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.
Squamish River Fishing Report
Updated Fri, Sep 25, 2026 from live weather and water data
The Squamish near Brackendale: chum, coho and pinks in fall and winter steelhead in a glacial river, with a live gauge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Level
2.27 m102 m³/s
Air / High
11 °C / 15 °C
Wind
NW 8 km/h
Sources: Water Survey of Canada station 08GA022, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Squamish River rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. The gauge reads 2.27 m, easing 0.31 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind NW around 8 km/h, steady 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 16 °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 Squamish 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 08GA022 (SQUAMISH RIVER NEAR BRACKENDALE).
River level, last 30 days
Water Survey of Canada real-time hydrometric data, station 08GA022. Latest reading 2026-09-25 04:35.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp11 °C
High / Low15 °C / 11 °C
WindNW 8 km/h, gusts 10 km/h
Pressure100.52 kPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 99%
Sunrise / Sunset07:03 / 19:03
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~12 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Squamish River
The best day on Squamish River this week looks like Saturday Sep 26, 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: Saturday, Sep 26 — 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, 8 km/h
- Rain chance
- 99%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
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. 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 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 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 Squamish 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 17 °C, wind to 11 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 19 °C, wind to 14 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 23 °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.
Access
A BC freshwater licence is needed, with the steelhead and non-tidal salmon surcharges as required; Howe Sound below is tidal water under DFO rules.
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. Its tributary the Cheakamus joins it above Brackendale. The river is famous for the bald eagles that gather on its gravel bars in winter to feed on spawned-out salmon, and for its fall salmon runs. 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 in late summer, followed by coho and chum in the fall; winter steelhead come from winter into spring, and are released when wild. Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout live in the system. The retention rules are in the synopsis and change in season.
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 river is braided and big; wading needs care, especially when the glacier melt raises it in the afternoon. The Mamquam River joins the Squamish near downtown, and the lower Cheakamus, above its confluence, is a river in its own right with its own rules.
Planning a visit
Squamish is an hour north of Vancouver on the Sea-to-Sky Highway. The winter eagle gathering brings visitors to Brackendale; respect the viewing areas and the closures that protect the birds.
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 fall, when the salmon run, and winter brings low, clearer water and the steelhead.
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 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; Howe Sound below is tidal water under DFO rules. The rules are linked below.
Common questions
Why is the Squamish River grey?
It carries glacial silt from the Coast Mountains, especially in summer.
When do salmon run in the Squamish?
Pinks in late summer of odd-numbered years, then coho and chum in the fall.
Where do the eagles gather?
At Brackendale in winter, on the gravel bars where spawned-out salmon collect.
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
- 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.