Keep One Chinook Daily: 62-80cm Rules on a Glassy Flood

What You Can Keep Right Now

Let's lead with the rules, because that's the question we get most this time of year: Chinook retention has been OPEN since July 15 here in Campbell River. Each guest can take home one Chinook per day, with a slot of minimum 62cm and maximum 80cm. That means a solid keeper is coming off the boat and heading to your cooler — no waiting, no restrictions to navigate. There are no urgent DFO changes to flag today, so the plan is simple: fish hard, keep your legal Chinook, and enjoy the peak of the season.

Today's Conditions

We woke up to a beauty on the water — 12°C with clear skies and a light NW wind at just 9 km/h. Wave height is sitting around 0.1m, which is about as flat as Discovery Passage gets. We're working the morning slack rolling into the flood, and that tide transition is exactly when the big fish get active. Glassy water and clean light make for a perfect morning to run gear and read the bait.

What's Running and Why

Chinook are still biting hard. Most fish are in the 12-16 lb range, but August gives us the season's best shot at a true trophy — a 30-35 lb Tyee is on the table this month. Coho are peaking right now too, with typical fish in that same 12-16 lb class, and Pink Salmon round out what might be the best month of the year for sheer variety. When the bait balls fire on the flood along the Quadra shorelines and out toward Johnstone Strait, everything lights up at once.

Technique and What to Expect

On calm mornings like this we like to run anchovy in the shallower zones and drop glow hootchies deeper to cover the water column. The first two hours of flood are prime — stay on the bait and be ready when the rod buckles. With retention open and Coho at their peak, guests this week should expect steady action and a real chance at a memory-maker Tyee, all while filling the box with keeper Chinook.

Book Your Morning

Flat water, biting Chinook, peaking Coho, and open retention — this is the window you don't want to miss. Boats are filling fast for August. Reach out to Fishing Storie Charters and get your morning on the water booked before the best dates are gone.

Ready to experience world-class fishing in Campbell River? Book your charter trip with Fishing Storie Charters today. Captain Jason and the crew are ready to put you on fish.