Coho salmon
Excellent
The river run. Float gear with roe or a jig, or cast spinners and spoons in the slower tailouts after a rise in water.
Capilano River Fishing Report
Updated Fri, Sep 25, 2026 from live weather and water data
The Capilano in North Vancouver: coho and steelhead below Cleveland Dam, a hatchery river in a city park, with a live gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
0.53 m0.5 m³/s
Air / High
12 °C / 14 °C
Wind
WNW 3 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 08GA031, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Capilano River has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. The gauge reads 0.53 m, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind WNW around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1005 hPa and a high of 14 °C. Water sits around 12 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Chinook (spring) salmon
Good
Fish are staging or moving to the rivers. On the coast, the deeper banks and the winter feeders; in Great Lakes rivers, drifted roe and spinners in the deeper runs.
Chum salmon
Fair
The run. Float fish pink and chartreuse jigs, wool or roe through the slower runs and the back eddies.
Steelhead
Fair
Fall fish on the move: float fishing with roe, beads or jigs, and swung flies through the tailouts.
Tie on: Float and roe · Swung fly through the tailout · Jerkbait, long pauses · Hair jig on the rock. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 13 °C. 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 coho salmon here? Check the size and bag limits with BC Freshwater Fishing before you keep anything; the Coho salmon page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Capilano River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (07:03), sunset (19:03), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
Live readings from Water Survey of Canada station 08GA031 (CAPILANO RIVER AT CANYON).
River level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 08GA031. Latest reading 2026-09-25 04:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low14 °C / 10 °C
WindWNW 3 km/h, gusts 5 km/h
Pressure100.51 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 95%
Sunrise / Sunset07:03 / 19:03
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~12 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Capilano River
The best day on Capilano River this week looks like Sunday Sep 27, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Sunday, Sep 27 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, Sep 25 — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 07:03 to 19:03
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Rain, 11 km/h
- Rain chance
- 95%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Capilano River: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
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. The river run. Float gear with roe or a jig, or cast spinners and spoons in the slower tailouts after a rise in water.
Chum salmon
Fraser Valley and Island rivers: October and November
The late-fall salmon of the lower mainland and the Island, big and hard-fighting. Runs the Vedder, the Harrison and the Stave in numbers some years. Retention depends on the run and the DFO notice. The run. Float fish pink and chartreuse jigs, wool or roe through the slower runs and the back eddies.
Steelhead
BC: winter run December to April, summer run into fall; Great Lakes: fall and spring
Sea-run rainbow trout, the fish of the Vedder, the Skeena system and the Island rivers in winter, and of the Great Lakes tributaries in fall and spring. In BC wild steelhead are released; a steelhead conservation surcharge applies on top of the licence. Fall fish on the move: float fishing with roe, beads or jigs, and swung flies through the tailouts.
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. Fish are staging or moving to the rivers. On the coast, the deeper banks and the winter feeders; in Great Lakes rivers, drifted roe and spinners in the deeper runs.
When to come: the Capilano 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
Coho salmon
Chum salmon
Steelhead
Chinook (spring) salmon
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 12 °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 Capilano River today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Coho salmon led the card at excellent. High of 15 °C, wind to 10 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Coho salmon led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Coho salmon led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 10 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 →
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.
Access
A BC freshwater licence is needed, with the steelhead and non-tidal salmon surcharges as required; the closed areas near the hatchery and the dam are in the synopsis linked below.
About this water
Capilano River is a river in British Columbia, Canada, covered from the British Columbia reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Capilano River: the full guide
The Capilano River
The Capilano River runs out of the Capilano Reservoir, held by Cleveland Dam, through a steep canyon in Capilano River Regional Park in North Vancouver to Burrard Inlet at the Lions Gate Bridge. It is a city river, with a DFO salmon hatchery below the dam and trails along its canyon, and its flow depends on what the dam releases and on the rain. The Water Survey of Canada gauge at the canyon supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Coho are the main fish, returning to the hatchery from late summer into fall, with chinook in late summer and winter and summer steelhead. Much of the run is hatchery fish; wild steelhead are released, and the retention rules are in the synopsis and change in season.
Where to fish it
The lower river, from the canyon down toward the estuary, is fished from the bank along the park trails; the canyon pools hold fish waiting for rain. Parts of the river near the hatchery and the dam are closed to fishing. At the river mouth, Ambleside Park in West Vancouver looks over the estuary where the coho gather before a rise lets them run.
Planning a visit
The park is a short drive or bus ride from downtown Vancouver, with parking at the hatchery. The canyon trails are steep and the rocks slippery; take care after rain. The Capilano River Hatchery has a free visitor area where the returning salmon can be watched in the fall.
The water through the year
Fish wait in the estuary and the lower pools for rain; a rise in flow from a fall storm or a dam release moves them upriver. Summer is low and clear.
Reading this report here
The gauge at the canyon shows the rises: the best fishing is often in the day or two after a rise, as the water drops. The chart shows the last 30 days; pressure and sky build the score.
Licence, access and rules
A BC freshwater licence is needed, with the steelhead and non-tidal salmon surcharges as required; the closed areas near the hatchery and the dam are in the synopsis linked below. Burrard Inlet, below the river, is tidal water under DFO rules.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Capilano River?
Coho in late summer and fall, chinook, and summer and winter steelhead.
Why does the Capilano’s level change so fast?
It is below Cleveland Dam, so releases and rain both change the flow quickly.
Can I fish near the Capilano hatchery?
Parts of the river near the hatchery and the dam are closed; the synopsis shows where.
Is fishing good at Capilano 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
- Water level and flow readings
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 08GA031 — CAPILANO RIVER AT CANYON
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- 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.