Fishing reports
11 reportsSummary of all reports
Biting
Fish in 11 of 11 reports · Mostly Coho salmon
- 11 with fish
Anglers have logged 11 fishing reports here. Most commonly caught: Coho salmon, Pink salmon, Chum salmon. Peak season: July–November.
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Nanaimo River (British Columbia) — a spot well known among anglers. About 63 km long. The town of Nanaimo is nearby. A smart bite calendar — moon phase, atmospheric pressure, and weather combined into an hourly fish-activity forecast for the coming days.
Nearest towns and cities
Other nearby places to fish
Other nearby waters
The course meanders heavily: the current digs a pool on the outside of every bend and builds a bar on the inside. Those pools under the undercut bank are where pike typically sits.
Green check: this species was recorded here by GBIF. Species without a check may still occur in the waterbody.
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses. The water's cold — fish it more delicately and slowly.
Nanaimo River — Tuesday, October 20
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Pressure is rising — activity tends to be more subdued. Peak 08:00–10:00 and 18:00–20:00.
The computed water temperature is around 3 °C — colder than the 14–24 °C comfort range for Black crappie: the fish conserves energy and takes more cautiously.
Going by this year's frosts the ice hasn't formed yet: the season says it should have, but it hasn't been cold enough. This is an estimate from the weather across the whole region, not a measurement on your water.
Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.
Pressure is flat: it moves no more than 1 hPa over the day, so the weather isn't shifting today's bite.
One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.
October is an average month for Black crappie here.
These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works
Clear · feels like -1°
The day is 3 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 data. Not part of the bite score: catches show no link between geomagnetic storms and the bite.
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?British Columbia: the months when each species peaks and when it goes quiet. The current month is outlined. The bottom row counts the catches logged on this water in each month.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Catches here | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
BiteGuideFrom anglers’ reports
This is a summary of anglers' reports, not a proven cause of the bite: conditions lining up does not mean they drove it.
vertical axis — number of catches
| Value | Catches | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Coho salmon | 4 | 36% |
| Chum salmon | 2 | 18% |
| Pink salmon | 2 | 18% |
| Rainbow trout | 2 | 18% |
| Cutthroat trout | 1 | 9% |
Green check: this species was recorded here by GBIF. Species without a check may still occur in the waterbody.
Blue check: this species appears as a catch in reports for this waterbody.
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses. The water's cold — fish it more delicately and slowly.
Nanaimo River — Tuesday, October 20
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Pressure is rising — activity tends to be more subdued. Peak 08:00–10:00 and 18:00–20:00.
Biting
Fish in 11 of 11 reports · Mostly Coho salmon
Anglers have logged 11 fishing reports here. Most commonly caught: Coho salmon, Pink salmon, Chum salmon. Peak season: July–November.
Measured river conditions are available for Nanaimo River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.
USGS gauge NANAIMO RIVER NEAR CASSIDY, 8 km away · measured 2026-10-21 03:10 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision