Fishing late March for Winter Steelhead
The Winter Steelhead run begins January and April. By mid to late March most (if not all) of the Winter Steelhead will be in the system. Typically, around this same time if you catch or see any of these fish, you’ll notice many of them are fairly colored up and the dime bright ones are rarer. That said, it’s always a great time to be out on the Capilano river for the sheer beauty alone.
Anyway, I headed out for an hour before work recently and fished one run in the upper section of the river. The river levels were fairly high but the water was still very clear (clarity was around 6 feet). That said, I fished dime sized baits and a 4″ pink worm. I ended up hooking into one fish with a 8mm bead but lost it. You can see that and the rest of my brief trip in the video below.
Catching Wild Fish for Broodstock
In the run I was fishing, I ran into an Capilano Hatchery employee who was carrying a broodstock bag on him. He was looking to catch Wild steelhead to take up to the hatchery and support their broodstock program. He ended up catching one hatchery buck which I got on camera (see video below). This Steelhead recovery program and work is very needed, I fully support it! You should treat these fish with the highest respect and handle them very carefully.
Video of the Quick Morning Fishing Trip
Here’s a short video of the hatchery employee landing a steelhead buck, me losing a fish and wandering around the Coho Loop Trail. Enjoy!
Capilano River Fishing Locations Tip
The Capilano River is a beautiful river located on the north shore of Vancouver (North Vancouver). Fishing accessibility can be challenging as you move further up the river as it winds up steep canyons. For more information on fishing this river and some fishing locations see the Capilano River Tip page.
Tackle Used
Shimano Convergence Casting Rod (10’6 ft)
C3 6500 Abu Garcia level-wind Reel
Maxima Ultragreen – Mainline (15 lb)
Seaguar Blue Label – Leader (8 lb)
Gamakatsu Octopus hooks – Size 2
Additional Lures & Baits used
- 4″ Pink Worms
- 8 mm blood dot cerise bead.
Additional Trip Journals
Click left/right arrows to scroll through other fishing trip journals. Click “Read More” button to view the journal page.
Hey dude, I’ve been down to dog leg a few times a week all winter and spring and only lost one fish upto now! Scared I’m doing something wrong.
Got my float depth to about 7ft in the main run and tailout and then more toward the back where the hatchery guy was fishing I was at about 4ft float depth, sound right?
Hey man! Cap is tough and I haven’t seen a large run this year as I’ve had a slower go myself. That said, on that run you’ll need to constantly be changing up depths and focusing on different parts of the water. For the most part, I think that run needs at least 6-8 ft from float to lure. Also with the current is strong so make sure your gear is getting down. Hope this helps! Drop me an email at [email protected] and let me know how it goes!