This Salmon season of 2018 is already kicking off with a buzz here in NW area with many counts already exceeding expectations, starting in the northern Vancouver Island and throughout British Columbia systems. We’ve been hearing excellent returns already of Chinook, Coho, Chum and Sockeye Salmon! I don’t want to get too excited here but I’m quite optimistic on this years Salmon fishery and returns for the NW area.
In the greater Vancouver area anglers have been closely watching the Sockeye and Chinook returns to the Fraser River. You can view the daily counts by the Pacific Salmon Foundation these numbers have been encouraging and reaffirm my prediction for this years Salmon fishery. As part of this, is a recent fisheries notice indicating that the Fraser River was opening up for Salmon on August 7 until September 3. If you’re an agnler in this area you’ve likely already heard this as it’s all over social media and perhaps have already reposted or retweeted the notice. Here are the quick highlights of the Non-Tidal Salmon notice.
- Effective August 7 until September 3, 2018
- Max daily limit for Sockeye is 2
- Max daily limit for Chinook is 4, with only 1 greater than 50 cm
- Barbless hooks are required when fishing for salmon (Tidal & Non-Tidal)
For the full regulations details see the Fishery Notice link here.
Fraser River Bar Fishing Locations
If your looking for Fraser River bar fishing locations on Google Map see the Fraser River Bar Locations tip page or click link the image below.
Tidal Area of the Fraser River
The Fraser River tidal area begins where it dumps into the Pacific Ocean in Richmond and it extends all the way to the Mission bridge. Above the Mission bridge is Non-Tidal area of the Fraser River. This is Area 29-11 to 29-17 (see map below).
The regulations between between tidal vs. non-tidal are often different. The notice link posted above is for the Non-Tidal of the Fraser River. For Tidal area regulations see this Fisheries and Oceans Canada Area 29 page. Review the “Popular species” or “Salmon” tabs for all regulations pertaining to Salmon and popular species. Another difference between Tidal vs. Non-Tidal sections of the Fraser River is the fishing licenses.
Non-Tidal requires a BC Provincial fishing license – Buy/renew here.
Tidal requires a Federal fishing license – Buy/renew here.
Additional Tips
About the Author
My name is Jesse, I’ve been obsessed about fishing since I was a toddler trying to catch fish with my minnow net in any type of water. Today I have a passion to promote fishing in an educational, fun and respectful format. More on Jesse
