Campbell River Tides

The hour before and after high or low slack tide is consistently the most productive window. Salmon ambush baitfish that get pushed through Discovery Passage on the change. Big tide swings (8+ feet) move bait fastest — those are the days locals plan around.

Slack tide is the brief period — usually 20 to 40 minutes — when the current pauses between flood and ebb. In Campbell River it's the only time you can effectively jig deep for Chinook because the strong tidal currents in Discovery Passage drag downriggers sideways at every other point in the cycle.

Predictions on this page come from the official Canadian Hydrographic Service (DFO) reference station at Campbell River (07917). They're the same numbers DFO publishes — accurate to within a few minutes for both height and timing.

Campbell River sits at the narrow north end of the Strait of Georgia where Pacific tidal energy gets funnelled through Discovery Passage. The vertical range routinely hits 14-16 feet on full and new moons — among the largest on Vancouver Island. That's also why current speeds in Seymour Narrows can exceed 16 knots.

Both produce, but local guides lean on flood tides for Chinook in spring and summer because rising water pushes bait into shallower feeding zones along the Quadra Island shoreline. Ebb tides shine for Coho in late summer when fish stage in the back-eddies as water drops out of the upper passage.

On king (spring) tides during full and new moons you can see swings of 15+ feet between low and high. The chart on this page updates every hour and the 'next high/low' indicator tells you which way the water is moving right now — handy for knowing what to expect on the water tomorrow.