FISHING REPORTS
from some of the BEST PLACES TO FISH !
9th June, 2014: 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
It
is now the beginning of June and the weather is terrific on the West Coast of
Vancouver Island. Along with the current fantastic weather conditions the salmon
fishing has been very good close to Ucluelet Harbour and offshore Ucluelet which
is located on the extreme west coast of Vancouver Island British Columbia. The
fishing in various surf line areas of Barkley Sound has also been quite good and
the early sockeye salmon have already started their long return from somewhere
in the North Pacific to the Somass River in fairly good numbers. There have been
a few third hand reports that a sport fishermen camping at the China Creek site
had some luck picking up a few sockeye in the Nahmint-Franklin area in 25 to 30
feet of water. If the story is true these fish would have been more than likely
in a big school but moving quickly towards the fresh and very cool waters of the
Somass River. With the good weather and high afternoon temperatures the Sockeye
Migration will slow down as the water temperature in the river and the Alberni
Inlet warm up. This will possibly help the Sport Sockeye season get underway in
the inlet a little earlier than normal. Salmon and halibut fishing on the west
coast have been consistent over the past few weeks. The great fishing in local
hotspots is very evident by the increase of vehicles on local roads and highways
towing a variety of sport fishing boats. Many fisher persons are either fishing
the scenic and pristine waters of Barkley Sound or are travelling out to the
west coast to fish close to Vancouver Island’s rugged coastline or in offshore
locations.
The
2014 sport salmon fishing season in Ucluelet, Barkley Sound, and the Port
Alberni Inlet is forecast once again to be terrific. In fact this year is
predicted to be one of the best seasons in many years. On the west coast the
early summer run of Chinook which are currently migrating down the Vancouver
Island coastline and stay fairly close to the beach will soon peak and will be
followed by what is supposed to be one of the biggest mid summer Chinook returns
to southern watersheds. Chinook and Coho numbers returning to the Columbia River
and Bonneville dam where numbers of returning salmon have been recorded since
1938 are predicted that this years’ Chinook and Coho numbers will be the largest
return ever. Chinook returns are predicted to be 1.6 million and Coho just over
1 million. The Sockeye fishing should be extremely good. The return to the
Somass River is a record 1.6 million in early season forecasts. The early run
has already been swimming into the Somass River. Don’t miss out on a fabulous
2014 sport salmon fishing year in the Alberni Inlet, Barkley Sound, or inshore
offshore Ucluelet-Tofino.
Port Alberni Inlet
/ Barkley Sound
The
Sockeye sport fishery has been open since the first of May in the Alberni Inlet.
Limits are four per person per day. That number should remain the same
throughout the season. Sockeye usually school in the Inlet when the water of the
Somass River and the Inlet warms to 18 degrees Celsius. When there are big
numbers of Sockeye entering the system the schools will hold in the inlet for
the salmon ahead to push into the river. The river water is really warming up
and with very little snow in the nearby hills it will not take much for the
Somass to reach eighteen degrees. The Sockeye that are currently in the system
and have come up from Barkley Sound and into the Inlet are swimming in fairly
shallow water. Those sport fishermen out fishing will ideally during the next
week have the best success fishing the Nahmint-Franklin area, the narrows, and
perhaps Cous Creek or right in the Port Alberni Harbor trolling from 25 to 40
feet. The late May and early June warm weather conditions will help fairly good
Sockeye fishing get underway by approximately the 13th of June. It is often safe
to say that June 15th is the time to start fishing Sockeye. We are hoping that
by mid month sport anglers are landing limits of Sockeye while fishing the
Alberni Inlet water. Sport guides and individual fishermen will find good
numbers of Sockeye Salmon at hotspots such as Cous Creek, Dusmuir Point, the
China Creek Wall, the slide, and the narrows. Sockeye are attracted to color and
having six or even eight flashers hooked to the deep line is not unusual. The
most popular lures for Sockeye are the mp 2 and 16 also the bubblegum colored mp
15 hootchies. Leader lengths are best at 22 to 27 inches behind a green or red
glow hotspot flasher.
