Apr 18, 2016

December 14 th 2011
1-888-214-7206
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

        Winter is almost upon us in British Columbia , Canada .  In fact, we do know that when the first day of winter arrives, we are only a few days away from Christmas.  The Pacific North West can often have some incredible wind and rain storms during the later part of the Fall in which there have been a few, but only a few, as the autumn season has been remarkably dry with some remarkably outstanding good weather conditions.  The summer of 2011 seems so long ago.  The saltwater fishing on the West Coast, Barkley Sound, and the Port Alberni Inlet was very good during the 2011 summer saltwater sport fishing season.  All of the seasonal forecasts were pretty much correct as Chinook and Coho numbers migrating down the west coast waters of Vancouver Island were very high in numbers.  The local sockeye and Chinook numbers returning to nearby watersheds were also very good.  The summer of 2012 should also be a great year.  We have been in a La Nina weather pattern for a few years.  This pattern is ideal for salmon survival out in the North Pacific.  With La Nina the water stays relatively cold and the rich food sources for the salmon are very good which means salmon survival will be quite high.  With this in mind we are looking forward to some of the pre season forecasts that will come forward early in the New Year.  We are predicting the 2012 season to being like this past summer.

        Locally there has been some early winter Chinook fishing.  A few keen sport fishermen have had some success.   Areas of Barkley Sound especially around Swale Rock and Vernon Bay have had a few decent days with feeders weighing in from seven to ten pounds.  The Fall Fishing season for summer run Steelhead in the Upper and Lower Stamp has been very good right to the end of November.  Some guides have said the Summer run Steelhead provided one of the best years ever.  The Winter Steelhead are arriving in reasonably good numbers and with water levels coming down over the past four to five days the Winter Steelhead fishing in the Lower River should improve dramatically.  December is the month that usually has big schools of Steelhead moving into the river on a daily basis.  There should be some great fishing in the days to come in the Stamp River which is close to Port Alberni located on Vancouver Island .

Stamp River

         The Winter Steelhead fishing is now underway in the Stamp.  There is actually a fairly decent mix of winter and summer run Steelhead in the whole system.  Fresh winter Steelhead entering the system are currently from the falls down.  The bulk of the Summer Run fish are in the Upper River well above the falls.  The fishing is currently very accessible by boat in the upper and lower river.  Those anglers walking the banks can easily fish from the falls down to the rifle club.  The river has really declined over the past five to six days.  Early last week the river levels were at least two and a half to three feet higher than what they currently are.  Guides and their guests and other sport fishermen fishing below the bucket are fishing traditionally on the float and casting roe and roe bags.  Bait can be used below the bucket and artificials only above the bucket.  The odd person is bottom bouncing but not having anywhere near the same success as those casting and on the float into the slightly quicker water.  Those using artificials lures are doing best with medium sized to large pink worms, spin-n-glos and gooey bobs.  The current fish landed are coming in from five to eight pounds.  During the winter the Winter Steelhead will peak close to the end of January or early to mid February.  At this time of year there are often Steelhead weighing in up and over fifteen pounds.

         Often during the winter months there are days on end where the weather is perfect for fishing on the river.  Currently we are under ideal conditions where water levels are just a little below normal and we are under the influence of a late fall or early winter high pressure system.  Those individuals wanting to fish in the Upper River can continue fishing the Ash Confluence until December 31 st .  All fishermen need to check all DFO rules.  It is important to remember that only hatchery Steelhead can be tagged and with this in mind it is important to have a Steelhead tag if one is planning to retain a hatchery fish.

Port Alberni , Barkley Sound

Ucluelet

          Barkley Sound and the inside waters of Ucluelet have some reasonably decent winter Chinook fishing from December until April.  Barkley Sound boasts one of the best winter fishing derbies which takes place in early March.  The Sproat Loggers derby based out of Poett Nook takes place the first weekend of March every year.   The last couple of derbies we have seen salmon weighed in over twenty-five pounds.  We have already had some good reports of feeder Chinook fishing in the Sound.  The area around the Bamfield Harbor and also Swale Rock and Vernon Bay have had some great reports.  We will do some pre Christmas guided trips and beginning in mid February through mid April we will have winter Chinook salmon, crab, and prawn fishing guided trips.  The salmon are currently in fairly deep water with the salmon around Swale Rock from 120 to 135 feet.  Anchovy in a chartreuse teaser head with six to seven feet of leader line behind a variety of glow hotspot flashers seem to be working very well.  Various blue and green and opaque hootchies with 42 to 46 inches of leader are also working as are the glow green and green nickel and cop car four inch coyote spoons.  The feeder Chinook will always swim where there are rich sources of bait fish.  When one can find the bait in the Sound during the winter months the feeder Chinook will also be found. 

         The Ucluelet area of Mara Rock, Great Bear, and the lighthouse and inner lighthouse bank provide some decent winter fishing for feeder Chinook.  Of Course the water outside the Ucluelet Harbor is not as protected as Barkley Sound but over the last six weeks with some very nice weather the water has been very fishable.  One group of guests got into some nice fish with the opportunity of landing up to ten salmon on one trip over the past weekend which was absolutely wonderful in the afternoons.  The group was at fifty percent and land five salmon weighing eight to twelve pounds.  Most of the fish were in tight to land with both Mara Rock and the back of Great Bear producing the fish.  Coyote spoons in the four and three and a half inch were working.  Glow and green glow, cop car, silver glow, and blue nickel have all been working very well and this was no exception this past weekend. 

           We are looking forward to some wonderful days out on the water during the winter months.  A small heater does wonders and keeps everyone fairly warm.  The salmon are bright and very tasty and yes, during our winter trips we also include some crabbing and prawn fishing for guests.   We are looking forward to the spring and summer sport fishing season in 2012.  Indicators look good for a very good healthy amount of salmon migrating to the watersheds to the distant south and also returns back to the immediate area should also be very reasonable.  Those individuals that enjoy fishing in scenic and calm waters should organize trips in the Port Alberni Inlet from mid June through the end of August.  The Sockeye fishery is a fun family oriented activity.  This usually begins about the middle of June and continues right into early August.

Call us anytime at 1 888-214-7206

For more information
Contact
Doug Lindores
1 888- 214-7206
1 250 724 2502 (home)
1 250 731 7389 (cell)
dlindy@shaw.ca
www.catchsalmon-ca.com

September 14 th , 2011
Doug Lindores
Sllivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
1 888 214-7206

It is already mid-month September but the salmon fishing in many of the Port Alberni and Pacific Rim fishing areas are still relatively good for Coho and Chinook sport fishing. The weather on Canadas ‘ West Coast has been sensational and very warm especially in the afternoons, as Port Alberni located in the heart of Vancouver Island has had temperatures above the mid thirty degrees celsius. The early to mid mornings and early to late evening has produced the best fishing in saltwater locations. When the weather does change the salmon will begin to move in bigger numbers to their natal streams and rivers and creeks which will produce a great fall fishery in fresh water locations especially the Stamp, Nahmint and Sarita River systems. September has also seen the areas two biggest salmon Derby ‘s come and go. The Port Aberni Labor Day Salmon Derby was very exceptional with well over 2,500 salmon weighed in. This years $10,000 winner for having the biggest fish on the Saturday which was Day 1 of the Derby and also having the biggest salmon over all was Port Alberni resident Guy Desbiens who landed his 35.8 pound tyee on a purple haze hootchie in the Port Alberni Inlet. The Ucluelet Ladder Salmon Derby fish off occurred the weekend of September 9 th to 11 th . This was year two of the Derby with $10,000 in prizes and cash going to the winner. There was a total of $60,000 in prizes. Much of this year proceeds went to the Thornton Creek Fish Hatchery located in Ucluelet. The top three fish were over forty pounds. Rich Allen was first with his 41 pound 9 ounce Chinook landed at the Starfish, Second place went to William Webber whose fish was also landed at the Starfish and came in at 41 pounds 3 ounces. Ken Nakagawa landed a nice Chinook at the Hyason Bank. His salmon was very close the the first and second place fish and came in at 40 pounds 15 ounces. The top ten fish of the Salmon Ladder Derby ranged from 31 to almost 42 pounds with six of these Chinook landed at the Hyason and the other four at the Starfish. It is expected that the big Chinook will continue well into September and that the outer and inner South Bank and also the Wreck and South-West corner will see many of these salmon move through these hotspots as they migrate to their rivers and streams. The 2011 season is not yet over. We expect some great fall fishing for Coho and the late summer Chinook. There is still plenty of good weather during the fall especially on Vancouver Island which has become British Columbias premiere salmon fishing destination.

