Nootka or Barkley

dmurph

Well-Known Member
If you could fish at either Barkley sound or Nootka on a say weekly basis which would you prefer and why?
 
done both, love barkley so much i bought in bam.

bam, more hidden jems as far as fishing spots inside and outside really , more weather hiding spots, less closures. better services.. port, ukee, bam. nicer people:)
seems to be less guides and lodges or just more areas that are fishy. BEACHES! BROKEN GROUP!! inside hali;)
 
I love Nootka but tried to buy rec property(unsuccessful) in the entrance to Barkley Sound last Sept. for what trophy says..

Now with what might happen with potential fishing closures on the coast Im holding on to my cash for a couple yrs to see what happens but in saying that I will keep looking for rec property in Barkley Sound.
 
done both, love barkley so much i bought in bam.

bam, more hidden jems as far as fishing spots inside and outside really , more weather hiding spots, less closures. better services.. port, ukee, bam. nicer people:)
seems to be less guides and lodges or just more areas that are fishy. BEACHES! BROKEN GROUP!! inside hali;)
There are no inside Halli. Everyone knows ya gotta go at least 10 miles off shore to get Halibut. Remember?
 
I find this a tough choice. I agree with all cons for Barkley Sound but when it comes to Chinook terminal fishery it is tough to beat Nootka when it's ON. Nowhere else on the coast will you encounter such density of mature Chinook in sheltered waters. If they bite is another story!
 
Nootka, inside waters are more protected and all the inside hot spots are accessible without having to run open stretches of water. Imperial Channel in Barkley can be a crappy run to the Broken Group. I would say offshore is more forgiving off Barkley.
 
You can buy property (yes real property with a title and everything) at Salmon Beach for cheap right now. I can't see it going any cheaper. Time to buy.
You can not find any recreational property on the West Coast of the Island for cheaper any where. I dare you to find it.

There is a boat launch. I heard there will be no more boat launches along that coast line in the future.
There is talk of paving the old Port Albion Road from Ukee to the Band that goes right past SB.
Part of their land settlement. This has been on going for a while now but keeps being talked about.

If this happens the prices will sky rocket.

I have stuck it out for the last 8 or 9 years and I am waiting for this final development. I have enjoyed the site we chose and have made improvements to it over the years.
It makes a great base camp for fishing and other outdoor activities.
 
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Haha i may be bias Dave, but Nootka is definitely the place!! No matter how bad the weather is you will always find a calm spot to fish.
 
I’ve never fished Ucluelet but I have plenty of times at Nootka. Ucluelet must be awesome if it’s “better catching” than Nootka. Sounds like we all need to head there.
 
dmurph; looks like we have a peeing contest here. I used to keep my boat in both Ucluelet & Tofino. This was in the late 80's - early 90's. It was rare to go home without at least 1 30 pounder. Since then I fish Ucluelet a couple times each year. In recent years, the capability of fishing Chinooks close to shore (from a regulations standpoint) greatly influences where I fish. Once you encounter a fish in the 50# class there is going back (at least for me). The vast majority of Chinook caught in both area's will be Columbia River fish; so pretty much same-same IMO. Right now we seemed to be in a period where 15-22# fish dominate. I have seen data that indicates that The Barkley hatchery fish have a higher percentage of 5 y/o fish than the Nootka hatchery. My plan is to fish the rocks for the big-one & settle for something 20-ish for dinners.
Why not pick the one with the shortest drive?
 
Been to Nootka at least a dozen times and have not yet fished Barkley sound but hopefully will . I worked with a few guys that fished Barkley when I went to Nootka and there was a huge difference of numbers of fish ( mature springs ) landed .
 
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