7 Proven Shore Fishing Spots for Salmon Near Victoria, BC
One of the best things about being an angler on Vancouver Island is that you don't need a boat to have a shot at catching salmon.
There are plenty of great shore fishing spots around Victoria. From late May all the way through the end of October, from Cormorant Point to Sooke and farther west toward Port Renfrew, you can find salmon within casting distance of shore.
Today, I want to share some of the best-known shore salmon fishing spots around Victoria that I personally know.
And just to be clear: these aren't spots I copied from Google or heard about second-hand online. I've either fished them myself or had Finex customers actually catch salmon there.
Of course, salmon are always on the move. A spot that's on fire today could be completely dead tomorrow. So this article is meant to give you a few places worth trying—not to tell you that you're guaranteed to catch fish just by showing up.
1. Beechy Head — My Personal Favourite Shore Salmon Spot
Park at East Sooke Regional Park and take the trail on the right side of the parking lot. Follow it through the forest until you reach the Beechy Head memorial. The water below the memorial is one of the most classic shore fishing spots around Victoria.
Every year, anglers gather here to target Pink, Coho and Chinook salmon.
The current around Beechy Head can be extremely strong, the water drops off quickly, and there's plenty of baitfish around. All of that attracts a variety of predatory fish, and it's one of the main reasons I consider Beechy Head one of the best shore salmon fishing spots near Victoria.
Getting there requires about a 30-minute hike.
Some people see that as a downside. I see it as a badge of honour for the truly hardcore shore anglers.
Every time I go to Beechy Head, I feel like that 30-minute hike was worth it. Even when the salmon aren't cooperating, you might get lucky and see something incredible—Orcas, Grey Whales, sea lions and other marine wildlife.
One important thing: be careful.
Both the trail and the fishing area around Beechy Head can be steep and rocky. Take your time, watch your footing, and don't take unnecessary risks around the water.
2. Otter Point — The Best All-Around Shore Fishing Experience
Compared with the 30-minute hike into Beechy Head, you can basically drive right up to Otter Point.
For anglers who aren't interested in hiking with a rod, backpack and tackle, that's a big advantage.
The salmon fishing at Otter Point isn't much worse than Beechy Head either. Maybe the scenery and the "hardcore factor" aren't quite the same—but that's hardly a complaint.
Otter Point is another rocky shoreline with a good drop-off into deeper water. Every July, August and September, plenty of Coho and Chinook move through this area.
Because it's so easy to access and gets very popular during peak salmon season, parking can sometimes be a problem. If you're serious about fishing there, I'd recommend getting there early. You'll have a better chance of finding parking and choosing a good spot on the rocks.
One funny thing this year has been the amount of Mackerel around Otter Point.
Some anglers see them as a nice bonus while they're waiting for salmon. Others complain to me that there are so many Mackerel that the lure doesn't even get a chance to find a salmon before a Mackerel intercepts it.
Pretty funny, actually.
3. Port Renfrew — A Shore Fishing Destination Worth the Drive
If Beechy Head and Otter Point are part of the everyday fishing territory for Victoria anglers, Port Renfrew is for the true believers—the kind of anglers willing to make a pilgrimage for fish.
It's about a two-hour drive from Victoria.
There are quite a few places around Port Renfrew where you can fish from shore, with rocky shoreline, bays, river mouths and all kinds of different structure.
During the annual salmon migration, Chinook and Coho move through this area. It's especially worth paying attention to in late summer and fall, as salmon begin concentrating closer to rivers and estuaries.
My biggest feeling about Port Renfrew is this:
It's worth going—but don't get too hung up on whether you actually catch a salmon.
If you drive two hours expecting that a fish absolutely has to come home with you, Port Renfrew might disappoint you.
We're fishing for migrating salmon. They don't live there waiting for us.
If the school of fish simply isn't around on the day you go, you might come home empty-handed.
But if you relax and treat it as a fishing trip combined with a chance to enjoy the west coast, Port Renfrew is absolutely worth the drive.
It feels wilder, quieter and more remote than the areas closer to Victoria. After driving two hours and standing on the rocks looking out over the Pacific, even if you don't catch a salmon, it rarely feels like a wasted trip.
One practical tip:Â fill up your gas tank before you leave, charge your phone, and download offline maps. Parts of the drive are quite remote and cell service can be very limited.
4. Gordon Beach — My Biggest Surprise This Year
I had never really heard much about salmon being caught from shore here before, but Gordon Beach turned out to be one of my biggest surprises this year.
It started when more than one customer who bought my jigs told me the fishing had been really good there and suggested I give it a try.
I couldn't go the first day because I had to drop off and pick up my kids from school, so I sent a good friend of mine to scout it out first.
And guess what happened?
He hooked seven Coho in three hours that afternoon.