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

The Alberni Inlet caught fire about the 18 th of August and the Chinook fishing just got better and better right up to the Labour Day Weekend Derby. Because of the age and structure of the dam water was released on the Friday just before the derby which cooled the inlet and river water temperature down dramatically. This pushed a lot of salmon into the Somass system. The derby was still very successful but the salmon fishing was not anywhere near as good as it had been. This past week has had a variety of reports with some much improved fishing. Chinook and Coho are being landed right in the harbour inside Pollys Point and also from Lone Tree Point to the Coulson Mill. Cous Creek and Mc Tush have also been quite good for Coho in the early part of the morning and then again later in the evening. Anchovy have been very good and are currently creating a lot of success for various anglers in a Rhys Davis green haze, purple haze, green, army truck and bloody nose teaser head. In spoons the night rider, cop car, green glow, pearl, and nasty boys in the four inch have all been working with a variety of leader lengths from 44 inches to just over five feet. In plastic (hootchies) the spatterback, white AORL 12, jelly fish, and green oil slick have all been responsible for landing some nice silver salmon. We are expecting some continued great Inlet fishing until we receive substantial rainfall or when an abundant amount of water is released from the dam. The many salmon sitting in inlet waters will quietly make their way into the river system which will creat a fantastic fresh water sport salmon fishery. Coho fishing in the Port Alberni Inlet has a retention number of four per day with a two day possession limit of eight.

Barkley Sound areas have been hit and miss over the last two weeks. Popular angling locations close to Poett Nook have produced some great Coho catches. Pill Point to Alan Point has been very consistent for Chinook and Coho. Chinook have been averaging in weight from 14 to 24 pounds while the Coho are 8 to 10 pounds with the odd Coho coming in at 15 pounds. During the Alberni Labour Weekend Derby there were a few Coho taken at Swale Rock and Gilbraltor weighing almost 20 pounds. The last few days Pill Point has had a good number of Coho and teenager sized Chinook. Bait seems to be the way to fish at the current time. Guide Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing has been landing salmon on bait only in either an army truck, green haze or bloody nose Rhys Davis teaser head with a six foot leader behind a purple or gold kinetic flasher. One hootchie that has been effective is Pistachio with 42 to 44 inches of leader.

The AORL 12 has also been a good hootchie and is often the best in September if using hootchies. With a good number of fish still offshore and many reported to the north of Ucluelet close to the beach we are still expecting some good numbers of salmon to swim into the sound before swimming up the inlet to the Somass River system or some other river, creek or stream.

Ucluelet (West Coast)

Year after year Ucluelet fishing continues to impress most anglers who are either using their own sport boat or on a guided salmon fishing trip. The many different banks outside the Ucluelet Harbor are often full of rich bait fish which are the areas that the different runs of salmon will feed and rest before making their long migration journey to their natural river. Ucluelet (weather depending) is one area where fisher people have opportunity year round to land a twenty pound salmon. September and into early October is often the time of year where those big Chinook over forty pounds and also the big fall Coho will still be found. The summer and late spring months often find plenty of big Schools of Chinook and Coho averaging 18 to 30 pounds (Chinook) and 8 to 12 pounds (Coho) but it is of ten the fall when one will find that trophy Tyee or Northern Coho. This fall should be of no exception. This has been a marvellous year for fishing. The water has been flat and the many days have had little fog. September and early October have often been described as that time of year with no fog and no wind. It is thought that September will have some great fishing. The Ucluelet fish off derby proved that with many big fish being weighed in. The same final ladder derby in 2010 did not produce the landed Chinook catch sizes that this particular year did. Many guides are still using big gear as there are still plenty of good sized Chinook swimming the offshore and inshore water. Big gear can be termed as six or seven inch plugs and spoons. Many guides will move to the use of smaller gear as they begin to concentrate on Coho. The Inner and Outer South Bank should have some great September fishing as should inshore spots such as Mara Rock, the Lighthouse Bank and also the Turtle Head which is only four miles out of the harbour mouth. The fishing up to the past day or two has been excellent for Chinnok with the Starfish and Hyason Bank producing some good sized Chinook jut over forty pounds. Schools of Coho have sitting and feeding at the Inner and Outer South. These Coho are in the top sixty feet of water and are hitting hootchies and four inch coyote spoons. We are expecting some great sport Coho fishing right into mid October. Book your Chinook Coho trip before the end of the season or consider a trip for next year.

Stamp River System

Fishing in the River system for salmon got underway on the 26 th of August. As fish make their way little by little into the system the fishing has gradually become better. The counters have shown at least 6,000 Chinook having passed through. It seems that early this week the heavy migration has begun. The Chinook and Coho fishing is producing some nice sized salmon that are very bright and silver in color. All of the guide boats are currently either jet or drift and of course the fishing method is either fishing on the drift or on a bank or area where there are some deeper pools. Bait casting is one great method using spinners and spoons as well as blades. Spin n glos or using orange or red wool in the fast water is quite productive. The last two days has seen those guests on guided trips, with guides who have plenty of river experience, leave the river with some great memories. There has been plenty of action for everyone and it is going to get even better. For those that enjoy fly fishing the best time of year is just before the Thanksgiving weekend throught the first week or two of November.

For more information
Contact
Doug Lindores
1 888- 214-7206
1 250 724 2502 (home)
1 250 731 7389 (cell)
dlindy@shaw.ca
www.catchsalmon-ca.com

August 23rd , 2011
1 888 214 7206
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

The salmon fishing has been fantastic through the summer of 2011 especially on the west coast inshore and offshore of the Ucluelet Harbor and along the surfline of Barkely Sound. There have been big runs of Chinook which for most of the late spring and summer months have been headed to the big watersheds to the south of Vancouver Island British Columbia . Many of the big runs of Coho have also been migrating to the same area. We are now in mid August the salmon continue to migrate to the south and we are now seeing many Chinook and Coho salmon beginning to return to their natural streams and rivers in many of the local Pacific Rim and Port Alberni Inlet areas. The huge salmon returns have created an unbelievable sport fishing season which have left many guests to this specific area who have fished with a guide or have fished out of their own private boats in complete awe. The Port Alberni Inlet over the past ten days has experienced some very good Chinook fishing with good returns of Somass River Chinook creating some tremendous Chinook fishing in the Inlet from Lone Tree out to the Franklin Wall. We are expectig some fabulous sport salmon fishing through September in the Port Alberni area Barkley Sound and the west coast of Vancouver Island .

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

The Port Alberni Inlet has finally had some very good fishing over the last several days. Robertson Creek Hatchery returning salmon making their way to the Somass River have moved into the inlet and the fishing for the sport fishermen has been fantastic. For well over a week guide boats have produced four, five and even six eighteen to twenty-five pound Chinook on average for guests in morning fishing outings. Afternoon and evening fishing trips have also had some very positive results. The salmon have been in fairly shallow water due to the continued cold water coming from the Somass River . The fish seem to be on the move and are hanging around for a small amount of time but seem to be determined to hit the river mouth fairly quick. Some of the best fishing has been from the China Creek Wall down to the Narrows . Many of salmon that have been landed are in twenty-five to forty feet of water with anchovy being one of the best of many possible items to land a Chinook. The clear green and UV green, purple haze, green haze and army truck seem to be the best anchovy teaser heads. In plastic the AORL 12, green spatterback,army truck and the O-15 with 42 inches of leader behind various hot spot flashers have been good for those guides and sport fishermen who do not like to use bait.

