Lower Mainland salmon fishing
Map of the lower Fraser River from the Strait of Georgia to Hope. Status: Tidal Fraser closed, Non-tidal Fraser closed, Vedder open, Capilano open, Squamish open, Cheakamus open, Mamquam open, Harrison open, Chehalis open, Stave open, Little Campbell open, Alouette open, Pitt closed, Nicomekl open, Serpentine open, Norrish (Suicide) Creek open, Coquitlam open, Nicomen Slough open, De Boville Slough open, Kanaka Creek closed, Stamp open, Somass open, Tidal Somass & Alberni Harbour closed, Sproat closed, Quinsam open, Campbell open, Courtenay open, Puntledge open, Comox Lake closed, Nanaimo closed, Qualicum open, Little Qualicum open, Cowichan closed, Koksilah open, Chemainus closed, Shawnigan Creek closed, San Juan closed, Reay Creek closed, Nitinat closed.
Open now16/20
- Chilliwack / Vedder Riverchinook, coho
- Capilano Riverchinook, coho
- Squamish Rivercoho
- Cheakamus Rivercoho
- Mamquam Rivercoho
- Harrison Rivercoho
- Chehalis Riverchinook, coho
- Stave Rivercoho
- Little Campbell Rivercoho
- Alouette Riverchinook, coho
- Nicomekl Riverchinook, coho
- Serpentine Riverchinook, coho
- Norrish (Suicide) Creekcoho
- Coquitlam Riverchinook, coho
- Nicomen Sloughcoho
- De Boville Sloughcoho
Fishing in the Lower Mainland
Shinook covers 20 waters in the Lower Mainland. Openings are set water by water, not region-wide: two rivers a few kilometres apart can be open and closed on the same day, and a water open for one species is usually closed for the others. Limits also move during the season as DFO issues fishery notices, so what is true in August often is not in October.
Boundaries matter as much as dates. A bridge, a dam or a boundary sign can be the line between open and closed water, and every water page draws the points its own rules name.
Which licence you need depends on whether the water is fresh or tidal, not on where you are, and a river can change from one to the other along its length. Retaining a salmon needs a conservation stamp on top of the licence itself. Every water page says which licence it needs, links to where you buy one, and links to the exact regulation row its limits were read from. The Sources page lists every official page watched for changes, and when each was last checked.