Most of them weren't hatchery fish, but he still had an absolute blast.
Three days later, I rushed over there to see it for myself.
Unfortunately, it seemed like the school had already moved on. There weren't many fish around that day. I did hook a very large Coho, but it came off right at my feet.
It wasn't the best fishing day for me, but at least I was able to confirm for myself that Gordon Beach can absolutely produce salmon from shore.
What I find interesting about Gordon Beach is the structure.
It's a relatively flat beach without the dramatic drop-offs you see at places like Beechy Head or Otter Point. I still don't completely understand why so many salmon sometimes move into such shallow water.
An older angler fishing beside me proudly told me that he'd hooked 21 Coho in one day from the exact same area the week before.
I didn't personally witness that number, of course.
But after hearing that story, I've already decided I'm going to spend a lot more time at Gordon Beach next year.
5. Billings Spit — A Spot Worth Watching Late in the Season
Yes, Sooke again.
Sometimes I think that once my kids no longer need me to drive them everywhere, I'm just going to move to Sooke.
The fishing opportunities around here are just too good.
The fact that you can find salmon around the mouth of the Sooke River isn't exactly surprising. The Sooke River itself is a salmon migration river.
But the fishing here works a little differently from places like Otter Point or Beechy Head.
At Beechy Head and Otter Point, you're basically trying to intercept salmon while they're travelling along the coast.
Around the Sooke River estuary, it's more like waiting for them near the finish line.
That's why this area generally becomes more interesting later in the season.
By September and into October, some Coho and Chinook preparing to enter the Sooke River—and Chum arriving later—begin concentrating closer to the river mouth.
So as the season gets later, this is actually an area I start paying more attention to.
One important thing to remember is that fishing regulations around the Sooke River can be different from the open coastline, and they can change from year to year.
Always check the current regulations before fishing so you know exactly where you can fish and what you can legally retain.
6. Cormorant Point — One of the Closest Options to Victoria
Sometimes Sooke is just too far away—especially when you live in Victoria and don't have half a day to go fishing.
But don't worry.
Just because you don't have time to drive to Sooke doesn't mean you can't find salmon close to Victoria.
For anglers living around Oak Bay, Cormorant Point is definitely a spot worth trying.
The fishing there has been surprisingly good this year.
I haven't personally fished Cormorant Point yet, but at least three of my customers have told me they've caught salmon there—and they were all good-sized fish.
When you look at the shoreline, it makes sense that it could be worth trying. Cormorant Point is a rocky point extending out into the water, and the structure certainly looks like the kind of place worth making a few casts.
More importantly, I've now had at least three Finex customers catch good-sized salmon there this year.
That's enough for me to put it on this list.
So if you don't have enough time for a full Sooke fishing trip, head over to Cormorant Point and try your luck.
7. A Couple of Other Places Where Salmon Showed Up This Year
Breakwater
I'm very familiar with the Breakwater area.
It's better known for Rockfish and Lingcod, and salmon are more of an occasional catch. I've never specifically gone there to target salmon myself.
That changed my perspective a little this August, when one of my customers proudly sent me a photo of a big Chinook he'd caught there from shore.
I'd heard about salmon being caught around the Breakwater before, but this was the first time someone I actually knew had personally shown me the proof.
So apparently the stories weren't just stories after all.
Mill Bay Ferry Terminal — An Unverified One
This one was completely new to me.
Last Saturday, a customer drove all the way down from Mill Bay to buy some jigs from me. He quietly told me that the fishing around the Mill Bay Ferry Terminal had been really good over the previous couple of days.
His brother had apparently caught three salmon from shore that very morning, so he was pretty eager to grab some jigs and go try his luck.
Later, I asked a friend to go check the area out.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find a suitable place to park, and the area where he thought he could fish appeared to be on First Nations land, so he wasn't able to access it and fish.
I tried contacting the customer again afterward, but didn't hear back.
So for now, I'm treating this one as possible information rather than a verified fishing spot.
It's the only place in this article that I haven't been able to personally verify through either my own fishing or a customer's confirmed catch.
That's pretty much everything I know right now about shore salmon fishing spots worth trying around Victoria.
If you enjoy shore fishing for salmon, these places should give you plenty to explore. And I'm sure there are still other great spots out there waiting for me to discover.
Finding a new fishing spot is a lot like catching a new species for the first time.
It never stops being exciting.
If you're into shore salmon fishing, I hope this article—based on actual fishing experience and feedback from local anglers—helps you out.
And of course, I have to give myself a little shameless plug at the end.
If you're looking for metal jigs for shore casting salmon around Victoria and Sooke, you can also check out Finex Outdoors shore casting jigs.
Just like the fishing spots in this article, they're not something that only looks good on paper.
We've tested them ourselves, one cast at a time, right here on the coast.
See you on the rocks.
