Salmon

Coho salmon

Open for retention in 29 of the 29 zones that list coho salmon. Click through to a zone for the full detail.

Rules merged from DFO baseline + notices, refreshed 1h ago

Is this the fish you have?

White gums and spots on the top tail lobe only.

Chinook. Check the gums first, then the lower tail lobe.

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In the ocean (tidal)In a river (non-tidal)

Salmon in tidal water follow DFO area rules. The same fish in a river follow separate, non-tidal rules.

How to target coho salmon in the ocean

Coho are aggressive, fast-moving surface feeders that school visibly near shore and kelp beds, making them one of BC's most exciting and accessible tidal-water salmon to target by casting, trolling, or fly fishing.

Where they hold

Coho feed tight to shore in low light, 5 to 30 ft along kelp, gravel bars, and points chasing needlefish.

General holding zones, not a fish finder. Confirm depth on your own sounder. Try cut-plug herring fished under a sliding sinker (mooching) through that band.

Best seasonCoho show up in BC tidal waters starting July, with the fishery peaking August through October; heaviest numbers typically arrive in August and September and can linger into late October depending on rainfall triggering their push into rivers. In the Strait of Georgia, by mid-September thousands of coho stage off West Vancouver waiting to run up the Capilano and Seymour rivers. On the west coast of Vancouver Island (e.g. Tofino/Grice Bay area), coho school up near river and creek mouths from late August into September. Interior Fraser-bound coho stocks are managed separately and more conservatively due to historically low abundance, which can restrict timing/retention in some Strait of Georgia and lower Fraser areas.

Best time of dayTide state matters more than the clock: coho and other salmon feed most actively around tide changes rather than at dead slack, biting hardest roughly an hour before through an hour after a tide change as the food chain activates. Low slack can also concentrate baitfish along partly-exposed kelp edges, pushing feeding coho to ambush points there. Because coho often feed visually at or near the surface, calm mornings with good light for spotting jumping or finning fish are favored for sight-casting and bucktailing.

TechniqueThe three main BC saltwater methods are trolling, mooching, and casting/jigging. Trolling is done at roughly 1.5-3.0 mph (2-3 knots), typically flat-lined at 10-25 ft or on downriggers/divers to 15-40 ft, ideally trolling with the current since coho face into it; lure action and speed changes matter since coho are fast, aggressive strikers. Mooching is the traditional method: a cut-plug or whole herring rigged with a sliding 3-5 oz sinker and a 4-ft leader is drifted or slow-motored through known holding water beneath the boat. Bucktailing - trolling large tandem-hooked bucktail flies at higher speed behind the motor - is a long-standing Vancouver Island technique for coho that swim high in the water column. When coho are visibly schooling and feeding on the surface near kelp or bait balls, anglers cast and retrieve spoons, jigs (e.g. Buzz Bombs), or flies directly to the fish rather than trolling.

Where to find themCoho hold and feed close to shore in BC tidal waters - along kelp beds, over gravel bars, and around points and pinch points - chasing needlefish and other baitfish, often visibly at or near the surface. As the season progresses they stage in bays and off river mouths (e.g. off West Vancouver near the Capilano/Seymour, or Grice Bay near Tofino) before pushing upstream, concentrating effort near estuaries and river mouths in late summer/early fall.

Bait & lures that work

Cut-plug herring fished under a sliding sinker (mooching)Whole or plug-cut herring/anchovy trolled behind a flasherHoochies (soft-plastic squid-imitation skirts, e.g. Gold Star/Yamashita Octopus Hoochie)Bucktail flies (deer-hair streamers, e.g. Grand Slam Bucktail, Ace Hi Fly) trolled at speed - used off western Vancouver Island since the 1930sMetal casting spoons (e.g. Gibbs Koho, Gibbs Super Nugget Gold, Silver Horde Kingfisher Spoon, McOmie's Custom Glow Spoon) in brass, gold, orange and purple finishesBuzz Bombs and similar diamond-shaped jigs (1-3 oz) for jigging/castingSmall flashers (8-11in, e.g. Pro-Troll, Gibbs Highliner) paired with spoons or hoochies to add attraction while trollingSaltwater baitfish-imitation flies on sinking lines for fly casting to surfacing schools

Before you keep oneInterior Fraser River coho are a genetically distinct, COSEWIC-assessed population that crashed in the 1990s due to overfishing, poor marine survival, and habitat impacts; DFO has imposed conservation-driven restrictions on southern BC coho fisheries since 1998 to protect these stocks, and management measures affecting tidal fisheries (especially in the Strait of Georgia/lower Fraser approach areas) still account for interior Fraser coho status.

