Apr 18, 2016

May 1^st 2014

1 888 214 7206

Doug Lindores

 

 

The West Coast of Vancouver Island is a wonderful area to visit and spend on vacation. Vancouver Island is located only a very short plane or ferry-ride west of Canada’s largest Western City “Vancouver”. Vancouver Island, British Columbia has several unique settings and rugged coastlines. British Columbian’s are fortunate to have such a diverse selection of terrain. The Island’s west coast not only offers world class salmon fishing but also offers other adventures and unique cultural activities. Those visiting Vancouver Island during the late spring and summer months must take in not only a sport salmon fishing adventure but also explore the great rainforests, beaches and lakes. When fishing out in scenic Barkley Sound or offshore from Ucluelet and Tofino one can view wildlife and also whale watch. When on Vancouver Island and visiting local community’s visitors can seek out west coast culture, spa retreats, and of course take in some great west coast cuisine.

Vancouver Islands West Coast has witnessed superb sport salmon fishing for several years. The 2014 season is expected to be no different. In fact the 2014 sport salmon fishing predictions or forecasts are one of the best in decades. The expectation of high numbers of migratory salmon headed to distant southerly watersheds is already looking fantastic. The Columbia River system is expecting well over 1.6 million Chinook and ONE Million Coho to return. The return to the Columbia River is the largest on record. Records have been kept since 1938 at the Bonneville Dam. Salmon fishing around Ucluelet and the protected waters of scenic Barkley Sound has already been good with many clipped salmon in the high teens and low twenty pound range being landed by guides and their guests and also by sport anglers fishing in their private boats. We are expecting the Port Alberni Inlet to have another remarkable Sockeye season with forecast return numbers at a record 1.6 million. The Sockeye season usually begins in mid June and continues into the first week of August. Salmon fishing in Barkley Sound along the surf line and offshore waters will continue from now through mid September or longer. Be prepared for what is being considered a banner and remarkable sport salmon fishing year on British Columbia’s west coast and Pacific Rim area—Vancouver Island.

 

Port Alberni/Barkley Sound

The month of April and May is often quiet in the Alberni Inlet except for the many prawners who are out on the water. Prawn season openings are monitored by DFO in the Inlet and one must watch the various openings and closures. The sport prawning in Barkley Sound has been very good. Guide boats in the early spring include in their salmon fishing trips, prawn fishing. Usually the prawn traps are dropped before fishing and then after fishing the traps are picked up to find the great prize coming up from the ocean floor. Barkley Sound fishing has dramatically picked up over the last couple of weeks. Swale Rock, Vernon Bay, Meares Bluff, Austin Island and Alan Point have all been producing some nice salmon in the eleven to fifteen pound range. The Swale Rock area has had some nice sized spawners headed to the Southerly watersheds that have weighed up to twenty-five pounds. Many of the Chinook have been clipped and are the early run of salmon migrating to rivers to the south. The salmon have been relatively deep from 100 to 160 feet. A variety of coyote spoons have been working. Green glow has been a favorite in the four inch size as has the green nickel and silver glow. Some guides and sport fishermen have been just using silver spoons while others are doing well using a variety of hootchies. The fish lately have been feeding heavily on Pacific Sand Lance and other bait fish. Needle fish hootchies and also the glow army truck octpus and needle fish behind green and green glow hotspot flashers have been working very well. There have also been a few favorable reports in Samatao Bay, Pill Point and Diplock and Sarita Bay where a few nice sized Chinook have been landed. One angler reported playing four nice salmon in Samatao in fifty feet of water. A green glow four inch coyote spoon was working well behind a green glow hotspot flasher. Fishermen trolling with anchovy have had their best success using a chartreuse or green Rhys Davis teaser head with a six foot tail. We are expecting the fishing to be very good through the spring and summer months. The mid-summer run of Chinook and Coho which begins in late June and run into early August is expected to be the heaviest congestion of the migrating salmon run swimming to the Columbia and Willamette systems to the south. Many of the salmon will be four and five year olds which often means some good sized Chinook over thirty pounds. The surf line areas of the Sound as well as areas like Kirby Point, Gilbraltor, and the back end of Fleming Island should have some great fishing as the rich resources of bait fish come into those areas which bring in the big Tyee.

 

Ucluelet

Ucluelet is one of those spots where it is possible to land a twenty pound salmon every month of the year. Of course weather plays an important role in terms of getting out onto the water. During the winter months there are breaks in the weather patterns which makes it possible for keen anglers to get out on the water. During the month of April the fishing close to the Ucluelet Harbor had been quite consistent. The Alley, Great Bear, Forbes, Sail Rock and Beg Island were all producing some nice feeder Chinook. Most of these salmon have been averaging ten to twelve pounds. With the weather changing the last few weeks guided trips and sports anglers have been able to get further offshore. The Inner South Bank has been picking up, especially over this past weekend. The guided trips have had some great fishing with limits on Chinook weighing up to seventeen and eighteen pounds. The Inner South Bank has been most favorable for those fishing close to the bottom at 135 feet. Some have had success using purple haze and army truck glow hootchies. The white Turd and the T-Rex hootchie have been very good for some guides and sport fishermen with both hootchies producing the best catches for a couple of our Ucluelet guides. The past weekend also saw some of the first halibut of the season. The Halis have been migrating back to the deep and usually by the third week of May have migrated back to the shallows. The white Turd for one guide was good for two fifteen pound halibut fishing the Inner South. Long Beach with weather permitting is also a great spot at this time of year for halibut as is the three mile off of Cape Beale. Of course with the weather patterns just in the midst of changing fishing the banks is always under the scrutinized “Weather Permitting” eye. This year halibut in terms of Maximum length is 133 cm. The possession limit is two with only one larger than 90 cm. Six Halibut are allowed per license holder and must be recorded on ones saltwater license.

May and June should prove to be two very good fishing months with some nice Coho coming into the mix in late June when the big migratory flow of the mid-summer run begins. Look for some great Chinook salmon in the high thirties and low forties this summer. The Ucluelet ladder derby began on May 1st and will continue until the Labor Day Weekend with the final derby the second weekend of September. The cost of the Ucluelet ladder derby is $50 for the year or for each trip out on a guided trip the cost is $10. There are great monthly prizes for the top fish. Last year there were some excellent money wins per month by a variety of very happy sport fishermen.

 

Stamp River

The winter Steelhead season is all but over. Many of the spawned out fish are heading back down the river and out to the waters of the vast Pacific. The Fall of 2014 is expected to be very good with plenty of early chinook and coho and summer Steelhead in the mix. Those keen on fly fishing should look at booking trips from the 10^th of October into the first ten days of November.

 

For more information

Contact

Doug Lindores

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

1 888 214 7206 (toll free)

1 250 724 2502 (home)

1 250 731 7389 (cell)

dlindy@shaw.ca

www.catchsalmon-ca.com

 

 

January 22^nd 2016

Doug Lindores

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

1 888 214 7206

Regan fished with Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing and landed this eighteen pound Chinook at Meares Bluff in Barkley Sound.  Fishing hit a Jack Smith Hootchie

It’s again a New Year for sport salt water fishing and many sport fishermen, guides and potential guests are beginning to think about the many sport fishing opportunities that await them in 2016.

The 2015 salmon sport fishing season was a memorable year on Vancouver Island’s scenic West Coast and the Alberni Inlet. Chinook fishing for migratory salmon headed to distant southern watersheds began in late April and continued well into August. West Coast Vancouver Island Chinook salmon returning to local streams and rivers arrived in August and surprisingly continued in excellent numbers into September. The biggest surprise of all was the huge return of Stamp River Sockeye. Sockeye returns to the Somass system hit well over two million. Sport fishermen began landing Sockeye in the pristine and quiet waters of the Alberni Inlet near the end of May and continued landing Sockeye right into September. This was the largest return ever recorded. Hopefully this kind of return, if it does not occur in 2016, will happen once again in the near future. The 2016 West Coast Vancouver Island and Alberni Inlet sport fishing season will begin in the late spring and should continue well into the summer and early fall months. Pre Season forecasts for West Coast Vancouver Island Chinook are very favorable and much better than what was anticipated for 2015. The Sockeye season in the Alberni Inlet will once again be excellent with numbers hopefully reaching 800,000. The Alberni Inlet is a fantastic area to sport fish as the water is protected from summer storms. The salmon sport fishing out in Barkley Sound and offshore Ucluelet should be strong as good numbers of Chinook and Coho are forecast to migrate to the distant southerly watersheds.

Vancouver Island is a destination on both coastlines of all five salmon species (Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Pink, and Chum). This gives all avid sport fishermen an opportunity to sport fish a choice of salmon he/she might enjoy to target. Of course these species do arrive 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.

Sport fishing for Winter Steelhead in the Stamp River has been off and on. Of course water clarity, flow, and height of the water play a major role in opportunities for those fishing the Stamp. The peak of the season for Steelhead can occur at any time. It is expected that in 2016 the peak will occur sometime in February. There has been some good sized hatchery Steelhead in the system this year. To date winter (feeder) Chinook fishing in Barkley Sound and around the quiet hamlet of Bamfield and the Ucluelet Harbor has been off and on with some reasonable fishing opportunities on those days that the winter season offers. The Alberni Inlet around China Creek has been the biggest surprise for Winter Chinook. For the past three and a half weeks there has been plenty of bait fish which has pushed the feeders up into the upper Inlet water.

