The salmon sport fishing season in this Pacific Rim area of West Coast Vancouver Island for is now underway. Late April and May on the rugged but scenic West Coast is most often looked at by a variety of sport anglers as the true beginning of saltwater fishing opportunities. The 2026 season according to most pre-season indicators and forecasts for Chinook and Coho will be very much like the last few years which provided “excellent” sport fishing. The Sockeye fishing in the Alberni Inlet should be very good with 750,000 Sockeye expected to return to the Somass River system.
Many areas inside the surf line close to Ucluelet and in Barkley Sound have had some great fishing days for feeder Chinook and the early summer-spring run of Chinook salmon migrating to the big watersheds to the south. Migrating salmon to the vast Columbia River system and even Puget Sound come into the islands close to the Ucluelet Harbor mouth and much of Barkley Sound and feed on the very rich resources of bait fish.
As the spring months move forward into summer returns of Coho migrating to the south adds to sport fishing opportunities for most West Coast Vancouver Island fishing locations. In late July and the full month of August forecasts of returning salmon to West Coast Vancouver Island are forecast to be very “GOOD”. The return of Chinook in the high teens and into the twenty-five-pound range is considered the average weight class of returning Chinook to West Coast Vancouver Island. These fish come into the sound and then make their way to the Alberni Inlet before making their final journey to the Somass River system.
The 2026 sport fishing season in Barkley Sound and Pacific Rim areas will rely on the waves of transient salmon headed to the large southerly watersheds and the strong returns of salmon expected in August and September to West Coast Vancouver Island rivers, creeks, and streams. Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet will reap the benefits of the salmon returns providing some terrific sport fishing.
August will have wonderful salmon sport fishing opportunities in 2026 for those that enjoy fishing in calm, pristine and relatively scenic water. Anglers will be treated to some world class salmon fishing along Vancouver Island’s West Coast and Inlet areas. The Port Alberni Inlet, inshore areas of Ucluelet and Tofino and Barkley Sound will be wonderful areas for sport fishing in the many so called “hotspots” in 2026.
Anglers fishing the month of May will find that successful fishing trips often occur by finding the fish where one finds the bait. Using Anchovy in a variety of teaser heads and also needle fish hootchies in blue and green, silver hordes, and a variety of small three to four-inch spoons also work well. When fishing in Barkley Sound during May the best fishing can often be along the Bamfield Wall, Scotch Bay, the Whistle Bouy, Vernon Bay, Fleming Island, Edward King, Austin-Cree, and Swale Rock.
Areas just outside the Ucluelet Harbor with good salmon fishing are Sail Rock, Mara Rock, Big Bear, The Alley, and Beg Island. The fish in most areas can be in water of ninety feet to one hundred and sixty feet. Currently some of the best fishing has been between the tides. There have been a good number of residential salmon and the migratory salmon are showing as they continue their long journey to the watersheds of the Pacific North West.
The Alberni Inlet should have a terrific Sockeye salmon sport season. With a forecast return of 750,000 or more Sockeye the sport season should be fantastic. Sockeye normally get underway by mid June. With unseasonably warm air temperatures in the early part of May and with a lack of snow in the nearby mountain ranges the season may get underway even earlier. Sockeye are termed the number “ONE” commercial salmon. It is a very exciting and fun sport fishery for people of all ages.
The spring and the summer months of 2026 should definitely be a year when all anglers will have an opportunity to land a beautiful salmon in one of the most wonderful and scenic places in the world which is located in West Coast of Vancouver Island.