Where it's open right now

29 total

Zone	Rule	Source
Area 3Portland Inlet, Alaska border	Coho salmon is open in 3,103 (daily limit 4, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.	July 15, 2026 at 1534 view source
Area 4Prince Rupert, Porcher Island	Coho salmon is open in 4,104 (daily limit 4, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.	July 15, 2026 at 1534 view source
Area 26Kyuquot Sound	Coho salmon is open in 26 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required); open in 126 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.	July 15, 2026 at 1534 view source
Area 12Port Hardy, Robson Bight	Coho salmon is open in 12-1 to 12-13 and 12-15 to 12-25 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required); open in 12-14 and 12-26 to 12-48 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.	July 15, 2026 at 1534 view source
Area 17Nanaimo	Coho salmon is open in 17 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0952-RECREATIONAL, issued September 2, 2026 at 0956) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.	September 2, 2026 at 0956 view source
Area 21Nitinat Lake,Tzuquanah Point	Coho salmon is closed in 21; open in 22 (daily limit 4 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.	July 15, 2026 at 1534 view source
Area 27Cape Scott, Quatsino	Coho salmon is open in 27-1 to 27-3 and 27-5 to 27-11 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required); open in 27-4,127 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.	July 15, 2026 at 1534 view source
Area 14Comox, Denman Island, Hornby Island, Parksville	Coho salmon is open in 14-1 to 14-10,14-12,14-13 and 14-15 (daily limit 2 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required); open in 14-11,14-14 (daily limit 4 Combined Total, minimum size 30cm, barbless hook and line required). A recent Fishery Notice (FN0723-RECREATIONAL, issued July 15, 2026 at 1534) may change this in-season -- check it before you fish.	July 15, 2026 at 1534 view source

Everywhere else

Every zone that lists coho salmon shows it open right now. Nothing closed or restricted in the 29 zones on record.

This is a plain-language summary, not the regulation itself. Always confirm at the source link before you fish. Rules can change without notice.

You need a licence before you fishSaltwater / tidal waters (salmon, halibut, rockfish, crab, prawn): get a BC Tidal Waters sport fishing licence (DFO).

How to target coho salmon in a river

Where they hold

Coho hold higher in the water, 2 to 8 ft, and move to the fly or spinner.

General holding zones, not a fish finder. Confirm depth on your own sounder. Try pink/red jig through that band.

Best seasonSeptember through November, best on a fresh push after rain.

Best time of dayLow light and coloured water; a bright, dropping river slows the bite.

TechniqueFloat-fish a jig or roe through runs and seams, or cast small spinners and spoons and cover water. Coho chase and hit a moving lure, so keep it swinging.

Where to find themRuns, seams, and frog water off the main current, plus tributary mouths.

Bait & lures that work

Pink/red jigCured roeBlue Fox spinnerSmall spoon

Where you can fish coho salmon in a river

Non-tidal, federal (DFO) river rules, separate from the tidal-area rules and the Province's trout and char rules on the same water. Type a river or region to filter.

137 total

River	Region	When	Limit & gear
AllAll lakes or streams or part thereof in the aggregate (combined total), in Management Units 5-6 to 5-11 in Region 5B, unless otherwise stated below (i.e. Region 5 not including the Fraser River watershed).	Cariboo (Coastal Watershed)	Apr 1 to Mar 31	4 per day only 2 over 50 cm.
Atnarko River including tributaries	Cariboo (Coastal Watershed)	Apr 1 to Mar 31	No fishing for coho. (see exception below)
Atnarko River including tributariesdownstream of the fishing boundary sign located near Tweedsmuir Park Lodge.	Cariboo (Coastal Watershed)	Jan 1 to Oct 15	4 per day, only 2 over 50 cm.
Atnarko River including tributariesdownstream of the fishing boundary sign located near Tweedsmuir Park Lodge.	Cariboo (Coastal Watershed)	Oct 16 to Dec 31	No fishing for coho.
Bella Coola River including tributaries (not including Atnarko River)	Cariboo (Coastal Watershed)	Apr 1 to Mar 31	4 per day, only 2 over 50 cm.
Chuckwalla River	Cariboo (Coastal Watershed)	Nov 1 to Dec 31	No fishing for coho.
Chuckwalla River	Cariboo (Coastal Watershed)	Sep 1 to Oct 31	4 per day only 2 over 50 cm.
Chuckwalla River	Cariboo (Coastal Watershed)	Jan 1 to Aug 31	No fishing for coho

Plain-language summary, not the regulation itself. River salmon rules change in-season, confirm at the DFO source before you fish.

You need a licence before you fishThe licence you need depends on the water, not the fish. In non-tidal fresh water (rivers and lakes above the tidal boundary), salmon go on the BC freshwater fishing licence (Province of BC) plus a Salmon Conservation Stamp. The BC Tidal Waters licence (DFO) is only for tidal waters. The rules on this page are DFO's either way.

Other salmon

Chinook salmon Sockeye salmon Pink salmon Chum salmon All salmon species Coho salmon in a river instead Fishery Notices behind these statuses

See something wrong?

Rules change in-season and we'd rather hear it from you than have someone fish on bad information. Tell us what looks off and we'll check it against the source.