Some great Salmon fishing occurred n 2015 in Barkley Sound and just offshore Barkley Sound and Ucluelet.  John fished with Doug of Slivers Charters and landed this Chinook Salmon along the surf line.  We are looking forward to another fabulous season in 2016

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

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. The past few weeks the best kept fishing secret has been the Alberni Inlet. Sport fishermen have had success landing Feeder Chinook averaging six and seven pounds in the China Creek area. The largest reported salmon by a local sporty is twelve pounds landed on a beautiful sunny Sunday January 10^th afternoon. Both sides of the inlet from Leaning Tree and the Slide to McTush have been the best areas to fish. There is a lot of undersized Chinook in the area so if using anchovy sporty’s can go through a lot of bait. Hootchies in white, blue and green are working. A green lime glow coyote spoon in three and a half and four inch has been excellent. The Alberni Inlet has the best sport fishing from mid June to mid September. We should see this trend in 2016. The Somass River Sockeye begin to migrate into the river in May and usually begin to school in good numbers around the 10^th of June. When the Sockeye build up in big numbers the sport fishing action for the number one commercial salmon really heats up and is a lot of fun for all fisher persons young and old.

Sockeye fishing often 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 Labor Day Weekend fishing derby occurs. 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 very calm. The best fishing time for Sockeye is in the morning hours and the last two hours before dark. Sockeye salmon do seem to be active at any time of the day which makes this sport fishery a very popular opportunity for everyone.

 

Barkley Sound waters are very much like the Port Alberni Inlet. The Sound is protected on both the east and west coastlines. Fishing in the Sound could occur every month of the year without fear of experiencing the big waters often found offshore in the winter and even during the summer months. Winter Chinook fishing has been off and on. Recently the Bamfield Wall and Samatao Bay has had some very good Winter Chinook fishing. The mid-winter months do have some good weather patterns and fairly productive fishing days. The best fishing areas as mentioned to date have been the Bamfield Harbor mouth, the Bamfield Wall, Samatao Bay as well as Swale Rock, Vernon Bay, and the Canoe Pass outside entry points. Pill Point, Sarita Bay and the Poett Nook area are also other spots worthwhile to fish in February and March. The last few weeks has had some anglers fishing the Bamfield Wall. Anglers have had opportunity to land a few Winter Chinook in the eight to nine pound range. There have been many undersize salmon in the mix. The feeders have been hitting cop car coyote spoons in the three and a half and four inch size. Other coyote spoons that have worked are nasty boy the cop car glow and blue and green nickel. Green Spatter back hootchies have been working as well. Anchovy in Chartreuse Rhys Davis Teaser Heads are good but with lots of undersize feeders in the mix one can go through a lot of bait.

Hopefully the Chinook returning to the Alberni Inlet and The Somass River system are like this fish landed by Ashley last September 2015

Winter Springs are in deep water. It is not uncommon to find them in most areas of Barkley Sound from 100 to 145 feet. The Winter Chinook will always be found where one finds good sized bait balls. Coyote Spoons in the three and a half to four inch have been working. Other great spoons to have on board are glow cop car, nasty boy, Green glow, and green and blue nickel. Hootchies are popular but 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 as well as various whites and greens are also 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. Most of the current feeder Chinook landed has been in the 100 to 130 foot level.

The first salmon fishing derby on Vancouver Island’s West Coast will once again occur in Barkley Sound and is 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. The derby surprisingly has some good sized feeders landed. It is not uncommon to have fish over twenty pounds entered.

Summer fishing in Barkley Sound especially on the surf line most years occurs from late May to early September and is expected in 2016 to be relatively good due to the migratory movement of salmon along the west coast. Good numbers of Chinook and Coho 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.

 

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

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

March 19^th 2015

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

1 888 214 7206

Captain Mel and guest show off their Sockeye catch in the Alberni Inlet.  The 2015 season hopefully will be a great year for Sockeye

The spring and summer salmon sport fishing season for 2015 is closing in on us ever so rapidly.  March weather on the Vancouver Island (British Columbia) West Coast has been very pleasant to date.  There have been afternoon temperatures recorded in the mid to high teens.  There is concern however by many environmentalists and conservationists as there has been a very low amount of precipitation and snow pack on the many local mountains.  The concern is the very high possibility of very dry drought like summer conditions in the forest regions and of course very low river flow due to low snow pack for the ideal migration of various salmon runs to their Natal streams and rivers.

Mansel of Calgary Alberta landed a great twenty three pound Chinook out a Edward King Island located on the surf line of Barkley Sound.  This fish was landed using anchovy in a green haze Rhys Davis teaser head

We will soon be turning the calendar over to April which is very much a welcoming thought.  April on the rugged but scenic west coast coastline is most often looked at by a variety of sport anglers as the true beginning of saltwater fishing opportunities.  The last two summer sport fishing seasons for Chinook and Coho outside the protected harbors of Ucluelet and Tofino, along the surf line of beautiful Barkley Sound, and also the protected waters of the Sound itself were fantastic from late May into early September.   The 2014 sport fishing season according to the many indicators in preseason forecasts are predicting that the offshore migration of salmon to the big watersheds to the south should be relatively good.  Over the last few weeks there have been a few press releases from the many fish and wildlife organizations located in British Columbia and the Pacific North-west in Washington and Oregon States.  The large watersheds to the south such as the Fraser River, the Columbia River Basin, the Klamath River and as far south as the Sacramento River are all forecasting to have relatively good returns of Chinook, Coho, Pink and Sockeye salmon.  The Columbia River is expecting nine hundred and fifty thousand Chinook to return.  These migrating salmon do swim down the coastline of West Vancouver Island and sit on the various banks and also swim into the protected waters of Barkley Sound and feed on the rich resources of bait fish before continuing their long journey to their natal streams and rivers.  There are many banks outside the surf line of Vancouver Island which range from two miles to thirty-two miles offshore where the salmon often school and feed.  These banks are a welcome for these migrating fish as the voyage which begins somewhere around Alaska and the Bering Strait is lengthy.  By late June there should be ample Coho and Chinook throughout the Pacific Rim region.  The fishing should be spectacular from June through early September.  The migratory flow most years comes in three large waves.  They are termed as being early summer, mid- summer and late summer runs.  The early summer runs often begins in late April off the west coast of Vancouver Island and continues into June and creates some early fishing very tight to the Ucluelet and Tofino harbor mouths and also the pristine waters of Barkley Sound.  The transient salmon feed aggressively on the rich resources of bait fish as they make their lengthy journey to their natal streams.  The Chinook and Coho are a bit larger as the season moves on.  The late summer run in late July and running through August and early September usually produces for avid anglers some beautiful Tyee in the high thirty to mid forty pound range.  The Coho salmon in early season are often six to eight pounds and late in the season can often be in the mid to high teens.

Halibut fishing on the West Coast of Vancouver Island has been very
consistent each and every summer. We are expecting the halibut season to
once again been productive for sport on the west coast of Vancouver Island
in 2015

The Port Alberni Inlet is expected to have a reasonable Sockeye Salmon return in June and July.  Ocean conditions have been normal for salmon survival over the past number of years.  This year we have been witnessing a mild El Nino.  Indicators are showing returns of Sockeye Salmon to the Somass River to be possibly from six to eight hundred pieces.  Besides Sockeye the Somass-Stamp River system also has a very healthy return of Chinook and Coho.  The Chinook often begin to show the second week of August in the Port Alberni Inlet and actually peak in the third or fourth week of the month.  The Coho follow the Chinook and begin showing in the later part of August and continue well into September.

Sport fisher people who will come from all over the world will be treated to some world class salmon fishing along Vancouver Islands West Coast, Barkley Sound and the Port Alberni Inlet.  The Port Alberni Inlet, the inshore and offshore water of Ucluelet and Tofino and Barkley Sound should once again all be fantastic areas of those so called “hotspots” in 2015.

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

Summer fishing in the Port Alberni Inlet should be well underway by mid June for Sockeye Salmon.  The area has been very dry and there is little snowpack which should create, because of abnormal conditions, an early sport Sockeye season. Sockeye sport fishing has become a very popular sport fishing opportunity and is fun for everyone from the most avid trophy fishermen to the beginner.  For young children Sockeye fishing is fun and seldom creates any boredom.  The Sockeye fishery in the Alberni Inlet occurs in protected waters and has mind boggling action.  There are often many occasions when two,

three, and even four Sockeye Salmon hit the rods which can create havoc for all. The Sockeye sport fishery can often continue right into the first ten days of August. These tasty salmon begin to school when the river temperatures hit seventeen or eighteen degrees C. This higher water temperature slows the migration to the Somass River and the Sockeye Salmon move to deeper and cooler water out in the Alberni Inlet.

