Hi All
Some say it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission, either way I think asking forgiveness might be the best course of action here. So here goes. I am sorry. This is a much overdue report. Are we good?
Anyways… here we go.
Folks, the fishing is ok, definitely not on fire. Poor choice of words at the moment I suppose. The fishing may not be on fire but the road to Bamfield from Port Alberni definitely is. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those directly affected by the Mt. Underwood fire. Bamfield itself is struggling as the community is without power and likely will be for the next few days yet. Bamfield Main is closed and it looks like the Lake Cowichan / Youbu road is closed as well, although I have no official word on this.
Fortunately the weather forecast does call for heavy rain Thursday evening and all day Friday. Fingers crossed that this is the case.
In the meantime if you are in Bamfield area now or plan on coming in a few days when the road re-opens and the power is back on let’s chat about what’s going on fishwise.
As I stated earlier, fishing is ok but not what it should be for this time of year. Offshore it is virtually thick with salmon, so they are around. It just seems the Robertson Creek fish haven’t arrived in the Sound en masse as of yet.
Fishing near the perimeter of the Sound still seems to be your best bet. Beale and Little Beale seem to have out produced most of the other local spots. By now I am usually fishing bait on riggers but flash flys and white hoochies are still producing. Don’t put away your small spoons yet either. I would suggest starting your fishing day with a glow white hoochie on one side and bait on the other. Let the fish decide what’s going to produce best.
Now I said the perimeter of the Sound seems to be giving up the most fish (Austin and Cree are a very viable option!). By all means don’t ignore all the local hot spots though. I’ve done well at Swale, Kirby, Flemming and Robbers Pass (aka the Meat Hole). They all have had their moments.
At Beale I am trolling between 40 and 55 feet on the downriggers. At Kirby I start shallow, 30′ to 40′ and go from there. Swale seems to produce for me between 40′ and 50′.
Coho have been showing up in larger numbers and in larger sizes. Coho fishing should just get better in the next few weeks. If you want to just target Coho, troll faster and drag hoochies. Remember it is hatchery only in area 123 and only one wild allowed inside (one wild and one hatchery).
Offshore has been crazy! Hali fishing has been very solid as has Sable fish, aka Black Cod. Salmon fishing offshore has also been very good. Drag deep with hoochies, plugs and large spoons for Springs near the bottom.
Once again, our thoughts and prayers go out to those fighting and directly affected by the Underwood fires. We are hoping and praying the the rain comes soon as so many Bamfield folks are financially dependent on our August fishery and we desperately want the Sound to be open for business as per usual.
Till then Coach is out…