The Salmon fishing in Barkley
Sound especially out at surf line locations has been also relatively consistent
over the past few weeks. Many areas have had big bait balls which will bring
those migratory Chinook swimming close to the beach in to feed on the very rich
resources of bait fish. Over the past week Effingham has had some good fishing
as has Vernon Bay and Alan Point. Bamfield areas such as Kirby in the morning
and Edward King later in the day and also the Wall have reported some nice fish
being landed by guides and sport anglers. The best results have been fishing
from 80 to 120 feet depending on location but it is important that you are
fishing where there is bait. It seems that choice of lure really does not seem
to matter as many have been using a variety of spoons, plastic, and bait. The
best spoons have been the four inch green and blue nickel coyote spoon behind a
green glow hotspot flasher. The four inch Irish Cream spoon behind a chartreuse
flasher and the 155 needlefish have both been very good. Anchovy in a green UV
teaser head and also in chartreuse have been hot at various times. Many of the
salmon have been in the mid to high teens with a few in the low twenties. We are
expecting the fish to get bigger as the mid-summer run which will get underway
in the latter half of June will have a good number of four and five year olds.
Barkly Sound should be a hotbed for fishing this summer especially out in surf
line locations.
Ucluelet (West Coast)
Ucluelet
is often referred to as Vancouver Island’s premier salmon and halibut sport
fishing destination. Like Barkley Sound the waters inshore and offshore from the
Ucluelet Harbor offer some world class fishing. The water is very rich in bait
fish (sardines and needlefish) which the salmon feed on throughout the spring
and summer months. The summer salmon fishing seems to be changing. August and
early September were often considered peak times for Chinook and Coho sport
fishing. With the high numbers of transient Chinook salmon passing along the
west coast of Vancouver Island from April to August it often seems that the peak
of the season is in the month of July. This is not to say that Chinook sport
fishing does not continue in August and September. Coho which were often
referred to as the number one sport salmon along coastal fishing locations in
B.C. are a major highlight in late August through September. This thought is
something to consider when thinking about and organizing sport salmon fishing
this summer. The Ucluelet fishing has been very consistent over the past few
weeks with some good fishing out at the inner and outer South Bank. Mara Rock,
Great Bear, Sail Rock, and The Lighthouse which are all very close to the
Ucluelet Harbor have also been excellent choices for sport fishing especially on
those days where the weather has not co-operated for boats to get out a little
offshore.. The largest salmon have been averaging twelve to eighteen pounds. The
largest landed to date by guides and guests hit twenty-six pounds landed at Sail
Rock. This Chinook which like many of the other salmon was a hatchery fish and
hit a needlefish hootchie. The fish out at the inner and outer South Bank have
been close to the bottom between 130 and 160 feet. Guide Al has done extremely
well on salmon and halibut with his largest hali for guests at forty-five
pounds. The best lures to date have been a T-Rex hootchie and an iridescent Turd
and also a few different spoons in brass/copper or four and five inch blue and
green nickel. Other guides and sport anglers have had great success using needle
fish hootchies behind a flasher. The needle fish will hide in the sand and on
tide changes will come up to higher levels which creates a very good salmon and
halibut bite. If trolling and using anchovy it seems that a green or red glow
hotspot flasher with a green or army truck rhys davis teaser anchovy head with
six feet of leader are working well. One important thing to remember is that
during the season the food sources often get bigger and when using spoons and
plugs the sizes should increase as the bait does.
The 2014 sport salmon fishing
season in Port Alberni and the west coast is shaping up just as has been
forecast----TERRIFIC!!!! There should not be disappointments this summer. Of
course there are highs and lows but the high days will definitely out do any
lows
Stamp River
The Stamp River is one of B.C.’s healthiest river
systems. The salmon fishing this year will open on or about August 25th with
what is forecast to be a better than normal season. Retention at the moment is
forecast to be two Coho and two Chinook. The season begins with river anglers
using wool, spinners, and plugs. The bait ban should be lifted on the 15th of
September. For those that enjoy Steelhead fishing there are three runs of
Steelhead in the Stamp. Summer and Fall Steelhead and then later in late
November the Winter Steelhead begin to show. October and November are perfect
months for summer and fall fish. The Steelhead actively feed during the natural
spawn of the salmon in the river which is during October and well into November.
There is plenty of opportunity to fish the Stamp but all arrangements for trips
that are guided should be organized very early in the summer or late spring.
Fishing for Sockeye along the banks will begin very quickly….
For more information
Contact:
Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
www.catchsalmon-ca.com
www.catchsalmon.ca
www.prepcamp-ca.com
[email protected]
+1 250 724 2502 (h)
+1 250 731 7389 ©
Toll Free Number: 1-
888 214 7206