Fishing Reports

May 22, 2026

Sockeye salmon are renowned for their crimson red flesh, rich omega three content, and their long migration back to their natal creeks, streams and rivers. They are also the bright red salmon that thousands of tourists travel to see in their spawning grounds during the Fall in a variety of creeks and streams in British Columbia.

There are many large wild Sockeye fisheries in North America. Bristol Bay in Alaska is known for being the largest wild Sockeye fishery. In British Columbia the Fraser River has runs that vary from year to year. The Fraser River has had returning Sockeye runs of twenty-five to thirty million salmon. The 2026 returning Sockeye run to the Fraser is expected to be of a high number. Port Alberni located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia boasts a Sockeye run to the Somass-Stamp River system.

Returns are not like those of the Fraser River but runs can exceed one million pieces with average years exceeding six hundred to eight hundred thousand returning salmon. These Sockeye return to the river system and sit in two very large lakes (Sproat and Great Central) during the summer months in deep water before entering many streams and creeks that fill with heavy autumn rainfall.

Sockeye normally have a four-year cycle. Females will lay two to five thousand eggs in a nest called “redds” dug into the gravel of fresh water streams or lakes. The eggs incubate over the winter and in late winter or early spring they hatch but remain in the gravel till mid spring. These immature Sockeye known as Alevas have an attached yolk sac that they feed off of until they swim out of the gravel beds and migrate usually to fresh water lakes. When this occurs the Sockeye salmon are now termed “fry” and feed off of tiny aquatic insects.

Sockeye are known to remain in a fresh-water lakes for up to a year or two before swimming out to the ocean and are known as “smolts”. As smolts headed to the Pacific Ocean, Sockeye go through a transformation called smoltification which enables their bodies to adapt to salt water. Sockeye will grow into adults and most often as a three or four-year old weighing from four to eight pounds will navigate back to the exact stream they were born in using the earth’s magnetic field. The life cycle again will begin as male and female adult Sockeye turn a marvelous red color with their life ending after their fertilization process (spawn) in their home stream.

Once only thought of as a prime commercial salmon, Sockeye have become a very popular sport fish. Each year runs of Sockeye coming from somewhere in the North Pacific Ocean swim to the waters of Barkley Sound, make their way to the Alberni Inlet, and then into the Somass-Stamp River system. From the river the Sockeye enter either Sproat or Great Central Lake where they sit until the fall.

There is something very special about a June or early July summer morning in the Alberni Inlet when the Sockeye have arrived. The Alberni Inlet becomes alive as navigation lights flicker across the calm water as anglers head out searching for schools of chrome-bright salmon. The inlet which has been quiet for months has the hum of motors, downriggers, and the scream of the odd reel.

Sockeye are not like Chinook or Coho. They are sleek, fast and often unpredictable. Trolling for then in the Alberni Inlet has become one of Vancouver Island’s most exciting summer sport fisheries. Once in the Inlet they are headed to the Somass-Stamp river system. Form mid-June into very late July the Alberni Inlet becomes a migration highway filled with schools of fresh ocean Sockeye.

Sockeye have large penetrating eyes, forest green backs, and bright silver bellies. The gums are white or pale and they do not have teeth. Sockeye are unlike Chinook and Coho which feed on bait fish. Sockeye while in the ocean feed on plankton which gives their flesh the beautiful bright red or orange color. Feeding mainly on plankton means trolling requires a different approach.

Success depends on precision and presentation of lures. Most anglers will search for schools of fish on the sonar. Sockeye will travel in very tight groups and in the early part of the season can be found in thirty-five to fifty feet of water. By mid and into late July as the inlet water warms Sockeye can be found in seventy-five to one hundred feet of water.

Sockeye fishing is very environmental. When the water in the inlet and river system warms to seventeen or eighteen degrees Celsius the migration of the salmon slows down and they begin to school in large numbers in the Alberni Inlet. The big groups of schools begin to form in many locations from the Alberni Harbour to approximately ten miles down the inlet to Franklin River and Nahmint Bay.

