DESTINATION ANGLER
Your simple guide to the best sea angling holiday venues
Discover some stunning holiday angling.
British Columbia is the only province in Canada that borders the Pacific Ocean and is the country’s westernmost province. Located between the Pacific and the Rocky Mountains, the coastline stretches for more than 17,000 miles and includes deep, mountainous fjords and about 6,000 islands, most of which are uninhabited.
Much of the province is undeveloped, so populations of many mammals that have become rare in much of the United States still flourish in British Columbia.
KEY SPECIES
Anglers fishing off the coast of British Columbia target a wide range of different species, many of which are endemic to the Pacific north west. American and Canadian anglers primarily target the five species of Pacific salmon, notably the mighty chinook – or king salmon – and sweet-tasting coho or silver salmon, which are often caught very close to the shoreline in sheltered water.
Halibut, too, are prolific in these waters, with fish in the 20-60lb range being especially abundant, and specimens over 100lb being caught on a fairly regular basis. Lingcod are another very popular species and these hard-fighting fish are, as the name correctly
suggests, what you would imagine the outcome of a ling crossed with a cod would look like. Finally, there are many species of rockfish, which range in size from just a couple of pounds to well into double figures. The spectacular yellow-eyed rock cod is not only beautiful but, like most fish in these waters, makes great eating.
WHERE AND WHEN
The fishing season runs from the late spring until early autumn.
Many lodges are based on floating pontoons that are towed to a location for the season,
and returned to a safe mooring for the winter.
There is good fishing starting from Vancouver and extending to the border with Alaska. As a rule, the further north you go, the better the fish, with some of the best port fishing found in the vicinity of offshore islands, such as the Queen Charlotte Islands.
TACKLE
One of the big advantages with choosing a fishing holiday in coastal British Columbia is that almost all of the lodges supply goodquality tackle. This is significant when you consider that many can only be accessed via light aircraft, helicopter or float plane from Vancouver, all of which have relatively low weight restrictions for luggage.
Many lodges supply boats that are used by clients on a self-drive basis, but many will, if requested, also provide a skipper.
Salmon are mostly caught by trolling, which is known locally as mooching. Long, lithe rods are used in conjunction with reels that are very similar to fly-reels. Baits, usually herring or anchovies, or lures, are fished in conjunction with down riggers.
Halibut and lingcod are mostly caught using bait, but lures are also effective. Due to their wide availability, salmon heads and carcasses are a popular and effective bait in these waters. Most types of lure fished on or very near the bottom will catch halibut, but large shads are especially effective. Rockfish can be caught on small pirks or jigs, provided they are worked near the bottom.