Visitors to the
Greater Vancouver area are often surprised to learn that there is
excellent saltwater fishing immediately offshore, in urban settings
within sight of Vancouver.
Salmon fishing is superb along the North Shore of North Vancouver
and West Vancouver - within sight of your downtown hotel! Coho bound
for the Capilano River hatchery make for brisk shore fishing action.
Cast a lure or fly for the coho at the mouth of the Capilano River.
Salmon Fishing is the main draw for fishermen in the Lower Mainland
area, both freshwater and saltwater. There is good lake fishing close
to the urban centres, with an abundance of small trout that attract
anglers of all ages. As the coastal lakes in the region are more acidic,
with waters that are not as nutrient-rich as the interior lakes, the
trout grow more slowly and remain smaller in size.
Fishing remains good on the lower elevation lakes during winter, with
the lakes seldom icing over. Winter fishing for feisty feeder chinook
salmon provides steady action, with hot spots from Point Atkinson
to Bowen Island and, on occasion, as near as the shore of famous Stanley
Park in downtown Vancouver.
Freshwater steelhead and cutthroat trout fishing is available in North
Vancouver, directly across the Lions Gate Bridge in the Capilano River,
and across the Second Narrows Bridge in the Seymour River.
Anglers and
crabbers use the dock at Belcarra
Regional Park and the pier at Jericho Beach as an excuse
to spend some time in the outdoors. Water quality at both locations
is often suspect, especially for its effect on bottom feeders, but
this doesn't keep fishermen from enjoying their catch. Smelt fishers
cast their filigree nets from the waters of Jericho and Kitsilano
Beaches.
The seawall
at Stanley Park
is another popular angling location, particularly around the kilometre
6 marker at Siwash Rock. The water is sufficiently deep here to
allow the possibility of landing a salmon, especially when a run
of pinks returns to Burrard Inlet at the end of summer.
You'll need a saltwater fishing licence before you toss a line into
the waters around Greater Vancouver. Licences are available at most
sportfishing stores.
The North Shore
As there are few places to shore-cast on the North
Shore other than the lower reaches of the Capilano
River in Capilano
River Regional Park, anglers would do well to head to the boat-launch
ramp at Cates Park in North Vancouver, Seycove Marina at
the north end of Panorama in Deep Cove, or Mosquito Creek
Marine Basin, at the south foot of Forbes, also in North
Vancouver.
There's a public
boat launch at Horseshoe Bay
beside the BC Ferries Horseshoe
Bay Ferry Terminal.
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Fishing
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