Nootka Sound Fishing Report
Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island: chinook and coho outside, halibut on the banks, and wide seasonal finfish closures inside the sound.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 11:24 a.m. model
Air / High
7 °C / 10 °C
Wind
ESE 19 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Nootka Sound is a cold-water proposition today: small baits, slow presentations and a long soak. Today brings cloud cover, wind ESE around 19 km/h, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 10 °C. Tides: high 11:24 a.m., low 5:21 a.m. and 6:13 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 12:15 AM-2:15 AM and 12:33 PM-2:33 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.
Tie on: Jigging spoon through the ice · Dead-stick minnow · Tip-up with dead bait · Tungsten jig and wax worm. Prime windows: 12:15 AM-2:15 AM, 12:33 PM-2:33 PM, 9:02 AM-10:02 AM. Warmer at 13 °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 Nootka Sound today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (08:28), sunset (17:51), 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 12:15 AM-2:15 AM and 12:33 PM-2:33 PM; minor 9:02 AM-10:02 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
LOW5:21 a.m.-0.14 m
HIGH11:24 a.m.1.93 m
LOW6:13 p.m.-1.29 m
Tue
HIGH12:50 a.m.1.36 m
LOW6:00 a.m.0.06 m
HIGH11:56 a.m.1.92 m
LOW6:44 p.m.-1.16 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp7 °C
High / Low10 °C / 6 °C
WindESE 19 km/h, gusts 32 km/h
Pressure101.35 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain62% cloud, 97%
Sunrise / Sunset08:28 / 17:51
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~10 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Nootka Sound
Today is the pick of the week on Nootka Sound, 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
- 12:15 AM-2:15 AM and 12:33 PM-2:33 PM
- Minor period
- 9:02 AM-10:02 AM
- Sun
- 08:28 to 17:51
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Rain, 31 km/h
- Rain chance
- 97%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Nootka Sound: 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
Open now Closes Nov 16, 2026. Outside waters are open to rockfish and lingcod 1 April to 15 November; lingcod 3 a day, 65 cm minimum. Rockfish Conservation Areas, and the permanent finfish closure in the Broken Group, 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. Closed in many areas for the nesting season.
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 Nootka Sound 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 Nootka Sound today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 40 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle. Coho salmon led the card at good. High of 12 °C, wind to 40 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
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 13 °C, wind to 43 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
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 13 °C, wind to 39 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 the salmon conservation stamp apply, and every halibut kept must be recorded on the licence with where it was caught and its length.
About this water
Nootka Sound is a bay or coastal water in British Columbia, Canada, covered from the British Columbia reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Nootka Sound: the full guide
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is the inlet system on the west coast of Vancouver Island between Kyuquot Sound and Clayoquot Sound, reached by road through Gold River, with Tahsis on Tahsis Inlet. DFO manages it with Esperanza Inlet as Area 25, and the offshore waters as Area 125. Its inside waters are sheltered fjords, and its outside faces the open Pacific. The report is scored for a point inside the sound, with a modelled tide curve.
Species and seasons
Chinook and coho are the fish from early summer, with local runs returning late in the season. Halibut and lingcod are fished on the outside banks and reefs under the outside-waters rules. DFO’s late-summer measures single out the river mouths: in 2026 it closed water near the mouth of the Gold River and, from August 15 to December 31, limited hook size in the Conuma River estuary.
Where to fish it
Boats fish the entrance of the sound and the outside shoreline on calm days. Much of the inside is closed to finfishing in late summer: from July 15 to October 15, 2026, DFO closed subareas 25-2 and 25-3, parts of Muchalat Inlet, upper Tahsis Inlet, Head Bay and several other bays. Read the Area 25 notice with a chart before choosing inside water.
Planning a visit
Gold River and Tahsis are the bases, with lodges and marinas; services are limited, so bring fuel, food and a plan for the weather. The outside is open ocean: know the swell forecast before leaving the sound, and ask before landing on shore, where much of the land is First Nations territory.
The water through the year
Summer is the season: chinook from early summer, coho building through August and local chinook returning late. Fall rains fill the rivers and winter storms shut down the outside. Clams, mussels and oysters here are subject to biotoxin and sanitary closures that DFO posts as notices, so check before harvesting any bivalves.
Reading this report here
The tide panel shows a modelled curve for these coordinates, and the Canadian Hydrographic Service publishes the official predictions. On this coast the swell and the wind decide the day, well ahead of pressure or cloud.
Licence, access and rules
The DFO tidal licence and the salmon conservation stamp apply, and every halibut kept must be recorded on the licence with where it was caught and its length. The Estevan Point rockfish conservation area lies to the south of the sound’s entrance. Area 25 limits and closures are in the DFO Fishery Notices, which in 2025 and 2026 closed large parts of the inside each summer.
Common questions
How do I get to Nootka Sound?
By road across Vancouver Island to Gold River, which with Tahsis serves as the main base on the sound.
When is the best fishing in Nootka Sound?
Summer, from the first chinook to the coho and the returning local chinook late in the season; the inside closures shape where you can fish.
Is Nootka Sound safe for small boats?
The inside channels are sheltered, though many are closed to finfishing in late summer; the outside is open Pacific and needs a seaworthy boat and a swell forecast.
Is fishing good at Nootka Sound 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
- 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.