Well August is here. For many Barkley Sound fisher folks that means it’s go time. Our local fish have begun showing and soon all of our favourite inshore haunts are going to be in prime time. It’s on folks!
Last week I finished up with father and son team Jeff and Chris from Vancouver. Nothing better than family time on the water. Jeff and Chris are annual visitors to Harbourside. This is my 8th trip with them.
Overall fishing is still fantastic. When the spring bite dies you can count on some feisty coho to fill the void. We fished Little Beale and Sandford. Little Beale was good to us. Once again trolling irish cream skinny g spoons 6 feet or more behind green glow flashers. Magic depths were 44 and 52 feet (that was a week ago, the fish are shallower now, try 35 feet instead). We moved to Sandford after the rollers became a little much and found fish at the same depths.
Aussie John has brought in some fishing gear from Amundson. I chose a spoon that resembled a skinny g although it was 4 inches long. It was trimmed in black with green and white similar to a trap shack skinny g, it’s called a salmon camp. We trolled it alongside our standby irish cream and it proved very effective. I fished with it last Monday morning for 3 hours and it hooked up 3 nice springs and a couple of coho. See Aussie John in the store, these Amundson spoons are the real deal. Come pick up a few.
Our other Harbourside guide Joe had his crew, Bob and Jay (Bob’s been up fishing at Harbourside for at least 20 years now) salmon fishing the last few days. They had their best luck running the tack between Whittlestone and Little Beale. The fish have shallowed up some and Joe had his best success at about 35 feet on the riggers. That is more par for the course here in August. Bring them up shallow now people, that is where the big boys will be. Joe is also running the new Amundson spoon. He also runs bait and is having success on both. Typically as we move into to mid / late August we become strictly bait fisherman. I am going to work the spoon thing as long as I can.
Hali fishing continues to be on fire. The dog fish have thinned out and it seems to be just a matter of putting in the time and the hali will come calling. 205 to 210 feet of water seems to be the money depths. We look for humps that come up on the banks and anchor in and around them. Salmon bellies and or heads on spreader bars are the ticket. Extra large herring can also be very effective if the dog fish are few.
This weekend is the famed BVFD – Bamfield Volunteer Fire Department Derby. Tickets are only $25 per rod. It’s such a great cause. If you are in the vicinity make sure you stop by and get a ticket. Who knows? Maybe your fish will tip the scales out for a $1500 payout. There are tons of giveaways Monday afternoon plus a great bbq after the final weigh in.
As I have mentioned many times August is a very busy month here at Harbourside. . The tackle shop is stocked, gas and diesel available, it’s all happening right here at Harbourside. Do yourself a favour, come see us. You’ll be glad you did.
Till then,
Coach (aka Jonathan)