6 Ways to Go Fishing Around Vancouver

Two people holding a sturgeon in the Fraser River near Vancouver

Sturgeon fishing in the Fraser River. Photo: Indigenous Tourism BC / Alicia Hacque / Great River Fishing Adventures

With kilometres of coastline and lots of rushing rivers, Vancouver is a great place to go fishing. There are lots of different types of angling to choose from too: Head to a lake, fish from a pier, rent a boat, take a guided salmon charter, try fly fishing, or land a mighty sturgeon.

Fishing Tips

 

Check Out a Stocked Lake

Did you know that the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC has over 800 lakes stocked with rainbow or cutthroat trout? Use their interactive map to find a lake near Vancouver. You can even sort by lakes with docks, campsites, or boat launches. Popular options close to Vancouver include Rice Lake in North Vancouver, Como Lake in Coquitlam, and Rolley Lake in Maple Ridge.

 

Try Fly Fishing

Fly fishing can be a meditative experience as you focus on your technique with each cast. The Fraser River near Chilliwack as well as the Squamish River and their tributaries are great places to fly fish. Sign up for a fly fishing trip with Chromer Sport Fishing or Great River Fishing to have a guide take you to the best spots and help you perfect your cast.

Fly fishing near Squamish

Fly fishing near Squamish. Photo: Chromer Sport Fishing

 

Go Salmon Fishing

Try your hand at landing one of BC’s famous salmon. Chinook, coho, chum, and pink salmon all move through the waters near Vancouver between July and September. For your best chance of success, go on a guided charter. Chromer Sport Fishing and Pacific Angler Fishing Charters leave from Granville Island, so you can embark on your fishing trip from the heart of Vancouver. Great River Fishing leads trips on the powerful Fraser River as well as the quieter Vedder and Harrison Rivers. West Vancouver’s Sewell’s Marina also offers salmon fishing charters in the waters of Howe Sound and the Strait of Georgia.

 

Land a Mighty Sturgeon

Sturgeon are mammoth fish: they can grow to over 6 metres (19 feet) long, weigh more than 6,000 kilograms (13,200 pounds) and live for over 150 years. These holdovers from the age of the dinosaurs lurk in the depths of the Fraser River. Getting a photo with one of these fish before you release it should be on every angler’s bucket list. Book a guided trip with Chromer Sport Fishing or Great River Fishing.

 

Captain Your Own Boat

Rent a boat, then head out into Howe Sound, Burrard Inlet, and Indian Arm. Cruise past the city skyline then motor to a spectacular waterfall or a bustling seal colony. Don’t forget to pause to drop your fishing line or set some crab pots. Granville Island Boat Rentals has several different boat sizes at their downtown convenient location. Sewell’s Marina in West Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay has a huge rental boat fleet too.

People fish from a boat in Howe Sound Near Vancouver

Photo: Tourism Vancouver / Sewell’s Marina / J. Haydahl

 

Fish Off a Pier

Cast a line off the pier to catch bottom fish like dogfish, flounder, perch, or sculpin. Or bring your crab trap to catch Dungeness or Red Rock crab. The piers in Belcarra Regional Park, Burnaby’s Barnet Marine Park, Rocky Point Park in Port Moody, or Jericho Beach in Vancouver are all great places to fish.

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