Tofino & Ucluelet Reports - Spring-Summer 2012

[tofinofish]

I always find that April is the month that really flips the Saltwater switch on in the Tofino area. Salmon, Halibut, Inshore, Offshore, it all starts to happen and only gets better. Opening things up with a great Outlook for the season ahead, followed by updated reports...




Tofino’s “Rival” Fishing Outlook 2012

With labels like “Phenomenal” “Outstanding” and “Best Salmon fishing in decades!”, there is no doubt that the memorable 2011 Sport fishing season will be a tough act to follow. Fortunately for Tofino B.C. fishing enthusiasts, 2012 looks to be the Rival, with Salmon numbers forecasted to feed and travel along our local coastline in staggering numbers again. While the whole B.C. coast enjoyed better than average fishing for Chinook and Coho salmon throughout 2011, Tofino’s outer coast waters were labelled as the most consistent fishing location in 2011, with the highest catch rate of Chinook salmon anywhere in B.C. The Tofino and Ucluelet area fisheries have proudly worn this “label” for the past 4 years with huge Thanks to the Salmon Hatchery outputs from Washington, Oregon and California states, which provide literally Millions of salmon to catch along Vancouver Island’s West Coast.

Chinook and Coho Salmon numbers can be expected to follow the similar reliable pattern to the previous season, with good numbers of Spring Chinook showing up on the docks by mid April through early May. These bright Silver and Purple hued “feeder” Chinook are great sport on light tackle and exceptional table fare, actually favoured by many as the best Salmon you can eat for both flavor and health benefits! These abundant “Spring Chinook” can be caught inshore and offshore from Tofino throughout April and May, with a key element is finding the baitfish they are following and feeding on continuously. Mid May through early June will provide the season’s first wave of summer Chinook, with common sizes in the high teens to mid twenty pound range. Blueback Coho Salmon in the 3-6 pound range arrive during this time as well, making the Tofino area’s inshore kelp beds and sand bars a regular feeding area for the summer months, providing a prime habitat for both fish and anglers.

July has become the highlighted month of the season for most local species, providing Lights Out - Full Speed Action for Chinook and Coho salmon. During this time, anglers enjoy their best success with various techniques of choice. Trolling deep in the offshore waters garners the majority of energy and success, with Clayoquot’s inshore areas also seeing many fishers travel short distances from the harbour to fish with light gear, cast flies and trolled “Bucktail” flies on the surface. July through August is a prime time for these varied size crafts to fish safely and successfully in local protected waters, with abundant Coho Salmon providing unforgettable light tackle fishing experiences for young and old. August is still the month for the season’s largest Chinook salmon offshore, with some pushing the 50 lb range, while Coho continue to grow through August and September. This latter part of the season is still a very reliable bet for big fish and great conditions, with the theory of big bait-big fish being as true as any time of the year. Large Spoons and Plugs fished fairly shallow in the offshore waters will help anglers connect with those memorable “Fish of a Lifetime”. Saltwater Fly anglers arrive in search of tackle testing Coho Salmon, with common patterns also on the larger size in comparison to the early season months.

For the many anglers interested in the great Halibut fishing available near Tofino, the early season should be the focus a short distance outside of Lennard Island lighthouse. The months of May June and July will likely provide the season’s best Halibut fishing in 140-160 feet of water, with natural and artificial baits working well with a little patience. Halibut numbers in the area are forecasted to be strong again in 2012, with the average sizes often weighing in at 18-45 lbs. There has been an increase of larger Halibut near Tofino over the last 2 years, and anglers might consider releasing some of the largest Halibut as they contribute to the future of a healthy biomass coast wide. New size restrictions are in place for the 2012 Halibut season, so become familiar with the details of the 1 per day any size and your second in possession having to be a smaller size. The numbers of Ling Cod and Rockfish in the Tofino offshore areas continue to provide not only an exceptionally reliable fishery, but a variety of fascinating colors and sizes of these amazingly tasty bottom dwellers. With average depths in the 80 to 140 ft range, Tofino’s bottom fishing options are best along the rocky reefs and contours within 45 minutes of travel west of town. For all offshore fishing excursions, knowing the area, the weather, vessel preparedness and safety are your first steps to a successful trip.