With the large school’s anglers trolling have a wonderful sport fishing opportunity as many of these fish will come after the presentation of mini plankton type lures. The most popular areas in the Alberni Inlet for Sockeye are Lone Tree Point, Cous Creek, China Creek, Leaning Tree, the Slide, Narrows, and the Nahmint-Franklin-Ten Mile Point area.

Sockeye are best fished on a slow troll with a variety of hot-spot flashers in green, purple, and green-plaid. Some West Coast flashers in green, blue, or black are very good as well. Behind the flasher is a mp or mini plankton hoochie. The best mini plankton hoochies are colored pink and blue or pink and blank. An mp 15 or bubblegum mini plankton is also a very good choice. Leader length can vary in accordance to trolling speed which is often 1.7 to 1.9 mph. Leaders may vary from sixteen inches to twenty-five inches or more for some anglers.

Sockeye are attracted to color. Fishing with eight flashers behind the boat is not uncommon for many anglers. The eight flashers account for four “dummy” flashers and four flashers with lures. Downriggers are of course essential with staggering the various flashers with and without hoochies at different depths to cover more water until a productive pattern develops. All of the gear including the “dummy” flashers should be tight to the back of the boat. Ideally five to six feet is perfect and the flashers can be staggered twelve to fifteen feet apart. Watching the tip of the rods is of importance as some of the Sockeye bites can be surprisingly subtle.

The rod tip can at times move very little with a quick downward motion which can be easily missed. Some anglers when fishing for Sockeye will make small S turns while trolling. This can trigger strikes because one side of the boat will briefly slow while the opposite side speeds up changing the lure action and create more bite opportunity. Once hooked Sockeye actually become a hard fighting salmon. They can twist and turn and tear across the surface of the water and at the same time leap wildly beside the side of the boat. Landing a Sockeye is fun but at times it can be difficult.

Sockeye fishing in the Alberni Inlet is a fun fishery for people of all ages. Not only landing a salmon can make a day trip memorable but the scenery of forested mountains, eagles drifting overhead, and the odd pesky seal following the schools of these beautiful salmon make the day truly like heaven. For those many anglers who are local or from others areas world-wide there is not better sign that summer is here when there is a bright Sockeye flashing and jumping behind the boat in the Alberni Inlet.

For more information, contact:
Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
1 888 214 7206 (toll free)
1 250 731 7389 (mobile)
dlindy@shaw.ca (email)
www.catchsalmon-ca.com

Late August and September Fishing

The 2025 Port Alberni Salmon Festival and Derby took place during the Labour Day Weekend.   The Festival was a huge success with wonderful weather conditions and fantastic fishing for the many anglers participating in this years derby.  Salmon Festival organizer and Tyee Club president Carolyn Jasken believes that over three thousand salmon were weighed in throughout the three day event.  The largest fish of the Derby was landed at Nanat Island close to Poett Nook which is at the far end of the Bamfield Wall.  Port Alberni resident and angler Don Kimura landed a thirty pound fourteen ounce Chinook on day three and won Kimura the grand prize of $15,000.00.  Two other residents of the Alberni Valley won cash prizes on the third day of the festival.   Justin Fraser landed a twenty-six pound two ounce Chinook for the second largest fish of the day and Bob Matlock landed a twenty-one pound ten ounce fish for third place on day three.  On Saturday or day one of the derby Ian Simmons took first place of the day with a twenty-four pound four ounce salmon.  Keith Seidel took first place on Day two with a twenty-five pound Chinook.  Both anglers took home $5,000.00 for the biggest fish of the day prize.   There were also a good number of hidden weight prizes that ranged from $50 to $250.

The Sport Fishing in much of Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet in the second half of August and into early September has been absolutely terrific.  In August some of the hotspots like Cree-Austin, Meares Bluff, Gilbraltor, Samatao Bay and Swale Rock were on absolute fire for many days.  The inlet during the last two weeks of August provided some great fishing days and really lit up during the Festival weekend.  Many of the fish landed in the Inlet were from forty to fifty feet using white hoochies (AORL 12) and glow hoochies as well as MP two’s and sixteen’s.   Anchovies in clear, purple haze, and Chartreuse teaser heads were working as well.   The large abundant return of one hundred thousand Chinook seems to be living up to the The Department of Fisheries and Oceans forecast.

