Port Alberni Inlet, Barkley Sound and West Coast Vancouver Island (Ucluelet)
Arthur landed this salmon fishing with Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing close to Cree Island in Barkley Sound
September 2018
We are very fortunate in this area of Vancouver Island to have the opportunity to fish year round. The Alberni Inlet and more importantly Barkley Sound have very protected water areas. The month of September is a fabulous time for anglers as the big Coho and Chinook approach their final destination of their longest life journey. The month of September also is a wonderful time of year for anglers as weather patterns create fabulous settings for many memorable sport fishing days. The days of course are shorter but the afternoons are warm and the salmon that are swimming along the Vancouver Island coast line and in the many Barkley Sound locations are feeding frantically before making their final destination to their natal streams and rivers.
September is not only a fabulous month for sport fishing but it is also the time of year when there are some terrific fishing derby opportunities. The city of Port Alberni hosts the three-day Labor Day Weekend Salmon Festival. The derby dates for 2018 are September 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The derby provides cash and prizes of over $60,000 with endless weekend entertainment. The 2018 festival should have some fantastic results as the returning Chinook to West Coast Vancouver Island is a mix of three, four and five year olds. The returns of Chinook are forecast to be at approximately eight-five thousand pieces to the Somass River system. This prediction should provide for fabulous world class salmon fishing in Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet in September.
Kent from Alabama fished with Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing and landed this Chinook Salmon using anchovy in Barkley Sound
Tuna fishing is also another opportunity that takes place in September. This fishery is still rather new to the area and requires some specialized gear and knowledge before heading out. In September the warm water currents bring the Tuna closer to the beach and make them more accessible in a sport boat of “Good Size”. The Tuna Shoot Out occurs in September, weather permitting. Anglers have to watch and be aware of the water current and look for the temperature break and fish the warmer side of the blue water. The tuna fishery is a lot of fun but safety is of essence. It is important that other people know where your boat is headed and that the weather is perfect. All safety equipment that is transport Canada approved is important on any sport fishing vessel. The tuna when landed must be put on ice immediately to preserve their quality. Having a larger sport fishing boat is a good idea as many will take up to five hundred pounds of ice or more.
Barkley Sound fishing at Pill Point, Diplock, Assets Island, and Swale Rock are wonderful hotspots where the salmon in in the first half of the month will hold if there are large quantities of rich resources of bait fish. The Bamfield Wall also provides unbelievable sport fishing. The fish that are headed to the Somass River, Sarita River and Nitnat will often hold from Whittlestone to Poett Nook gorging themselves on bait fish as they await fall rain before migrating to their final destination. Salmon also stretch along the opposite Barkley Sound coastline from Gilbraltor Island to the fish marker in Rainy Bay. The Chinook and Coho arrive in good numbers on a daily basis and as eager as they are to arrive to their spawning grounds they are still relatively eager to feast heavily. The fish are in shallower water in September. It is not uncommon for Coho in the early morning and late evening to be on the surface. Chinook are often in twenty to sixty feet of water. Anglers using anchovy usually have the best success. Anchovy in a glow army truck, purple haze, green haze, and cop car teaser head with six feet of leader behind purple-gold, green-gold or purple haze flasher should have some excellent success. The AORL 12, dark green spatter back, clown, purple haze, and army truck hootchies are fantastic standbys. Tomic Spoons and plugs in the six and seven inch size with no flasher also produce some great results when fishing in the many Barkley Sound locations.
Dan and Ron had opportunity of landing a double header of Chinook Salmon at Meares fishing with Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing. We are hoping that the second half of August and into September the area of Port Alberni and Barkley Sound will offer world class salmon fishing
The Alberni Inlet historically fills with Chinook salmon during the second half of August and continues into the first half of September. Coho follow the Chinook migration. In September both species are in a great mix migrating to the Somass River. Hotspots in the Inlet are Coulsons, Lone Tree, the China Creek Wall, Dunsmuir and Underwood. The fish are in twenty to fifty feet of water and are usually most aggressive in the early morning and on tide changes. Again the top producers in terms of lures are anchovy in various teaser heads behind a green glow or chartreuse glow hotspot flasher. The best hootchies are O-15, O-2 and O-16 which are all red and pink work extremely well. Also purple haze, green spatter back, and the mp2 and mp16 are also fantastic behind a hotspot flasher. The salmon when in the inlet are anxious to hit the river and when any rain occurs they bolt to the river mouth.