The Chinook should continue coming in as reports of Robertson Creek fish are located in inside and outside waters of Barkley Sound and seem to be in some fairly significant numbers. Coho should come into the mix in the Inlet by the end of August which will develop an even better sport fishery. Limits in the Inlet are two Chinook per person per day with a per person possession limit of four for two days. Coho limits within Inlet waters are four per person per day with a two day possession limit. The Port Alberni Labor Day Salmon Fishing Derby will be held this year for the full Labor Day Weekend. Fishing will begin in the Alberni Inlet waters and also Barkley Sound on Saturday September 3 rd and continues until Monday September 5 th at 3pm. Check locations online for this great event. Great daily prizes can be won.

Barkley Sound

Barkley Sound is one of the most scenic areas in British Columbia . The area offers excellent fishing and other forms of tourism including whale watching, kayaking, and sightseeing. The fishing on the surfline and inshore areas has been consistent with inshore areas such as Pill Point, Diplock, Poett Nook, Yankee Bay, and Swale Rock have picked up over the last few weeks as the Robertson Creek fish are holding for a day or two in many of these areas before swimming their way up the Alberni Inlet to the Somass River mouth. The Barkley Sound salmon like the many Chinook in the Inlet are predominately four year olds and range in weight from eighteen to twenty-five pounds. The salmon have been in forty to as deep as one hundred feet of water and are hitting bait, spoons and hootchies. The best spoons have been four inch coyotes in green and blue nickel and also green and silver glow and the pearl white. The Rhys Davis Anchovy teaser heads best selections have been peanut butter, army truck and purple haze. The fishing seems to be best around the tide changes. The hour before and after each tide has resulted in some good fishing. Swale and Austin and Cree have had longer fishing opportunities on tide changes with the salmon in tight to the beach or rocks on the flood and on the low tide out in deeper water. If there is bait in selected areas the Coho that are either making their way down the coastline or coming into local streams are feeding frantically and will feed almost the full day which gives to sport angler an opportunity to possible play a salmon any time of the day. The Coho can be found in shallower water and are hitting watermelon four inch coyote spoons and white or green colored hootchies. We are expecting Barkley Sound to have continued great fishing well into September. The continued late summer run of salmon swimming to the south will continue coming into the sound to rest and feed on the masses of rich bait fish and the returning local salmon to various rivers, streams, and creeks will provide for some excellent sport fishing. September is an excellent time to fish for big Coho and Chinook.

Ucluelet

Ucluelet continues to be the premiere spot in British Colubia to sport fish. Masses of Chinook and Coho move down the coastline every spring and summer and the many shallow banks just outside of the Ucluelet Harbor provide some world class salmon fishing. These salmon which begin to arrive in good numbers in May feed and rest in the shallow banks for days and even weeks and come in big schools right into October. The 2011 fishing season has been remarkable for the sport fisher person. Many individuals are on guided trips or in their own sport boat. It has also been a summer with remarkable flat water and perhaps could be said one of those summers with little fog. The salmon have created opportunity at several locations at various times of the year to unfold some great fishing. As of recent the starfish and now The Wreck have had the best fishing. Some Chinook in the thirties and even low forties have been landed at these two locations. Of course as we get closer to September the Chinook and Coho tend to get bigger as they feed vigorously before moving into their spawning grounds. The salmon can also be found at closer locations as the Turtle Head, and the inner and outer South Bank have continued good salmon fishing. Recently it seems that any hootchie, coyote spoon, or Tomic Plug or spoon seem to be working. Bait has also been very good if one wishes to go through the expense of using anchovy or herring. Expect some great fishing to continue and all sport anglers coming to the west coast are reminded of the Ucluelet Ladder Derby with monthly cash pizes for the top three weighed in salmon and the final derby taking place the weekend of September 9 th , 10 th , and 11 th .

Somass-Stamp River

Salmon fishing is scheduled to open in the River on August 26 th . Please check regulations before fishing. Of recent the summer Steelhead have already been in good numbers. Guided trips have resulted in some good fishing. We are expecting a banner river fishing season beginning this week right into late October and the first ten or eleven days of October for salmon and fall Steelhead. If you are wanting to plan a trip don’t wait too long as there is not a lot of river trip availability.

The summer salmon fishing season is not over and there are great expectations for some continued great fishing in the area. The summer of 2011 has very much turned out to be what was forecast——TERRIFFIC

For More information
Contact:
Doug Lindores
1 250 724 2502 (home)
1 250 731 7389 (cell)
1 888 214 7206
dlindy@shaw.ca
www.catchsalmon-ca.com

July 13 th 2011
1 888 214 7206
Doug Lindores

There has been some phenomenal fishing on Vancouver Islands West Coast and also in the Port Alberni Inlet and many areas of the protected waters of Barkley Sound. The West Coast has had very consistent salmon fishing with some great Chinook fishing in the many inshore and offshore locations. Barkley Sound has had vast quantities of bait fish which have brought the many migratory Chinook into surfline and inshore areas as far as Pill Point. The Port Alberni Inlet has filled with Sockeye salmon which has pleased the hundreds of sport fishermen fishing the pristine and very quiet waters of the Alberni Inlet. We are expecting the West Coast and Barkley Sound regions to have some excellent Chinook and Coho fishing right through August. Pink Salmon should also be in fantastic numbers also by the middle of this month. Everyone fishing the outside and inner areas of Vancouver Island will have a great opportunity to land a pacific salmon this summer.

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

The Sockeye run in the Port Alberni Inlet has been bumped from 600,000 Sockeye to 1.4 million. The Sockeye Salmon fishing has been fantastic but there has been a slowing effect for the sport fishermen over the last few days. The winter had huge snowfall amounts on the nearby Vancouver Island mountain ranges and with a very cool spring the huge snow packs have been slow in melting. The Sockeye began to arrive in May and moved into the two major nearby lakes which are Sproat and Great Central Lake . The Sockeye usually begin to school in the Inlet but because the Somass River and Port Alberni Inlet water has remained cool the Sockeye have moved quickly into the Somass system. Currently there are well over 560,000 Sockeye swimming the waters of the two lakes where they will sit in deep water until the fall when the streams and creeks fill with water where the Sockeye will spawn. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is concerned about the numbers of returning Sockeye and that the lakes will be to full of these most delicate of the all salmon species for good survival rates. To slow the continued movement of Sockeye moving into the lakes the DFO has opened a Seine and Gill Net commercial fishery for one full week. The Seines can pickup fish in any area from the surface to 80 to 100 feet down and the gill nets are picking up all those Sockeye in the top 30 feet of water headed to the river. The commercial fishery has hammered the sport fleet. Sport boats that were limiting on Sockeye are now fortunate to land two or three Sockeye per morning. We are hoping the commercial fleet moves rather quickly and gets their allocated numbers. New salmon should move in and hopefully for the sake of the Port Alberni Community the sockeye fishing for all sport fishermen can once again improve to what it was in the last two weeks of June and the first week of July. The fish that are hitting the sport lines are still hitting a variety of pink colors mixed in with blue and black. Leader lengths should be from 22 to 27 inches in length with green, red, purple haze or other colored hotspot flashers. Dummy flashers are also important as the Sockeye are attracted to the boat by color. The expectation of some good fishing in the last two weeks of July and first fifteen days of August is still predicted. Check with Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport fishing.

