Welcome to the beautiful Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada - the Salmon Capital of the World. This location on Vancouver Island is surrounded by coastal mountains, incredible sea life, the gorgeous Discovery Islands, and home to some amazing salmon fishing.
Campbell River, British Columbia, is on the east side of Vancouver Island and is known as the Salmon Capital of the World for a good reason. Consistent runs of Chinook, Coho, Pink and Chum salmon return every year. The salmon congregate here and feed on herring and needlefish before staging near their home rivers and heading upstream to spawn in the fall. These guided charters operate year-round from the Discovery Marina in downtown Campbell River, BC. The best fishing for Chinook (Spring) salmon starts in June when migrating fish return to the area and good Chinook fishing continues well into September. Coho begins to arrive in late June, and Chum salmon can be found by mid-September. In odd-number years Pink salmon return in very large numbers in August. But the resident Spring salmon can be caught here year-round too. These Winter Springs provide an excellent opportunity to catch salmon at any time of the year, and can average from 6-20 pounds. Your guide can also set prawn traps when you head out and after a few hours, you may have a good catch of Pacific Spot Prawns. Yum!
Maybe you’ll get lucky and battle a Tyee (Chinook Salmon over 30 pounds). Your experienced guide may take you nearby to fish off the southern tip of Quadra Island, fish the Hump and the Green or Red Can, or cruise up the Discovery Channel through the Narrows, and fish the Brown’s Bay area and the productive salmon waters to the north. There are lots of good structures and great salmon fishing spots right near Campbell River, so you won’t have to go far to get onto the fish.
Your Captain and guide is Cory Mullin. Cory grew up fishing the productive waters around Campbell River with his Father and he knows all the local hot spots and the hidden gems of the area too. He is passionate about fishing and offering his guests a complete West Coast experience. His incredible 21’ Boston Whaler Conquest is a dream fishing machine with a forward cabin, flushing toilet and a heater to keep the chill off on the cooler mornings. All fishing gear, bait, and tackle are provided, and you may have a chance to catch crabs and prawns or look for marine wildlife such as seals, whales, dolphins or maybe spot a black bear along the shore. At the end of the day, your guide will clean and bag your catch if you want to take your fish home or back to your vacation rental.
From
Prices (2024):
$160 / Hour (1-4 Guests)
$150 / Hour (1-3 Guests) – off-season rate
All charters are 5 hours minimum.
INTERNATIONAL NUMBER: +1 778 348 1676
You can also send an email to info@adventures.com, or use the contact form here below.
Find out more details about the tour and its highlights
You will meet your guide at the Discovery Marina in the heart of Campbell River’s downtown waterfront. Your guide uses a 21’ Boston Whaler Conquest fully equipped with top-of-the-line fishing gear, downriggers, prawn traps, navigation, safety gear, depth sounder, head (toilet), and a heated cabin for those chilly mornings. Trips are a minimum of 5 hours, with full-day trips up to 10 hours. You can book multi-day trips as well. Your guide will set up your departure around your schedule, as well as the prime fishing times and tides.
Your guide operates fishing charters year-round, so you can always head out for a fun day of salmon fishing and prawning anytime when the weather allows. Prawning is best in the winter and early spring, before the commercial season opens. The off-season trips are usually limited to 3 guests as you’ll need room for the prawn traps.
All 5 species of Pacific salmon are found here at various times of the year, but anglers from all over the world come here mostly for Chinook and Coho salmon. The Campbell River area is also well known for its Chum salmon fishing in October.
Chinooks, also known as Spring or King salmon, are highly sought after as they are the largest of the Pacific salmon. Campbell River even has a Tyee Club, and anglers fish the famous Tyee Pool in traditional rowboats. Chinook Salmon are present in the area year-round and migratory fish continue to be caught in good numbers well into September. Trolling is the method of choice for Chinooks, but mooching and jigging are also great ways to catch these big salmon. The resident Chinooks are locally known as Winter Springs, and are caught throughout the off-season.
Coho salmon, also known as Silvers, will be part of the catch by mid-June, and they continue to be caught through September and into October. Coho salmon are beautiful, and they are very hard fighters, sometimes leaping out of the water. The Coho here can reach up to 10 pounds. Silver salmon are mostly caught by trolling, but casting spoons, big streamers, spin baits, or jigs into the shallow weed lines and kelp is so much fun when the coho are passing through and staging near their home rivers.
Your guide can help you with your accommodation plans and recommend local favorite places to stay or have a great meal. Campbell River has a regional airport with daily flights to Vancouver. The airport at nearby Comox also has daily direct service t...)
Your guide can help you with your accommodation plans and recommend local favorite places to stay or have a great meal. Campbell River has a regional airport with daily flights to Vancouver. The airport at nearby Comox also has daily direct service to Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta.
If you are driving to Vancouver Island, there are many daily ferries that cross the Salish Sea from Vancouver to Nanaimo or Victoria.
Campbell River’s downtown is a vibrant area with many shops, local seafood, and some great restaurants. The waterfront is very walkable, and in a spectacular setting along the Discovery Passage, with Quadra Island and the Coastal Mountains of the BC mainland to the east, and the tall mountains of inland Vancouver Island to the west.
Fisherman’s Wharf, the famous Discovery Fishing Pier, and Discovery Passage Aquarium are all top attractions along the downtown waterfront. Nearby is the Spit at the Campbell River Estuary and the famous Tyee Pool where you can watch the rowers fish for Tyee using traditional rowboats and gear.
Nearby Elk River Falls Provincial Park and Elk River Suspension Bridge offer great day hikes just minutes from town. Or head west into beautiful Strathcona Provincial Park for longer hikes in the mountains of central Vancouver Island. Or continue west to the town of Gold River and take an adventure cruise out to Nootka Sound on the west side of Vancouver Island. Golfers take note of the exceptional golf courses found throughout the area too. Terrific salmon fishing, yes!, but the Campbell River area has it all, and is the perfect BC adventure destination.
BOOKING & CANCELLATION POLICY
To reserve your trip, a 50% deposit is required to hold your date(s) and it is refundable up until 10 days prior to your charter. Within 10 days of your charter, it becomes non-refundable. The balance is due at the end of your trip.