CH Report: Chinook Holding Steady – August 7, 2026

Here we go, it’s now August and time for a fishing update here at Langara Island.

The fishing for chinook has continued steady, with most fish in the 16 to 23 lb size range. All locations are producing fish, with the usual west side Bowel giving us a few in the tyee range. Top recent chinook was caught and released by Mike Brown, his personal best ever chinook, 38 lbs. Korey had Mike for the four-day trip, and they pretty much sat in the Bowel waiting for that fish. One bite that morning, one large tyee. Below is a pic of Mike and the beautiful fish recovering before release in the tub.

The fish have not been plentiful in the Bowel this year, oddly. There are quick snaps and two or three happy boats hook up, as Paul says; others wait patiently. For Emily C. on my boat, we no sooner dropped a single line in against the wall and we were on a solid 34 lb fish. Emily had just let me know she had never fished and this was all new to her. That is the way it goes sometimes… beginner’s luck. This fish of Emily’s proved to be the largest chinook of the trip. It was a wet, blustery day out there, but it’s funny how you don’t notice the precipitation when you are hooked up. Pictured below is Emily’s released chinook.

Doug Gowland and Amy returned to fish with us once again in late July, and we were very busy, mostly offshore, as the weather was spectacular, with calm seas, and the fish seemed to be offshore in the deep. Lots of chinook were hit at 120 feet to 160 feet off the necessary downriggers, as the feed was deep out there in 300 feet of water. We never landed any monsters, but lots of 15 to 23 lbers were what we were angling. Some guides used plugs with a smaller hook and proved successful. Below are a few photos of the action.

When the weather cooperates, the halibut action is steady out there, with the closer spots giving up plenty of 85 to 95 cm butts. The more dedicated and patient guests who love that fishery are finding halibut 95 to 112 cm, the max retainable.

As for the coho, it has slowed down at the moment. One here, one there, but no schools at present. Lots of searching. One unusual deal is the amount of sharks in the area, with some guides hitting three or four a shift. Almost impossible to land unless tail-wrapped on our light gear, most break off the gear in short order. These salmon sharks are biting off the hooked salmon as well as the cut plugs. Especially hot zones are Boulder Bay and Gunia for shark.

Overall synopsis is the chinook are here in numbers, but the tyee-sized fish are just trickling by so far. There’s plenty of feed in the area, and the weather looks good for the next week here, so let’s see what happens! Hopefully a few monsters will be included in my next report.

For now, thanks for checking in, and hope to see you here soon experiencing this special place,

Mike Tonnesen, Head Guide, and Lucy