Barkley Sound

Barkley Sound salmon fishing has been very good and quite consistent for the last several weeks. Surfline areas have had good Chinook fishing and now some nice sized Coho are beginning to show. Inland water fishing points such as Pill Point, Alan Point , Vernon Bay and Swale Rock which has really been on fire, have had some fairly decent fishing with mostly Chinook coming in to feed on the rich resources of bait fish in these predominant fishing locations. The Surfline locations especially Meares, Austin, Cree, and Edward King have been good for both Chinook and now Coho. The Chinook have been mostly in deep water ranging from 70 to 120 feet. Swale Rock has had salmon on either side of the Rock on the Imperial Eagle side out in deeper water or on the channel side and also over towards Mara Rock. Anchovy behind a variety of hotspot flashers really seems to be the best method to fly on the troll. Rhys Davis Teaser heads in purple haze, green, clear and bloody nose are working well especially for Chinook. The green nickel, silver glow and watermelon are three great coyote spoons and in plastic the green spatterback and the AORL12 and T-Rex are doing well landing some Chinook but mostly for the Coho. The mid summer run of salmon in both Chinook and Coho are now just beginning. These salmon are migratory fish headed to watersheds to the south. The predominant age class of this run of fish which is one of the biggest runs predicted over the last fifteen years are four and five year olds which means there will be some Chinook salmon in the high twenties to mid thirty pound range. Barkley Sound has some great locations that are protected from southerly or northerly winds which makes it a great area for salmon fishing.

Ucluelet

West Coast

Ucluelet has had some of the best fishing on Vancouver Islands West Coast since early May. The consistency of many excellent salmon fishing days is difficult to beat anywhere in British Columbia . The inshore and offshore fishing for Chinook and Coho have been excellent and the halibut fishing has also been good in most locations. Recently the inner and outer southbank as well as the long beach bank and the lighthouse bank have been good. The Wreck and the Big Bank have been consistent but the fish have been a little smaller further out. The bait seems to be changing. There is still a lot of needle fish but bigger pilchards are beginning to show up. Coyote spoons in the three and a half and four inch size behind a variety of flasher colors espcecially glows are working but with the Pilchards showing up many guides and sport fishermen are no longer using flashers but are trolling with big six and seven inch spoons and plugs. If using a flasher with the larger spoons keep the leader up to seven feet and use a blue or purple mirror. There are plenty of salmon out on the various banks offshore of Vancouver Island in which many are close to the bottom or in the midwater.. The halibut hide in the sand on these various banks and many fisher persons and guides are still bringing their lower lines close the the bottom and are picking up halibut on the troll. If this method is not working go to halibut jigs or a spreader bar. The Chinook and Coho numbers are increasing daily on the coast and with this being an odd year look for millions of pink salmon destined for the Fraser River . July and August will be excellent fishing months out on the west coast. Ucluelet has a mothly ladder derby. Each month the three biggest salmon are awarded cash prizes with all of the top fish entries from each month from May to early September in a fish off for a grand prize during the second weekend of September. The yearly cost for the salmon ladder derby is $50 and daily it is $10 and can be picked up while in Ucluelet. Ask your guides or get in for at the information center.

For more information
Contact
Doug Lindores
1 888 214 7206
1 250 724 2502 (home)
1 250 731 7389 (cell)
dlindy@shaw.ca
www.catchsalmon-ca.com

April 11 th 2011
Doug Lindores
1 877 214 7206

Vancouver Island is a majestic geographical area of tall coniferous forests and breath-taking scenic views of rugged terrain and coastlines battered by winter storms. There are also a continuous display of rugged coastlines with wonderful exquisite and secluded beaches with pristine calm water which can be found in Barkley Sound and the waters of the Alberni Inlet. Not only does the West Coast of British Columbia have an unbelievable landscape but the salmon fishing in many areas is nothing but world class. This is truly one area, of this great nation, where individuals have opportunity of hooking into a twenty pound salmon twelve months of the year.

We are closing in on mid-April and the 2011 saltwater fishing season is here. With weather patterns now becoming more predictable anglers can get out on the water with a little more ease in those many areas that are not located in “protected” waters.

The migraory flow of the early Chinook salmon headed down the coastline to natal streams to the south has just started. With feeder or winter Chinook salmon also still in the system April and early May can have some very good fishing days. Not only is the ocean fishing good but the Stamp River is often very good with large numbers of wild and hatchery Steelhead in the Lower and Upper River. Many say that April can often be the best month of the year to fish winter Steelhead. This is also a month with very little fishing pressure making it a time where keen river anglers can fish the Stamp in solitude.

The 2011 fishing season is shaping up to be as good or if not better than 2010. There are many indicators that show the season should be very good for Chinook and Sockeye salmon. Coho salmon indicators look good also and with it being an odd year pink salmon will be an added bonus with close to twenty million pinks swimming down the west coast to the Fraser River .

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

Prawn fishing in the Alberni Inlet again opens in April. The China Creek, narrows, and Mctush areas are very popular for sporties. Much of Barkley Sound has been open all winter where the prawn fishing has been very good. Traps are usually set in 175 to 230 feet of water. Often in April and early May the Alberni Inlet is covered with red buoys. Make sure if putting out traps that lots of weight is used to keep your traps down. The best bait for prawning is Carlyle Just Tuna Cat food and Ace of Baits prawn pellets.

We expect that the Sockeye sport season will get underway by June 15 th and that limits in the first part of the season will be four per person and a two day possesion limit of eight. Last year over one million Somass Sockeye Salmon returned to the Alberni Inlet. Pre season forecasts are indicating that this number could be higher for the 2011 season.

The salmon fishing in Barkley Sound has been hit and miss for winter Chinook.

The Sproat Lake Derby which occurred in early March had a twenty-four pound salmon take top spot. Fishing early in the year was quite good but has been spotty since. With herring coming to the beach and with the start of the early summer run of Chinook headed to southern watersheds we are expecting some good fishing out in surfline locations. Areas like Kirby Point, Cree, Effingham, and Edward King have recently had a few good reports of hatchery Chinook being landed and as time moves forward into late April and early May the fishing should really improve. Look out for some great fishing during the summer months. Forecasts are showing that the mid summer Chinook migratory flow to the Willamette and Columbia River will be very strong with most of the Chinook predominately being four and five year olds. With the weather patterns becoming more reliable those getting out to Barkley Sound should plan on fishing on the troll using either hootchies, coyote spoons, or anchovy. One guide boat recently did well at Effingham and Kirby landing over a two day period eight Chinook in the ten to seventeen pound category. The Chinook were hitting four inch cop car and the green-nickel and blue-nickel coyote spoon. Army Truck needlefish hootchie was also a great choice behind a green glow hot spot flasher. If you get close to the bottom from Swale rock out the Meares don’t be surprised if a halibut hits your bait or lure.

Ucluelet

West Coast fishing during the winter months can often be difficult. It can take a day or more for the water to settle after a storm but by mid-April weather conditions become more of a reliable factor. We are currently fishing feeder Chinook and the beginning of the early summer hatchery Chinook migrating to southern streams. The crab fishing is fantastic and up into Barkley Sound the sport prawn fishing is very good.

This is the time of year that we can often fish for a variety of wonderful tasting seafood delights. Often we can fish for what is termed a “seafood safari” and individuals can enjoy a day of crabbing, prawning, and rock and lingcod fishing (opened April 1 st ) and of course salmon. The salmon fishing close to the Ucluelet Harbor has definitely picked up over the last ten days. Beg Island , Great Bear, Forbes, Sail Rock, and an Area termed The Alley has been producing some nice salmon into the high teens. The herring have been moving in and there is also plenty of needlefish and pilchards in the area which brings the salmon in close to the beach during tides to feed. Trolling has been the best method and it is important to watch the sounder and stay within about thirty feet of the bottom. Usual fishing depths for the areas mentioned are 90 to 120 feet. Coyote spoons have been working. The three and a half and four inch army truck and glow green have been the best. Anchovy in a Rhys Davis teaser head in glow green, chartreuse, or army truck behind purple, red or green glow flashers have been used with success by a few guides although spoons seem to be the best choice at the current time.

Summer fishing out of Ucluelet looks very good. The mid summer run of migratory Chinook salmon and also Coho are forecast to be quite strong. The Chinook are predicted to be predominately four and five year olds which suggests some bigger salmon in the thirty and maybe even forty pound range. The Ucluelet ladder derby gets started on May 1 st and continues through Labor Day Weekend. The final Derby is the weekend following. Cost is $50 for the full year. There are great money prizes monthly for the top fish.

