Esperanza Inlet/Nootka Sound fishing report - mid Aug
Lots of legal Halibut, from 78lbs-32lbs, were caught by Joe and crew at The Pins.
Westview Marina & Lodge
Strange August Fishing
Esperanza is doing well:
Catching in Esperanza continues to be good. There are lots of 12-17lb Coho being caught now, by September some of them will be 20lbs. Spring/chinook/king, averaging 25lb, are stacked on the cleaning tables daily.
As long as you can fish outside (early morning), halibut & ling cod are very plentiful. Fortunately the water temperatures in Esperanza remain normal for August and the catching continues at a steady pace.
Nootka is a complete other story:
We began noticing changes in the normal fishing production in mid-July. Normally, when the regulations change on July 15, we see a noticeable change in effort moving down into the Nootka Sound Area. There was a weather event around July 10 that caused some up-welling in the near offshore area and at the mouth of Nootka. The result was a significant number of springs/chinook/king entering Nootka. All was well and the epic run of chinook started their entrance. Fishing was good at all the normal places.
We are not Scientists. But through our eyes, and the eyes of hundreds of our customers, we do observe much of what is happening in our local waters. The new title for these observers is “Citizen Scientists”.
Observations:
- The hot August weather came and along with it the strong winds that blow directly into Nootka from off shore. Results were the surface water in the sound was held inside, and it began rising in temperature. Wide-spread algae blooms appeared - way more than a normal hot summer.
- Jellyfish are more plentiful than most remember, mackerel have returned & sunfish are inside all the way to Camel Rock. Hotter than normal water in Nootka has dramatically changed the fishery.
Most observers have simply pulled out of fishing down in Nootka. Some die-hard fishers have found the fish very deep in the inlets in the colder waters, and are doing well at catching them.
The good news to all this is the chinook are there, down deep in the cold water, protecting their eggs and sperm from the hotter upper level waters, which would cause reproduction issues. Nature has found a way again to help these fish survive and spawn.
John & Cathy Falavolito, 250-934-7672, 1-800-992-3252 or john@westviewmarina.com