With the arrival of Spring in the Vancouver area, it’s fishing charter time! It’s time to start hitting the water in pursuit of the many different runs of salmon heading to the coast of British Columbia (specifically Vancouver and its vicinity) for the next 6 months. Last year was a banner charter season, one of the best in 20 years. We saw record numbers of Sockeye salmon returning to the Fraser River in addition to other very strong runs in our river systems. This year we have seen plentiful bait in our area. It looks like we will have another great fishery mid-April through June for Spring salmon fishing in Howe Sound. The south end of Bowen Island and the Gulf Islands are already showing promise to deliver excellent results. We are expecting a massive pink run, another strong Sockeye season and Coho and Spring fishing through to the end of September and if the weather remains dry, we have been known to fish all the way to Halloween. Watermark Charters finished it’s 2014 season with fish caught on October 10. A great way to end a great charter season!
The Watermark is a 31’ Pursuit Express which is owner run to ensure quality every trip out on the water. We leave from beautiful West Vancouver which is consistently one of the closest points to prime fishing grounds. Why ride an extra 20 or 30 minutes when your lines can be in the water catching salmon? The Watermark will be kicking off its charter season in the next week. She’s cleaned up, tackle is ready, new cushions arriving shortly. All we need is the weather to start cooperating a bit more and she is ready to go! Equipment and amenities on the Watermark are high end and deliver the creature comforts to satisfy the most discerning customer. Last year the Watermark logged 80% repeat customers or referrals. Watermark Charters strives for customer service excellence and this track record reinforces that people are enjoying their time on the water. Many of these customers have not only become repeats but friends.
24.5lb Spring Salmon at Hole in The Wall
The fishing season is just starting to ramp up. So far this spring, there have been some great fishing days. With so much feed around, there have been more good days than bad. This inconsistency is normal for this time of year but we have seen some excellent results which leads us to believe we’re in for a great season. Many of our successes have been up Howe Sound – Defense Island, Hole in the Wall and Tunstall Bay on the west side of Bowen Island. In addition, the third marker off Hutt Island, Grace Island and Gambier have all begun to produce. The largest confirmed catch to date has been a 24.5lb Spring off Hole in the Wall, luckly by me with friends on their boat. Others have come close in the high teens and low 20s, also large for this time of year. Most of these fish have been caught on Gibbsdelta G force spoons, Gibbsdelta flashers and as of late Rhys Davis heads with anchovies. It feels like an exciting season ahead!
We will be publishing fishing reports more often when we start hitting the water consistently. For the fishermen out there, Gibbsdelta tackle has some great products to stock your tackle box. Some of my favourites are the Gforce spoon, Silver horde, Coho killer and Gypsy spoons. Flashers I exclusively use Gibbsdelta guide series flashers; a couple of my favourites are the Watermark and the chartreuse glow but I use far too many to list. Rhys Davis heads are my go to when using anchovies and herring. It’s also a great time of year for Dungeness Crab. After a day on the water it’s great to check the crab traps and add a couple crabs to your catch at the end of your charter. It’s a great way to spend a day!
Charters are starting to book up on the Watermark, beginning April 9. If interested in booking a charter or have general questions about lodging, restaurants and other amenities when not on the water please feel free to call or email anytime. Until next time, good luck and I look forward to hearing from you. It’s going to be a great season!
You can follow us on our webpage www.watermarkfishingcharters.com or on Facebook at WatermarkFishing Charters or on Twitter @salmoncharter for daily reports! Give us a call 604.816.8944 for info and to book a charter. I am happy to help in any way I can.
Have a great day,
Mark
Point Atkinson (Lighthouse Park) toward Passage Island. We have hit some real nice Springs with a mixture of Pink salmon and have even released some Sockeye salmon. Also seeing great results T10, Bell Buoy, and the West Vancouver shoreline near the mouth of the Capilano River. All have produced Pink salmon, a few Coho salmon and some nice Springs. In all these areas should continue to have great fishing for quite a while.
In the last week I have been spin casting or jigging for the Pink salmon up Howe Sound where I use Gibbs 3 quarter ounce pink jigs. For trolling I use exclusively Gibbs Delta flashers chartruse glow, or the Watermark continues to rock! Rhys Davis heads with anchovies and a small mini hootchie UV with pink splatter has been great for Pinks (see picture to get an idea of the hootchie.)
