Campbell River Fishing Report
Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
Campbell River on Discovery Passage: chinook and coho in the tide lines, the Tyee Club’s rowboat tradition and Discovery Fishing Pier.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 6:09 p.m. model
Air / High
8 °C / 10 °C
Wind
SE 13 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Campbell River has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the warmest hours. Today brings cloud cover, wind SE around 13 km/h, rising pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 10 °C. Tides: high 11:24 a.m., low 5:23 a.m. and 6:09 p.m.: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 10 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 12:09 AM-2:09 AM and 12:28 PM-2:28 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Chinook (spring) salmon
Slow
Winter feeders on the BC coast, deep and slow, on the calm days only. In the Great Lakes, the run is over until next fall.
Lingcod
Closed today
Reopens May 1, 2027. Inside waters (Areas 13 to 19 and the inside subareas of 12, 20 and 29) are open to rockfish and lingcod 1 May to 30 September; lingcod 1 a day, 65 cm minimum, 10 a year. Rockfish Conservation Areas are closed to all finfishing.
Tie on: Jigging spoon through the ice · Dead-stick minnow · Tip-up with dead bait · Tungsten jig and wax worm. Prime windows: 12:09 AM-2:09 AM, 12:28 PM-2:28 PM, 8:58 AM-9:58 AM. Similar at 11 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
British Columbia requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$11.43. British Columbia fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing chinook (spring) salmon here? Check the size and bag limits with BC Freshwater Fishing before you keep anything; the Chinook (spring) salmon page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Campbell River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (08:24), sunset (17:44), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 12:09 AM-2:09 AM and 12:28 PM-2:28 PM; minor 8:58 AM-9:58 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
A modelled tide curve for these coordinates and the forecast for the day.
Tides (modelled)
Modelled sea level curve from Open-Meteo Marine for these coordinates, datum mean sea level. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
A model, not the official prediction: times can drift by tens of minutes inside bays and estuaries. Check the Canadian Hydrographic Service predictions at tides.gc.ca for the exact times before you rely on them.
Mon
LOW5:23 a.m.-0.14 m
HIGH11:24 a.m.1.87 m
LOW6:09 p.m.-1.27 m
Tue
HIGH12:43 a.m.1.40 m
LOW5:59 a.m.-0.08 m
HIGH12:03 p.m.1.97 m
LOW6:49 p.m.-1.17 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp8 °C
High / Low10 °C / 6 °C
WindSE 13 km/h, gusts 28 km/h
Pressure101.72 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain93% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset08:24 / 17:44
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~10 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Campbell River
Today is the pick of the week on Campbell River, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, Nov 9 — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, Nov 9 — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 12:09 AM-2:09 AM and 12:28 PM-2:28 PM
- Minor period
- 8:58 AM-9:58 AM
- Sun
- 08:24 to 17:44
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Rain, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Campbell River: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Chinook (spring) salmon
BC coast: spring to late summer; Great Lakes tributaries: September and October
The biggest Pacific salmon, called spring or king on the BC coast. Feeds along the kelp lines, points and tide rips of the BC coast before running rivers in late summer; introduced to the Great Lakes, where it runs the tributaries in fall. Retention on the BC coast changes by area and by DFO fishery notice. Winter feeders on the BC coast, deep and slow, on the calm days only. In the Great Lakes, the run is over until next fall.
Coho salmon
BC coast: July to September; rivers: October and November
Silver, aggressive and surface-oriented. Feeds hard along the BC coast through summer and runs the Fraser Valley and Island rivers in fall, the Vedder and the Stamp among them. Hatchery coho are marked by a clipped adipose fin; what may be kept depends on the water and the DFO notice. Late fish in the rivers are dark and done; the coast is quiet until spring.
Pacific halibut
Spring and summer on the BC coast, under DFO limits
The big flatfish of the outer coast: Bamfield, Ucluelet, Tofino, Nootka and the north coast. Annual and daily limits and size rules are set by DFO and change during the season. Out of season or unfishable weather.
Lingcod
Spring to fall, with a winter closure in many areas
Closed now Reopens May 1, 2027. Inside waters (Areas 13 to 19 and the inside subareas of 12, 20 and 29) are open to rockfish and lingcod 1 May to 30 September; lingcod 1 a day, 65 cm minimum, 10 a year. Rockfish Conservation Areas are closed to all finfishing. Rule as read from Fisheries and Oceans Canada on 2026-09-27.
The toothy reef fish of the BC coast, on rock piles and pinnacles. Limits and closures vary by DFO management area.
