Well the Chinook Salmon have finally arrived in good numbers in Nanaimo and the fishing is hot! In just a matter of days, large schools have started to come into the areas off five finger island. Our last few Nanaimo fishing charters this week have been great with lots of salmon caught and lots of happy guests. Our last trip out, which was a half day, we got into 8-10 chinooks, lost a few, a few undersized and 4 solid keepers from 8-12lbs. All were good fighting fish, taking long runs and pulling hard. Most boats coming back to the dock had at least a fish or 2. The wind has been a bit of an issue this week but when it died down out there it was beautiful conditions, almost summer like. The go to depth right now seems to be 130-160 feet in 300-900 feet of water. The schools are coming in closer now and we were hooking into fish not far from the fingers. The gear of choice thats been working for us and other anglers are smaller 3.5 and 4 coyote spoons in the live image, cop car and kitchen sink. Flashers that have been hot are the moon jelly and luhr jensen pink stripe. With the large number of fish that are being caught right now and the large forecast for chinook salmon on the east coast of the island, this should be one great year in Nanaimo! These large early runs are usually around for about a month or a month and a half before they move out and the next runs move in. Don't miss out on this great spring fishing, we are booking up quickly for the season so call now to avoid missing out!
Here's the Lavkulik family from Alberta with there first Salmon ever caught! Thanks guys, had a blast!
Make It An Unreel Day!
Capt. Blake