The Sport Fishing in Barkley Sound  with the dry weather conditions should continue to be very GOOD for the first half of September.  Historically the best fishing can be on the Bamfield side during the current month.   The Bamfield Wall from Nanat Island to the Bamfield Harbour Mouth and up to Brady’s Beach and Wittlestone are normally terrific.   Anchovy, a variety of spoons especially the skinny G’s, and hoochies in green and white are normally excellent lure choices for the first half of September.   Areas around Ucluelet from Little Beach, and Fraser Rock’s to Wya Point and Florencia are normally very good for the first two or three weeks of September as well.   Those anglers wishing to fish in the Inlet during September can often find the freshest fish and fishing opportunity in Bells Bay and the Franklin Wall right up to the Sport Fishing Boundary.                                                                                                                            

If the seasonal forecast holds true the sport fishing should be absolutely phenomenal in September for Chinook and Coho salmon.

Tight Lines

Sliver Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
Doug Lindores
dlindy@shaw.ca
888 214 7206
www.catchsalmon.ca-com

August 2025 // Written by Doug Lindores // Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

August is always an exciting month in this Pacific Rim area as Chinook and Coho salmon begin to migrate into the various rivers, streams and creeks of West Coast Vancouver Island.  Anglers have so many wonderful fishing opportunities to sport fish for salmon in this majestic area.  West Coast Vancouver Island Chinook and Coho migrate to surf line areas and then into Barkley Sound in late July and peak in numbers from mid August to early September of which many continue their final journey migrating to the Alberni Inlet before swimming into the Somass and Stamp River systems. The 2025 sport fishing season from late July to September should be wonderful with fabulous forecast returns of Chinook and Coho salmon.

West Coast Vancouver Island returns of Chinook Salmon are forecast to be “excellent”. This forecast for returns in the model to Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet is 95,000.   The age category predictions are three-year-old, four-year-old, five-and-six-year old Chinook.  Coho returns are about average due to spectacular ocean conditions over the past few years.

The large schools of Chinook normally migrate into Barkley Sound and feed on the rich resources of bait fish before making their final journey to the Alberni Inlet and then into the Somass River.  The best Chinook and Coho fishing in the Alberni Inlet historically begins early in August.  The Alberni Inlet provides a variety of hot spots for the many anglers that visit the Port Alberni area to sport fish.   The top angling areas are Lone Tree and the Coulson Mill which are two spots in the Harbor.  China Creek Wall, Underwood, Leaning Tree, and the Narrows are excellent fishing spots south of Lone Tree Point.

Sport Fishers, fishing the Inlet waters have best success using anchovy in a variety of teaser heads.  Glow Army Truck, purple haze, cop car and green haze with a six-foot leader behind a variety of flashers will create some of the best results.   Anglers will also have success using Pink and Red Octopus Hootchies.  The AORL 12, Purple Haze and Spatter back are also excellent hootchie choices.

Many Anglers during August will fish Barkley Sound from the surf line to the far end of the Bamfield Wall over to Pill Point and Ecoole.  Austin-Cree, Beale, Wittlestone, the Bamfield Wall, Gilbraltor, Swale Rock and Pill Point should have terrific angling opportunities through the month.  The returning salmon are most often in shallower water from twenty-five to sixty feet.  Coho are often right on the surface.  Best results for those anglers fishing Barkley Sound are using anchovy in the same teaser head colors as the Alberni Inlet.  A variety of Coyote spoons, Skinny G Herring Aid in green and blue, and Big Eye spoons are terrific choices.   A variety of hootchies in octopus and cuttlefish are often a sure bet at different times of the day and month.  The best go to hootchies are the dark green spatter back, AORL 12, glow white, purple haze, clown, and army truck.

