Hi All,
It’s full on here in Barkley Sound.
The Robertson Creek fish have arrived in numbers. This is the time that many of us dream about during the doldrums of winter. It’s always sunshine, calm seas and eager big fish. Not always the case with the sunshine and calm seas but the fish are here and they are eager.
So here is the scoop. I am running 2 of 3 options and changing it up as need be. Small spoons such as Skinny Gs in green and white, Herring Aid, No Bananas are all working well. I am still sold on glow white flash flys with green inserts and, of course, rolling anchovies. I’ve been having great success the past 2 days with anchovies on my port side and West Coast’s Herring Aid Skinny G on the starboard rigger. Depth can vary depending on where you are fishing. I have been fishing Edward King and Beale the past 3 days. 53 feet rolling anchovies and 57 feet with the herring aid spoon was the ticket for myself and my guests. I really love what I call the inside tack at Beale, uncomfortably close to structure, 53 and 57 feet are very productive here. Other boats fishing more outside were having success deeper, even bouncing their cannonballs in the mud. It’s all what you are comfortable with.
At this point all the local spots are quite productive. Edward King all the way down the northside of the Deer Group to Robbers Pass (the Meat Hole) have produced. I’ve really enjoyed fishing Ohiat as of late. Nice flat water and lots of room. Beale and Little Beale towards Lawton Point have been very good and again, lots of room to fish comfortably. Scotts Bay, Aguilar Point, The Wall all the way down to Danvers is never a waste of time and the water is almost friendly to those that suffer from motion sickness.
The bonus in all of this has been the amazing coho action thrown in for those of us targeting big springs. Almost every trip out as of late we have been landing a coho or two in the double digit range. Just beautiful fish! Just a heads up that area 23 is under 1 wild only regulations. You may take a hatch to round up to 2 on your dance card if you are planning to target springs as well. Please leave your fish in the water while you identify it and then if need be you can release it without using your net. It most definitely gives the fish a much better chance at survival than netting it before releasing.
Oh and don’t forget offshore. Hali fishing has been over the top good. My last 5 trips out hali hunting have been wrapped up within an hour of getting the gear down. Salmon bellies have been most effective on spreader bars. Mackerel and extra large herring are also candy for hali.
As per usual, get up on the bank offshore, find a hump that comes up to 200 feet or so and anchor in and around it. Drifting will work but you have to choose the right day depending on wind and tide.
It’s a very much magic time out here in Barkley. As I said, it’s what we dream about when fishing season is 6 months away. Now is the time folks. One more month or so and this will all be pretty much done. Time to get out to the west coast and enjoy this incredible resource.
Coach is out…
Ps… RIP Peter. You were a wonderful fisherman, writer and storyteller but you were a better man. We will miss you….