2014 Port Renfrew & Swiftsure Reports

Just came back from PR. First day got 3 springs from 20-25 lbs, Went to the chicken ranch for 2 small hali. Heard that a few sox are showing up. Fishing overall is very slow, especially along the beach, left a day earlier as lots of fog, not much fish. Weird year for springs so far around SVI. Hopefully they will show up soon in the large numbers that reports from up north have been talking about.
 
Fished Swiftsure yesterday. Not as hot as it can be out there but we were definitely able to scratch up the fish. Coho have started to show in decent numbers and Chinook were taken anywhere from 200ft to 75ft from south of the Ranch to the Bumps. Hali was pretty hard for most guys as we heard on the radio, but we got lucky and were able to drum up three. Fished from 7:00am (when we arrived at the Bank) to 3ish.

Also caught my biggest Coho yet - 15lbs! That's it between the two Springs in the second picture.

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Nice size Coho for this time of year.That thing would have been pushing 20 lbs. by Oct. if it was just a little bit luckier.
Good job there TSOH!
 
Renfrew was dead slow for us the last couple of days. We saw literally 2 teeners caught in two days along the beaches between hundreds of boats. With all the fog, swells and long, long stretches without any action I wonder if it was worth the trip. The bank had a few fish but no sizes and far in between. Back to Sooke.
 
Renfrew was dead slow for us the last couple of days. We saw literally 2 teeners caught in two days along the beaches between hundreds of boats. With all the fog, swells and long, long stretches without any action I wonder if it was worth the trip. The bank had a few fish but no sizes and far in between. Back to Sooke.

The Beach has never been worth it to me. Way too inconsistent, even when it's "hot." I think I've caught like 1 spring in 8-10 trips there. For sure guys do well there, but when considering the fog and swells in addition I'm much more likely to try Sooke or Vic instead (live in Vic).
 
Fished the beach Monday trolled from camper creek to Logan. Landed two decent fish just shy of 20 pounds before cullite (sp) creek. But it was a slooooow day. Also lost a crab trap in the bay. Clearly marked older commercial trap with four small bullet floats. It was in the same area on the west side of the inlet as my other traps. They were all there, as placed, not sure where this one went.
 
Out yesterday on Swiftsure on a charter I won from Island Outfitters. Fished the chicken ranch and got 7 springs from 10-17 lbs, 3 coho, 1 yellow eye and a sole (yum). Calm weather, fog not too bad on the banks. Beach is still slow.

DFO test seiner is starting to catch sockeye in decent numbers. Although DFO estimates almost 90% of the sox went on the inside 10% of ~20 million means about 200,000 sox for us on the west coast and JDF. Also heard DFO planes saw a mass of salmon ~3km long up around Bamfield so hopefully the sox fishing heats up real soon.
 
test seiners on saturday picked up 120 sockeye. I was talking to one of the guys doing the fishes, and i forget if he said the last big run, or just last year, but nevertheless on the same day - the boated 7,000. as already said, 90% are going down the inside.
There are a few being caught in the striaght, but its really a first light show.


beach is dead, or at best is hit and miss. expect 1-3 fish all day doing the grind.
bank is still hot and cold, but getting more consistent and hotter. a few hali around but most days you need to work a bit for them.
 
I notice quite a few of the well-known charter ops on here seem to consistently produce daily most times.....

What are they doing that you aren't?
 
I notice quite a few of the well-known charter ops on here seem to consistently produce daily most times.....

What are they doing that you aren't?

Yes, they are managing to get 1-2 fish per full day of grinding. That does not mean it's good fishing. Clearly this has been a disappointing year,with odd days of good fishing here and there. The sockeye diversion rate is pretty drastic and it makes one wonder if the other salmon species are also diverting at similar rates. Also curious is the lack of hatch 15-20 lbers.
 
I'm just wondering if they've in many cases gone real deep on the west coast.....

Its' not uncommon for commercial guys to see them up to 600ft deep (or more) at times.......

Doesn't sound like they all came down the inside so far (Chinooks).....yes the fishing has been good at times...but not THAT good.....:D
 
Yes was the worst July I have ever seen there. Out yesterday into 7 springs, lost a 40+ to the bald headed prick with fins, that is 13 for him this year from me and I have not fished a whole lot, kept a 24 &28 both red both wild. derby those greens are mush :)
 
Yes was the worst July I have ever seen there. Out yesterday into 7 springs, lost a 40+ to the bald headed prick with fins, that is 13 for him this year from me and I have not fished a whole lot, kept a 24 &28 both red both wild. derby those greens are mush :)

Sounds horrible, buddy. Don't know why you bother even going out.

Sounds like that prick needs a 22 cal solution
 
bamfield dead, renfrew dead, sooke dead, victoria dead, sidney dead - ouch.

just back from 4 .5 days at Ukee, maybe this helps. ( I did hear on tofino traffic , saying they counted over 100 boats on Friday morning, at buoy J,) anyhoo, I fished from 3miles to 10 miles out.. from offshore Ukee, at Turtles head and up towards south bank, where most guides boats are lurking. Waves of decent sized coho are passing thru, mixed in are smaller pockets of springs uo to 25lb. Thursday last started at Spy corner, and got into fish, next day it was slow, so we shifted south down to the turtles head and presto, into fish, sat sunday, Monday , we stayed in same area with 3 friends boats, amongst almost every charter boat, I saw a lot of rods going off. A long line of boats cleaning fish entering Ukee harbour, and at the cleaning stations. I did hear radio chatter , nattering about not having any hits in side Barkley sound,all day, by several guys. No one I talked with has been to the Rats Nose area, they are getting fish at closer in. My friends boat got a 30lb spring as his biggest and the rest were between 15 and 21lbs, I got a 24, and the rest were high 16-20, coho were 6 to 9 lbs, Most of the springs were below 160 ft.. coho 85 to 100 ft.
 
just back from 4 .5 days at Ukee, maybe this helps. ( I did hear on tofino traffic , saying they counted over 100 boats on Friday morning, at buoy J,) anyhoo, I fished from 3miles to 10 miles out.. from offshore Ukee, at Turtles head and up towards south bank, where most guides boats are lurking. Waves of decent sized coho are passing thru, mixed in are smaller pockets of springs uo to 25lb. Thursday last started at Spy corner, and got into fish, next day it was slow, so we shifted south down to the turtles head and presto, into fish, sat sunday, Monday , we stayed in same area with 3 friends boats, amongst almost every charter boat, I saw a lot of rods going off. A long line of boats cleaning fish entering Ukee harbour, and at the cleaning stations. I did hear radio chatter , nattering about not having any hits in side Barkley sound,all day, by several guys. No one I talked with has been to the Rats Nose area, they are getting fish at closer in. My friends boat got a 30lb spring as his biggest and the rest were between 15 and 21lbs, I got a 24, and the rest were high 16-20, coho were 6 to 9 lbs, Most of the springs were below 160 ft.. coho 85 to 100 ft.

Heard the same thing from a buddy that was heading up there Sunday - that a lot of fish, both springs and coho, were being cuaght at Turtle, Adipose, South Bank, etc. with a number of nice fish mixed in. He got the info from the guide he always fishes with up there who said most of the fleet had been there for a few days.
 
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