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

Barkley Sound has provided some consistent and recently “BETTER” winter Chinook fishing.  The Sproat Loggers Derby occurred the first full weekend in March and produced some nice feeder Chinook up to almost twenty-four pounds.  The wining salmon in the 2015 derby was twenty-three pounds fourteen ounces.  This fish was landed in ninety feet of water in the back of Mayne Bay on a Chrome Tom Mack spoon.  The second place salmon was landed at Great Bear on anchovy and came in at twenty-three pounds eight ounces.  The third place fish a beautiful twenty-one pound Chinook was landed at Diplock on a white hootchie.  The top three salmon were all landed by avid Port Alberni Sport fisherpersons.    The weekend weather was fantastic but early morning fog on the second day kept many anglers close to Poett Nook which was the derby headquarters.  In early March and April anchovy often seem to work very well in Barkley Sound and the Broken Group of Islands.  This was definitely true during this early season salmon derby although some fisher people had some very good success with hootchies and spoons in the three and a half and four inch size.  Lately the fishing has turned on in the Sound. Swale Rock, the Canoe Pass area on the Vernon Bay side, Vernon Bay and Alan Point to Pill Point has produced some good fishing.  Some anglers lately have been fishing in very deep water in the area from Pill Point into Vernon Bay.  Fisher People have been fishing from 145 to 170 feet.  The best success this past week has been anchovy in a purple haze Rhys Davis Teaser Head with NO flasher.  The dark green spatter back hootchie behind a green hotspot flasher has also been working well.  An area between Pill Point and Link Island in Barkley Sound has also been quite good.  The salmon landed have all been in the eight to eleven pound range over the last week.  White hootchies and various white and green and white three and a half and four inch coyote spoons have been working well.  Bait has been producing as well as needle fish hootchies and few spoons in various green colors.  The three and a half inch green glow coyote spoon has been fantastic as has the three inch Irish Cream.   The best fishing has occurred between tides.  April should really turn on as residential fish will be in the area and the first of the migratory salmon show as they make their way to the southerly watersheds in the Pacific North West.  Look for fantastic fishing from mid or late May through September.  Always carry bait and ones favorite summer spoons and hootchies.  As the summer moves on switch to bigger spoons but also remember to adjust to the size of the bait.

Kelvin with a great Winter Run Steelhead on the Stamp River

Ucluelet (West Coast)

The offshore and inshore fishing during the spring is often very good around a variety of areas in the Ucluelet and Tofino areas.  As the herring spawn approaches in mid to late March the local Chinook or more commonly known as feeder or winter Chinook move close to the beach and are abundant in local areas such as Great Bear, Mara Rock, Sail Rock, Forbes, the Alley and Beg Island.  Over the last few weeks it is these spots that have been reasonably good for the local sport fishermen and the odd guide.  Small three and three and a half inch coyote spoons in army truck, chartreuse, glow green and knight rider have been working in deeper water from 90 to 120 feet.  The two largest fish in this year’s Sproat Lake Loggers Derby were landed at Great Bear and Mayne Bay.  It is important to find the bait which will become more abundant in needlefish and pilchards.  Those out on the water will do relatively well when finding the bait balls.  There have been a good number of wonderful warm afternoons on Vancouver Islands west coast over the past ten days and there has been some fantastic fishing for a few local guides and avid fishermen.  During the current week Great Bear had some good sized bait balls and a couple of good sized feeders up to fifteen pounds that were landed by sport fisher persons.  Needlefish hootchies and the three and a half inch green glow coyote spoon was working very well during this week and should be two items in ones tackle box over the next few weeks.  The summer of 2015 SPORT fishing is expected to be very good as big waves of migrating salmon make their way to the big watersheds to the south.  Schools of Chinook beginning as early as the middle of April and continuing through August will swim right outside the Ucluelet harbor and will feed out on the various sandy banks before continuing their long journey.  Coho salmon and Pink Salmon are also expected to be in good numbers and will add a variety for many sport fisher people and also the many guests on guided boats.  The summer of 2015 should be a time when all fisher persons will have an opportunity to land a salmon.

Charmayne and husband Brian from Edmonton Alberta fished with Doug of Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing.  This Coho salmon was landed at Yankee Bay located along the Bamfield Wall in Barkley Sound.  The Coho hit a AORL 12 hootchie.

Somass-Stamp River

The Steelhead fishing on the Stamp has been relatively consistent for Winter Steelhead season.  There have been times during the season that the water has been just to high and then to low.  The lower river has provided some better fishing with guided boats hooking into four to six fish per day.  All wild Steelhead must be released.   Many of the fish are still chrome.  The Steelhead at some point will make their way up to the Upper portions of the river which will provide a few good weeks of angling in that section of the river.  When fishing above the bucket bait use large or small worms depending on the depth of the water.  A variety of colors and sizes of gooey bobs and spin-glos are also working.   As the air temperature warms and the water temperature warms in the Stamp those avid fly fishermen should have a little more success.  The Fall of 2015 is expected to once again provide for some great salmon fishing in September and the first half of October.  This is a very popular fishery with people arriving as guests from all over the world.  It is wise to make an early reservation for this fishery.

The summer fishing in 2015 in Pacific Rim areas for Sockeye, Chinook, Coho and Pink salmon is expected to be relatively good. Don’t miss out this year. Organize your trip early.

For More Information

Contact:

Doug Lindores

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport fishing

1-888-214 7206  (toll free)

1 250 724 2502   (home)

1 250 731 7389   (mobile)

dlindy@shaw.ca (email)

www.catchsalmon-ca.com

 

April 13, 2014

 

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

 

 

The spring and summer salmon sport fishing season for 2014 is closing in on us ever so rapidly. March on the Vancouver Island (British Columbia) West Coast has been a wintery month with a lot of snow in the local mountains and well below seasonal average temperatures. The cooler weather and snow has been welcomed as much of the winter had little rainfall. We will soon be turning the calendar over to April which is very much a welcoming thought. April on the rugged but scenic west coast coastline is most often looked at by a variety of sport anglers as the true beginning of saltwater fishing opportunities. The last two summer sport fishing seasons for Chinook and Coho outside the protected harbors of Ucluelet and Tofino, along the surf line of beautiful Barkley Sound, and also the protected waters of the Sound itself were very good. The 2014 sport fishing season according to the many indicators in preseason forecasts are predicting that the current decades best fishing is yet to come this spring and summer. Over the last few weeks there have been a number of press releases from the many fish and wildlife organizations located in British Columbia and the Pacific North-west in Washington and Oregon States. The large watersheds to the south such as the Fraser River, the Columbia River Basin, the Klamath River and as far south as the Sacramento River are all forecasting to have huge returns of Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye salmon. The Columbia River is expecting 1.6 million Chinook to return and just over one million Coho. These migrating salmon do swim down the coastline of West Vancouver Island and sit on the various sand banks and also swim into the protected waters of Barkley Sound and feed on the rich resources of bait fish before continuing their long journey to their natal streams and rivers. There are many banks outside the surf line of Vancouver Island which range from two miles offshore to thirty-two miles offshore where the salmon often school and feed. These banks are a welcome for these migrating fish as the voyage which begins somewhere around Alaska and the Bering Strait is lengthy. By late June there should be ample Coho and Chinook throughout the Pacific Rim region. The fishing should be spectacular from June through early September. The migratory flow most years comes in three large waves. They are termed as being early summer, mid- summer and late summer runs. The early summer runs often begins in late April off the west coast of Vancouver Island and continues into June and creates some early fishing very tight to the Ucluelet and Tofino harbor mouths and also the pristine waters of Barkley Sound. The transient salmon feed aggressively on the rich resources of bait fish as they make their lengthy journey to their natal streams. The Chinook and Coho are a bit larger as the season moves on. The late summer run in late July and running through August and early September usually produces for avid anglers some beautiful Tyee in the high thirty to mid forty pound range. The Coho salmon in early season are often six to eight pounds and late in the season can often be in the mid to high teens.

The Port Alberni Inlet is expected to have a remarkable Sockeye Salmon return in June and July. Ocean conditions have been remarkable for salmon survival over the past number of years. Indicators are showing returns of Sockeye Salmon to the Somass River to be well over one million pieces. Besides Sockeye the Somass-Stamp River system also has a very healthy return of Chinook and Coho. The Chinook often begin to show the second week of August in the Port Alberni Inlet and actually peak in the third or fourth week of the month. The Coho follow the Chinook and begin showing in the later part of August and continue well into September. The Coho returns to the Somass River and all of West Coast Vancouver Island are termed to be “abundant”.

Sport fisher people who will come from all over the world will be treated to some world class salmon fishing along Vancouver Islands West Coast, Barkley Sound and the Port Alberni Inlet. The Port Alberni Inlet, the inshore and offshore water of Ucluelet and Tofino and Barkley Sound will be all fantastic areas of those so called “hotspots” in 2014.

