31st January 2013: 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 and Graham with halibut and Chinook two fish displayed at the Ucluelet Harbor located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Guide was Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing in July of 2012. Fishing in summer of 2013 in Tofino-Ucluelet should be similar

It’s again a New Year and many sport fishermen are beginning to think and dream about the many sport fishing opportunities that await them in 2013. The 2012 season was somewhat a memorable year on the scenic West Coast of Vancouver Island. Chinook fishing for migratory salmon headed to distant southern watersheds began in late April and continued through the spring and summer. The best salmon fishing on the surfline of Barkley Sound and offshore waters from Barkley Sound which is located on Vancouver Islands West Coast and Tofino-Ucluelet was in June and July. A warm water current that hit Vancouver Islands West Coast seemed to play some havoc with much of the August offshore fishing as the big migratory Chinook and Coho moved down the coastline well away from the warm water current. Many felt the salmon moved out to the fifty fathom mark and curled back towards the west coast when out of the warm current. Salmon returning to local streams and rivers arrived in August and continued in relatively good numbers until September. In the Alberni Inlet Sockeye returns to the Somass River system were a very healthy 860,000 pieces. Chinook returns were approximately 40,000 pieces The 2013 sport fishing season which begins on the west coast in the late spring and continues into the summer and early fall months looks to be much better than last year.

Stamp River Steelhead landed in the Upper Stamp. Stamp River Winter Steelhead fishing has been slow in January due to low water. The peak of the season is often in mid February…

The Sockeye season in the Alberni Inlet will again be good for those sport fisher people that take time and opportunity to fish the Alberni Inlets quiet and pristine waters. Sockeye sport fishing most years gets underway by the fifteenth of June. The Sockeye school in good numbers when the Somass River and the Port Alberni Inelt water reach eighteen degrees celsius. When this happens the Sockeye sport fishing really picks up for the sporties.

Vancouver Island is a destination on both coastlines for all five salmon species (Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Pink, and Chum). This gives all avid sport fisher persons an opportunity to sport fish a choice of salmon he/she might enjoy to target. These different salmon species do arrive in the West or East waters of Vancouver Island at certain times of the summer or fall and each species also peak at specific times. This often means that fisher persons can fish the inlets, sounds and offshore waters for Chinook and Coho and also Sockeye and have opportunity to fish river mouths and various Vancouver Island beaches for Pinks and Coho.

Winter fishing for Winter Steelhead in the Stamp River has been relatively slow todate as the Stamp River has had low water with lack of any rainfall during the month of January. Winter (feeder) Chinook fishing in Barkley Sound and around the quiet hamlet of Bamfield and also the Ucluelet Harbor has been off and on with some reasonable fishing opportunities on those days that the winter season offers. Their have been some remarkable sunny and warm days during January this year. The Stamp River had excellent returns in terms of the summer-fall run of Steelhead which are currently still found in the Upper Stamp River which is very close to Port Alberni.

Six gill sharks are not uncommon in the Port Alberni Inlet. This fish was hit by larger boat or perhaps freighter and was floating on top off the water.

At times during the winter months a few schools of Winter Chinook will make their way up into the inlet and feed on bait fish in the Bells Bay and Nahmint-Franklin areas. This happens periodically but the Alberni Inlet has the best sport fishing from mid June to mid September. The Somass River Sockeye begin to return to the river in May and usually begin to school around the 15th of June. When the Sockeye school in big numbers, the action for the number one tasting salmon, really heats up and is a lot of fun for all fisher persons young and old. Sockeye fishing most years can continue into the first ten days of August. It is then that the first few Chinook salmon appear in the Inlet. Chinook fishing is followed by Coho with the peak of the Chinook season often occurring around the Labor Day Weekend when the Port Alberni three day fishing derby takes place. The Port Alberni Inlet is a wonderful and very easy area to fish. Many people worry about rough water but the Inlet waters for the most part are calm and pristine. The best fishing is often in the morning hours and the last two hours before dark. Sockeye salmon do seem to bite at any time of the day which makes this sport fishery a very popular opportunity for everyone.

For those individuals that enjoy prawn sport fishing the season in the Port Alberni Inlet is on and off. Individuals are encouraged to check all DFO regulations and when the prawn season is open.

Barkley Sound waters are very much like the Port Alberni Inlet. The Sound is protected on both the east and west coastlines. Salmon Fishing in the Sound can occur every month of the year without fear of experiencing the bigger waters often found offshore in the winter and even during the summer months. Winter Chinook fishing has been off and on during December and January. The Christmas season had a few good days as the weather co-operated just prior to Christmas and also after the beginning of the New Year. The early days of 2013 has had some good weather patterns and a few productive fishing days. To date the best fishing areas have been the Bamfield Harbor mouth and the Bamfield Wall as well as Swale Rock, Vernon Bay, and the Canoe Pass outside entry points. Pill Point, Sarita Bay and the Nook are also other areas worthwhile to fish in February and March. Last winter the largest recorded Winter Chinook salmon was landed during the Sproat Lake Loggers Derby which annually takes place during the first weekend of March. We are expecting that some nice salmon in the teens up to the mid twenties will be lurking in the mix again this year.

