2017 Winter Harbour Reports

Smaller coho in the morning & a teener spring at 130 at cliffe. Nothing but lil wee ones at kains. Slow day.

Spring hit on a green n silver kripple k @ 37 on the wire. That lure had the most action.
 
Use anchovies-medium size 5" or smaller as the bait is incredibly small, Lighthouse lures Nano Jug squirt in glow white, or greensplatterback; Cop car coyote 3.5; green and silver coyote 3.5; AP needlefish-same colours or coho killers. Never seen the bait this small so keep your lures and hootchies ---small
looking to book a cabin for 3-4 next summer in WH
Use anchovies-medium size 5" or smaller as the bait is incredibly small, Lighthouse lures Nano Jug squirt in glow white, or greensplatterback; Cop car coyote 3.5; green and silver coyote 3.5; AP needlefish-same colours or coho killers. Never seen the bait this small so keep your lures and hootchies ---small
looking to book a cabin for 3-4 next summer in WH-any tips?thanks
 
the past week had a lot of boats kept inside due to the weather even tho it was pretty good , you could easily squeak about 3-4 hrs most day offshore, south was spectacular fishing and heading north or straight out also fished well. we had a few great days south to brooks but the weather kicked us in the but pretty good, my last day we stayed inside and did exceptional cliff, cains, harvey even grants bay the bolder you got fishing close the better the fishing, watch your gear and depth and fish tight, the jelly fish are everywhere, so check your gear whenever you don't get a bight in 20 minutes, gold seems to be my best, the gold betsy and super betsy with the skinny g gold nugget, if the bite was slow put on bait. on my way back up tomorrow for another week as i have to grab another boat since i had a verado go bang.
 
the past week had a lot of boats kept inside due to the weather even tho it was pretty good , you could easily squeak about 3-4 hrs most day offshore, south was spectacular fishing and heading north or straight out also fished well. we had a few great days south to brooks but the weather kicked us in the but pretty good, my last day we stayed inside and did exceptional cliff, cains, harvey even grants bay the bolder you got fishing close the better the fishing, watch your gear and depth and fish tight, the jelly fish are everywhere, so check your gear whenever you don't get a bight in 20 minutes, gold seems to be my best, the gold betsy and super betsy with the skinny g gold nugget, if the bite was slow put on bait. on my way back up tomorrow for another week as i have to grab another boat since i had a verado go bang.

Thanks so much for a great report-I'll be there tues. I assume when you say south -were you off lawn point out as far as the hiway??
 
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Great update Jetboater. I too am heading back up this Sunday for awhile. You guys look me up at the Marina if you get a chance. Best regards.
 
Just back from Quatsino. The weather was fantastic but it was a challenging trip. The commercial fleet started fishing July 27 in Area 127 targeting chinook but also retaining chum and pinks. Sat July 29 our first day, gale force winds forced most boats to fish Cliffe Pt, pretty much bumper boats. We only caught shakers there, but heard on the radio that a few fish in the teens were boated. We managed one chinook from Koprino Harbour. Sun July 30 we fished the Salmon Hwy from Lawn Pt south - lots of big wild coho ( non-retention ) lots of fun to catch & release, and big pinks ( up to 7 lbs ) but we counted 24 commercial boats sifting the area for chinooks. We only found some smaller 10 lb fish but better than nothing. Monday we fished Area 27 from Lighthouse up to Lippy hoping some of those wild coho had moved closer to shore - bagged a nice 24 lb spring, a few smaller ones as well as some pinks and then lost a huge coho at the boat; afternoon winds chased us off the open water and we fished around the Lighthouse, getting a few hits from shakers, losing a few and then bagging a nice coho. Tues we tried the Salmon Hwy again, but the commercial fleet had done their damage as we found only a couple of smaller chinook - the coho and pinks had moved off - we bagged another decent coho at the Lighthouse, but it was a slow day and the radio chatter also confirmed our experience. Wed was slowest yet, although we did hook a big bottom fish and then lost it before seeing what it was - decent hali or big ling - kind of a low point to end of week of fishing. Best performing gear were UV flashers with UV hootchies at all depths followed by coho killers. Lots of jelly fish around and not sure how that affected fishing. We also caught a pacific mackerel near the Lighthouse and wonder if they also affected salmon fishing?
 
