Nanaimo — bite forecast

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Nanaimo — bite forecast

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Where to go fishing near Nanaimo on October 20, 2026

The ranking weighs the regional forecast by water type, catches linked to each water body and distance from the city center.

Westwood LakeLake№1Why #1Forecast 9/103 confirmed catches5 km from the centerIn confirmed catches: Smallmouth basslatest — May 11, 2025, 7:13 PMregional forecast for British Columbia
Chase RiverRiver№2Why #2Forecast 9/102 confirmed catches5 km from the centerIn confirmed catches: Chinook salmon and Rainbow troutlatest — Jun 04, 2021, 12:52 PMregional forecast for British Columbia
Diver LakeLake№3Why #3Forecast 9/101 confirmed catch7 km from the centerIn confirmed catches: Rainbow troutlatest — Sep 03, 5:07 PMregional forecast for British Columbia
Dodd NarrowsSea№4Why #4Forecast 9/101 confirmed catch9 km from the centerIn confirmed catches: Chum salmonlatest — Nov 13, 2018, 1:40 PMregional forecast for British Columbia
Commercial InletBay№5Why #5Forecast 9/100 confirmed catches0.4 km from the centerIn the forecast: Chum salmon, Pacific halibut, and Coho salmonregional forecast for British Columbia
Meakin ChannelSea№6Why #6Forecast 9/100 confirmed catches0.8 km from the centerIn the forecast: Chum salmon, Pacific halibut, and Coho salmonregional forecast for British Columbia
Inner Nanaimo HarbourBay№7Why #7Forecast 9/100 confirmed catches1 km from the centerIn the forecast: Chum salmon, Pacific halibut, and Coho salmonregional forecast for British Columbia
McKay ChannelSea№8Why #8Forecast 9/100 confirmed catches2 km from the centerIn the forecast: Chum salmon, Pacific halibut, and Coho salmonregional forecast for British Columbia
Mark BayBay№9Why #9Forecast 9/100 confirmed catches2 km from the centerIn the forecast: Chum salmon, Pacific halibut, and Coho salmonregional forecast for British Columbia
Newcastle Island PassageSea№10Why #10Forecast 9/100 confirmed catches2 km from the centerIn the forecast: Chum salmon, Pacific halibut, and Coho salmonregional forecast for British Columbia
Colliery Dam Lower LakeReservoir№11Why #11Forecast 9/100 confirmed catches2 km from the centerIn the forecast: Chum salmon, Mountain whitefish, and Bull troutregional forecast for British Columbia
Colliery Dam Upper LakeReservoir№12Why #12Forecast 9/100 confirmed catches3 km from the centerIn the forecast: Chum salmon, Mountain whitefish, and Bull troutregional forecast for British Columbia

Bite calendar

Tuesday, October 20

19–Oct 25

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Bite activity:highmediumlowslow

Based on:weatherseasonal

What is a bite calendar?

Bite on rivers

20 OctTuesday, October 20

Tap any fish to open its full forecast — the hours it bites, what it takes, and where it has been caught.

Bite activity:highmediumlow

How this forecast is calculated

20 OctTuesday, October 20

+3°

Clear · feels like -1°

Low / high

-5°…+4°

Precipitation

0.0 mm

Wind

0 m/s ESE

Cloud cover

Humidity

48%

Pressure

1022 hPa

00:00-4°—1 m/s69%68%

01:00-4°—1 m/s68%34%

02:00-4°—1 m/s68%57%

03:00-4°—1 m/s69%43%

04:00-5°—1 m/s69%8%

05:00-5°—0 m/s68%2%

06:00-5°—1 m/s68%0%

07:00-5°—0 m/s68%0%

08:00-5°—0 m/s67%0%

09:00-4°—0 m/s66%0%

10:00-1°—0 m/s57%0%

11:00+2°—0 m/s50%0%

12:00+3°—0 m/s48%0%

13:00+3°—0 m/s46%0%

14:00+4°—0 m/s46%0%

15:00+4°—0 m/s44%0%

16:00+4°—1 m/s43%0%

17:00+4°—1 m/s44%0%

18:00+2°—0 m/s53%0%

19:00-1°—0 m/s57%0%

20:00-2°—1 m/s59%0%

21:00-2°—1 m/s59%0%

22:00-2°—1 m/s58%0%

23:00-1°—1 m/s56%0%

Sun and moon

Tuesday, October 20

DaylightMoon above the horizon

Sunrise

08:23

Sunset

18:46

Day length

10 h 23 min

Sunshine hours

10 h 11 min

UV index

low

Moon

Waxing gibbous

Moonrise

16:50

Moonset

01:33

The day is 4 min shorter than yesterday.

Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.

Geomagnetic fieldG1 geomagnetic storm, Kp 4.7

Kp index — NOAA forecast. Not part of the bite score: catches show no link between geomagnetic storms and the bite.

Solunar feeding periods

+15% in the windowTuesday, October 20

Major periodsMinor periods

Minor01:03–02:03Moonset
Major08:21–10:21Moon underfoot
Minor16:20–17:20Moonrise
Major20:43–22:43Moon overhead

The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.

What are solunar periods?

Best fishing days for the next week

When the fish bite — season by month

British Columbia: the months when each species peaks and when it goes quiet. The current month is outlined.

Bite season by month for the species of British Columbia
Fish	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
Steelhead	peak	peak	peak	active	fair	active	peak	peak	peak	active	peak	peak
Black crappie	active	active	active	peak	peak	peak	active	fair	fair	fair	active	active
Bull trout	fair	slow	slow	slow	active	peak	peak	active	active	peak	peak	active
Grayling	fair	slow	slow	slow	active	peak	peak	active	active	active	active	active
Lake trout	peak	peak	peak	peak	peak	active	fair	fair	slow	fair	active	active
Mountain whitefish	fair	slow	slow	slow	active	peak	peak	active	active	peak	peak	active
Pacific halibut	fair	slow	slow	slow	active	peak	peak	active	active	peak	peak	active
Whitefish	fair	slow	slow	fair	active	peak	peak	active	active	peak	peak	active
Cutthroat trout	fair	slow	slow	slow	fair	active	peak	active	active	active	active	active
Brook trout	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	active	peak	active	active	active	active	fair
Largemouth bass	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	active	peak	peak	peak	peak	active	fair
Lingcod	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	peak	peak	active	active	active	active	fair
Pike	active	fair	fair	fair	fair	fair	fair	active	active	peak	peak	peak
Rainbow trout	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	peak	peak	active	active	active	active	slow
Rockfish	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	peak	peak	active	active	active	active	fair
Walleye	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	active	active	active	active	active	active	fair
White sturgeon	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	active	active	active	active	active	active	fair
Brown trout	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	peak	peak	peak	peak	active	fair	slow
Chinook salmon	slow	slow	slow	slow	active	peak	peak	peak	active	fair	slow	slow
Dolly Varden	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	active	peak	peak	peak	active	fair	slow
Burbot	peak	active	fair	fair	slow	slow	slow	slow	slow	slow	active	peak
Chum salmon	slow	slow	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	active	peak	peak	peak	fair
Coho salmon	slow	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	active	peak	peak	peak	fair	slow
Sockeye salmon	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	peak	peak	peak	active	fair	slow	slow
Yellow perch	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	active	active	active	active	fair	fair	fair
Pink salmon	slow	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	peak	peak	peak	fair	slow	slow
Smallmouth bass	slow	slow	slow	slow	fair	fair	active	active	fair	fair	fair	fair

peak
active
fair
slow

Fishing reports

25 reports

Summary of all reports

Biting

Fish in 25 of 25 reports · Mostly Smallmouth bass

25 with fish

Anglers have logged 25 fishing reports here. Most commonly caught: Smallmouth bass, Rainbow trout, Coho salmon. Peak season: May–November.

About this city

Nanaimo (British Columbia) — a draw for anglers. Nearby: 2 rivers, 23 water bodies and 25 sea areas. We forecast the bite not only on rivers and lakes, but at sea as well. This page shows an hourly bite forecast for today and the week ahead; the algorithm factors in the weather, atmospheric pressure, and the moon phase.