Stamp River

One of the biggest kept secrets is the great fishing that occurs in the Stamp for Winter Steelhead in April. Very few people are on the river and there are plenty of fish. In fact there are some fresh steelhead still coming into the Lower. Guides generally have their clients in the Upper River aboard drift boats and those that are bank fishermen are mostly fishing in the Upper river also. The bait ban is still in effect. Those looking for fresh new fish in the Lower River below “the bucket” can still use roe and roebags. The Upper River bank or shore walkers have had some great success using one eighth and quarter ounce jigs in pink or purple or both of these predominant colors with some white mixed in. The guides in the jet boats have been using four inch pink worms, goey bobs and spin n glow. Spoons are now beginning to work fairly well. With the fishing pressure ridiculously low and the river water warming the Steelhead have become more active. The mix of wild and hatchery fish is almonst 50-50 and some of the fish that have been landed over the last few days have excellent color. In fact some of the fish have been chromers. The size of most of the fish have been averaging eight to twelve pounds. There still are a few in the mid teens. Late September through mid November is a very popular time to fish the Stamp. It is the time of year when not only Chinook and Coho have come in for their natural spawn if they do not go to the hatchery but also a time when there are plenty of feeding summer Steelhead. It is also the ideal time for fly fishermen to take advantage of the opportunity to witness some of the best fly fishing one can find.

For more information

Contact:
Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
1 888 214 7206 toll free
1 250 724 2502 home
250 731 7389 cell
dlindy@shaw.ca
www.catchsalmon-ca.com

1-888 214-7206
June 5 th 2012
Slivers Charters

June has arrived and again like the last couple of years many would often think that because of the cool weather it was late March not early June. This is not to say that there have not been any fantastic spring days with warm temperatures. With the current cool and moist weather the rivers in the area are very high. For the early returning salmon moving to the big watersheds to the south and also the various local areas the early migration flow has been very smooth and fantastic for conservation purposes. The long term forecast is for the weather pattern to change and to warm up to normal or higher temperatures. For the many people coming to sport fish on the west coast in the month of June this is great news. The salmon fishing in Barkley Sound, the Bamfield area and inshore and offshore Ucluelet has been what one might describe as fair to good. There have been some great fishing days with Chinook averaging eight to fifteen pounds with a few of the clipped migratory salmon coming in at twenty pounds. The Somass River has had some of the early Sockeye enter the system. Over the past few days these numbers have really increased and the Somass is literally full of Sockeye ranging six to ten pounds. These salmon are making their way to either Sproat or Great Central Lake where they will sit in deeper water until the fall. There have been a few keen sport fishermen fishing at paper mill dam. The daily limit in the river for Sockeye is currently two. Inlet retention for Sockeye is four. There have been a few boats in the inlet with a little success in the Nahmint-Franklin area where large schools of Sockeye have been located.

Over the last number of years we have witnessed some world class salmon fishing opportunities. However this year the forecast is said to be the best year of the past decade. This will definitely be a fantastic year to take opportunity and sport fish in Port Alberni , Barkley Sound, or inshore offshore Ucluelet-Tofino. The Sockeye, Chinook, and Coho salmon will definitely be returning to natal rivers in big numbers. 2012 will be a remarkable salmon sport fishing year.

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

The sockeye salmon fishing consistently gets underway by mid June. Hopefully the water warms up somewhat in the river system and the air temperature also warms up. When the river hits seventeen or eighteen degrees celsius the Sockeye will slow on their migratory flow and begin to school in good numbers in the Alberni Inlet. The Sockeye early run is definitely currently bolting to the cool waters of the Somass. If the number of Sockeye returning are relatively large in numbers this will create a back log and the fish will back themselves up as far as the Nahmint-Franklin area. When the Sockeye are in big schools the sport fishing improves dramatically. June 15 th is always a great bet for the beginning of the season. The current retention for Sockeye in the Port Alberni Inlet is four per person per day with a two day possession limit of eight Sockeye salmon. Sockeye fishing is a lot of fun and is definitely a great family outing. The key to Sockeye Salmon fishing is color behind the boat. Most individuals will fish four rods with four same color flashers on each rod and then two to four dummy flashers connected to downriggers. Leader lengths normally are twenty-two to twenty-eight inches. A variety of mp hootchies are used with the mp 15 and 16 being the most popular along with the black and pink and blue and pink hippy hootchies. The forecast return of Somass River Sockeye is 825,000. This number when testing begins and when the counters are put in is expected to go over one million fish. Sockeye are a wonderful salmon and are the number “one” commercial fish. Sockeye are easy to keep when properly vaccuum packed and last well over a year in a home deep freeze.

The Barkley Sound Salmon fishing has been what most guides and anglers would say as fair to good. Recently sport fishermen have often needed to be at the right spot at the right time. The Chinook salmon for the most part have been feeder springs and weigh on average eight to fifteen pounds. The best locations have been Beale and Little Beale and also Edward King. These locations are out on the surfline and the best fishing has been in tight to the rocky shoreline fishing in shallower water from thirty to sixty-five feet. Other hotspots in Barkley Sound have been Kirby Point, Vernon Bay , Swale Rock, Austin Island , and the Bamfield Harbor mouth. In these locations the fish have been as deep as one hundred and forty-five feet. Small coyote spoons at the the three and three and a half inch, anchovy in a Ryhs Davis chartreuse teaser head and needle fish hootchies have been the top producers. At this time of year one will always find the salmon where there are great quantities of bait. The Bamfield Harbor and parts of the Bamfield Wall have had big schools of small herring which has helped produce some excellent catches of feeder Chinook. There have been a few Coho showing but mostly further out on the various banks. Coho retention comes into place beginning on June the first. For those that prefer water that is protected Barkley Sound is the ideal fishing location as the east and west coastlines are protected from the prevailing winds and for the most part the water is calm and very flat. Barkley Sound will definitely have some fantastic salmon fishing during the upcoming summer months.

Ucluelet (West Coast)

The fishing in Ucluelet has been very consistent during the spring. Of course weather can still play a major role but generally the water is very fishable inshore and offshore. There are a good number of days where the wind and water is calm and flat. The first of the migratory fish have showed up on the outside water on the inner and outer southbank and the wreck. Inshore there is still a good number of feeder springs plus a few of the clipped American fish that are headed to the big watersheds to the South.

The forecast in terms of returning salmon to the three biggest watersheds including the Columbia and the Sacremento River are well over one million Chinook to each of the three biggest river systems. This is only three of over one hundred rivers that will definitely produce a heavy migratory flow on Vancouver Islands West Coast during the summer of 2012. The areas around the Ucluelet harbor producing Chinook have been Great Bear and Beg Island . The salmon have been in deeper water and once again when bait is in big schools there are good number of feeding salmon up to twenty pounds. The outer and inner southbank have also been good as has the turtle head and the wreck. One of the best days over the past week saw four guided guests pick up eight Chinook averaging thirteen to twenty pounds fishing at one hundred and fifty feet or close to the bottom using needle fish hootchies which have been working very well during the spring. Small green glow and nickel green coyote spoons have also been good but not as good as the needlefish hootchies. The fishing on the west coast will only get better as we get into June and July. In August the Chinook and Coho as they make their was to their natal rivers will have put on a lot of weight as they feed on the rich resources of bait fish provided along Vancouver Islands illustrious coastline. The 2012 summer and early sport salmon fishing will definitely be a fantastic season and one to remember for many years.