Got a crew-the Gong show and Flying circus should be off Kains by 2pm wed. Any new reports-good or bad would be appreciated. Particularly looking for Coho-of course -never turn a Spring down. Thanks
 
Headed up to Quatsino this week for a few days. My boat is small and usually better off inside, Cliffe Point is achievable safely. Is the rest of the inside worth a try at this time? We will be launching daily in Port Alice most likely, so I'm curious about some of the areas maybe around Drake Island or similar. 15 foot Arima, KatieB on the side. Cheers.
 
KatieB depends on what your targeting. I've seen boats jigging on the west side of Drake island, but we've never stopped there. I'd be willing to bet the Coho will be massing around Koskimo Bay right now, just watch out for the sand bar if you troll in close.

Cliffe pt tight to the kelp between 25-38ft down has always been good to me, especially at low slack.
 
I have a friend with his 8 year old son here fishing from Alberta. Any reports from the members on how the fishing has been lately.
Thanks in advance.
 
Fished Kains for the day. Little too rough for the young lad on the outside. Managed 9 salmon, 3 springs & 6 coho(all wild)
35 & 40 feet in tight
The kid had a blast.
Hopefully the weather cooperates so we can get outside tomorrow.
 
Firelight, Jake, and I are heading up tomorrow morning early. Unfortunately the weather looks less than stellar. Tuna is off the agenda this trip. We are going to bring some traps and mess around on the inside this time. Always looking forward to the annual WH trip! It going to be fun and nice to get some R&R :).
 
Hit Coal harbour 1130 wed-dropped the crab traps-had a quick look at Koskimo bay and then Cliffe. Lots of boats working Cliffe but I had heard there were fish on the RCA line off lippy. Fishing is about choices and I have to admit I made a few bad ones this time. Poked my nose out through the gut and within 5 min I took 2 green ones over the bow-man they were steep and very tightly spaced -so beat a hasty retreat and with the trolling gear down beat a retreat via dangerous rocks ,green moaning boy to Harvey cove. 1 X 6 lb spring-released. Fished Cliffe for a bit then came back for the evening bite-landed a twenty and booted one but quite slow. Next morning back out to the RCA line--no boats!! Tried all the usual spots, burned a ton of gas-out to the hiway back to the harbour approaches-moved around and never got a salmon strike in 5 hours!! Much as I hate fishing in crowds hit Cliffe for the evening and landed a couple. Anchored up-hit cliffe first light and immediately at 33 ft right off the light on a grand slam bucktail landed a 25-cleared the net and the other side got a 20 on a jughead needlefish glow white-38 inch tie at 39 ft. Then it died-worked it til 8 am and then I decided I had way more gas money than I could possibly use and took off south to lawn point. Trolled deep with chovies and Ccar coyotes--not a sniff from salmon although the lings were co-operative. Decided the only salmon we had seen were at cliffe and that's where we would head---after I had a little play with my Aussie Knife jigs and butterfly jigs--that was instructive-tons of action both for my rod and the new downrigger barotrama release. My arms were beat--got to seriously try that again-couple of nice lings and some yelloweye!! Now back to real fishing!! LOL Not expecting a lot-after all it was 1 pm but from then to 3.30 we got 5 hook-ups and 4 fish in the 18 to 24 ib class. Called it a day-great supper at anchor-watched the eagles with rockfish and a bear on the beach. Crabbing was poor to below average-lots of females(traps were not tampered with). So what to learn from this--very few coho around --few salmon off-shore-you want salmon bore it out working cliffe--they are there!! It was a great trip for many reasons but it did reinforce the old adage that you should have another plan to fall back on jf your first ill-conceived one falls through!! Also throwing gas at a 300hp Yammi gets expensive after awhile--note to self--pay credit card bill quickly without making a comment on wifeys spending habits!! LOL Tight Lines!
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We had amazing weather for the three days we were fishing, and were able to get to Cliffe Pt with no issues everyday, making the run in from Port Alice. This being just my second real trip to the area I have to say I love it up there, the scenery is just amazing and although we didn't see a lot of fish being caught compared to the stories we heard a good time was had for sure. My buddy was a little green and chummed the water for us on the first 2 days we were up there but was a total trooper and kept a good attitude, he was rewarded with the largest spring of our trip roughly 20lbs. We trolled up lings and jigged up a spring and left with a cooler that was hard to lift, but no limits on anything. 6" 602 plug, white lure charge hootch, and the macdeep were success for us. No coho at all. Cheers.
 
