Vancouver Fishing Report
Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
Salt water off Vancouver: chinook under strict Fraser-stock rules, crab by trap and ring, and the Capilano and the Fraser close by, with a modelled tide.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 6:06 p.m. model
Air / High
6 °C / 12 °C
Wind
S 4 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Vancouver is a cold-water proposition today: small baits, slow presentations and a long soak. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 3 km/h, rising pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 12 °C. Tides: high 11:14 a.m., low 5:30 a.m. and 6:06 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 12:00 AM-2:00 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 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: 12:00 AM-2:00 AM, 12:19 PM-2:19 PM, 8:46 AM-9:46 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 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 Vancouver today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (08:13), sunset (17:38), 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 12:00 AM-2:00 AM and 12:19 PM-2:19 PM; minor 8:46 AM-9:46 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
LOW5:30 a.m.-0.53 m
HIGH11:14 a.m.2.28 m
LOW6:06 p.m.-1.76 m
Tue
HIGH12:16 a.m.1.70 m
LOW6:06 a.m.-0.50 m
HIGH11:50 a.m.2.27 m
LOW6:45 p.m.-1.67 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp6 °C
High / Low12 °C / 6 °C
WindS 4 km/h, gusts 4 km/h
Pressure101.67 kPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 95%
Sunrise / Sunset08:13 / 17:38
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~10 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Vancouver
Today is the pick of the week on Vancouver, 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, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 95%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Vancouver: 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.
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 Vancouver 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
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 Vancouver 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 13 °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 14 °C, wind to 21 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 → 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
Tidal waters need a DFO tidal waters sport fishing licence, with a salmon conservation stamp to keep salmon, and adult licence holders must file an online iREC catch report for their assigned period.
About this water
Vancouver is a coastal town in British Columbia, Canada, covered from the British Columbia reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Vancouver: the full guide
Fishing Vancouver
Vancouver sits between the mouth of the Fraser River and Howe Sound, on the Strait of Georgia. For Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) the water off the city is Area 28, which takes in Burrard Inlet and Howe Sound, with Area 29 off the Fraser mouth. The fishing is salmon in season and crab, from boats and from public docks, with the North Shore rivers close by. The report on this page is scored for a point on English Bay, with a modelled tide curve.
Species and seasons
Chinook pass the city on their way to the Fraser, and DFO protects the at-risk Fraser chinook stocks hard here: in 2026, Burrard Inlet and parts of Howe Sound were closed to chinook fishing from April through the summer, and retention elsewhere in Area 28 opened only on August 1. Coho come through in late summer and fall. Rockfish and lingcod are closed all year in Area 28 and in most of Area 29, whatever the season elsewhere on the coast.
Where to fish it
Boat anglers work the edges of the Fraser plume, the water off West Vancouver and the channels of Howe Sound when those waters are open. The Fraser approaches, subareas 29-6, 29-7 and 29-9 to 29-17, have been closed to salmon fishing since January 1, 2026 until further notice, and from August 1 to September 30, 2026 a block off Point Grey was closed to salmon to leave chinook for Southern Resident killer whales. From shore, crab rings off public docks are the usual option where the dock owner allows it.
Planning a visit
Marinas and launch ramps are spread around the harbour and the river mouth, and guides run salmon trips from the city in season. Bring rain gear outside summer. Dungeness and red rock crab are taken by trap, ring net or dip net; the federal rules ban keeping females of either species, and one person may fish no more than two traps and nets combined, each tagged with the operator’s name and phone number.
The water through the year
Spring and early summer bring the Fraser freshet, which colours the water off the river mouth for weeks. Late summer and fall are the salmon months, with each subarea opened, restricted or closed by its own notice, and winter is quieter, with crab the main fishery for most people.
Reading this report here
The tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, not the Canadian Hydrographic Service prediction, which remains the official source for times and heights. Wind decides whether the open water off Point Grey and in Howe Sound is fishable, and the barometer and sky complete the picture.
Licence, access and rules
Tidal waters need a DFO tidal waters sport fishing licence, with a salmon conservation stamp to keep salmon, and adult licence holders must file an online iREC catch report for their assigned period. Since September 1, 2026, salmon in all BC tidal waters may be fished only with single-point barbless hooks with a gap of 22 mm or less. Current openings for each subarea are in DFO’s Fishery Notices at notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Common questions
Do I need a licence to fish in the ocean off Vancouver?
Yes, a DFO tidal waters sport fishing licence, plus a salmon conservation stamp to keep salmon; the rivers need a separate BC freshwater licence.
Can I keep a chinook off Vancouver?
Only where and when DFO allows it: in 2026 much of Area 28 was closed or non-retention for chinook until August. Read the current notice for your subarea before you go.
Can I catch crab in Vancouver?
Yes, by trap, ring net or dip net under the federal rules, which set minimum sizes and ban keeping female Dungeness and red rock crab.
Is fishing good at Vancouver 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
- notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&ID=all&DOC_
- notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&ID=all&DOC_
- notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&ID=all&DOC_
- notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&ID=all&DOC_
- laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-96-137/FullText.html
- 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.