30th July, 2009: FISHING REPORT: Port Alberni Inlet, Barkley Sound, Ucluelet (West Coast), Somas-Stamp River System.

by Doug Lindores of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
Toll Free Number: 1- 888 214 7206

Ed of Delta B.C. shows his big Chinook caught with guide Wayne just off of Austin island in Barkley Sound Vancouver Island. Ed landed his Chinook on a cop car coyote spoon behind a green hotspot flasher.

The Salmon fishing has continued to be very good in the Port Alberni Inlet, areas of Barkley Sound and offshore and inshore Ucluelet. The salmon fishing has been as incredible as the summer weather. Hot salmon fishing and very hot temperatures is probably a very good way of summing up the last few weeks of July. Hopefully this trend continues well into August and September. The Sockeye have continued to poor into the Port Alberni Inlet. The Sockeye return has now been upgraded to 500,000. Escapement into Sproat Lake and Great Central Lake is just over 250,000. The DFO would like to see a return of 345,000 on this run size. To date 133,000 have gone through the Great Central fish way and 120,000 through the Sproat fish way. The counters have been in full operation. There is concern that the Sockeye in the inlet will remain in deep water and will not move until the weather cools and the area receives some rain. If this scenario continues for a lengthy time the sport fishery may have to be curtailed so that the escapement numbers are met

Barkley Sound and all of the areas off of the west coast (Ucluelet and Tofino) have had some of the best salmon fishing ever witnessed over the last twenty years. Some guides and guests fishing with Slivers Charters Salmon sport Fishing have been quoted as saying “the fishing is so unbelievable”. It will be tough to have a day where you have to wait an hour or more for a salmon to hit the lines.” Coho numbers on the coast have been phenomenal and with 17 million Pink and Sockeye swimming the west coast of Vancouver Island over the next six to eight weeks the fishing should continue being very hot.

Hank of Cloverdale B.C. shows his Chinook caught just off of Cree Island in Barkley Sound Vancouver Island B.C. Hanks salmon weighed in at 25 pounds and was caught on an anchovy. Guide was Wayne

The Port Alberni Inlet has had almost six excellent weeks of Sockeye sport fishing. The expected return of 350,000 salmon has been upgraded to 500,000. We may very well see another upgrade in numbers. The excellent fishing has been a welcome to the community as guests worldwide have travelled to the area to take opportunity to participate in this family oriented sport fishery. Some individuals and families have arrived with their own boat and equipment while others have used the services of salmon fishing charter guide businesses. When not fishing many of the guests have taken in other attractions that the community of Port Alberni has to offer.

The best fishing has been in the China Creek area. Cous Creek to the North of China Creek and recently Dunsmuir Point down to the slide and the narrows has been very good. The very warm daytime temperatures have moved the Sockeye into very deep water. Those anglers having the best fishing success are fishing from 80 to 110 feet deep. The mp15 or bubblegum hootchie is still working very well as is the one time commercial glow 183 hootchie. Both hootchies seem to be working best using a hotspot green-glow flasher. Some sport anglers and guides are using coyote spoons. The three and a half inch Halloween has been very good and seems to work best without a flasher but just six or seven feet above a dumby. Fresh Sockeye seem to be coming into the system daily. The fishery could continue right up until the Chinook season begins but the DFO has to be concerned with escapement as at least another 80,000 Sockeye are needed to go into Sproat and Great Central Lakes.

Peggy of Victoria B.C. shows off two of her Port Alberni Inlet Somass River Sockeye. Peggy landed both fish using bubblegum hootchies and fished with Doug Lindores of slivers Charters Salmon sport Fishing May of Nanaimo B.C. with Grandson Tomasz of Fort St. John B.C. show some of there Sockeye catch they fished with Doug of slivers charters salmon sport fishing close to china Creek in the Port Alberni Inlet located on Vancouver island B.C.