Hit Coal harbour 1130 wed-dropped the crab traps-had a quick look at Koskimo bay and then Cliffe. Lots of boats working Cliffe but I had heard there were fish on the RCA line off lippy. Fishing is about choices and I have to admit I made a few bad ones this time. Poked my nose out through the gut and within 5 min I took 2 green ones over the bow-man they were steep and very tightly spaced -so beat a hasty retreat and with the trolling gear down beat a retreat via dangerous rocks ,green moaning boy to Harvey cove. 1 X 6 lb spring-released. Fished Cliffe for a bit then came back for the evening bite-landed a twenty and booted one but quite slow. Next morning back out to the RCA line--no boats!! Tried all the usual spots, burned a ton of gas-out to the hiway back to the harbour approaches-moved around and never got a salmon strike in 5 hours!! Much as I hate fishing in crowds hit Cliffe for the evening and landed a couple. Anchored up-hit cliffe first light and immediately at 33 ft right off the light on a grand slam bucktail landed a 25-cleared the net and the other side got a 20 on a jughead needlefish glow white-38 inch tie at 39 ft. Then it died-worked it til 8 am and then I decided I had way more gas money than I could possibly use and took off south to lawn point. Trolled deep with chovies and Ccar coyotes--not a sniff from salmon although the lings were co-operative. Decided the only salmon we had seen were at cliffe and that's where we would head---after I had a little play with my Aussie Knife jigs and butterfly jigs--that was instructive-tons of action both for my rod and the new downrigger barotrama release. My arms were beat--got to seriously try that again-couple of nice lings and some yelloweye!! Now back to real fishing!! LOL Not expecting a lot-after all it was 1 pm but from then to 3.30 we got 5 hook-ups and 4 fish in the 18 to 24 ib class. Called it a day-great supper at anchor-watched the eagles with rockfish and a bear on the beach. Crabbing was poor to below average-lots of females(traps were not tampered with). So what to learn from this--very few coho around --few salmon off-shore-you want salmon bore it out working cliffe--they are there!! It was a great trip for many reasons but it did reinforce the old adage that you should have another plan to fall back on jf your first ill-conceived one falls through!! Also throwing gas at a 300hp Yammi gets expensive after awhile--note to self--pay credit card bill quickly without making a comment on wifeys spending habits!! LOL Tight Lines!
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wondering why you use Coal Hbr not Port Alice. I have a 26' that needs 4' to retrieve. what tide do I need at Coal Hbr?
 
wondering why you use Coal Hbr not Port Alice. I have a 26' that needs 4' to retrieve. what tide do I need at Coal Hbr?
4 ft will do nicely in coal harbour-I just have been going there for 20 years and never a problem--whats parking like in port alice?
 
Water distance from PA or CH to cliffe pt is the same. Benefit of going to CH is that you don't have that twisty janky road to go through. Downside is parking. Parking in CH can be atrocious. I'm likely going to be met with that tomorrow as I plan to go out of there in the AM. PA has decent parking, but then you're at least a 30 minute drive to groceries & decent food.

A side benefit of PA is the prawning. If you know the area (I don't in particular, but I know people who do) you can clean up right in Neurotsos Inlet.

Note about the CH launch, its a float plane launch and therefore very slight pitch. I personally prefer a better pitch to launch our boat, but we've put in there with 4ft tides. (In comparison our 19fter launches quite easily at Bear Cove (hardy) with steeper pitch and <2ft.
 
Hello New to the forum today.
Heading to Winter Harbour on Friday.
Just wondered if anyone has any recent fishing reports.
Thanks
 
Hello New to the forum today.
Heading to Winter Harbour on Friday.
Just wondered if anyone has any recent fishing reports.
Thanks

I came out Saturday and could find nothing off-shore--good fishing at cliffe point 35 to 70 on the riggers -smaller baits and lures in the 3.5 range. Coyotes and such, Ccar, irish cream; grand slam bucktail, jughead needle fish, AP needle fish. Look for jumpers on the way down--coho should be in any day. Good luck
 
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