September is a wonderful month. The days are shorter with cool mornings and evenings. The late mornings and afternoons are warm with that cool fresh ocean breeze. The boat traffic is much less than July and August which makes for even a better sport fishing opportunity. Sport fishing will be world class as the salmon in Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet will be in good numbers and a good weight class.
Tight Lines
Doug Lindores
Slivers Charters Salmon Sport fishing
1 888 214 7206
250 731 7389
FISHING REPORT: ALBERNI INLET AND BARKLEY SOUND
August 30th 2018 DOUG LINDORES
2018 Alberni Valley Labor Day Salmon FESTIVAL (Sept. 1st to Sept. 3rd 2018)
Jake from Florida was fishing with Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing and landed this Chinook Salmon along the Bamfield Wall
Labor Day weekend is upon us and that means it is Salmon Festival weekend in Port Alberni. The Derby takes place on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday with fishing beginning each day at 6 am. The derby will close on Labor Day Monday at 3 pm with final weigh-in at this time. Derby Headquarters for the 2018 Derby is at Tyee Landing. The official weigh-in center will also be at Tyee Landing which is very close to Harbor Quay and Fishermen’s Wharf. There is a total of over $55,000 in prizes for those anglers participating in the Salmon Derby. The largest salmon landed is valued at $15,000. Daily prizes each day are $5,000 for first prize, $2,000 for second prize and $1,000 for third prize. All contending derby fish are to be weighed in at Tyee Landing. Other weigh in centers for qualifying hidden weight prizes are China Creek Marina, Poet Nook, and Mckay Bay Lodge in Bamfield. The cost per Rod is the exact same as 2017 at $50.00 per rod fished. From this $50 there is a donation of $10 given to local enhancement. The Derby for 2018 should be a great success. Returns for Chinook and Coho salmon are above average. Chinook returns to the Somass River system for 2018 are approximately 85,000 pieces. Twenty percent of the run is five year old fish which means that there is the chance for some Chinook to come in at the forty pound mark.
Amberee landed this Chinook Salmon close to Swale Rock right before the derby using anchovy. She fished with Derek of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing
The Alberni Valley and all of Barkley Sound has been experiencing very warm and dry weather conditions during the summer months. The Chinook and Coho will need fresh water before entering some of the smaller streams and creeks. There has been a very limited number of migrating Chinook and Coho into the Somass system. There has been some excellent fishing for anglers in Barkley Sound locations.These salmon that have recently reached the waters of the Sound will migrate up into the Alberni Inlet and will hold until there is ample rain to allow the salmon to continue their final journey to their spawning grounds. Some salmon will remain in Barkley Sound will hold outside the many streams and creeks located in the area. The Chinook and Coho in Barkley Sound will continue to feed heavily and will be eager to bite the variety of lures put out by the many anglers.
Jeff from Wisconsin fished with Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing and landed this fish close to Swale Rock using anchovy
The best salmon fishing currently is in Barkley Sound. The Alberni Inlet has had some good days of fishing. There has been some commercial fishing at the beginning of this current week which has slowed the sport fishing opportunity. The Inlet will fill with fresh salmon in the coming days. Weather conditions are forecast to continue to be dry. The ample Chinook and Coho at Swale Rock, Harbor Entrance, Pill Point, and the Bamfield Wall should continue as new salmon come in from the ocean. The Bamfield Wall has become a little more consistent over the last week. Pill Point, Swale Rock, Meares, Cree and Austin Island and Harbor Entrance have all had very consistent sport fishing over the past two or three weeks. The salmon in the sound have been feeding very hard around tide changes. The Chinook and Coho have also been active between tides. The salmon are in fairly shallow water in Barkley Sound and also the Alberni Inlet. Fishing between thirty and fifty feet has not been uncommon. The best lures in the Alberni Inlet are the O-2, 0-15, 0-16, spatterback and AORL 12 hootchies. Anchovy in the Inlet is also working. In Barkley Sound anchovy in a variety of Teaser Heads seem ideal and for many is working the best. Cop Car, green haze, purple haze, army truck glow and bloody nose have all been working. Leader lengths from five and a half to six feet behind gold, green, or burgundy flashers with a gold or mirror face are working very well. The AORL 12 hootchie and the spatter back and Halloween hootchies with 38 to 42 inches of leader behind a burgundy and gold flasher or a kinetic flasher is ideal for Coho in Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet.
Entries for this year’s Salmon Festival Derby have been very encouraging. There will be many boaters on the water. Safety precautions are always of importance.
For More information
Contact Doug Lindores
250 731 7389
SLIVERS CHARTERS SALMON SPORT FISHING