May 2026 Nanaimo Fishing Charters Report

A new fishing season is upon us and we can’t wait to get you out on the water this year! On our latest Nanaimo fishing charters, we’ve been catching and releasing chinook salmon. The numbers of fish have been great so far but these early season runs are just passing through, but it is still good to see. The beginning of May signals the opening of Lingcod. Due to restrictions, salmon is still catch and release until June 1st, when we expect coho to open. We are still anticipating chinook salmon to open July 15th as it has in previous years. While most of the time our Nanaimo fishing charters target salmon, we can go after lingcod if you are trying to keep your catch in May. There are still size restrictions on lingcod as there are with salmon. We are already seeing summer like conditions on the water in April and May so this is a great time to get out on the water!