Bamfield halibut in September?

[Ugly Betty]

I have never done a trip this late in the year. Just curious if it's still possible to catch hali offshore of Bamfield , The first week of September. Will I have to be content with Coho and The occasional spring? Typically I have always finished Swiftsure bank out of a friends boat but this year I'm takin my own. Not sure my timings any good

 

[Fixit]

sept 8 2016
buts are around that time of year

 

[wolf]

be forewarned it was closed last year early. after labor day coastwide

 

[california]

There is only so much TAC for sport and once that is estimated to have been caught DFO will shut it down. As Wolf mentioned that was early September last year. This year the TAC went down, but so have the size limits to keep the season going longer, so its anyone's guess when, or if, all the TAC will be caught and the fishery shut down.

 

[pennel]

The info. given by the two previous posts is relevant and should be taken into consideration before coming.
However, it doesn't answer your question if it is possible to catch halis offshore at Bamfield in September.
I myself have very limited experience but I am sure that there are a whole bunch of guys out there that could answer your question.

 

[trophywife]

yes!! great time to fish for hali in bam. if it is open! i lost out huge last year on hired trips, we usually target them if the tuna is toooooo far.

 

[SerengetiGuide]

be forewarned it was closed last year early. after labor day coastwide

It’ll still be open 100% with plenty of quota still left so OP will be fine going in September

 

[Pippen]

be forewarned it was closed last year early. after labor day coastwide

Yup....we were scrambling to get a couple down to the 11th hour this past Labour Day.

@Ugly Betty Tofino is not that much further up the coast...but had my best day ever of hali fishing on a Labour Day weekend when looking at the general overall size and number of fish.

 

[harper44]

Plenty of halibut to be caught inshore and offshore from Bamfield any time the season is open.

 

[Corey_lax]

Plenty of halibut to be caught inshore and offshore from Bamfield any time the season is open.

Where are these mysterious inshore hali??? I've only snagged rocks lol.

 

[trophywife]

shhhh, no such thing as inshore hali:}

 

[searun]

Most years the hali fishing actually picks up in September, so I wouldn't rule it out at all. As was mentioned, last season we had a September 6 closure as the rec catch exceeded the available TAC. Hard to say what this year will bring. A lot depends on the weather and number of days it is fishable off shore. Bad weather slows the catch rate, good weather like last year enhances the catch. Another wild card this year is there will be Chinook management measures in place up in Haida Gwaii, which will see effort re-directed towards hali. In years past, the hali catch up there was quite significant so it is possible the re-directed effort may chew up our TAC earlier than previously modelled and planned. So, long answer to say don't count your hali chickens before they hatch.

 

[Ugly Betty]

Fingers crossed, thanks everyone for your insight.

 

[Aces]

I doubt it will be open in September

 

[scott craven]

I doubt it will be open in September

I think you're right
with all the additional salmon restrictions, it will only add to more Halibut fishing

 

[SerengetiGuide]

I doubt it will be open in September

I’ll take that bet ...

 

[ILHG]

Halibut being shut down early should pout more pressure on DFO to fix the quota BS,,,, Right?

 

[bigdogeh]

Halibut being shut down early should pout more pressure on DFO to fix the quota BS,,,, Right?

That would require DFO putting the average tax paying citizen above the other special interest and their lobbyist groups out there. Somehow we (the public sportsfishing recreational sector) seem to be the ones that always get to be happy riding in the backseat.

 

[Aces]

Halibut being shut down early should pout more pressure on DFO to fix the quota BS,,,, Right?

Quota will be going down another 30% in 2019. Our season will be like Washington State’s soon

 

[SerengetiGuide]

Quota will be going down another 30% in 2019. Our season will be like Washington State’s soon

Not sure how you can say that without knowing the results of the survey this year. The ONE year trend would imply it, but trend before that was positive so could be a one off. Complete doom and gloom scare tactics. While yes that’s fully possible, you can’t say that like you know it’s going to happen.