Vancouver Island Fishing Report - Feb 4/18

Island Outfitters

SALTWATER OVERVIEW – The Chinook fishing was FAIR around the south Island if you could sneak out during all the wind and rain. Most of the Chinooks have been from 4-10 lbs in size.

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SOOKE – The salmon fishing has been GOOD over the last two weeks when you could get out. Most of the fish were from 4-8 lbs in size, with the occasional larger one.  The best location to fish for winter springs was near Secretary Island. Most of the salmon are close to the bottom in 100-140 ft of water.

BECHER BAY – Salmon fishing was FAIR for springs this past week, although very few anglers were able to get out in all the wind and rain. Anglers have been having good success in Becher Bay, between Frazer Island and Cheanuh Marina on the top of the flood tide. A few anglers have also had some success in Whirl Bay. Most anglers are fishing close to the bottom in 100-160 ft depths. We haven’t heard of any salmon over 10 lbs here this past week.

PEDDER BAY – Pedder Bay Marina reports GOOD fishing in Pedder Bay near the Green Can, and in Whirl Bay. Of course, very few anglers were fishing in the bad weather this past week.  Most of the fish have been caught close to the bottom in 100-140 ft of water. The salmon have been from 3-7 lbs in size, with the occasional larger fish.

VICTORIA – Fishing for salmon was SLOWER off the waterfront this past week. Most of the fish have been small, from 3-7 lbs in size. Constance Bank has been the best spot to fish for numbers of fish but there is still a bunch close in. Trolling just off the bottom in 85-140 ft of water has been the way to catch salmon there. Closer in, salmon were caught near Clover Point, however seals have been a real problem off the waterfront. In most locations the best depths to fish were 90-140 ft, although they are often found in shallow water near the harbour entrance. The Salmon Superbowl was held recently, but we don’t have all the final results. We do know that the winning fish was a 13.65 lb winter spring.  

OAK BAY – Salmon fishing was SLOW in Oak Bay this past week. There were a few salmon coming in from the Gap and from the Flats, but they were quite small. The salmon are feeding on needle fish and have been close to the bottom where the feed is located. Most of the anglers have been either bottom bouncing or jigging close to the bottom.

SIDNEY – Salmon fishing was SLOW in the Sidney area. We have heard that there were some keeper springs being caught near Fairfax Point, but most of the fish were just undersized.

FRESHWATER OVERVIEW – Fishing was SLOW in most lakes for trout and bass, and SLOW in the rivers for steelhead.  

COWICHAN RIVER – The water level on the river is still quite high, but it is dropping. Near the lake it's gone from 3 metres down to 2.55 metres, and near Duncan it’s gone from 3.4 metres to 2.4 metres. Also, the water below the Clay Bank Pool is very dirty. There are steelhead in the river now and we have heard of some being caught in the Riverbottom area, but not too many. For steelhead, jigs and pink worms have been productive. Fishing for trout in the fly only area had been SLOW. Now is the time to fish egg patterns for trout.  

We now have numbers for our Chinook salmon returns in the Cowichan River. The preliminary estimate of 26,482 fish is a new record, and is literally off the charts. On top of this, we also had 187,000 chums. Though not a record, this does amount to about 2 million pounds of nutrients distributed throughout the system. This is very good news for the entire riparian ecosystem. This is also something all of the many groups working to protect and preserve the Heritage River can be proud of. These numbers were published in the DFO South Coast Salmon Bulletin Escapement Update dated December 22, 2017.  

TROUT – Trout fishing has been SLOW for trout at the local lakes. Shore anglers are catching trout on Powerbait, Gulp Eggs, and worms while fishing close to the bottom. Allan Edgar landed a 4 lb 11 oz beauty on Friday at Langford Lake, while fishing Powerbait. On the previous Thursday, Brock Heppell caught a 1 lb 14 oz rainbow also at Langford Lake and also on Powerbait. 

BASS – Bass fishing is SLOW. During the day, soft plastics rigged Carolina style work well and crank baits can work well at times. Soft plastics rigged “Texas Style” are also a good choice when fishing drop offs and deeper structures. Drop shot fishing can also be very effective this time of year. Langford Lake, Shawnigan Lake, Prospect Lake and Elk and Beaver Lakes are the best local bass lakes. St. Mary’s Lake on Salt Spring Island is also a great lake for bass fishing.

FISH TIP OF THE WEEK  

Bigger is not always better! You should mix up the size of your baits or lures to increase the odds of catching fish. Fish both large and small baits until you find a definite pattern of what the fish want at that time, that day.

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