The big empty north: Peace country lakes, Skeena headwaters and the Dease - remote water, wild fish.
The Skeena tributaries are back in shape after last weekend's rain and steelheading is good. The Bulkley below Telkwa still carries some colour from the Telkwa River but is fishing well with far less pressure than upriver, where it's clearer but busy. The Morice is in good shape and producing, the Kispiox is consistent but extremely busy, and the Babine is the pick if you want solitude. On the mainstem Skeena, just now clearing, big-profile patterns and intruders the fish can spot easily are working best. Above Telkwa the Bulkley has a greenish tint and medium visibility; below it, coloured inflow is still the main difference. The Morice also carries a fair number of anglers.
Sources: Smithers Events fishing report - thank you to these sources for their updates. Further details in the linked reports.
Bulkley / Morice / Kispiox / Babine: rivers back in shape after the weekend rains and steelheading is good - upper Bulkley busy, the water below Telkwa cleared and fishing well with less pressure; Morice and Babine in good shape, Babine the pick for solitude.
Source: Smithers Events fishing report, Oct 9 2026.
Skeena mainstem: just coming back into reasonable shape - larger patterns and intruders with profiles fish spot easily working best.
Source: Smithers Events fishing report, Oct 9 2026.
| Waters (in-season now) | Species | Window | Limit / gear |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. All Region 6 waters - All lakes or streams or parts thereof in the aggregate (combined total), in Region 6, unless otherwise st... | Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | 4 per day, only 1 over 65 cm. |
| Coho | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | 4 per day, only 1 over 50 cm. | |
| Sockeye, pink and chum | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for sockeye, pink or chum salmon, unless otherwise stated below | |
| B. Skeena River Watershed – Section "A" applies if stream, specific area, time period, quotas or other species restrictions are not listed in the following sections. | Sockeye, pink and chum | ||
| B. Part (i): Skeena River Watershed-Waters upstream of CNR Railway Bridge at Terrace. | Sockeye, pink and chum | ||
| All waters in section "B(i)" – Skeena River Watershed upstream of the CNR Railway Bridge at Terrace, unless otherwise stated below - All | Jan 1 to Jun 15 | No fishing for salmon | |
| Coho | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for coho | |
| Sockeye | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for sockeye | |
| Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook | |
| Chum | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chum | |
| Babine Lake - including tributaries | Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook |
| Babine Lake excluding tributaries and those waters within a 400 m radius of the following tributary strea... | Sockeye | Apr 1 to July 31 | No fishing for sockeye |
| Sockeye | Aug 28 to Mar 31 | No fishing for sockeye FN0919 | |
| Babine River | All | Jan 1 to Dec 31 | No natural bait allowed |
| Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook | |
| Sockeye | Apr 1 to July 31 | No fishing for Sockeye | |
| Sockeye | Aug 17 to Mar 31 | No fishing for salmon FN0869 | |
| Coho | Jul 15 to Oct 15 | 4 per day, only 2 over 50 cm. | |
| Bear River - including tributaries | Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook |
| Coho | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for coho | |
| Bulkley River - all tributaries of the Bulkley River other than Morice River and tributaries, Suskwa River and tributarie... | All | Aug 1 to Dec 31 | No natural bait allowed |
| downstream of the Morice River confluence excluding tributaries. | Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook |
| Pink | Jun 16 to Oct 15 | 2 per day | |
| Coho | Jul 15 to Oct 15 | 4 per day, only 2 over 50 cm. | |
| all tributaries of the Bulkley River other than the Suskwa River. | Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook |
| Fulton River | Sockeye | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for sockeye |
| Kispiox River (including tributaries) | All | Jan 1 to Dec 31 | No natural bait allowed |
| Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook | |
| Coho | Sep 4 to Oct 15 | 4 per day, only 2 over 50 cm FN0951 | |
| Pink | Aug 24 to Mar 31 | No fishing for pink FN0897 | |
| Kitseguecla River | All | Sep 1 to Dec 31 | No natural bait allowed |
| including tributaries | Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook |
| Kitwanga River - including tributaries | All | Sep 1 to Dec 31 | No natural bait allowed |
| Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook | |
| Morice Lake - including tributaries | All | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for salmon |
| Morice River (including tributaries) | All | Jan 1 to Dec 31 | No natural bait allowed |
| from fishing boundary signs located approximately 100 m downstream of Gosnell Creek to Lamprey Creek. | Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for chinook |
| below Lamprey Creek | Chinook | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishinf for chinook |
| Coho | Jul 15 to Oct 15 | 4 per day, only 2 over 50 cm. | |
| upstream of the Bymac Bridge on Walcott Road. | Pink | Apr 1 to Mar 31 | No fishing for pink |
Live from the provincial stocking database - type a lake name for its recent stocking history.
