ReelCaster

Coho Salmon Fishing in Vancouver, BC

52 spots · peak Jun-Sep · Oncorhynchus kisutch

Vancouver puts coho within a short run of the city, and we cover 29 spots that hold them across Howe Sound and the Strait of Georgia. Bowen Island water off Queen Charlotte Channel gives you Comet and Hood Point on the north end, Cowan Point on the south, and Hole in the Wall in between. Bowyer Island and Halkett Point sit inside the Sound, Gower Point sits out toward the Sunshine Coast, and the Capilano Mouth holds fish right off the harbour.

Fish June through September. Numbers build through summer as feeder coho fatten, then peak from late August into mid-September when mature fish stage off the Fraser, the Capilano and the Squamish before they push into the rivers in late September and October. There is a smaller plateau in spring when resident bluebacks are around, but the heavy fishing is late summer.

Trolling carries the fishery here. Work the top 60 feet with flashers ahead of small trolling spoons or hootchies, run your speed up, and swap to cut plug herring when the fish want bait. Bucktailing with bucktail flies is a fast surface troll for aggressive fish near the top. When coho pin bait on the surface, drop metal jigs into them. Go at first light, fish again as the light goes, and time your trip to a tide running 1.5 knots or better.

When to go

Coho abundance in Vancouver waters (Strait of Georgia/Howe Sound) builds through summer as feeder/resident coho fatten, peaking late August through mid-September when mature returning fish stage off the Fraser, Capilano, and Squamish before river entry in late September/October. A secondary low plateau in spring (weeks 14–18) reflects resident 'bluebacks' before the bulk of smolts return as adults.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Relative abundance by month: Jan 24 percent of peak, Feb 35 percent of peak, Mar 54 percent of peak, Apr 70 percent of peak, May 68 percent of peak, Jun 93 percent of peak, Jul 100 percent of peak, Aug 100 percent of peak, Sep 98 percent of peak, Oct 53 percent of peak, Nov 26 percent of peak, Dec 22 percent of peak.

Relative abundance through the year around Vancouver. Peak: Jun-Sep

How anglers fish it around Vancouver

trolling

Most used here

Coho are trolled in the top 60 feet, often with flashers and small spoons or hootchies at faster speeds.

Bait and lures
  • trolling spoons
  • hootchies
  • flashers
  • cut plug herring

bucktailing

A fast surface troll with bucktail flies targets aggressive coho holding near the top of the water column.

Bait and lures
  • bucktail flies
  • hootchies

jigging

Anglers drop metal jigs over feeding coho concentrated on bait balls near the surface.

Bait and lures
  • metal jigs

Tide, current and light

These are the conditions ReelCaster weights when it scores coho salmon at Vancouver spots, and they are the ones worth planning a trip around.

Light
75% of the score

Go at first light

The bite is strongest with the sun low: from just before sunrise through the first couple of hours of daylight, and again as the light goes in the evening. Through the middle of a bright day it tails off, and scores follow it down.

Current
25% of the score

Fish moving water

Best once the tide is running at about 1.5 knots or more. The bite fades as the current drops away and dead slack is the worst of it, so plan the trip around the run of the ebb or the flood rather than the turn.

Tides here read off Howe Sound (Bowen Island), Vancouver Harbour, Gibsons

Where to fish for coho salmon

Every spot we cover around Vancouver that holds coho salmon, with today's score for this species. Open the spot for the tide, wind and the next 14 days.

SEE THEM ON THE VANCOUVER MAP →

Other Vancouver guides

Guide last reviewed August 2026. Seasons, limits and closures change: confirm the current DFO notice before you fish.