Salmon season planner, 2026–27
Region 2 fresh water plus tidal Areas 28 and 29, September 2026 through March 2027. Which species are in which system month by month, what is closed, and the rules that apply everywhere — licences, stamps, barbless hooks, bait bans.
When the trout truck is next due at 77 lakes around Vancouver and on the Island, September 2026 through June 2027. Predicted from twenty years of stocking records rather than published anywhere — so every date comes with the window it is actually good to. The fall run has begun: ten lakes already have their fish, marked as such.
North Vancouver, ~15 minutes from downtown. Chinook and coho in a canyon you can reach on a lunch break — and two different licences depending on which side of the CN Rail Bridge you stand.
Chilliwack, ~75 minutes out. The big autumn salmon river of the Lower Mainland, and the one where etiquette matters most. The 2026 sediment work is done and the trails are back; two lots are still shut, and which two keeps changing — this says which, as of 11 October.
Anmore, ~40 minutes out. The heaviest-stocked lake in the Lower Mainland — about 2,700 trout in October and 6,000 more across the spring — behind a gate that locks at dusk and a summer parking pass you do not need on the days the fish go in.
Golden Ears Park, Maple Ridge, ~1 hour out. The deep wild one — 159 m of cold water, kokanee descended from sockeye trapped behind a 1928 dam, and no stocking truck since 2013. Bring a boat, and a day-use pass if it is a summer weekend.
Burnaby, ~10 minutes from Metrotown. Stocked rainbow trout in spring, bass and panfish all summer, no boat needed and no salmon stamp. The easiest first trip on this list.
Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve, North Vancouver, ~25 minutes out. About 9,500 stocked rainbows a year, delivered a truck at a time — the fall run started on 8 October — around a flat, wheelchair-accessible 2 km loop. No boats, no dogs, and a gate that shuts before dark.