Driff fishing with zzingers and other jigs is the most fun way to fish for salmon, in oppinion. However, Vancouver doesn't have any spots that are really conducive to drift fishing. The salmon are moving too much and not really concenterated in one spot, which is what you need to be effective drift fishing. I think in the winter there maybe some good areas to try in English Bay but you gotta find the bait first. I caught coho at the Cap years ago on zzinger. I would love to try taking a drift for white springs there but the hunderd others trolling would take offence. The exeption is when the pinks are running, then cast where ever they jump.
The Gulf Island have some good spots. Especially the Flat Top Is and around Thrasher Rock. A round Comox has some of the best areas for drift fishing and that's where the Buzz Bomb and Zzinger were invented. I also really like some of the place on the Sunshine Coast like Beirres Shoals, the rock off Quarry Bay, the kelp beds off Savery, of course all those places are now not so good.
The bests tips for drift fish: 1. Always drop the lure on a slack line. Its best to use a reel that you have some feel of the line going out such as an old mooching reel or level wind so you can tell the speed the lines going out. Spinning reel aren't as good for that. 2. Be preparded to hook a fish the second you hit bottom or what you think is bottom. Salmon almost alway hit on the drop. Sometime they swim with it so if the line slow or stop or runs out more than it should for that depth, or move strangely set the hook. 3. Only jig a few times or until the line is about 60 degree then reel up and drop agian. Seriously if there is a salmon there it'll hit with in the first few jigs. 4. Move if your not catching fish. Never do a thousand drifts of the same area. If salmon are there you'll catch them the first coupld drift. 5. Fish the windward shore. Plankon with bait following it get push on to windward shores. 6. If its windy use a heavy spinning rod an cast the direction of the drift to about the disance that the bottom is at.
As for lures, I pretty much only use 2 1/2 oz Zzinger with the white body and dark back, pearl blue being my favorite for sping and coho. With that you can easily fish to 120'. I find glow ones and the other gotty colours don't work well for spring and coho. Some like small pink ones for pinks but they take pearl blue just as often.
Have fun, Jason
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