For more information:
Contact: Doug Lindores
1 888 214 7206 (toll free)
1 250 724 2502 (home)
1 250 731 7389 (cell)
dlindy@shaw.ca
www.catchsalmon-ca.com

July 7 th 2012
1 888 214 7206

The salmon fishing season is really moving along. It seems like it was just mid April and that we were just getting underway with anticipation of a great season rapidly closing in on us. In many areas one might say the fishing has been relatively hot but the weather to this point into early July has been surprisingly cold. While the rest of North America lays under an umbrella of scorching temperatures the Pacific Northwest has been two to four degrees celsius cooler than what it should be at this time of the year. The long range forecast however does show a remarkable improvement with temperatures reaching the thirties over the next week. Barkley Sound and the area around Bamfield B.C. has had some of the early seasons best fishing. Tofino fishing has been relatively good over the last few weeks. Many areas outside of the Ucluelet Harbor are beginning to pick up as more and more of the migratory flow of salmon headed to natal rivers in the big southerly watersheds are beginning to show up in bigger numbers. Beg Island and Sail Rock had some good fishing over the past few days with Chinook in the twenty to twenty-five pound range and Coho in the five to seven pound range. The Port Alberni Inlet has had great fishing at times and on the other hand has had some poor days. The inlet has been very inconsistent due to the poor and very cold temperatures but returns are looking fantastic and the hope is that warmer temperatures will allow for some schooling of these fantastic Sockeye Salmon. We are looking forward to the months that lay ahead with magnificent opportunities for sport fisher persons targetting Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.

Port Alberni Inlet

The Sockeye season for the sport fisher person really got off to a good start the week of June 18 th . Most of the guides were limiting on twelve and sixteen fish per morning for guests. Many sport anglers were also doing very well. The Sockeye were moving into deeper water in the twenty five to fifty foot range and were forming schools. With continued poor weather after a few days of warm temperatures the water temperature of the Somass and the Port Alberni Inlet cooled and the fish began to once again migrate in shallower water which has made it diffiult to fish as there have not been the large schools of Sockeye that make this type of salmon fishing so remarkable. All of those in the sport sector in the Port Alberni area are hoping for a dramatic change in weather conditions and hoping that some of the Sockeye season can be salvaged. The last Sockeye forecast is now suggesting a return of just over one million two hundred thousand Sockeye which means there is still plenty of salmon to come this way. The latest Sockeye bullettin dated June 28 th hsd given an escapement of ninty thousand plus Sockeye. The fish after leaving the Somass pass through counters which were put up in May and head to the Sproat and Great Central Lake systems. The returns to Great Central are nineteen thousand two hundred and Sproat Lake has a return of seventy-one thousand one hundred Sockeye salmon. The catch estimate to date is just over two hundred and eight thousand split between the first nations Somass River catch, recreation, gillnet, and seine commercial fisheries. The fishing when good for sockeye has been most productive using two or four dummy flashers with four flashers and lures with a leader length of twenty-two to twenty-eight inches in length. The best mp lures have been pink and black, pink and blue and some have been doing well just using black hooks. The black hook method is best behind a purple haze flasher and the mp hootchies behind green and red glow flashers. We are hoping for some good weather very quickly. Hopefully this happens and the Inlet water warms and the Sockeye go to deeper water and school in good numbers.

Barkley Sound

The best salmon fishing in this geographical area to date has been in Barkley Sound. The areas around Bamfield have produced some very good salmon fishing. The fishing in the area has been good for almost a full month. Lately there has been a mix of Chinook and small Coho in the four to eight pound range. The Coho should really begin to put on weight over the weeks to come. These acrobatic sport salmon gain an average of a pound per week as they feed heavily on the rich resources of bait fish found in many of the locations around the Sound, the Bamfield areas and of course offshore. Close to Bamfield, areas such as Kirby Point, Sanford, the back end of Fleming Island, the Bamfield Harbor and Wall and Ship Island have all been producing some nice Chinook up to seventeen and eighteen pounds. There are also a good number of feeder Chinook in the mix from four to ten pounds. Coho are also in the area and are becoming more numerous on a daily basis.. The key has been bait. Wherever one finds the bait there has been feeding salmon. The big bait balls have been in 100 to 120 feet of water. If sport anglers fish in that level or wherever the big bait balls are one will usually have salmon hitting lures of choice. Of course the best bite is during the change of tide Different spoons and hootchies have been working well. Dependng on ones speed the leader length of various spoons can range from forty-six inches to six feet in length. Green nickel and blue nickel, knight rider, and Irish Cream in the three and a half and four inch size have all been working quite well in the areas around Bamfield. A variety of white and green hootchies with a 42 inch leader have been working. Needlefish hootchies still seem to be working the best.

The many other areas in the scenic and pristine waters of Barkley Sound have also had some very good sport fishing. Meares, Austin and Cree have been the most consistent areas. Chinook have been plentiful around the deep trough at Cree Island and fishing close to Austin Island has produced some fantastic salmon catches. The last two days including July 3 rd and the morning of the 4 th we fished one boat on the backside of Meares with a group of Alberta guests. The fishing was fantastic as a big school of Coho ranging from seven to ten pounds had moved into the area. With strong northwesterly winds the bait was more than likely pushed inshore Chinook weighing seven to twelve pounds were also in the mix feeding on the bait fish. Most of the fish were clipped. The Green Nickel Coyote spoon in the four inch was working the best as well as the dark green spatterback needlefish hootchie with a forty-two inch leader. The watermelon spoon has also been quite good in this area for the last two days prior to this report date.

Bamfield and the other areas around Barkley Sound as far inshore as Pill Point and Diplock have been terriffic to date for the sport fisher person. We are expecting this trend to continue through July, August, and September.

Ucluelet

(West Coast)

The first part of summer has not provided some of the best weather on the west coast. Strong winds from the northwest and also southeast have been more prominent than usual. Most of the fishing has been inshore but on good days guides and sport anglers have been able to fish on the troll the various banks with the inner south and the Big Bank having some fairly decent results. Over the last week long beach has reported some bigger fish in the thirty pound range. Alley and Sail Rock also had some catches reported with bigger Chinook. Up until a week ago most of the Chinook and Coho catches were smaller fish in the seven to fourteen pound range. However it must be said that the school sizes were quite big making any fishing day that guides and sport fishermen could get out of the Ucluelet Harbor fairly action packed. We are expecting a big migration of salmon to begin to push on the West Coast. The big three watersheds to the south have forecast huge returns. The returns are predicted to be the best in ten years which means that the migration of fish down the west coast will be phenomenal over the next few months. Those having the success on the surfline of Vancouver Island and offshore waters have been using needlefish hootchies in the spatterback and the army truck pattern and colors plus a variety of three and a half and four inch spoons with cop car, green and blue nckel doing well. As the fish get bigger the spoon size should go up. Fishing depths are eighty to one hundred and thirty feet. The halibut fishing has been relatively good with long beach producing halis from fifteen to twenty pounds. The Big Bank out at the rats nose has produced some nice halibut fishing on the troll by bouncing the bottom at onehundred and seventy-five to two hundred feet. Salmon catches on the bottom and midwater on the big bank have also been decent.

The biggest Chinook salmon in the Ucluelet Ladder Derby in June was thirty one pounds. There were a few bigger fish that have come onto the docks but the people were not entered. The Derby cost for the years entry is $50 and on a daily basis $10. This years fish off will be the weekend after Labor Day. There a terriffic monthly cash prizes.

For more information
Contact:
Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
www.catchsalmon-ca.com
dlindy@shaw.ca
1 250 724 2502 (home)
1 888 214 7206 (toll free)
1 250 731 7389 (cell phone)

September 24 th 2010
Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
1 877 314 6800

It is the first few days of fall and the summer seems already so long ago. The summer and for that matter the late and early spring was a great year for salmon fishing in this area. The Sockeye fishing was unbelievable and the Chinook fishing especially for migratory salmon as predicted, on the surf line of Barkley Sound and also the area of water just two to five miles off the coast of the jagged shorelines of Vancouver Island was phenomenal. The areas just out of the Ucluelet Harbor and areas just outside of Effingham Island located near the Broken Group of Barkley Sound are currently experiencing some fantastic Coho fishing. The Coho are currently split between hatchery and wild. Only hatchery Coho outside of a line (seaward) from Coaster Channel on a line across to Satellite Pass can be retained. Hatchery and Wild Coho inside this line can both be retained. We are expecting the Coho fishing to be reasonably good for the next two weeks in outside waters and also the inner waters of Barkley Sound. There are many reports that the Coho fishing as far as Kyoquot is very good and we are expecting these fish to swim by and for that matter many could be headed for the Stamp River . Summer of 2010 is over but the salmon fishing opportunities are not.

