One Chinook Per Day, 62-80cm: What You Can Keep This August

Retention Is Open — Bring Home Your Chinook

Let's lead with the good news every angler wants to hear: Chinook retention has been open since July 15, and guests are heading home with fish. The rule is simple — one Chinook per day, minimum 62cm, maximum 80cm. That slot-size keeper is exactly the kind of fish stacking Discovery Passage right now, so know your measurements and you'll be filling the cooler. No urgent DFO regulation changes to report today, which means you can fish with confidence and focus on the bite.

Today's Conditions on the Water

We've got a comfortable morning here in Campbell River — 13°C under partly cloudy skies with light NW winds at just 6 km/h. Wave height is sitting flat at essentially 0.0m, giving us that glassy, easy water we love for working gear. The tide is moving from morning slack into flood, and that change is when the bite tends to switch on. Calm seas and a building flood are a recipe for a productive day on Discovery Passage.

What's Running and Why

This is trophy Chinook time. Most fish are running in the healthy 12-16 lb class, but August gives us the season's best odds at a true 30-35 lb Tyee — the kind of fish that ends up on the wall. Coho are peaking right now, typically 12-16 lbs, and they're hungry. Add Pink Salmon into the mix and you've got possibly the best month of the year for sheer variety. When the bait balls fire on the flood, everything lights up at once.

Technique Hints for the Flood

Time your morning around that slack-into-flood change — the first hours of a building tide are prime. Run anchovy in a teaser head up shallow while you probe deeper water with glow hootchies. Vary your depths until you find the fish, and once you dial in the zone, stay on it. In the flat water we've got today, you can fish tight and precise. Keep an eye on the sounder for bait — where the anchovy stacks, the Chinook follow.

Book Your Seat This Week

With retention open, Coho peaking, and trophy Tyee odds at their yearly best, this is the week to get on the water. Whether you're chasing a keeper Chinook to take home or hunting that fish of a lifetime, Fishing Storie Charters has you covered on Discovery Passage and into Johnstone Strait. Seats are filling fast — reach out and lock in your date before the calendar fills up.

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.