 

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

 

Summer fishing in the Port Alberni Inlet should be well underway by mid June for Sockeye Salmon. Sockeye sport fishing has become a very popular sport fishing opportunity and is fun for everyone from the most avid trophy fishermen to the beginner. For young children Sockeye fishing is fun and seldom creates any boredom. The Sockeye fishery in the Alberni Inlet occurs in protected waters and has mind boggling action. There are often many occasions when two, three, and even four Sockeye Salmon hit the rods which can create havoc for all. The Sockeye sport fishery can often continue right into the first ten days of August. These tasty salmon begin to school when the river temperatures hit seventeen or eighteen degrees C. This higher water temperature slows the migration to the Somass River and the Sockeye Salmon move to deeper and cooler water out in the Alberni Inlet.

Barkley Sound has just recently provided some “BETTER” winter Chinook fishing. The Sproat Loggers Derby occurred the first weekend in March and produced some nice feeder Chinook up to sixteen pounds. The wining salmon is this years derby was just over sixteen pounds and was landed around Vernon Bay. A few other fish in the fifteen pound range were also landed in the same area. The weekend weather started off fairly decent but poor conditions on the second day kept many anglers close to Poett Nook which was the derby headquarters. In early March and April anchovy often seem to work very well. This was definitely true during this early season salmon derby although some fisher people had production with hootchies and spoons in the three and a half and four inch size. Lately the fishing has turned on in the Sound. Swale Rock, the Canoe Pass area on the Vernon Bay side, Vernon Bay and Alan Point to Pill Point have all produced some good fishing. Bait has been producing as well as needle fish hootchies and few spoons in various green colors. The three and a half inch green glow coyote spoon has been fantastic as has the three inch Irish Cream. The salmon have been in one hundred and thirty to one hundred and eighty feet of water with the bigger fish in the deeper water. Fish have been coming in daily feeding heavily during the herring spawn. The best fishing has occurred between tides. April should really turn on as residential fish will be in the area and the first of the migratory salmon show as they make their way to the southerly watersheds in the Pacific North West. Look for fantastic fishing from mid or late May through September. Always carry bait and ones favorite summer spoons and hootchies. As the summer moves on switch to bigger spoons but also remember to adjust to the size of the bait.

 

Ucluelet (West Coast)

The offshore and inshore fishing during the spring is often very good around a variety of areas in the Ucluelet and Tofino areas. As the herring spawn approaches in mid to late March the local Chinook or more commonly known as feeder or winter Chinook move close to the beach and are abundant in local areas such as Great Bear, Mara Rock, Sail Rock, Forbes, the Alley and Beg Island. Over the last few weeks it is these spots that have been reasonably good for the local sport fishermen and the odd guide. Small three and three and a half inch coyote spoons in army truck, chartreuse, glow green and knight rider have been working in deeper water from 90 to 120 feet. Also a variety of regular octopus hootchies and needle fish hootchies are working quite well behind green glow and purple haze flashers. It is important to find the bait which will become more abundant in needlefish and pilchards. Those out on the water will do relatively well when finding the bait balls. There have been a few wonderful warm afternoons on Vancouver Islands west coast over the past ten days and provided some good fishing for a few local guides and avid fishermen. Great Bear had some good sized bait balls and a couple of good sized feeders up to fifteen pounds were landed. Needlefish hootchies and the three and a half inch green glow coyote spoon were working very well and should be two items in ones tackle box over the next few weeks. The summer of 2014 SPORT fishing is expected to be very good as big waves of migrating salmon make their way to the big watersheds to the south. Large schools of Chinook beginning as early as the middle of April and continuing through August will swim right outside the Ucluelet harbor and will feed out on the various sandy banks before continuing their long journey. Coho salmon are also expected to be in abundance and will add a variety for many sport fisher people and also the many guests on guided boats. The summer of 2014 will definitely be a time when all fisher persons will have an opportunity to land a salmon.

 

Somass-Stamp River

The Steelhead fishing on the Stamp has not been very consistent in the 2013-14 Winter Steelhead season. Currently the Winter Steelhead fishing has picked up and this has been the best time of the whole season. The lower river has provided some better fishing with guided boats hooking into six to eight fish per day. All wild Steelhead must be released. Many of the fish are still chrome. The Steelhead at some point will make their way up to the Upper portions of the river which will provide a few good weeks of angling in that section of the river. When fishing above the bucket bait use large or small worms depending on the depth of the water. A variety of colors and sizes of gooey bobs and spin-glos are also working. We are expecting some much needed better fishing to continue right through April. As the air temperature warms and the water temperature warms in the Stamp those avid fly fishermen should have a little more success. The Fall of 2014 is expected to once again provide for some great salmon fishing in September and the first half of October. This is a very popular fishery with people arriving as guests from all over the world. It is wise to make an early reservation for this fishery.

 

The Summer fishing in 2014 in Pacific Rim areas for Sockeye, Chinook and Coho salmon is expected to be fabulous. Don’t miss out this year. Organize your trip early.

 

For More Information

Contact:

Doug Lindores

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport fishing

1-888-214 7206 (toll free)

1 250 724 2502 (home)

1 250 731 7389 (mobile)

dlindy@shaw.ca (email)

 

www.catchsalmon-ca.com

October 24th

Doug Lindores

 

 

The 2013 summer sport fishing season has pretty well come to

an end for most of the saltwater sport fishing locations around British

Columbia. The weather in many of the Pacific Rim areas during the past

week has been unbelievable and is forecast to remain that way late

into the third week of October. Some avid sport fishermen who have

not put their boat to sleep for the winter are taking advantage of the

great fall weather and spent some wonderful sunny days with gorgeous

warm afternoons in Barkley Sound during the long October weekend

in attempt land one or two big Coho that are late returning to their

natal streams. There still is some excellent beach fishing for Coho on

the east side of Vancouver Island and areas such as Browns Bay, located

close to Campbell River and Sarita Bay situated in beautiful Barkley

Sound still both have some great Chum sport fishing. Chum salmon are

a wonderful sport fish and put up a great battle. They are also great

on the barbeque. The Browns Bay Chum Run usually peaks just after

the middle of October. This year the Brown’s Bay Charity Chum Derby

takes place on October 18th

fishing derbies on Vancouver Island each year.

Chinook and Coho returns too many of the streams, creeks,

and rivers have been very good to date. The return of Somass River

Chinook salmon stocks are much better than what was forecast.

Chinook returns were predicted to be just over 16,000 pieces. Chinook

swimming through Stamp Falls to October 11th 2013 ,

22,600. Coho through the falls are at approximately 49,000. The

Sproat Lake Chinook returns are only at 51 but the Coho returns are at

15,000. The numbers of Chinook and Coho salmon passing through the

counters are quite high. The peak numbers per day usually occur at this

time of year. It is fantastic to see that the Chinook returns are higher

which will also add to a natural spawn in the river system. The return

should really exceed the predicted forecasts especially for Chinook

salmon.

Some heavy rains in mid September put a damper on some of

the great late September Coho fishing on the West Coast of Vancouver

Island. The Coho and Chinook migrated quickly to rivers and streams as

the various water systems filled with water. However areas in Barkley

Sound continued to have some mediocre fishing into early October

along the Bamfield Wall, the backside of Fleming and Swale Rock. The

offshore fishing continued to be quite good with some great Coho and

feeder Chinook fishing out at the Rats Nose and the Big Bank.

 

 

For some sport fishermen and many guide and charter

companies the fishing on the west coast has been extended with a

new type of fishing. Many guides are now beginning to take guests

out on tuna runs. Many sport fishermen are also loading their boats

with maximum numbers of family or friends and are making the run

offshore. The travel time is long and it is important that those motoring

out to the tuna grounds have good offshore boats that can be iced up

with plenty of sea ice as the tuna need to be bled and iced immediately.

Most fishermen making the venture offshore travel with two or three

other boats. This of course is a safety measure. All the boats that

are guided have the safety equipment needed for these trips. Sport

fishermen (not guiding) should make sure that they have all of the

transport Canada specified equipment. From early September to the

first few days of October the warmer Pacific currents come within 35

to 75 miles off of West Vancouver Island. The most popular area is

just off the Barkley Canyon which is approximately 50 miles off of the

Vancouver Island coastline. The Albacore Tuna are found in what is

termed the blue water. The Tuna are on the warm water side or on the

border where the warm current and cold water meet. The favorable

water temperatures for the Tuna are anywhere from 14 to 17 degrees

Celsius (58 to 64 F). Many of the guided trips often have three or four

lines out on each side of the boat. Some have up to five lines out on

each side. It does seem that the more gear out the better the results.

The limits per person are 20 meaning there is a lot of work during each

excursion. It is too late this year but tuna fishing is something that one

may want to mull over for the 2014 season. Of course weather is an

important factor.

With the Thanksgiving weekend now over most of us are looking

forward to the 2014 angling season. Early predictions and indicators

are looking very favorable for next year. In the Port Alberni Inlet for

example the returning Jack Sockeye during June and July of 2013 to

the Somass system were absolutely ridiculous. The high returns of

Jacks often reflect the following years run size. It is felt that Sockeye

returns in 2014 will be well over one million pieces which means a

very wonderful sport fishery for the number one commercial Pacific

salmon. Ocean conditions have been very favorable for all five salmon

species. The mortality rates have been low. The food sources for the

salmon stocks in the North Pacific Ocean have been abundant. The

sport fishing season in 2014 should be very exciting with plenty of

opportunity for everyone.