The Stamp River is the best sport fishing area close to Port Alberni . Good numbers of Chinook are entering the river which has great conditions for the salmon headed to their spawning grounds. The Department of Fisheries just recently released a number showing that close to six thousand Chinook that have swam through the Stamp Falls fish way counters and/or are already upstream from Stamp Falls . The average Chinook count entering the counter per day is currently 300. DFO is still predicting a return of 43,000 Robertson Creek Chinook to the terminal area.

With summer coming to a close so have the two big fishing derbies. The 39 th Port Alberni Salmon Festival ended on Labor Day Monday. The three days of fishing saw only a handful of fish come into the weigh station at Clutesi Haven Marina that were over thirty pounds. John Robertson of Parksville won the derby and the $10,000 grand prize with a 40.3 pound Chinook. The salmon was caught near Poett Nook in 55 feet of water using anchovy in a Pearl Teaser head. Shawn Hackwell was the only big Port Alberni winner as he won the biggest fish on the Saturday of the derby. Shawn’s fish weighed in at 32.4 pounds which won him $3,000 and also the Fred Duncan Memorial Trophy for being the Alberni resident with the biggest weighed in salmon. Derby numbers were down in not only participants but also fish caught. There were a total of only 1,600 anglers and only 701 fish were weighed in at the various weigh-in stations.

The weekend of September 11 th and 12 th was the final of the Ucluelet ladder derby. This derby lasted from May 24 th to September 3 rd . The top five derby entrants with the five biggest fish for each month were automatically included along with the summers other top 50 fish for the fish off in September. Colin Campbell won the derby with a 24 pound 6 ounce salmon. This fish won him $8,000 and another $2,000 in a fish charter prize. Colin’s guide was Ken Meyer.

This winning fish was only half the size of a couple of the qualifying fish that came in during late August. The biggest fish was just over 49 pounds with several more big fish in the mid to high forties. The weather in the open water for the derby was not very good and made for some difficult fishing. It is expected that this ladder fishing derby will once again occur next year and will be based out of Ucluelet.

Ucluelet, Barkley Sound

Port Alberni Inlet

The September weather has not been terribly favorable for offshore fishing out of Ucluelet. On the days that have been good the water has been very flat with some great salmon fishing at the outer and inner South Bank. Coho have been generally found in the top 60 feet of water and a few bigger Chinook in the high teens and low twenties have also been in the same area. There are good numbers of Feeder Chinook close to the bottom between 120 and 145 feet. Some guides have had their best success using a T-Rex and a spatterback hootchie and also a hootchie known as “cotton candy”. The four inch watermelon and cop car coyote spoons have both done fairly well for guides and various sport fisher persons. The Coho fishing is expected to improve during the last week of September. There have been great reports of big Coho being landed to the north. These salmon should make their way down the coastline into the Ucluelet inner and outer waters and also the surf line areas of Barkley Sound.

Barkley Sound and the Port Alberni Inlet have generally been areas of hit and miss fishing since the beginning of September. The salmon just do not seem to want to hold in many of the local holding areas. Is seems as if the salmon are just making their way straight to the Somass river or other streams and creeks in the immediate area. We are hoping that current reports of some good Coho fishing at swale Rock and Pill Point in Barkley Sound are true. If the Coho come in bigger schools they just may hold as mentioned and make for some good fall fishing days.

Stamp River

The Stamp River has had some great salmon fishing since early September. There is currently good numbers of Chinook and Coho in the Lower River . The Lower River is the area below “the bucket” and is an area that anglers can use bait which came into effect on September 15 th . Many anglers fishing with river guides aboard jet boats have hooked into as many as twelve to fifteen Coho per day. There have also been many good sized Chinook that anglers have hooked into. Many of these big Chinook have been released. Anglers can retain up to 2 Chinook per day in the river but only one can be over 77cm’s. Coho retention is also at two per day.

The best fly fishing for summer Steelhead usually begins after the 10 th of October. By this time there are plenty of salmon eggs floating in the river and river bottom which creates great Steelhead activity and excellent fly fishing for those avid fly fishers. We are expecting some great Stamp river fishing through until late November.

For more information
on current fishing conditions
Contact
Doug Lindores
1 250 724 2502 (home)
1 877 314 6800
www.catchsalmon-ca.com
dlindy@shaw.ca

1 877 314 6800
July 16 th 2010
Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

It is already mid July and it seems like June had just arrived and has come and gone so quickly. The Salmon fishing as expected has been very exceptional in the Port Alberni Inlet and offshore-inshore Ucluelet. The Sockeye coming into the Port Alberni Inlet have been upgraded to 850,000 fish with an escapement goal of 411,000 into the Somass River and then into two lakes, Great Central and Sproat. The original forecast had been for 600,000 but for these fish the ocean conditions over the past three years has been perfect for ocean survival rate and this has more than likely accounted for a much higher return. To date the escapement of Sockeye has been 230,298 with Great Central Lake receiving 93,630 swimming through the fish way. Sproat Lake has had a return of 136,659 swimming through the counters. The past week has been terrific for escapement returns with daily returns into Central Lake from 2,200 to 7,700 and Sproat Lake 2,300 as a low and a whopping high day of 13,000 pieces.

With escapement returns and fish catchable numbers by the commercial, first nations, and sport fishery to this date the 2010 Somass Sockeye run is probably at fifty to fifty-five percent complete. The run size could very easily be upgraded this week once again. Sockeye sport fishing should continue right into August.

The Chinook fishing out on Vancouver Island ‘s West Coast has been dynamite. Ocean conditions have also helped the sport fishery on the coast which is experiencing one of the best sport Chinook fishing years ever. The Barkley Sound surf line areas have been off and on. There is a vast amount of bait fish offshore which the Chinook are gorging themselves on. This has limited the numbers of salmon that normally would come into the sound to feed on the rich resources of bait fish found along the edges of the surf line.

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

The Sockeye Sport fishery in the Port Alberni Inlet has been for the second year in a row phenomenal. Guests with Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing and those who are fishing in their own craft from all areas of Canada and the United states have all had opportunity to limit on the number one commercial salmon. Everyone fishing the Port Alberni area has taken home limits of these tasty salmon to share with family and friends. Sockeye sport fishing in the inlet has been great from Lone Tree Point out to Bilton Point which is located at the far end of the Inlet. The weather over the last week has been extremely warm and the salmon are schooling in bigger numbers and are also swimming in deeper water. The Nahmint-Franklin area has had the best fishing during the early part of the last week with the salmon in 40 to 65 feet of water. The last day or two with the Inlet waters warming some of the fish have moved down to as low as 90 and 100 feet. Sockeye are attracted to color behind the boat and there is no doubt that those fishing with dummy flashers 8 to 10 feet behind their vessel and with four rods with flashers and choice of lure have been having the best success rate. The best lures seem to be (choice of each guide or sport fisher person) the mp15 which is a bubblegum color, the mp 2 and 16. Guide Dougs’ favorite is the blue and pink and the black and pink Angelos’ which unfortunately are no longer being made. The commercial glow 182-183 and also the pink and blue head mp hootchie are working very well also. For those that enjoy not using any type of lure the straight black hook (one) or hooks (two) are also working behind 22 to 28 inches of leader. Sockeye fishing is a fun activity for the whole family. Kids from four to nineteen have a great time and of course adults of all ages do also. Guests world wide visiting the beautiful Alberni Valley have taken part in this spectacular sport fishery and have all had a wonderful opportunity landing a salmon.

Barkley Sound

The Barkley Sound fishing has been off and on. The migratory flow of salmon swimming down the west coast of Vancouver Island has been one of the best years ever. The Chinook have been coming in big numbers and are feeding heavily on bait fish out on the various banks. Some Chinook have moved into various surf line locations. Meares, Austin Island , Pinnacle Rock, and Edward King have had some good fishing days over the past few days. Guides Doug and John of Slivers Charters had some good fishing on Friday and Saturday of this past week between Effingham Island (Meares) and Cree Island . Chinook from the low teens to twenty-eight pounds were picked up using spoons and bait in 70 to 125 feet of water. Four inch coyote spoons in silver-glow and green and blue-nickel were working very well as was anchovy in the army truck glow teaser head and also the green Rhys Davis Teaser Head. We are expecting some great Chinook and Coho fishing in the Sound from mid July into mid September.

