Capilano River Fishing Report
Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
The Capilano on the North Shore: hatchery coho, chinook and steelhead below Cleveland Dam in a regional park, with a live gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
1.45 m44.3 m³/s
Air / High
8 °C / 11 °C
Wind
NE 9 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 08GA031, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Capilano River has cold water and fish that move for very little; fish the warmest hours. The gauge reads 1.45 m, up 0.93 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind NE around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 12 °C. Water sits around 6 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 12:00 AM-2:00 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Steelhead
Good
The winter run. Slow and deep: float gear right on the bottom, swing slower, and fish the days after a small rise in water. Catch and release only.
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.
Tie on: Jigging spoon through the ice · Dead-stick minnow · Tip-up with dead bait · Tungsten jig and wax worm. Prime windows: 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 12:19 PM-2:19 PM, 8:46 AM-9:46 AM. Similar at 12 °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 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 (08:13), sunset (17:38), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 12:00 AM-2:00 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 PM; minor 8:46 AM-9:46 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Capilano River Water Level today, and the 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 2026-11-09 02:45.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp8 °C
High / Low11 °C / 7 °C
WindNE 9 km/h, gusts 10 km/h
Pressure101.62 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 96%
Sunrise / Sunset08:13 / 17:38
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~6 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Capilano River
Today is the pick of the week on Capilano 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
- 12:00 AM-2:00 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 PM
- Minor period
- 8:46 AM-9:46 AM
- Sun
- 08:13 to 17:38
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Rain, 21 km/h
- Rain chance
- 96%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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. Late fish in the rivers are dark and done; the coast is quiet until spring.
Steelhead
BC: winter run December to April, summer run into fall; Great Lakes: fall and spring
Release only Catch and release only, all year. Every steelhead on the Capilano is released; bait ban 1 August to 31 October. Rule as read from Government of British Columbia on 2026-09-27.
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. The winter run. Slow and deep: float gear right on the bottom, swing slower, and fish the days after a small rise in water.
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.
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
Steelhead
Chinook (spring) salmon
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 6 °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 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 19 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Coho salmon led the card at good. High of 15 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
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 24 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. The zone-by-zone seasons and limits are on British Columbia fishing seasons.
Access
Fishing here needs a BC freshwater licence, plus the steelhead conservation surcharge for steelhead and the non-tidal salmon surcharge for salmon.
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 Capilano Lake, held by Cleveland Dam, through a steep canyon in Capilano River Regional Park to Burrard Inlet. It is a city river with a DFO hatchery in the park, and its flow depends on the rain and on what is released over the dam. The Water Survey of Canada gauge at the canyon, station 08GA031, supplies the level and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Coho return from late summer into fall, chinook come in late summer and fall, and the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC releases both summer-run and winter-run steelhead smolts into the river. Every steelhead here is catch-and-release under the synopsis. For hatchery-marked chinook, DFO lifted the size restrictions from September 5 to November 30, 2026; read the current notice before keeping salmon.
Where to fish it
The lower river, from the canyon down toward the estuary, is fished from the bank, and Metro Vancouver warns that access points are limited. The synopsis closes the water upstream of the footbridge about 100 m below the hatchery’s fish fence, and DFO bars fishing within 100 m of any fish-rearing facility. Below the CN Railway Bridge the river is tidal water under DFO rules.
Planning a visit
The park has parking at the end of Capilano Park Road by the hatchery and trails along the canyon that are steep and slippery after rain; stay on the marked trails. Metro Vancouver says the Capilano River Hatchery, operated by DFO, is closed to the public for construction from October 1, 2026.
The water through the year
Fish wait in the estuary and the lower pools for rain, and a rise from a fall storm or a release over the dam moves them upriver. Summer is usually low and clear, and a bait ban applies from August 1 to October 31.
Reading this report here
Watch the canyon gauge for rises: the best fishing often comes a day or two after one, as the water drops. Metro Vancouver warns that releases over Cleveland Dam can raise the river quickly and strongly recommends a personal flotation device near the water.
Licence, access and rules
Fishing here needs a BC freshwater licence, plus the steelhead conservation surcharge for steelhead and the non-tidal salmon surcharge for salmon. Single barbless hooks are required in all Region 2 streams. Salmon limits come from DFO Fishery Notices, and the province posts any in-season changes on its freshwater regulations page.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Capilano River?
Coho and chinook in late summer and fall, and summer and winter steelhead, which must all be released.
Why does the Capilano’s level change so fast?
It runs below Cleveland Dam, so releases over the dam and heavy rain can both raise it quickly.
Can I visit the Capilano hatchery?
Not for now: Metro Vancouver says the DFO hatchery is closed to the public for construction from October 1, 2026. Fishing near it is restricted too.
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
- Pages checked
- metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/park/capilano-river-regiona
- www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/outdoor-r
- gofishbc.com/stocked-fish
- notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&ID=all&DOC_
- api.weather.gc.ca/collections/hydrometric-stations/items?STATION_NUMBE
- 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.