ReelCaster

Today's best fishing in Tofino: 7 AM to 10 AM

This page is full of real data to show you what you can see with ReelCaster in Tofino.

The next 14 days in Tofino

Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCaster

  • Two 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 Tofino 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.

Tue
Sep 15
Wed
Sep 16
Thu
Sep 17
Fri
Sep 18
Sat
Sep 19
Sun
Sep 20
Mon
Sep 21
Tue
Sep 22
Wed
Sep 23
Thu
Sep 24
Fri
Sep 25
Sat
Sep 26

Hour by hour today at Hankin Rock

All times PDT

  • One real spot

    A city has no tide or wind of its own, so this is Hankin Rock, the most fished mark in Tofino, 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 Tofino, so you can see slack coming before you leave the dock.

Conditions
Time
8 PM
Now
Score
62
Fair
Tide
2.8 ft ▼
Ebbing
Current
—
Ebb
Wind
2 kn
W · steady
Sea state
Flat
0.6 m @ 5 s W
Air temp
16°
Mild
Weather
Clear
17% cloud
Hour 8 PM. Score 62 Fair. Tide 2.8ft Falling ▼. Current -0.8kn Ebb. Wind 2kn W G3. Sea 0.6 m @ 5 s W Flat. Air 15.5°.

The spots people actually fish in Tofino

34 more on the map

  • A year of catch reports

    The order here is how much each mark actually gets fished, not today's guess. The busiest water in Tofino 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.

Every spot we score in Tofino

Bathymetry: NONNA-10 + NRCan

  • Real 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 Tofino, 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.

  1. Drop a pinAnywhere on the water. The ledge you found, the bay nobody talks about.
  2. Name itYour name for it, not ours. It stays private to your account.
  3. Choose speciesPick what you fish there, and it starts scoring from the next run.

What you can keep in Tofino today

  • Chinook SalmonKeep2 a day · min 45 cmOpen at all 40 spots we cover
  • HalibutKeep2 a dayOpen at all 40 spots we cover
  • Coho SalmonKeep2 a day · min 30 cmOpen at all 39 spots we cover
  • LingcodKeep3 a day · min 65 cmOpen at all 40 spots we cover
  • Black RockfishClosedShut at all 20 spots we cover
  • Copper RockfishClosedShut at all 25 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.

Start your 7-day free trial

$0 today, then $33 CAD a year, which is $2.75 a month. Card required, cancel any time.

When to fish Tofino

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.

Relative abundance by month for each species around Tofino
SpeciesJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
Chinook Salmon
Halibut
Coho Salmon
Lingcod
Black Rockfish
Copper Rockfish

Chinook Salmon: January none, February poor, March fair, April good, May excellent, June peak, July peak, August peak, September fair, October none, November none, December none. Halibut: January poor, February fair, March peak, April peak, May peak, June excellent, July excellent, August excellent, September fair, October poor, November none, December none. Coho Salmon: January none, February none, March none, April none, May fair, June peak, July peak, August peak, September peak, October good, November none, December none. Lingcod: January fair, February poor, March fair, April good, May good, June excellent, July excellent, 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 excellent, August good, September good, October fair, November fair, December fair. Copper 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.

  • Chinook Salmon. Tofino holds resident (feeder) Chinook through winter and spring at moderate levels, with abundance building as offshore banks warm and bait (herring, anchovy) concentrates; the sharp peak in late June through July reflects mature migratory Chinook staging off Clayoquot Sound en route to Columbia, Fraser, and local rivers before numbers taper through August into fall as fish enter spawning systems.
  • Halibut. Pacific halibut migrate from deeper offshore winter spawning grounds onto Tofino's shallower banks as water warms in spring, peaking in April–June when they aggregate to feed, then gradually thin through summer and early fall before retreating offshore for winter. Presence never hits zero since some fish remain accessible on the banks year-round, but abundance clearly dips in mid-winter.
  • Coho Salmon. Tofino coho build offshore through summer as immature 'blueback' fish feed on the West Coast Vancouver Island shelf, ramping sharply from July into a strong late-August through mid-September peak (weeks 34-36) as mature fish stage before entering nearby rivers. Numbers drop quickly through October as fish move into freshwater to spawn, leaving very low ocean presence in winter and spring.
  • Lingcod. Lingcod are resident non-migratory groundfish present year-round on Tofino's rocky reefs, so abundance never drops to zero. The curve peaks late spring through summer (May–July) when males guard nests in shallower structure and fish concentrate at accessible depths, with a slight late-winter dip when spawned-out fish move deeper and feeding slows in cold water.
  • Black Rockfish. Black Rockfish are resident, non-migratory, structure-oriented fish present in Tofino's nearshore reefs year-round, so the curve stays broad with no zeros. The gentle summer peak (roughly June–September) reflects warmer water, calmer seas concentrating fish over reefs, and increased feeding activity, while winter storms and cooler water push fish deeper and reduce apparent abundance slightly.
  • Copper Rockfish. Copper Rockfish are non-migratory resident reef dwellers around Tofino, so biological abundance is nearly flat year-round with only a mild warm-season lift as fish move shallower and are more active in summer/early fall; the slight winter dip reflects reduced activity and deeper holding, not absence.

Before you go

Management areas

Water around Tofino falls into 8 areas, and the rules can differ between them. Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets them.

  • 24-2
  • 24-6
  • 24-7
  • 24-8
  • 24-9
  • 24-10
  • 24-12
  • 124-3
Licence you need

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.

Full licence guideBuy from Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Fishing Tofino

Tofino sits on the western edge of Vancouver Island, where the sheltered inlets of Clayoquot Sound give way to the exposed waters of the open Pacific. Across roughly 40 spots, Chinook Salmon and Lingcod lead the fishery from May through August, while Pacific Halibut hold on the bottom and run strongest from March into June. The fishing ground ranges from rocky islands and reefs tucked inside the sound to headlands and offshore banks facing the outer coast, with Coho Salmon filling in from June through October. Chinook are worked primarily by trolling along the deeper edges where bait gathers. The season carries most of the year, but the core months from late spring through summer bring the widest mix of salmon, halibut, and bottomfish.

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