This is a picture of Arlene with first ever salmon. She was very excited and picked this Chinook at Kirby Point Arlene from Calgary Alberta fished with John of Slivers Charters

Winter Chinook are often found in deep water. It is not uncommon to find them in many areas of the Sound from 100 to 145 feet. Coyote Spoons in the three and a half to four inch size in cop car, glow cop car, nasty boy, Green glow, and green and blue nickel are good choices for fisher persons to have in the tackle box. Hootchies are popular but it is recommended to use a shorter leader length than in the summer. Leader lengths from 34 to 38 inches behind a glow green or glow red hotspot flasher are a good choice. The Purple Haze hootchie and also the green spatterback as well as various whites and greens are excellent choices. Anchovy is also something all sport fisher persons should have on board. There are days when the salmon will touch nothing else but anchovy. Anchovy in chartreuse or a green glow Rhys Davis Teaser Head is a good choice. The first salmon fishing derby of the year occurs in the sound based out of Poett Nook. The Sproat Loggers Derby will take place the first Saturday and Sunday of March. The Derby is very popular and offers some great prizes and often some great weather and fishing. One of the largest Chinook landed in this particular derby was two years ago and weighed in at twenty-eight pounds. The key about winter Chinook fishing in the Barkley Sound area is finding bait fish. Where one finds bait fish there is often a good number of feeder Chinook swimming and feeding heavily on tide changes.

Summer fishing in the Sound especially on the surf line most years occurs from late May to early August and is expected to be this year very good due to the migratory movement of salmon along the west coast. Good numbers of Chinook, Coho and Pink Salmon will be moving to watersheds to the South. The migratory flow of Chinook should predominately be 4 year olds. The vast amounts of rich resources of bait fish in the Barkley Sound area during the summer months often bring the salmon into feed and rest before they continue their journey. Some world class fishing usually occurs at Meares, Cree, Edward King, Beale and as far in as Kirby Point and Swale Rock. We are really excited about the great sport salmon fishing opportunity we should have this summer in both the Sound and the Port Alberni Inlet.

January 2013 has had some great afternoons. Felix shows his nine pound winter chinook landed on a green spatterback hootchie

It is fairly difficult to go to far offshore during the winter months. There have however been some reasonably nice days on the water where the swell and water lump has been low. The best winter Chinook fishing is often fairly close to the Ucluelet Harbor. This year has been no different. Beg Island, Mara Rock and Big Bear have had a few good results. Needle fish, white hootchies, and various green hootchies, anchovy, and nasty boy, cop car, green glow, and silver glow coyote spoons have been the best bets to attract the feeder Chinook. In February the feeder Chinook fishing really picks up and gets much better as the herring spawn gets close and these bait fish move toward the beach. In the early spring we will feature our Seafood Safari. This is a great trip on the open Pacific where guests can be treated to some excellent winter Chinook fishing, bottom fishing, prawn and crab fishing. There might even be opportunity to find some oysters along some of the magnificent beaches of the west coast. The end of the day often has guests preparing a wonderful gourmet seafood dinner at a local resort or bed and breakfast. There are spots where restaurant chefs and owners will prepare seafood meals for our guests.

Summer sport salmon fishing out of Ucluelet looks again very promising. Year after year Ucluelet has some of British Columbia’s best and most wonderful fishing opportunities. The outlook for Chinook and Coho migrations look similar to past years. We expect late May into mid August to have some of the best salmon fishing. For those that enjoy Pink Salmon fishing the odd year is back and returns of Pinks to various rivers along the west coast should be very good.

Sockeye fishing in early June was very good the last few years. This happy father and Daughter from Ontario did very well fishing the Port Alberni Inlet with Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport fishing…..

The Stamp to date has provided some very slow winter Steelhead fishing. The Steelhead sport fishing has been “non consistent”. The few winter fish that have come into the system are really spread out and can be found in the upper and lower river. The best fishing with guides aboard jet boats is still in the Upper River. Guided trips on average have been hooking into on a few Steelhead or trout per trip. The mix of hatchery Steelhead compared to wild have been almost 50-50 on a percentage basis. For those on foot the most popular area is the falls pool which over the past few weeks has not been very congested with sport anglers because of the lack of Steelhead. The Sproat has also had some reports of traffic with poor results. Those individuals on guided and non-guided trips fishing with a float and below “the bucket” have had a little success using natural bait in roe, roe bags, and shrimp. Spin’n’glows, corkies, rubber eggs and various jigs have also been working. One sport angler fishing close to the confluence was using a pink jig which works best in the Upper River. This fisher person had an unbelievably successful day during the past week by hooking into five or six Steelhead. The River as of right now is very low. Rain is forecast for mid week with clearing skies arriving for the first few days of February.

We are expecting the February and March Stamp River winter Steelhead fishing to improve. The Stamp River needs to fill with some water and hopefully there will be some peak days in February.