Chinook Salmon Fishing is one of the most renowned of the well known Worldwide Sport Fisheries. This Pacific Salmon is known to be the largest salmon species on earth and comes with many names including Tyee, King, Tule, Spring salmon to name a few. They are magnificent predatory fish, very aggressive taking a variety of lures, baits and presentations. They also occupy various tidal water from the surf zone, through the kelp, down several hundred feet to many miles away from shore feeding on the offshore banks.
If you find them you can often figure out something to encourage them to bite. Usually any spoon, hootchie, plug or baitfish of similar size to the primary feed in the area will entice a bite. The feed during different phases of the tidal swings. You will notice that the bite will turn on and off during the day.
Typically there is an excellent morning bite for chinook. They can bite any time of day if you know where they are hiding during the tide changes. Some locations are better with a flood tide and others will fish better during an ebb tide. I am still working on those details in my own understanding, but slowly picking up the details I need to locate and catch fish.
When I started salmon fishing it took me a whole season and a lot of looking before I caught my first Chinook. My first one came trolling the surf near Ucluelet during my second season. Years later I am still enjoying amazing chinook fishing around Ucluelet. Every year my understanding of the area and where fish can be located grows. It really is fascinating, all the different types of fishing that are possible in the area.
In this video you will see my dad and I targeting chinook on the sand flats just off the rocky surf. As the ocean drops off towards deeper water there is a large shelf in the 120 to 160 feet of water where chinook salmon travel along the coastline and feed on needlefish as they go. The Ucluelet area is a prime zone to target these fish in the middle of July through the middle of August. The season is longer than this, but this is most likely prime time most often from year to year.
I hope you enjoy my adventure with dad and the information I have to share later in the video. It is always fun to get out with dad. He's getting better on the net and the rod. Have to keep on getting out and improving our skills every year.
Thank you for watching our videos and adventures.
We wish you the best of success on your own. If you have any questions and I can help you out in catching your first chinook, let me know in the comments below.
As always God Bless your Adventure and stay safe out there!
Don't forget to Like, Share with a Friend and Subscribe if you would like to see more fishing videos in British Columbia and Beyond!