 

Stamp River

 

For those people that know the Stamp well the fishing for Coho has

been very good. Guides have been doing a great job to date for most

of their guests. The Stamp has been difficult to fish for this time of year

only because the water levels have been higher than normal. The high

water however has been great for migration. This is often the time of

year that the fly fishing for fall Steelhead is fantastic. However the

high water has hindered this fishing. The reason for the high water is

that there has been some water released at the dam. The fly fishing

most years occurs from the first week of October into the first ten days

of November. We are hoping to salvage some of that great fly fishing.

The best fishing for those fisher people in jet boats on guided trips or

for those walking has been in the Lower River. Entering the river at the

rifle range has been a good choice for many. Also driving out to Service

Road and walking the river too Dolan’s pit is another excellent fishing

spot. One needs to find an area where the water is slow and any area

that the water is low. The river has already had close to 50,000 Coho

migrate into the system. There should be a continued migration of

Coho right into December. The Coho in the lower river have been fresh

and still very bright. Most of the Coho landed for guests, who have

been averaging limits on a daily basis, are from 8 to 12 pounds. There

is of course no retention of Chinook salmon for the 2013 season. The

best method of fishing has been conventional using spinners, blades,

and the Gibbs Coho spoon. If and when the levels of the water drop

the Steelhead in the system should become a little less sedentary and

actually become very active as they search for loose eggs during the

natural spawn. Fly fishermen can of course use flies of their choice but

anglers who are wishing to fish conventionally can use gooey bobs, or

wool that is white, pink, or orange. When the water does come down

other areas to fish are Stamp Falls Park, Eagle Rock, Black Rock, Moneys

Pool, and the Slide Pool. The Stamp is a very healthy river system and is

fishable 12 months of the year. There is still plenty of time for salmon

fishing and also Fall Steelhead. Winter Steelhead fishing begins in

December and continues into late April.

 

Port Alberni Inlet Barkley Sound

The sport fishing in the Alberni Inlet was unusual this past year.

Sockeye returns to the Somass were low. This development hindered

the Inlet Sockeye fishing for sport as there were no more than three

very good weeks of Sockeye fishing in late June and the first few weeks

of July. There was a non retention of Chinook salmon but the Coho

fishing which got underway during the last week in August made up

for the NO Chinook targeting and retention rule. The Inlet does have a

few lingering Coho and a few Chum salmon have hit the system but no

one is currently targeting them. The 2014 season looks very promising.

The indicators for early season projections of Sockeye salmon are

fantastic. Many are predicting that the run size next summer will be

well over one million pieces which will make it a great year for all of

the user groups in the Alberni Inlet. Sockeye fishing many years last for

mid June into the first week of August. It is a wonderful family fishing

trip and is a wonderful sport fishery for those from five years of age to

ninety-five. The Chinook returns in 2014 will also have higher numbers

and the fishing should return back to normal. Most years the Chinook

fishing gets underway by the 15th

day is two. We will be looking forward to that sport fishery as well as

Coho next August and September.

There have been some wonderful days on the water in Barkley

Sound right through the Thanksgiving weekend. The afternoons,

especially, have been gorgeous with great warmth from the autumn

sun and water that is just magically smooth. The sport season has

dramatically slowed down but with some perseverance anglers over

the past few days have had opportunity to land the last stragglers of

the incoming or migrating Coho. Two anglers had a great time also in

the Sarita Bay area with Chum salmon up to seventeen pounds. The

Coho have been few and far between and have been found at Swale

Rock, where there continues to be a lot of bait fish, the backside of

Fleming Island, and the Bamfield Wall. There has also been a few

feeder Chinook up to fifteen pounds at Swale and Austin Island. The

Coho have been hitting shorter hootchie lengths from 32 to 38 inches.

The best colors have been purple haze, jelly fish, AORL12 and the green

spatterback. The Feeder Chinook have been predominately hitting

anchovy in clear and green teaser heads. There is still a non retention

rule for Chinook over 77cm in the sound from Chup Point out to one

mile off the surf line. The 2013 season in the sound was very good.

There were plenty of salmon from early June right into late September

and even until now. The best months were June, July, August and the

first half of September. The migratory fish headed to southerly

watersheds were strong and the WCVI Coho salmon were just

phenomenal the late summer and fall of 2013 which dramatically

helped the sport fishing in a very good way. With some great lodge

accommodation we are looking at extended trips into Barkley Sound

for the summer of 2014. Take advantage and organize your fishing trip

into Barkley Sound and offshore early for a 2014 sport fishing

adventure.

 

Ucluelet (West Coast)

 

Ucluelet is one of those areas along the British Columbia West

Coast that has opportunity every month of the year to get out on the

water inshore, or offshore, or into Barkley Sound and fish for salmon

and bottom fish. For many months of the spring summer and early

fall there are huge numbers of migratory salmon swimming their way

to natal streams, creeks and rivers to the south. These salmon are

right outside Ucluelets’ backdoor and they stop on the various banks

to rest and feast on herring and sardines. The salmon are usually in

relatively big numbers and create a great sport fishing opportunity

throughout the years more favorable months for anglers. There is

also a good number of local salmon that feed close to the beach on

the rich resources of bait fish. Each and every year there is a return of

different salmon species to local streams and rivers that extends from

mid August until early November. The fishing out of Ucluelet this year

did not disappoint. The best fishing was out at the Big Bank and the

Rats Nose. Day after day the fishing out in these two locations was very

good. There is also the new tuna sport fishery which has been going

on for a few years now. There are more guides each and every year

who are suddenly showing an interest in taking guests out tuna fishing.

This is extending the season by a further two to even four weeks of

sport fishing. The best time is the full month of September and into

early October. We are expecting the summer of 2014 to again be very

good out on the various banks and also inshore outside of the Ucluelet

Harbor mouth.

 

For more information contact TOLL FREE—-250 214 7206

Doug Lindores

 

250 724 2502 (home)

250 731 7389 (cell)

250 214 7206 (TOLL FREE)

dlindy@shaw.ca (email)

September 23

 

 

The summer of 2013 is slowly coming to an end but some of the

season’s best salmon sport fishing on the west coast of Vancouver Island,

Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet is currently ongoing and is very good

with excellent results and happy faces on all anglers.  Of course this is not

to take anything away from the summer of 2013 salmon fishing which

in one word was simply terrific.  The offshore sport fishing off the west

coast continues to be fantastic.   Many guides and sport fisher people

are having tremendous success outside and offshore from the Bamfield

and Ucluelet Harbor.   Most are fishing the twelve mile, Big Bank and Rats

Nose.  September, has been said to be the month with no fog and no

wind, has seen some great offshore fishing with nice sized Chinook in the

mid to high teens, plenty of Coho from nine to thirteen pounds and some

nice halibut in the deeper water.  The warmth of the late summer air has

made it very comfortable for many opportunistic sport anglers seeking a

big Chinook offshore or a nice undersized Chinook in the inshore surf line

locations of Barkley Sound and also for those big Coho making their way

to many of the Pacific Rim Creeks, Streams, and Rivers.   Many locations

of Barkley Sound have had unbelievable Coho and Chinook fishing and

the Alberni inlet especially out towards the Franklin Wall and Bells Bay

has witnessed fantastic Coho fishing.  Of course at this time of year the

salmon are moving to their natal streams but with the very warm day

time and night time air temperatures and surface water temperature the

salmon are holding.  Once the fish begin to move the West Vancouver

Island Rivers and streams will develop a fantastic Sport Coho fishery.   We

are expecting great fall Coho salmon fishing in the Stamp, Nahmint, and

Sarita River systems.  In the meantime the saltwater fishing continues

in most Pacific Rim areas.   We are hoping this continues until well into

September.

 

 

September is the month that two very popular salmon derby’s take

place.  The forty-second Port Alberni Salmon Festival and the Ucluelet

Ladder Derby occurred during the Labor Day weekend.  The Port Alberni

Derby was a Coho Derby only with sport fisher persons fishing in the

Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound seeking a large Coho salmon.   The

Ucluelet Ladder derby was predominately an offshore Chinook Derby.

Sterling Robinson of Gibson B.C. won the Port Alberni Salmon Festival.  He

landed a seventeen point one pound Coho around the Swale Rock area

on the Saturday morning of the long weekend.  His take home prize was

$10,000.  He won $3,000 for the largest fish of the day and an additional

$7,000 for the biggest fish of the derby.  The Ucluelet Ladder Derby fish

off winner was local Ucluelet fisherman Brett Thomas who landed a

thirty-three point 7 Chinook salmon using a hootchie out on the Big Bank.

 

Port Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound

 

This sport fishing year the Alberni Inlet from Chup Point right into

the Somass-Stamp River System has non retention of Chinook salmon.

The rule came into effect on August first and continues until the end of

the current season.  From Chup Point out to one mile off the surf line

sport fisher people are able to retain Chinook salmon under seventyseven cm in length.

The current rules have really not hampered the sport

fishing in the Sound or in the Alberni Inlet.  The West Coast Vancouver

Island Coho returns have been phenomenal which has developed some

great fishing in the Inlet and Sound.   There have been plenty of Chinook

in Barkley Sound in which some have been transient salmon returning to

the large water sheds to the south.   Many of these Chinook have been

undersize.  They come into the Barkley Sound area where there is bait

fish and feed on these rich resources of food before continuing their long

journey.  There has also been a good number of returning three year old

males to West Coast streams located in the Sound that have been under

the seventy-seven cm retention size.  With the huge numbers of Coho

salmon and with the smaller Chinook the sport fishing in the Sound has

been fabulous.  The Coho fishing in the Alberni Inlet has been the same.

In Barkley Sound the best salmon fishing in September has been Swale

Rock, the Bamfield Wall, the backside of Fleming Island on the Imperial

Eagle side and Assets Island.   The Coho and Chinook salmon are on the

move but if they get into an area with bait fish they are holding.  Swale

Rock has definitely been an area with holding fish as the area has been

filled with bait for a good number of days.  The fish have been shallow in

the areas mentioned and have predominately been found in thirty to

sixty feet of water.  The salmon are hitting hootchies, spoons, and bait.

The purple haze, AORL 12, jelly fish, and spatter back hootchies with

leader length of thirty-four to forty-two inches of leader behind a variety

of hotspot flashers have been very good.  The best coyote spoons have

been in the three and a half and four inch variety.  Watermelon, green

nickel, green glow, and the kitchen sink have all been working.   Many

fisher people are using a variety of leader lengths.  Some anglers have

spoons trailing flashers and are using thirty-six inches of leader while

others are using leaders from four to five and a half feet.  For many boat

speed plays a huge factor.  Anchovy in a green haze, purple haze, and

solid green Rhys Davis Teaser Head have been great lures for those using

bait.  The Coho in the sound have been averaging up to twelve pounds.  It

is not uncommon to hook into two or three seventeen or eighteen pound

Coho on each trip down to the waters of Barkley Sound.   With the vast

amounts of surplus bait in the sound, especially around Swale Rock, and

the continued flood of incoming salmon we are hoping with continued

good weather conditions that the salmon fishing will carry on until the

end of September.

 

 

The Alberni Inlet has had some wonderful Coho fishing.  Coho have

been migrating into the inlet for a good number of weeks.  There are well

over 25,000 Coho in the Somass River system.  The best Coho fishing has

been in the narrows, Mctush, Bells Bay and right out to the boundary

located along the Franklin Wall.  The Coho are big and have been arriving

in huge numbers.  Limits have not been hard to come by.  The current

limit per person for Coho in the Alberni Inlet is four.  The fish can be

either wild or hatchery.   Hootchies and a variety of spoons are working.

Boat speed at two point seven to three miles per hour has been generally

been an excellent speed with slightly shorter leaders.  The shorter leaders

and the higher boat speed does help prevent bi catches of Chinook

salmon.   We are expecting some great Coho fishing right into October.

The numbers of Coho down in Barkley Sound are just phenomenal.  Many

of these Coho will migrate up into the Inlet waters before entering their

natal bodies of water.

 

Ucluelet

 

Much of the fishing out of the Ucluelet Harbor has recently been

out to the big bank or shallows and also the Rats Nose.  Out on the banks

there have been good numbers of Chinook salmon that are averaging

fifteen and sixteen pounds, Coho that are also transient and averaging

eight to twelve pounds, and Pink Salmon that are mostly headed for the

Fraser River.  The Fraser is expecting up to twenty-six million pink salmon

this fall.  Many have also been trolling or jigging for halibut and are

finding many averaging fifteen to eighteen pounds.  The Coho for much of

the summer out on the banks were non-existent but now are in very good

numbers.  The fish have been hitting hootchies and are in deeper water.

At eighty to one hundred and twenty feet the spatter back, Sonora,

and T-Rex hootchies have really been the best lures.  The water and the

weather offshore have both been absolutely perfect for the past number

of days which makes the trip at this time of year more than miraculous.

 

Stamp River

 

 

The Stamp River is expecting, in early season forecasts, up to forty

to fifty thousand Coho salmon to return this fall.   With returns into the

system already exceeding twenty-five thousand many are expecting

returns of up to seventy thousand pieces.  This plus a healthy surplus of

summer or fall steelhead will provide a tremendous fall fishing season

that should continue right into mid November.  The highlight of the river

season is usually from the tenth of October through November when

fly fishing is at its best.   The Summer Steelhead will become very active

at this time of year.   Salmon eggs floating in the river from the natural

salmon spawn create a frenzy of feeding activity by the Steelhead.  Coho

usually continue migrating into the system right in early December.  Look

for the 2013 fall fishing season in the Stamp to be one of the best seasons

ever.

 

For more information: contact:

Doug Lindores

250 724 2502 (home)

250 731 7389 (cell) plus text

1 888 214 7206 (toll free)

dlindy@shaw.ca (email)

August 13

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

 

 

The 2013 summer conditions for sport fishing and for, that matter,

most outdoor activities on the west coast of Vancouver Island have

been more than ideal.  Bright sunny and very warm days have been

persistent since the first day of July.  There has been less than normal

precipitation, winds off the coast have been definitely persistent for the

first half of July but inside the surf line of Barkley Sound the conditions

have been more than ideal.  Ideal conditions for sport fishing are

forecast to be very similar for much of the rest of this summer.

The Salmon sport fishing in most of the Pacific Rim regions has

been very consistent since early June.  The majestic months of summer

are quickly passing but the salmon fishing in many areas of the Pacific

Rim region seems to be getting better and better.  Large schools

of transient salmon have been moving along the coast to the large

watersheds to the south.  Local Vancouver Island salmon will begin to

appear in coastal waters very soon.  With August now here we should

begin to see some of this season’s biggest Chinook and Coho appear

on Vancouver Islands’ west coast.  This should also be true in many

of the inshore areas of Barkley Sound.  The salmon fishing on the surf

line and many inshore areas of The Sound and the West Coast offshore

areas from both Bamfield and Ucluelet have been extremely good.  The

Chinook and Coho are getting larger.  The Coho since early June are

putting on nearly a pound per week as they feed on the rich resources

of bait fish found on the banks offshore and in the pristine waters of

Barkley Sound.  We are expecting a great August and September for

sport fishing.  Although the West Coast Vancouver Island Chinook

returns will be less than normal the Coho numbers are expected to be

well above average.  The sport fishing will be very good with lots of fun

and excitement for all.

Port Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound

 

Currently there is very little fishing in the Alberni Inlet.  A few

boats were out on the inlet waters during the August long weekend

attempting to land the last of the straggling Sockeye.  July produced

three fairly good weeks of Sockeye fishing.  The run size unfortunately

was downsized to 300,000 pieces.  Currently one hundred and ninety

thousand pieces have moved through the fish ways.  Great Central

Lake has currently eighty-four thousand and Sproat Lake one hundred

and six thousand.  With the forecasted run size there should be an

escapement of approximately two hundred and thirty thousand.

The inlet will more than likely see a very large armada of sport

boats near the last week of August.  The 2010 Coho brood stock

survival rate was very high and the return to the Somass system is

expected to be well above average.  The Coho returning to the Somass

River system will likely show up in Barkley Sound sometime by the

twentieth of August and slowly trickle into the inlet during the last

week of August and hopefully will peak during the Labor Day Weekend

Coho Derby and the first ten days of September.  Coho usually like a

shorter leader length and faster troll.   If the numbers returning hold

true, then the sport fishing opportunity will be fantastic by month’s

end.

 

 

Barkley Sound Salmon fishing has been very consistent since late

May and early June.   The sound, during most of the summer months

has been loaded with vast amounts of bait fish in small herring,

sardines, and anchovy.  The migration of Chinook and also Coho has

been quite good.   These migrating salmon are headed to the

Willamette, Sacramento, and Columbia River systems.   The salmon

have come into many of the areas of Barkley Sound and have rested

and heavily fed on the rich resources of food for the transient fish.