The fishing in Barkley Sound and the waters close to the Ucluelet Harbor Mouth over the past few weeks has been very good.   The Coho Salmon fishing has been excellent.  In August there should be big numbers of Coho all over Barkley Sound which is always a treat for many anglers.   The Coho are ranging from five to eight pounds and create some excellent sport fishing.  The Coho have been hitting a variety of small TKO spoons, Skinny G spoons and hootchies.   The best results occur when one is able to match up the bait fish in the area fishing.  

August 2025 will be a banner month for Chinook and Coho fishing and will produce many opportunities for sport anglers.  The fishing in 2025 in Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet should be world class.

Tight lines

Doug Lindores

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
www.catchsalmon-ca.com
250 731 7389
toll free    1 888 214 7206
dlindy@shaw.ca

DOUG LINDORES         SLIVERS CHARTERS SALMON SPORT FISHING                                

          The sport fishing in the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound was very good in June and early July.  The last ten days due to a Sound Plankton Bloom and some cooler early July Weather in Alberni the fishing for anglers was very inconsistent.   However warmer daytime temperatures have warmed up Inlet waters and the Sockeye Salmon over the past few days have begun to school up and go to deeper water.   This has improved the Sockeye Fishing dramatically.  The Sound Bloom is beginning to ease out and the sport fishing in many of the normal areas especially the surf line is improving.  Coming into the second half of July and shifting into August we are expecting some excellent sport fishing opportunities. 

       August is always a fabulous month for sport salmon fishing. This year should be of no exception as there should be spectacular salmon fishing on Vancouver Island’s West Coast, all of Barkley Sound, and the Alberni Inlet.  The Alberni Inlet  Sockeye returns in 2025 should be just over 800,000 fish which has created at time fabulous sport fishing.  The sport fishing in the Inlet during the next few weeks should be fantastic.  Returns to the Somass River system have been terrific with approximately Two Hundred and eighty Thousand Sockeye returning into the Stamp and Sproat systems.   Pre-season estimates of returning Chinook to the area are similar to the last two years to the Somass River (Robertson Creek Hatchery) and the many other streams and rivers of West Coast Vancouver Island.   

          To date the sport fishing season in Barkley Sound and the inshore waters of Ucluelet is best described as “improving”. Most of the salmon retained in June and July have been migrating to the big watersheds of the Pacific North-West.   August is the month when mature local salmon begin swimming to their natal rivers and streams to complete their lifecycle.  Starting in late July and right into September migrating Chinook and Coho swim through the waters of Barkley Sound where they stop and feed heavily before completing their long journey into the Alberni Inlet and finally into the Somass River system or Sarita, Nahmint and Franklin River systems

          In August the returning salmon often school and feed heavily at many locations in Barkley Sound.  Cree Island, Austin Island, Meares, Whittlestone, Fleming Island, the Bamfield Wall, Gilbraltor, Swale Rock and Pill Point are some of these fishing spots.  The early morning, evening, and tide change are often the best bite times.   August in the Sound is often the month when Anchovy in a variety of teaser head colors work well.  Green and Purple Haze as well as Army Truck Glow and Cop Car anchovy teaser heads with at least a six-foot leader attached to a purple gold, blue or green gold flasher.  Depending on the size of the bait a variety of hootchies and spoons are also great lures.  The AORL 12 is a great standby as is the Jack Smith and Green Spatterback for both Chinook and Coho.   The various Skinny G and Big Eye spoons are excellent lures to have in the tackle box.  The green and blue Herring Aid Skinny G have been working very well.  The bait has been very small in some areas and smaller spoons in the three-inch size or even less are working well.  On the Bamfield side there seems to be some squid around so some of the various cuttle-fish hootchies are working as is anchovy.  The salmon are often found in shallow water in August.  Fishing from twenty-five to sixty feet are the best depths.