November 2026
December
January
Updated daily
Free listings - local guides, charters, lodges and independent tackle shops serving this region. No paid placement or implied endorsement.
Run a guide, charter, lodge or independent local tackle shop in this region? Get listed free: [email protected]
Steelhead
Choose a salmon species and river. Each bar shows one year: taller means more fish. The latest reported year is orange. These are selected monitored populations, not a complete regional census.
Checked October 14, 2026. Annual history: NuSEDS June 1, 2026 snapshot, with population-specific latest years up to 2025. This is not a live 2026 return estimate. Gaps are not zero; reported DFO estimates are not invented counts.
DFO posted totals, not independently reconciled: several total cells differ from the sum of the displayed daily rows. Partial 2026 passage counts only; the last row date is not today. Not final annual escapement, a whole-region return, or directly comparable to the annual population series below.
Loading species charts...
2026 brood plan dated August 18, 2026. Many plan rows are Preliminary. Release timing depends on species and stage; a brood year is not a return year. Post-season reports dated February 19, 2026 cover 2023 and 2024 broods. The 2024 cohort has incomplete smolt releases. Juvenile output is not adult return, marine survival or proof of recovery.
Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.
Reported releases only; some source rows are blank.
2026 brood primary release target: 113,700,000 juveniles. Stages: Chan Fry, Nat Emerg. Objectives: Harvest. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.
2023 brood: reported actual releases 84,107,472. On rows with both numbers, 84,107,472 released against 110,000,000 targeted (76%). 1 row(s) have no reported actual; these are not counted as zero. This measures reported juvenile production only.
Channel 1 is passively loaded and included in river estiamtes.
2024 brood: reported actual releases 59,298,444. On rows with both numbers, 59,298,444 released against 110,000,000 targeted (54%). 1 row(s) have no reported actual; these are not counted as zero. This measures reported juvenile production only.
Channel 1 is passively loaded and included in river estiamtes.
AI-generated summary: The 2026 brood plan lists Sockeye production, with harvest objectives. Targets are planned juvenile releases, not adult returns. Compare the post-season rows below for reported production; blanks and incomplete cohorts are not failures.
Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.
2026 brood primary release target: 40,250,000 juveniles. Stages: Chan Fry, Nat Emerg. Objectives: Harvest. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.
2023 brood: reported actual releases 41,099,939. On rows with both numbers, 41,099,939 released against 40,250,000 targeted (102%). This measures reported juvenile production only.
2024 brood: reported actual releases 42,022,082. On rows with both numbers, 42,022,082 released against 40,250,000 targeted (104%). This measures reported juvenile production only.
AI-generated summary: The 2026 brood plan lists Sockeye production, with harvest objectives. Targets are planned juvenile releases, not adult returns. Compare the post-season rows below for reported production; blanks and incomplete cohorts are not failures.
Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.
2026 brood primary release target: 10,000 juveniles. Stages: Fed Fry. Objectives: Stewardship. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.
AI-generated summary: The 2026 brood plan lists Coho production, with stewardship objectives. Targets are planned juvenile releases, not adult returns. Compare the post-season rows below for reported production; blanks and incomplete cohorts are not failures.
Young salmon by brood year. 2024 is incomplete. Orange: 2026 primary release plan, not actual.
2026 brood primary release target: 40,000 juveniles. Stages: Smolt 1+. Objectives: Assessment. Plan row status: Preliminary. Transfers and alternate strategies excluded from this target.
2023 brood: reported actual releases 47,304. On rows with both numbers, 36,646 released against 70,000 targeted (52%). This measures reported juvenile production only.
AI-generated summary: The 2026 brood plan lists Coho production, with assessment objectives. Targets are planned juvenile releases, not adult returns. Compare the post-season rows below for reported production; blanks and incomplete cohorts are not failures.
Add your email and we'll let you know when the TightLinesBC reports launch.