This has created a very good sport fishery on the surf line and well into

inshore areas.  Chinook and Coho numbers have been good numbers

for most of the summer.  Most of the Chinook have been in the mid to

high teens with some in the twenties and even a few in the low thirty

pound range.  The Coho have been in good numbers since very late

June and early July.  The Coho are really putting on weight as they are

frantically feeding.  The early season Coho were averaging five and six

pounds and now many are getting well above ten with a few up to

fifteen pounds.  Currently the best fishing has been at many of the surf

line locations.  Beale, Ship Island and Ewrd King, Kirby Point Meares and

Austin have all been consistently good.  The change of tide really seems

to put a push on for feeding salmon.  Either side of the tide by an hour

seems to create a good bite.  Anchovy is definitely a good idea to have

aboard ones sport boat.  Anchovy in green, chartreuse, green haze, and

even at time purple haze are all working well.   Hot Spot green flashers

in plain or glow green or glow chartreuse are a good bet.  Later in the

month many will use the purple gold or even the purple glass and blue

glass hotspot flashers.  If using plastic the white turd, white hootchies,

the AORL 12 army truck, purple haze are all working very well.   Often

bait size does play a huge role.  If the bait fish in the area one is fishing

is small then smaller green spoons in three and three and a half inch

are best.  The Coho are in water from twenty feet and down to seventy

and the Chinook are anywhere from sixty to one hundred and twenty

feet.   With a lot of WCVI fish beginning to now appear in Barkley Sound

locations it is important that any Chinook salmon greater than seventyseven cm be put back into the water.  Barbless hooks are essential and

a measuring tape should be close at hand.  Check all boundary

locations for Coho and Chinook.  In most areas of the sound Coho

salmon retention levels in August and September will be four per

person.  It is important to check all boundary locations however.

Ucluelet (West Coast)

 

The latter part of July and first week and a half of August the

offshore fishing conditions have been quite outstanding and better

than average.   There have been a few foggy mornings with fog banks

hanging low but there definitely have been a good number of days that

have been quite the opposite.  Ocean conditions have been excellent

with a slight swell and more of a north westerly breeze in the

afternoons which have made many mornings almost perfect on the

water.  The Chinook salmon offshore on the banks outside Ucluelet and

also Bamfield located on the opposite shoreline have been very

plentiful and are averaging in weight from the mid to high teens.  There

have been some good Chinook in the mid twenty pound range.  In

general the fishing has been so good that many have been releasing

Chinook salmon in the ten to fourteen pound range.  The fish out on

the banks are transient and do come in waves during the summer.

These migrating salmon are often classified as early summer, mid-

summer and late summer runs.   It is often the late summer runs that

see some of the bigger Chinook move along the coastline as they make

their long journey to their natal streams.  Some of these late but bigger

fish were found at the Starfish late last week and most recently have

been at the fourteen mile off Cape Beale.  To date there have not been

a lot of Coho out on the banks.   The Coho have been abundant

however close to the beach and surf line of Vancouver Island and

Barkley Sound.  The Chinook salmon on the inner and outer South Bank

and also the Big Bank, Rats Nose and other offshore locations have

been swimming at the eighty to one hundred and forty foot depths.  A

variety of hootchies and spoons have been working for many sport

fishermen.  The brown and white turd and the light green spatterback

cuttlefish have been great producers for offshore salmon .  Trolling

speed of just over two to three miles an hour behind a green glow

hotspot flasher seems to work well offshore.  The five and six and

perhaps seven inch Tomic spoons will come into play a little more as

we get into mid August and also the latter part of the month.

We are expecting some great fishing well into September in the

Ucluelet, Barkley Sound, Offshore Vancouver Island (west coast) and

Port Alberni Inlet locations.   The Alberni Valley will be hosting the

Labour Day Weekend salmon Fishing Derby.  The Derby this year will

be for Coho only.  Look for more information during the weeks to come

regarding the derby.

 

For more information

Contact: Doug Lindores

1 250 724 2502   (home)

1 250 731 7389   (cell)

1 888 214 7206  (toll free)

dlindy@shaw.ca

 

FISHING REPORT: PORT ALBERI INLET, BARKLEY SOUND, UCLUELET

(WEST COAST) SOMASS-STAMP RIVER SYSTEM

September18th 2012

1 888 214 7206

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

 

 

We are now into the month of September and not only has there been some great

salmon fishing in the Port Alberni and Pacific Rim regions but the weather is sensational

with sunny skies and afternoon temperatures from eighty to eighty-four degrees farenheit.

These temperatures have made fishing in Barkley Sound and offshore areas out of

Ucluelet fairly comfortable and very summerlike for those anglers seeking the big late

summer Chinook and the ample Coho found in many of this regions areas. The salmon

are currently migrating to their natal rivers, streams and creeks which will create a

fantastic fall fishing opportunity in the Stamp, Nahmint, and Sarita River systems.

The first few weeks of September not only includes great Chinook and Coho

Salmon fishing but is also the time of this areas two biggest salmon derbies. The

forty-first Port Alberni Labour Day Weekend fishing derby just wrapped up. Over

two thousand ticket entrants participated this year with local Port Alberni angler Alice

Kempton winning the derby with a thirty-four pound Chinook which she landed using

a white AORL 12 hootchie on the Saturday morning of the long weekend in the Port

Alberni Inlet close to Polly Point. This big fish won Kempton $3,000.00 for biggest

fish of the day and also the $7,000.00 prize money for biggest fish of the Derby. Alice

fished with husband Walter and while she was playing her big fish he was busy bringing

in a seventeen pound Chinook. Other local winners in the derby were Glen Wallman

with a (32.8) and Doug Croxen with a (30.8) both landed for second and third place on

Saturday. On Sunday Roland Goehl and Paul Wagner finished first and second with 33.6

and 33.5 pound fish respectively. On Monday there were not any local fishermen in the

top three fish. The biggest fish of each day was worth a cash prize of $3,000.00 while

second place was $2,000.00 and third place winners each day won $1,000.00. The derby

also awards several hidden weight awards.

 

 

The Ucluelet Ladder Derby runs from May 1st until the Labour Day Weekend

and awards mothly cash prizes and gifts. All of the net proceeds of this ongoing four

month derby goes to local Ucluelet enhancement projects. The FISH OFF will occur

on September 7th and 8th. The top 15 fish of each month along with the next top 65 fish

are invited to the final derby. This derby also awards big money and gift prizes with

all awards being given out on Sunday September 9th. The biggest fish of the year was

landed in August out on the Starfish and weighed just over thirty-eight pounds. Good

Luck to all participants and guides this weekend.

 

 

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

The fishing in the Inlet for Chinook and Coho got underway about mid August.

The salmon pushed into the Inlet quite quickly but really have not held for long periods

of time. Currently there is a good push of Chinook and Coho headed for the Somass

and Stamp River systems and also Robertson Creek Hatchery. The early Chinook in the

the first ten days of the season were hitting anchovy in various Rhys Davis teaser heads

 

and a now seem to be more interested in the white AORL12 hootchie and the big O-15,

O-2 and O-16 hootchies. A variety of Four inch Coyote spoons are also working quite

well. The salmon in the first half of the morning are found in the top forty feet of water

with some of the biggest Chinook that are being landed found in the top twenty-five feet.

Most of the Chinook and Coho have been quite bright. As mentioned the fish are not

holding and are heading right to the river mouth. This means that every other day there

seems to be a new school of salmon moving in that are almost chrome in color. This is a

bit odd as the salmon often hang in various locations of Barkley Sound and feed heavily

on bait fish before finishing their long journey to their spawning grounds. The salmon in

Barkley Sound are there one day and gone the next as they quickly make their way up the

Port Alberni Inlet migrating to the Somass River Mouth. We are expecting the first half

of September to continue to have some good salmon fishing. Coho are becoming quite

dominant for many anglers and guide guests to land. The weather at this time of year can

play a major role. If early fall rains occur the Chinook and Coho will make their way

into the Somass River very quickly which will deteriorate the Port Alberni Inlet fishing.

Barkley Sound salmon fishing has picked up over the last week. Wittlestone,

Cape Beale, Assets, and areas along the Bamfield Wall have been producing some great

Chinook and Coho catches. The salmon are running in the top eighty feet of water and

are hitting bait, white hootchies and green hootchies plus a variety of different four and

five inch coyote spoons. The watermelon four inch coyote has been very prominent

along the Bamfield wall for Coho. Diplock and Pill Point have been off and on. The

Port Alberni salmon Derby had some excellent entrants from the Diplock area as a few

Chinook over thirty pounds were weighed in from this great location. September salmon

fishing in Barkley Sound can often be very good especially for big Coho that are making

their way to their spawning grounds. The Coho are still actively feeding in the sound

and can often be swimming in shallower water. Shortening leader lengths and trolling

a little faster can result in better catches. Weather change in September can often hurry

the salmon along to their natal streams and creeks. The long term forecast is looking

extremely good with the only possiblility of a small amount of rain early in the week of

September 10th.

 

 

Ucluelet

The Ucluelet Ladder Derby finishes this weekend with the annual fish off.

Derby finalists will be fishing for great cash and gift prizes. Awards will take place on

Sunday September 11th. West Coast fishing has been rather slow the last few weeks. It

seems some of the big Chinook have travelled a much different route than what they do

most years. Many are blaming the warm water current that has moved into the offshore

and inshore area. Mackeral are very high in numbers and water temperatures that are

normally in the summer from 53 to 58 degrees farenhiet are above 60 farenheit degrees.

The big bank continues to be very good for Coho and smaller Chinook. The halibut

fishing has also been excellent. Halibut fishing on the west coast does close on Sunday

September 9th. South Bank and Long Beach over the last week have had some good

fishing for Chinook in the high teens and low twenty pound range. The fish are taking

spoons from the four inch coyote to spoons up to six and seven inches. White hootchies

and also halloween and green spatterback are working quite well especially for Coho that

are ranging from ten to sixteen pounds. It should be noted that Coho limits offshore are

only at two per day and must be hatchery fish. All wild Coho are to be released.