         The Chinook fishing in the Alberni Inlet often begins by the 10^th of August.  Hotspots in the Inlet and Harbor are Lone Tree Point and Coulson Mill.  The China Creek Wall, the Narrows, and Underwood Cove often hold a good number of Chinook salmon as well.  Sport Anglers fishing the Inlet will have the best success using Octopus Pink (O-15) and Red hootchies (O-16) as well as AORL12, Purple Haze, Army Truck and Spatterback.  Anchovy is also a very good idea in August especially for Chinook when they are just coming into the area from Barkley Sound.

           August also will have some great days offshore for halibut and salmon.   The Big Bank, South Bank and Long Beach can have some spectacular action for both Chinook and Coho.    We are looking forward to many weeks of fabulous fishing on the West Coast of Vancouver Island especially in the Barkley Sound and Alberni Inlet areas.   The fishing in the second half of July, August, and into September of 2025 should be world class.

Tight lines and Good Fishing,

Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

www.catchsalmon-ca.com
toll free 1 888 214 7206
mobile 250 731 7389
dlindy@shaw.ca

Another terrific sport fishing season is upon us in the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound.  The Sockeye numbers returning to the Somass River system are excellent with just over 750,000 returning salmon.  In Barkley Sound Chinook, Coho, and bottom fish have been plentiful and will get even better once the “forecasted” large return of West Coast Vancouver Island Chinook begin to migrate to the many local streams and rivers.

A healthy return of Sockeye Salmon to the Somass River system should allow for some fantastic Sockeye Sport Fishing through the full month of July.  The fishing is historically best from Cous Creek out to Nahmint and Ten Mile Point with the greatest concentration of sport boats in Underwood, Cous, the Narrows, Slide, and Leaning Tree.  The daily retention for sport anglers should remain at four Sockeye for the duration of the season.  Sockeye fishing is a wonderful opportunity for every “age” to land a salmon.  

The pristine quiet waters of the Alberni Inlet make for fabulous family sport fishing opportunities.  In early July the Sockeye can generally be found in forty to fifty feet of water and by months end at eighty to over one hundred feet of water.   The Sockeye are attracted to the boat by color meaning many fisher persons will use four rods with flashers and mp hoochies and add dummy flashers close to the ball to create more color behind the boat.  For the past few years the mp blue and pink and black and pink hoochies have worked very well with leader length from sixteen to twenty-five inches.  Some anglers are using “Black Hooks” and seems to be doing very well using shorter leader from sixteen to eighteen inches.  The Sockeye fishing in the Alberni Inlet up to the end of June has been relatively consistent.   There have been some days when some cooler moist weather changed the pattern of the sockeye as the river water cooled and the Sockeye headed right for the river hoping to make their way through the counters and then sit in the deep cooler water of Sproat and Great Central Lakes until the fall when they will spawn in the many tributary creeks and streams.  Sockeye are a wonderful salmon for summer barbeques and if properly vacuum packed can last for several months in the freezer and be used for those fall and winter nights.

The sport fishing in Barkley Sound has been solid with transient Chinook and Coho swimming the West Coast of Vancouver Island and coming into the many areas of scenic Barkley Sound to rest and feed heavily before continuing their journey to the Big Watersheds to the south.   In late July the West Coast Vancouver Island Chinook will begin to appear which will allow for an abundance of salmon in this vast body of water.   Sport fishing should be world first class during the summer months.  The local hotspots are often Austin-Cree, Meares, Great Bear, Sail Rock, Kirby, King Edward, Swale Rock and Gilbraltor.  The most common gear for best results for Chinook are spoons in the two and half to four inch variety.  Skinny G green and blue herring aid spoons are a perfect choice.  The Silver Horde/Silver knight spoons or Trap Shack and Bon Chovy, Gold Nugget, and Cop Car are wonderful choices.   Favorite hoochies for Chinook and Coho are the AORL 12R, Purple haze, Pistachio, and green spatter back.   Flasher colors could be a mix of blue silver, purple silver, and green.  Many anglers have their own preference.  There has been some great fishing.   The last ten days of June were terrific especially in many of the surf line locations with Chinook salmon in the twelve to twenty pound range and Coho ranging from six to seven pounds.

