off in DFO subarea 14-3 off Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, where the bottom falls away steeply through depths of roughly 330 to 1310 feet. Chinook Salmon move through from July to September and Coho Salmon hold from June to October, both taken by trolling anchovy, herring, spoons, or hootchies along the edge, with mooching cut-plug herring a workable alternative. The rock structure supports Lingcod, which peak from January to March and respond to metal jigs, swimbaits, and leadhead jigs worked close to the bottom. Black Rockfish stack up over the same terrain from April to September and come readily to jigged metal and soft plastic swimbaits, while Copper Rockfish, Canary Rockfish, Pacific Cod, and Spiny Dogfish round out the mixed catch. The exposed setting and sharp depth transition concentrate fish along the drop-off, rewarding anglers who work the structure at the appropriate depth for the target species.