 

 

Somass-Stamp River

Salmon fishing got underway on the 26th of August on the Stamp River. Their

has already been some excellent catches of bright Chinook and Coho. The salmon should

begin entering the system in very high numbers beginning the week of September 10th.

The peak is usually sometime during the third week of September. Good Chinook and

Coho fishing should continue into October. October is often an excellent month for Coho

and fall or summer Steelhead. For good results anglers should use wool, spinners and

spin n glows. Bait can be used beginning the 15th of September. We are expecting some

great returns of Chinook and Coho and with fairly high numbers of Steelhead already in

the system there should be a fantastic fall fishery in the world reknown Stamp River.

 

For more information

Contact

Doug Lindores

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

www.catchsalmon-ca.com

1 888 214 7206 toll free

1 250 724 2502 home

dlindy@shaw.ca

 

 

February 3rd 2013

Doug Lindores

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

1 888 214 7206

 

 

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.

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.

 

 

Port Alberni Inlet

Barkley Sound

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

Ucluelet

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.

 

Stamp River

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.

 

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

Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing

 

June 18

 

 

It is mid June and the sport salmon fishing in the Pacific Rim areas

is well underway.  June on the West Coast of British Columbia and

Vancouver Island brings warmer weather and calmer seas which bring

to us plenty of saltwater sport fishing opportunities.  Chinook salmon

have been plentiful, especially in the Barkley Sound area, over the last

number of weeks.  The salmon are feeding heavily on needlefish, small

herring, and pilchards.  Barkley Sound along the surf line locations and

as far inshore as Pill Point and Ecoole have had fantastic sport salmon

fishing with the Chinook averaging thirteen to just over twenty pounds.

The various banks just offshore from Ucluelet and Barkley Sound have

not been quite as consistent as the inshore areas as a good number of

the transient salmon that are migrating to the big watersheds to the

south are swimming close to the beach and feeding on the rich

resources of bait fish along the inner and outer edges of the Sound.

Coho are also beginning to show inshore and also out on the banks.

The numbers of Coho are not large yet but they should begin coming in

bigger schools.  The early Coho have been averaging six pounds and are

feeding heavily on the ample resources of bait fish and often in the

early summer months put on up to a pound per week.  West Vancouver

Island Coho returns are predicted to be very good in the latter half of

the summer.  The Port Alberni Inlet should see some good

opportunities for sport Sockeye fishing in the near future.  The

retention level for Sockeye beginning on the fifteenth of June is four

sockeye per day per person.  To June the 16

The current range for returns to the Somass

River is 300,000 to 500,000.  On the 27

seasonal forecast.  DFO has announced that there has been almost

11,000 Sockeye harvested.  The recreational fishery has totalled 400.

The Sockeye enter the Somass and swim to Sproat Lake or Great

Central Lake.  Escapement to date is 1,000 Sockeye to Great Central

Lake and 13,200 to Sproat Lake.  The Sockeye sit in the lakes for the

summer and in the fall spawn in the various tributary streams and

creeks.

 

The 2013 salmon sport fishing season should once again be

fantastic along Vancouver Islands West Coast and inland waters close

to Port Alberni.

 

Port Alberni Inlet/Barkley Sound

 

 

The Sockeye Sport Fishery in the Alberni Inlet opened on the first

of May.  The retention level per person per day has been two.  On the

fifteenth of June the possession limit moved to four per person with a

two day possession limit of eight Sockeye.  It is advised that sport

anglers continue checking DFO rules and regulations in case there is

any immediate change in the possession limits.  To this date there have

not been big numbers of Sockeye landed by sport anglers on the troll in

the waters of the inlet.  There has already been a fairly good number of

migrating Sockeye swim the inlet into the Somass River but the fish to

date have not schooled.  The snowpack in the nearby mountain

systems should not be detrimental to the sport Sockeye fishery but a

continued cool air mass circulating over the west coast of B.C. has kept

the water in the river and inlet cool.

 

The Sockeye in the Inlet are mostly swimming the top twentyfive to thirty-five feet of water as they sense the water in the Somass

River is very cool.  Those sport fisher persons hitting the water in the

next few weeks and fishing on the troll should find Sockeye in Cous

Creek, Dunsmuir Point, the China Creek Wall, the slide, narrows, and

the vast waters of Franklin-Nahmint.  The key to fishing Sockeye is lots

of color behind the boat, a slower troll and shorter leader lengths.  The

most popular Sockeye lures are a red or pink (mp 2, 16 or 15-

bubblegum color) mp hootchie.  Leader lengths are best at twenty-two

to twenty-seven inches behind a green or red hotspot flasher.  Sockeye

salmon are the number one commercial salmon and are fantastic on

the summer barbeque.

 

 

Barkley Sound salmon fishing has been fantastic for the last

number of weeks.  For those who like fishing in fairly calm water

Barkley Sound is perfect.  The Sound is scenic and the water is pristine

and calm in the mornings and evenings.  The open water of Imperial

Eagle Channel and Trevor Channel can have some wind in the

afternoons blowing in from the cooler waters of the vast Pacific Ocean.

Generally the two shorelines are easy to fish most of the day.  Barkley

Sound has had good numbers of bait fish in small herring, needlefish,

pilchards and anchovy.  The migrating salmon that are termed the early

summer run headed to the watersheds to the south have been

entering Barkley Sound and feeding heavily on these bait fish.   Most of

the salmon have been Chinook with the odd Coho in the mix.  The Coho

numbers should become more numerous as we approach the end of

June and the beginning of July.  The Chinook have been found in surf

line locations such as Cree Island, Austin Island, Meares, Kirby Point,

and as far inshore as Pill Point, Ecoole, and even as far inshore as Chup

Point.  Some of the best fishing has been at Meares, Swale Rock and

Vernon Bay.  The salmon have been averaging thirteen pounds to the

low twenties.  There have been a few fish in the low thirties landed.

One guest last week landed a thirty-three pound Chinook just off of

Meares fishing at ninety feet with a silver glow coyote spoon.  Swale

Rock has been consistently remarkable on the Imperial Eagle side and

also on the back towards Howard Point.  Vernon Bay has had fantastic

sport fishing along the wall and the beach and also towards Alan Point.

The fish are deep with best results fishing on the troll from one

hundred to one hundred and forty feet.  The best fishing rule right now

in the Sound is “where the bait fish are the salmon are close by”.  The

fish have been hitting various coyote spoons in three and a half and

four inch sizes.  Green glo, green and blue nickel, and silver glow have

been working very well.  Anchovy in Rhys Davis Teaser heads in army

truck, green haze and chartreuse have all been good.  Hotspot flashers

in green glow and also the chartreuse flasher in glow on both sides

have been great with various coyote and Gypsy spoons and anchovy

teaser head colors.  Barkley Sound sport fishing should be very good in

June and July for Chinook and Coho salmon.

 

Ucluelet

 

June is truly a very amazing month to be fishing off the coast of

Vancouver Island.  The transient salmon are in the midst of their long

journey back to their spawning grounds.  This year all of the inner and

outer offshore banks will have a very abundant mix of Chinook, Coho

and “odd year” Pink salmon.  Ucluelet fishing has been historically

one of the best locations for summer salmon fishing on the west coast

of British Columbia.  The fishing in the early spring months is often

relatively close to the Ucluelet Harbour.   We are now into mid June

and the salmon fishing is now locating out to the various banks.   The

latter half of May saw Long Beach producing some good halibut and

Chinook fishing.   The fishing which was very good in this location faded

and over the past week the better fishing results are coming in from

the inner and also outer South bank areas.  During the past weekend

South Bank areas especially the Turtle Head produced Chinook salmon

up to  the low twenty pound range and also some nice hatchery Coho

averaging six and seven pounds.  The Chinook this past weekend on

South Bank were located from one hundred and twenty feet to the

bottom and the Coho were swimming from 90 feet to the bottom.

Coyote spoons in the four inch size seemed to be working the best.

Green is always a good color in June.  Green Nickel and the green

glow coyote behind a green glow or chartreuse glow hotspot flasher

was working very well.  Anchovy in a green haze teaser head was also

working very well.  Some guides and sport fisher persons were doing

well also with blue nickel and also the different coloured spatter back

hootchies and cuttle fish.  The weekend weather and water conditions

especially Saturday was perfect offshore.  It was T-shirt weather and

great salmon fishing for all.  The Ucluelet Ladder Derby is underway

with tickets for the year at fifty dollars and daily tickets at ten dollars.

There are great monthly prizes and also the opportunity to be in the

final fish off during the second weekend of September.

 

 

The summer of 2013 should prove to be another great season

of saltwater sport salmon fishing in Barkley Sound, Port Alberni and

Ucluelet inshore and offshore.

 

For More information contact:

 

Doug Lindores

1 250 724 2502  (home)

1 250 731 7389  (cell)

1 888 214 7206  (toll fre)

dlindy@shaw.ca  (email)