Squamish River Fishing Report
Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
The Squamish near Brackendale: fall chum, coho and odd-year pinks, winter steelhead released when wild, a bait ban and a live gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
4.00 m464 m³/s
Air / High
5 °C / 11 °C
Wind
NNW 5 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 08GA022, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Squamish River is in its winter rhythm: slow, deep and around the brightest hours. The gauge reads 4.00 m, up 1.83 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNW around 5 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 12:01 AM-2:01 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.
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: 12:01 AM-2:01 AM, 12:19 PM-2:19 PM, 8:49 AM-9:49 AM. Similar 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 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 Squamish River today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (08:15), sunset (17:37), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 12:01 AM-2:01 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 PM; minor 8:49 AM-9:49 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Squamish River Water Level today, and the weather
Live readings from Water Survey of Canada station 08GA022 (SQUAMISH RIVER NEAR BRACKENDALE).
River level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 08GA022. Latest reading 2026-11-09 02:05.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp5 °C
High / Low11 °C / 5 °C
WindNNW 5 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure101.63 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 93%
Sunrise / Sunset08:15 / 17:37
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~6 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Squamish River
Today is the pick of the week on Squamish 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
- 12:01 AM-2:01 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 PM
- Minor period
- 8:49 AM-9:49 AM
- Sun
- 08:15 to 17:37
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Rain, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 93%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Squamish 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.
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. Late fish hold in the lower river; slow presentations near the bottom.
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. 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 Squamish 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 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 Squamish 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. Chum salmon led the card at excellent. High of 13 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Chum salmon led the card at excellent. High of 13 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Chum salmon led the card at excellent. High of 12 °C, wind to 19 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
A BC freshwater licence is needed, with the steelhead surcharge to fish for steelhead and the non-tidal salmon surcharge to keep salmon.
About this water
Squamish River is a river in British Columbia, Canada, covered from the British Columbia reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Squamish River: the full guide
The Squamish near Brackendale
The Squamish River runs out of the Coast Mountains, grey with glacial silt, past Brackendale and the town of Squamish to the head of Howe Sound. The Cheakamus joins it just north of Brackendale and the Mamquam near the town. BC Parks says the valley is one of the most significant wintering areas for bald eagles in North America, with a world record count of 3,769 in 1994. The Water Survey of Canada gauge near Brackendale supplies the level, the flow and the 30-day chart on this page.
Species and seasons
Pink salmon run in odd-numbered years, followed by coho and chum in the fall; BC Parks says the chum runs of the Squamish, Cheakamus and Mamquam are what draw the eagles. Winter steelhead come from winter into spring and must be released when wild. Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout live in the system, and wild trout and char from streams must be released under the Region 2 rules. Salmon retention is set by DFO notice.
Where to fish it
The lower river around Brackendale and the confluence with the Cheakamus are the main areas, fished from the gravel bars. The Squamish, Cheakamus and Mamquam are all under a bait ban, and the Squamish’s other tributaries are closed to fishing except Ashlu Creek, the Elaho and the Squamish Powerhouse Channel. The river is braided and big, and wading needs care when glacier melt raises it in the afternoon.
Planning a visit
Brackendale is about 70 km north of Vancouver, off Highway 99. Brackendale Eagles Park, mostly on the west bank, is closed to all recreation except fishing from 1 October to 31 March, and BC Parks discourages angling on the west side and its sandbars while the eagles are present. The public viewing area is on the Eagle Run dyke on Government Road.
The water through the year
Snow and glacier melt keep the river high and silty from late spring through summer; it drops and clears in the fall, when the salmon run, and winter brings low, clearer water and the steelhead. BC Parks puts the peak of the eagle season in November and December.
Reading this report here
The gauge shows the daily melt cycle in summer and the rain rises in fall; a clearing river after a rise is the time to fish. The chart holds the last month of readings, and the score adds the weather.
Licence, access and rules
A BC freshwater licence is needed, with the steelhead surcharge to fish for steelhead and the non-tidal salmon surcharge to keep salmon. The synopsis sets the tidal boundary on a line running true west from the tip of the Squamish Dyke, known as Windsurfer Spit; below it is Howe Sound, DFO Area 28, where rockfish and lingcod are closed all year.
Common questions
Why is the Squamish River grey?
It carries glacial silt from the Coast Mountains, most of all during the summer melt.
When do salmon run in the Squamish?
Pinks in odd-numbered years, then coho and chum in the fall; DFO notices decide what may be kept.
Where do the eagles gather?
Along the Squamish and Cheakamus near Brackendale from November to February, peaking in November and December, according to BC Parks.
Is fishing good at Squamish 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 08GA022 — SQUAMISH RIVER NEAR BRACKENDALE
- 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.