Pink salmon
Late summer, mainly in odd-numbered years in the south
The smallest and most numerous Pacific salmon. In the south of BC the big runs come in odd-numbered years; the fish crowd the estuaries and the lower rivers in August and September. Out of season.
When to come: the Campbell River calendar
Activity by species and month for the Canadian year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Chinook (spring) salmon
Coho salmon
Pacific halibut
Lingcod
Pink salmon
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 10 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Campbell River today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Coho salmon led the card at good. High of 12 °C, wind to 32 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 39 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle. Coho salmon led the card at good. High of 12 °C, wind to 39 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 43 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle. Coho salmon led the card at good. High of 12 °C, wind to 43 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
BC freshwater fishing licence, from C$11.43 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy → In salt water you also need the federal BC Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence.
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by BC Freshwater Fishing and, in salt water and for salmon, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the British Columbia licence page before you keep anything. The zone-by-zone seasons and limits are on British Columbia fishing seasons.
Access
The DFO tidal licence and salmon stamp apply in the passage and on the pier, and each chinook and halibut kept must be recorded on the licence at once.
About this water
Campbell River is a coastal town in British Columbia, Canada, covered from the British Columbia reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Campbell River: the full guide
Fishing Campbell River
Campbell River sits on Discovery Passage, where the Strait of Georgia narrows between Vancouver Island and Quadra Island and strong tides push bait and salmon close to shore. DFO manages the passage as part of Area 13. The fishing is chinook, coho and pink salmon, from boats, from Discovery Fishing Pier and in the river that gives the city its name. This page’s report is built for the city on the passage, with a modelled tide curve.
Species and seasons
Chinook run through the passage from summer into fall, coho build in late summer, and pink salmon come in odd-numbered years. DFO manages Area 13 chinook tightly: in 2026 the season opened on April 1 under non-retention to protect Fraser stocks, a one-a-day limit with an 80 cm cap began on July 15, and a more generous limit followed on September 1. Coho retention was hatchery-marked only for most of the season, with one wild coho allowed in September.
Where to fish it
Boats troll the tide lines and back eddies of the passage, where timing the tide is everything. Discovery Fishing Pier, beside the government wharf on Island Highway, is described by the city as Canada’s first saltwater fishing pier. At the river mouth, the Tyee Club of British Columbia, founded in 1924, keeps up the pursuit of tyee, chinook of 30 pounds (about 13.6 kg) or more, from rowboats in the Tyee Pool, where DFO restricts motoring.
Planning a visit
The currents in Discovery Passage are powerful. Seymour Narrows, to the north, held Ripple Rock, which the city says damaged or sank more than 20 large vessels before it was destroyed in 1958. Small boats should fish near slack water and keep well clear of the narrows. The city has marinas, launches and guides.
The water through the year
Late summer is the peak, with chinook, coho and, in odd years, pinks together, and the fall brings the river runs: DFO opened coho in the Campbell and Quinsam rivers on September 1, 2026. From October 1 to 31, 2026 the Campbell River Special Management Zone at the mouth was closed to finfishing, except for a strip along Discovery Pier. Winter and spring are quiet on the salt water.
Reading this report here
In Discovery Passage the current matters more than the height of the tide, so treat the modelled tide panel as a rough guide; the Canadian Hydrographic Service publishes the official tide and current predictions. Wind against the tide makes the passage steep and short, and pressure and sky complete the score.
Licence, access and rules
The DFO tidal licence and salmon stamp apply in the passage and on the pier, and each chinook and halibut kept must be recorded on the licence at once. The Campbell River itself needs a BC freshwater licence, plus the non-tidal salmon surcharge for salmon, and the synopsis keeps the water from the John Hart generating station down to near the Quinsam confluence fly fishing only all year. Current rules for both are in DFO’s Fishery Notices.
Common questions
What is a tyee?
A chinook salmon of 30 pounds (about 13.6 kg) or more, the fish the Tyee Club of British Columbia has pursued from rowboats at the Campbell River mouth since 1924.
Can I fish from Discovery Pier?
Yes, with a DFO tidal licence. When DFO closed the river-mouth zone to finfishing in October 2026, it kept the water along the pier open.
When is the best salmon fishing at Campbell River?
Late summer, when chinook and coho, plus pinks in odd-numbered years, are in the passage; DFO notices decide what may be kept.
Is fishing good at Campbell River right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Tide curve (modelled)
- Open-Meteo Marine, sea level height including tides
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- campbellriver.ca/discover-campbell-river/our-history-heritage/city-mil
- notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&ID=all&DOC_
- notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&ID=all&DOC_
- notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&ID=all&DOC_
- www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/outdoor-r
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.