With August approaching many anglers are beginning to get ready for the Chinook season. The expected return of Chinook into Barkley Sound and the Port Alberni Inlet is 50,000 pieces which is very similar to the 2008 return. There have been reports of a few Chinook already in the Somass River and a few guides have landed a few Chinook in the twenty pound range while targeting Sockeye. August 10th is always a safe date for anglers to begin fishing Chinook in the Inlet. Robertson Creek Hatchery fish have been reported in Barkley Sound.

The last week has been very good for guides from Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing in the Sound. Meares Bluff, Austin Island, Cree Island, Jana Rock, and Swale Rock have all had some great fishing. Chinook and good sized Coho have been in all of the areas mentioned. Guides John and Doug mid week fished Swale Rock and both picked up limits of Chinook as large as 27 pounds and Hatchery Coho up to 14 pounds. The Chinook were in deep water up to 115 feet while the Coho were shallower in approximately 40 to 50 feet of water. Anchovy in the Purple Haze and Army Truck Rhys Davis Teaser Head were both working well with five feet of leader followed by a green, clear, or purple haze flasher. The Chinook have also been hitting a four inch cop car and silver glow coyote spoon. The Coho have really liked the silver glow and also the white AORL12 hootchie.

These two young boys are cousins and fished with their dads from Victoria B.C. they both landed many sockeye and fished in the Port Alberni Inlet with guide John of slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

Further out towards the surf line at Austin and Cree Islands there has been plenty of bait fish and plenty of salmon. The fish are very active and often want anchovy in almost any teaser head that one has to offer. The best Chinook fishing has been down at 90 feet but a few days over the past weekend guide Wayne with his four guests from Vancouver B.C. had a difficult time getting through the Coho to get to the bigger salmon. Pink salmon (humpies) and Sockeye are also beginning to show up in numbers just off the surf line. Sockeye and Pink Salmon returns to the Fraser and other tributaries are expected to each reach well over 17 million. August and September Salmon Fishing in the Sound and areas around Bamfield and just off the surf line should be remarkable.

Ucluelet and Tofino areas have had great fishing. Areas close to the beach around Tofino have had some spectacular world class Coho fishing days. Ucluelet fishing has been best out at the south west corner and South Bank. The lighthouse bank has had some good salmon and smaller halibut fishing. Over the past weekend one of the biggest salmon of the year was recorded by one fortunate angler. Fishing just off Beg Island very close to the Ucluelet Harbor on Sunday evening and using cop car coyote spoons in the four inch size a forty-two pound Chinook was landed. The best salmon fishing however over the past ten days has not been close to the beach but from twelve miles out to the Big Bank. Guide Al has had his best success on the south west corner and has been doing well with salmon using the T-Rex hootchie. Al has not been using a lot of bait only because mixed with the large Chinook is a lot of smaller ten to fifteen pound Chinook and ten pound wild and hatchery Coho and smaller Pink salmon. One could go through many packages of bait in a day of fishing. Al has also been using a Turd for Chinook and Halibut at the Big Bank. Last week was also a great week for guide Mike who fished the south west corner and South Bank and the Big Bank. Mikes two biggest fish was a 30 pound Chinook and a 29 pound halibut for guests from Calgary Alberta. Both of these fish were caught on the troll close to the bottom using a white hootchie. The offshore and inshore fishing should be very good in the Ucluelet area in August and September. The Robertson Creek salmon and returning fish to the Sound and Inlet usually stay close to the beach while some of the migratory fish prefer to be offshore as they swim the coastline of Vancouver Island.

Sockeye Sport fishing in the Somass from Paper Mill Dam out to the inlet was cancelled in the middle of July. We have started some jet and drift boat summer steelhead fishing. The trips that have been completed have been successful. Summer Steelhead are coming into the river daily but are backing up due to low water and extremely high water temperatures. We are looking forward to our fall Coho and Summer Steelhead trips in the river. There should be some extremely good fishing in October and November.