21 Jun 2026
Vancouver Island Early Summer: Chinook Deep, Coho Rising, Lakes Firing Up
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Vancouver Island fishing report.
We’ve got a stable early‑summer pattern setting up. Environment Canada is calling for light morning winds, building to a gentle westerly this afternoon, with partial cloud and mild temps along the east coast of the Island from Nanaimo up through Campbell River. Inland lakes will warm quickly once the sun’s up, so expect that classic mid‑day slowdown.
Tides around the Strait of Georgia side are running moderate today, with a decent morning flood and an afternoon ebb. Near Nanaimo and French Creek, that flood sets up nice current seams off points and reef edges; around Campbell River and Discovery Passage, as always, check local tables carefully because flows get pushy and timing matters for both safety and bite windows.
Sunrise is early and sunset late this time of year, meaning long light. The most consistent action has been first light to mid‑morning, then again in the last two hours before dark when the surface cools and bait rises.
Saltwater first. Local guides are reporting chinook in the teens, with the odd bigger fish, picked up off Nanaimo, Five Fingers, and up around Entrance Island, 120–180 feet down on the riggers. Best producers have been glow‑green hootchies, UV white hootchies, and small anchovy teaser heads in chrome or glow. Run them behind chartreuse or green “moon jelly” flashers. Coho are starting to show offshore of French Creek and off the south end of Lasqueti; small spoons in nickel/blue, 3–3.5 inch, have been hot when the sun’s higher.
Up north, out of Campbell River, anglers are finding good chinook and some early coho off the Hump and around Brown’s Bay. Plug‑cut herring and anchovy in UV heads are putting fish in the box, with green‑glow and purple haze patterns getting mentioned a lot in dock talk. Keep an eye out for balls of herring and needlefish on the sounder; the bite has been tight to the bait.
Bottom fish are steady off Nanaimo bars, Lasqueti, and the reefs off Comox. Jigging 4–6 ounce metal jigs in white, chrome, or blue over hard bottom is producing legal lingcod and rockfish. Fresh herring or squid strips on spreader bars will also do the job when the current eases.
Freshwater: Island lakes like Cowichan, Elk, and Brannen are still giving up rainbow and cutthroat, especially early and late. Trollers are doing well with small gang trolls and wedding bands tipped with worms, or tiny silver spoons. Fly anglers are finding fish on chironomids under indicators in the deeper holes during the day, then on small olive or black leeches as the evening sets in. Bass in the south‑Island lakes are waking up too—weightless soft plastics around timber and docks are getting bites.
Couple of hotspot suggestions if you’re heading out:
• Off **Five Fingers and Entrance Island** near Nanaimo: target 140–180 feet on the morning flood, running anchovy in glow teaser heads behind a green flasher for chinook. Work the edges of structure where the current breaks.
• The **Hump off Campbell River**: classic spot when the tide eases. Troll spoons in green/white or watermelon down 150–200 feet for chinook, then slide shallower toward evening to intercept coho higher in the column.
Best bait and lures right now: anchovy and plug‑cut herring, glow and UV hootchies, 3–3.5 inch spoons in green, blue, or chrome, and for bottom fish, heavy white jigs or baited spreader bars. In the lakes, worms, small spoons, and leech or chironomid flies are the go‑tos.
That’s your Island roundup from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.
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