Ucluelet

West Coast

The offshore and inshore fishing for salmon and halibut has been very good to date out of Ucluelet. The Chinook have been predominately three year olds and are swimming to watersheds to the south. Three year old Chinook are usually fifteen to twenty pounds and this has been the case for the last two to three weeks with most of the landed salmon by sport anglers averaging eighteen to twenty pounds. There have also been some Chinook landed in the low to mid thirty pound range. A good percentage of the Chinook have been clipped and with such a large amount of three year olds the talk is spreading quickly about next year’s migratory four year old return to the southern watersheds of the Columbia River . Most of the usual hotspots outside the Ucluelet Harbor have been very good. The inner South Bank and outer area plus the south west corner have all been excellent for Chinook and halibut. The Red Can, Longbeach, and the Lighthouse Bank and of course the Big Bank have all had great fishing days. The bait on the various banks has been thick and the Chinook are gorging themselves on needle fish and big pilchards. Many guides and sport anglers are finding spoons from four to six inch in size working very well. The bigger spoons are attracting some of the bigger Chinook. Various plugs plus the brown turd and a couple of hootchies such as the T-Rex and the Clown have all been working well. Guide Wayne found that various green and blue colored needle fish hootchies were working well over the last few days on the South Bank. The Ucluelet Ladder Salmon Derby continues in July and August. The fish off with the top 50 fish will be the second weekend in September. Each month there are prizes of $5,000, $2,000, $1,000 and $500. Tickets per person are $10 and can be obtained in Ucluelet before fishing. The top 50 anglers with the top 50 weighed in fish will be fishing for a top prize of 20 to $25,000.

For more information
Contact
Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport fishing
250 724 2502 (home)
1 877 314 6800 (please only for accommodation package)
1 250 731 7389 (cell)
dlindy@shaw.ca e mail

1877 314 6800
June 8 th 2010
Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

The month of June has already rolled in and one would sometimes think that it was still March in terms of the weather on the west coast but the fishing as predicted has been superb. There is hope, as the weather is forecast to gradually warm up to a more normal pattern over the next week. Fishing for Chinook and halibut on Vancouver Island ‘s west coast has been consistently very good for the last six weeks. The great fishing in local saltwater hotspots is quite evident as everyday there is an increase of vehicles on local roads and highways towing fifteen to thirty foot sport fishing boats. Many of the sport fisher people are traveling by boat to the scenic and pristine waters of Barkley Sound from Port Alberni while others are venturing out to the West Coast to fish Vancouver Islands rugged coastline which is very fishable and safe and also to fish more of the offshore waters.

The 2010 sport fish season in Ucluelet, Barkley Sound, and the Port Alberni Inlet is forecast to be one of the best seasons ever. The early season run of Chinook which are migratory salmon swimming to distant southern watersheds is almost eighty percent complete with the mid summer fish now coming into the mix. Mid summer migratory numbers are forecast to be well over 700,000 Chinook. Coho numbers are also expected to be very high. These salmon should peak sometime in July. The Sockeye sport fishery in the Alberni Inlet should be incredibly good as approximately 700,000 Sockeye are expected to return to the Somass River system.

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

The Sockeye sport fishery opened on June 1 st in the Port Alberni Inlet.

The first few days of the opening have produced very few fish on the troll. There are sockeye in the system but they are not schooling because of cool air temperatures and cool river water. The daily limit is two sockeye per person per day with a two day possession limit of four. It is expected that possession limits with change to four per person per day on July 1 st . Some people are a little concerned about the weather and conditions but one must remember that last year the sport fishery opened on June 15 th and by that time things had warmed up and limits were popular with most boats and crew. The Sockeye are currently swimming the top 20 to 35 feet of water and sense that the Somass River water is cool. Some individual guides and sport fishermen out on the water for these first few days have fished the Nahmint-Franklin area and have still not found any large schools of Sockeye willing to take the lures offered. By mid month things should change. Weather conditions and warmth will be extremely important. Good spots to fish will be Cous Creek, Dunsmuir Point, the China Creek Wall, the slide and narrows and of course the vast area of water around Nahmint and Franklin. Guides and those fishing out of their own sport boat should troll with at least six colorful flashers behind the boat. The most popular lure will be a red or pink (mp 2, 16 or 15-bubblegum color) hootchie. Leader lengths are best at 22 to 27 inches behind a green or red hotspot flasher. Most of the Sockeye in June that are biting will be in the top 40 to 70 feet of water.

Barkley Sound fishing has been very good out on the surf line and one inner area, Pill Point, which has been producing some great fishing opportunities. Most of the fish in both areas have been averaging 12 to 15 pounds with some in the mid twenties. Areas such as Cree, Austin Island , Effingham, Kirby and Edward King have produced the largest sized fish. The fish at Pill Point have been hanging in the area for almost two weeks. There are plenty of bait fish from 30 to 100 feet. The salmon that have been hitting are in 90 to 110 feet and seem to like the white AORL12 hootchie, a silver spoon, the 155 needlefish and the green-nickel four inch coyote spoon. Swale Rock has also had some good fishing. On June 4 th guests from Ladysmith were delighted on their limit of Chinook. Two of their six salmon were just over twenty pounds and were both landed on a white hootchie. Surf Line areas have had great fishing in water 60 to 100 feet. Anchovy in a chartreuse Rhys Davis Teaser head with a fairly long leader have been working very well as has the green and blue nickel and the glow army truck hootchie. The fishing in Barkley Sound should be very good in June and July. The migratory flow too southern watersheds are forecast to be very strong. The mid-summer Chinook run migrating to the Columbia River are forecast to be around 700,000 pieces. Barkley Sound waters are very scenic and most of the water is protected on the east and west shorelines.

Ucluelet

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 waters are very rich in bait fish (sardines and needlefish) and the migratory and local

Salmon feed on these throughout the spring and summer months before heading to their spawning grounds. Ucluelet because of its geographical location offers salmon fishing twelve months of the year. The summer salmon fishing seems to be changing. August and early September were often considered peak times for Chinook sport fishing. Because of the high numbers of transient Chinook salmon passing along the west coast of Vancouver Island from April to August it seems that the over last few years the peak of the season has been mid-June through July. This is not to say that Chinook sport fishing does not continue in August and September. Coho numbers have been quite high for the past three years and have become the highlight in August and September. Coho often from mid-May feed hard and put on a pound per week and by mid-August can weigh from thirteen to twenty pounds in September. The fishing for guides and avid sport anglers has been very good through the spring. The inshore waters within four to five miles of the Ucluelet Harbor have been fantastic with most boats limiting on Chinook and also halibut. Great Bear, Mara Rock, the Alley, and Long Beach have produced some nice Chinook in the high teens and twenties. Guides have been fishing in 70 to 120 feet of water and have done well on the 155 needlefish hootchie, glow army truck hootchie, the green and blue nickel five inch coyote spoon and anchovy in various green teaser head colors. When trolling and using anchovy it seems that a red or green hotspot flasher or an Old Betsy are working the best. The offshore fishing out at South Bank and on the La Perouse Bank has been very good. Sport fishing on the troll has been the fishing method with the most success for salmon and halibut. When fishing in the gully areas trolling deeper and fairly close to the bottom has been most successful. One important thing to remember that during the season the food source sometimes gets bigger and spoon size and even plug size should increase. Of Course the salmon are also often bigger.

The 2010 fishing season in Port Alberni and the West Coast is shaping up just as it has been forecast. People will not be disappointed with their trips this summer. One can expect some highs and lows as the season continues. Their will be more highs this year.

For more information

Contact

Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
www.catchsalmon-ca.com
1 250 724 2502 (home)
1 877 314 6800 (lodge)
1 250 731 7389 (cell)
dlindy@shaw.ca