Bottom fishing in the Sound can be very good in July.  Many fisher people will troll around the rocky pinnacles for lingcod.   Some anglers will use weighted swim tail jigs which are becoming very popular.  As well the Gibbs/Delta 4 ounce Power Paddles in UV orange and Herring Aid are very good.  When fishing for lingcod it is important to have your lure or bait ten to fifteen feet off the bottom.  For best results when halibut fishing using herring, salmon bellies, and octopus are terrific.  If jigging a Mud Raker or Berkley Grub tail on a Spreader Bar is a great choice.  

Tight Lines,

Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
www.catchsalmon-ca.com
250 731 7389        mobile
888 214 7206        toll free for U.S. and International
dlindy@shaw.ca

ALBERNI INLET, BARKLEY SOUND, AND PACIFIC RIM

JUNE 2025    DOUG LINDORES  

SLIVERS CHARTERS SALMON SPORT FISHING

         June is a wonderful month for not only fantastic weather and long days but the salmon sport fishing in the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound becomes a haven for anglers keen on Sockeye fishing in the Inlet and Chinook-Coho fishing in Barkley Sound and areas around the Ucluelet Islands.  The Sockeye sport season opened on May 1st with a possession limit currently at four Sockeye per day.   The DFO forecast return of Somass River Sockeye ranges from a conservative 600,000 to just over 700,000 salmon.

        Sockeye sport fishing should be well underway by mid-June.   Warm weather in April created early snow melt.  The Alberni Inlet and Somass River should warm up to just over sixteen degrees Celsius which will help the Sockeye to “school” in good numbers which creates excellent sport angling opportunities.   The Sockeye are generally in thirty-five to sixty feet of water.   Using dummy flashers and four rods that are staggered at different depths is a wise trolling method.  Pink-blue, black-blue mini plankton lures or black hooks with sixteen to twenty-four inches of leader behind a flasher is ideal.  Four rods with lures should be staggered fifteen to sixteen feet apart and relatively tight to the boat.  The dummy flashers cand be close to both cannon balls and help create color close to ones sport fishing boat which attracts the Sockeye Salmon.   Sockeye sport fishing is a wonderful family fishing activity.  Great ages are five or six to ninety years of age.

           Barkley Sound is an area of breath-taking scenery and rugged coast lines.   Salmon fishing during the spring has been consistent with plenty of Chinook salmon landed in the eight to twenty pound range.   Anglers will generally target transient Chinook swimming down Vancouver Island’s West Coast.  In June the salmon are migrating to the big southerly watersheds and come into Barkley Sound to feed before continuing their lengthy journey.  Coho salmon from six to eight pounds are often in the mix and are found in surf line areas.  June fishing is historically the best around Meares Bluff, Austin, Cree, Edward King, Sail Rock, Great Bear, Bamfield Wall and Swale Rock.  The salmon feed heavily on squid that begin to show in the many bays and outer edges of the Sound.  As well there are large quantities of immature herring.  The OAL12R Octopus hootchie and the cuttlefish SAL12R are excellent lure choices.   Needle fish hootchies, the Silver Horde Herring Aid and the Skinny G Herring Aid are also terrific lure choices.

           June should be  banner month.   Boat traffic especially in Barkley Sound is often minimal before the summer onslaught of sport boats from all over Western North America.   With an abundance of Sockeye in the Alberni Inlet and good number of transient salmon headed south the June Sport Fishing should be world class.

         Lingcod, Halibut and Prawn fishing are normally well underway in June.  Halibut in June can still be tight to the surf line but generally are found in the sandy banks at three and five miles offshore.  Lingcod and other wonderful rock fish are close to the rocky pinnacles found in Barkley Sound.   Prawning is fabulous in many areas of the Sound.   It is important to check all rules and regulation of each fishing area before targeting these fish.

Tight lines and Have a Wonderful June,

Doug

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

250 731 7389
1 888 214 7206
dlindy@shaw.ca
www.cathsalmon-ca.com