Hi All
Fishing in Barkley Sound has been spotty at best the past week to ten days. I will be the first to admit it’s been a struggle for both springs and coho. As sparse as things have been, the good news is that there are some big fish around, they just have been few and far between.
I fished with Jeff and Scott from the Lower Mainland last week. We fished hard for springs for three days and managed one day offshore before the big blow made it too difficult to get outside.
We fished Austin and Cree as it was blowing hard northwest. It’s nice protected water over at the Broken Group when it blows northwest. We ran our gear at 50′ and 60′ dragging irish cream and bon chovy skinny gs 6′ behind glow green flashers. We weeded through lots of shakers but big solid fish were hard to come by. Our best morning was at Swale. We marked lots of bait and arches but the bite was never really on. We had two great fish to the boat, both 20lbs plus, but could not seal the deal. Frustrating for sure for when you got a decent hit and you couldn’t take advantage you knew it was a long time before the next chance came along.
Offshore hali fishing has been very solid. Both Jeff and Scott went home with some gorgeous B.C. white gold. We took a hali each ranging from 27 to 38 lbs.
I’ve just finished up with guests Michael and Rob. Michael hails from Kelowna and Rob makes his home in Whiterock. Salmon fishing for both continued to be tough for these two as well. We fished hard during a southeasterly blow last Friday. We only had two solid fish on all day. Both took off hard and peeled line but we could not take advantage and we were blanked for the day. We dragged skinny gs again along with glow white hootchies. We fished Kirby for the early morning bite then Little Beale for late morning and the afternoon.
Saturday we headed over to Austin and Cree and finally had some luck. The bon chovy skinny g was the money shot for us. We landed 3 decent springs at between ten and 15 lbs and lost 2 other fish that seemed to be much bigger.
Sunday was our offshore day. Light winds made for a smooth ride out to 12 mile. We anchored up in 210′ of water and put down salmon bellies, salmon heads and an extra large herring. The herring was the ticket as we landed 3 halis. One small chicken and 25lber and beautiful fish at 125 cms that weighed in at 58lbs.
We finished the day fishing for springs at Austin and Cree for the high tide change but came up empty.
So here is the deal. Yes it’s been tough fishing for springs for sure, but we know that can change on single tide. Migratory fish come in waves. Some days they are in thick and others nowhere to be seen. What’s a guy to do? Stick to what we know best. Small spoons, glowwhite hootchies, and 5 1/4 inch bait (go small at this time of year!), all are effective early in the season. I tend to fish a little bit deeper this time of year. At Kirby and Little Beale I start at 38 – 55′. At Austin and Cree I’ll go 50 – 60′. Fish through the tide changes before you move. Patience and hope go a long way. It will get better I promise. In the meantime, put in your time. Gear out of the water never catches the fish.
As for Harbourside? We are up and running in a limited capacity. We are keeping groups bubbled. Our self contained suites are a great option!
Contact Aussie John at john@harboursidelodge.com for more info.
Until then I’ll stand by and hopefully have a more positive report later this week.
Coach….