Island Outfitters
Vancouver Island Fishing Report - Jan 14/18
Ryan and Jon with their Cutthroat trout caught out of Cowichan Lake.
Island Outfitters
SALTWATER OVERVIEW – The Chinook fishing was GOOD around the south Island. Most of the fish have been from 4-10 lbs in size, but there have been some larger ones caught.
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SOOKE – The salmon fishing has been GOOD over the last two weeks. Most of the fish were from 6 to 10 lbs in size with the occasional larger one. The best locations to fish for winter springs have been from Secretary Island, westward to Muir Creek. Most of the salmon are close to the bottom in 100-140 feet of water.
BECHER BAY – Salmon fishing was GOOD for springs this past week. Anglers have been having good success both in Whirl Bay and in Becher Bay. The area between Frazer Island and Cheanuh Marina has started to produce good fish up to 12 lbs. A few anglers have also had some success in Iron Mine Bay as well. Most anglers are fishing close to the bottom in 120-160 depths.
PEDDER BAY – Pedder Bay Marina reports GOOD fishing in both Pedder Bay near the Green Can and in Whirl Bay. Most of the fish have been caught close to the bottom in 120-160 feet of water. The salmon have been from 5-10 lbs in size, with the occasional larger fish.
VICTORIA – Fishing for salmon was GOOD off the waterfront recently. Constance Bank has been the best spot to fish. Trolling just off the bottom in 85-140 feet of water has been the way to catch salmon there. Closer in, salmon were caught from Clover Point to the Gravel Pit. However, the seals have been a real problem around Clover Point and the Flagpole. The seals have been taking most of the larger fish hooked, frustrating anglers. In those locations the best depths to fish were 90-140 feet.
The Trotac WTF fishing derby was held on Sunday, January 14th with Esquimalt Anglers providing the weigh in location. There were 40 chinooks weighed in, with 28 being hatchery marked fish. The derby was very successful and raised over $16,000, which will go towards fish conservation efforts in our area. The winning fish, as well as most entries, came from the Victoria waterfront
OAK BAY – Salmon fishing was FAIR in Oak Bay this past week. There were a few salmon coming in from the Gap and from the Flats. 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 FAIR in the Sidney area. We have heard that there were some keeper springs being caught near Deep Cove, Moresby Island, and Coal Island. The second place fish in the Trotac WTF derby came from the Sidney area. There are still many undersized salmon in the area.
FRESHWATER OVERVIEW – Fishing was SLOW in most lakes for trout and bass, and SLOW in the rivers for steelhead.
COWICHAN RIVER – The water level in the river has been up and down this past week. The water clarity has also been an issue, as the clay bank by Stoltz has collapsed and the water is very dirty downstream of the pool. There are steelhead in the river now and we have heard of some being caught in the Riverbottom area, but not too many. Fishing for trout in the fly only area has been FAIR.
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, and something 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 while fishing close to the bottom. Fly anglers are fishing on full sink fly lines most of the time to get into the lower water levels.
BASS – Bass fishing is SLOW. 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
Check your lines, frequently! When trolling for salmon, you should never leave a line down more than 20 to 30 minutes without checking to see if your bait is still working properly. Quite often a fish will strike it without getting hooked and ruin the bait, or you'll get some weed on the bait, or maybe even have a small fish on that you don’t even know about. Only by checking your line can you know if you’re still fishing.
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