Freshwater anglers will be happy to see a slight increase in Wild Steelhead populations on the small to medium west draining rivers of Clayoquot Sound this season. With very limited access, many of these small rivers and streams provide prime habitat for native Steelhead and Trout as well as the returning fall Salmon. With a total catch and release stream fishery in the area, couple with very limited angling activity, Tofino area freshwater fishing opportunities are a great option for the adventurous types using Flies or artificial baits. Tofino Fly & Tackle can be relied upon for information and the seasonal gear or flies of choice.
Overall, an exceptional Sport fishing season is expected again for 2012, supported by natural conditions like the cold water currents that have helped increase ocean survival, as well as Hatchery augmented stocks originating from the U.S.A. Southern watersheds like the Klamath and Sacramento Rivers expect to see well over 2 Million Chinook Salmon returning, coupled with strong runs to the Columbia and Puget Sound as well, Tofino should be a summer long Salmon fest!!! For more information regarding Tofino’s exceptional fishing opportunities, see us at Clayoquot Ventures -Tofino Fishing 561 Campbell Street on your way into Tofino, just look for the big Cedar Salmon.

[tofinofish]

April 1st..Finally a break in the weather that ends up being short lived! Fished with 1 charter guest inshore near Tofino as the swell was still a little too chunky outside, but wind and sun combo was just right....Lots of one without the other..
Moser pt is a local sweet spot nice and close to town, so was the first choice with high slack coming up within 2 hours. 3.5 inch Spoon and Stuffed UV Hoochy were gear of choice and Baitfish was stacking up with the Flood, and arches were showing on the screen. Guest Cory forgot his Sunglasses and who would have thought that would be a dilema with the shyte weather we have been seeing?
We made it through nearly a full tack when the spoon gets hit by a small Salmon. For practise sake, Cory grabs the rod and we go through the drill of DR release, tip up, drag set just right etc. I see the Salmon is about two pounds and acting funny for a little Shaker Spring, reason being that when I pull it close to do the release it is a Blueback Coho! Surprised to see a Coho this size on April 1 to say the least, but Cory is happy just to see a Salmon so quick...
Over the next 2 hours of Flood tide in the same area, I was pretty pumped to see over 12 Coho already 2-4 lbs and 4 or 5 small Chinook, nothing breaking 5 pounds though. We did shake hands with a screamer for about 10 seconds of battle but never got to see it, thinking mid teens maybe a bit more based on torque on the blank..Spot number 1 and almost 20 Salmon encounters, not big but still impressive. No Floaters made it even better.

We made a move for the Ebb, out towards Monk and Burgess Island and it payed off. Even though the tides were drawing Bait out of the area, the sub surface bait balls were still pretty substantial and made it look fishy in 35-45 feet of water. I swapped the gear around a bit, with one hard slam and short run on a Red label Herring, and also missed one on a Needlefish hoochy before landing one 9-10 lbs. Fished for another hour for another miss on the spoon then as soon as we switched back to the stuffed UV Octopus, we trolled no more than 50 feet and found our last one that fought like a champ. Cory did well to end the battle that was pretty impressive for a 15 -16 pound feeder...This area put up approx 6 more smaller juv. feeders as well as 1 more Coho.
Lots of Sunshine, Lots of Action, Lots of Coho leading me to think this season in going to rock on the inshore, and 2 pieces of Spring Chrome for Cory to take home. It was a great day to start the month. Now we need the weather to co-operate cause the Salmon are obviously here..

[tofinofish]

Finally laying down a bit offshore, may be able to shoot out there depending on guests' comfort levels..Halibut have been safe in our area for a while now.

[Enniberg]

Thanks for the report tofinofish.

I'm just glad to see the heading "Tofino & Ucluelet Reports - Spring-Summer 2012" - Ukee fishing can't come soon enough!

[Sculpin]

Thanks for the report tofinofish.

I'm just glad to see the heading "Tofino & Ucluelet Reports - Spring-Summer 2012" - Ukee fishing can't come soon enough!

X2. Thanks tofinofish. I always look forward to your beginning of the season outlooks.

[tofinofish]

X2. Thanks tofinofish. I always look forward to your beginning of the season outlooks.

You bet Sculpin....here is step two to the Outlook.



Tofino and Ucluelet Fishing – A Brighter Spring Forecast

With a fantastic seasonal Sport fishing forecast released earlier this year, it is very welcome news to Tofino area anglers that good things can become even better, and in the case of Salmon numbers and related fishing opportunities, much better. Since compiling the 2012 Seasonal Outlook early in the New Year, I have monitored the forecasts for Salmon returns to many of the primary Watersheds on B.C.’s South Coast, with highlighted attention paid to the abundant southern migrating stocks to U.S. Rivers in Washington, Oregon and California. Alike the Canadian Fisheries process, preliminary data is released in the U.S. with “cautious” return forecast numbers being made public using an autoregressive model. As more data becomes available with in-season catch, or different modeling processes are applied, the Salmon numbers can change. Considering that the abundant and diverse Salmon stocks of the U.S. Pacific Northwest augment Tofino and Ucluelet Sport fishing opportunities by approximately 85% of the catch, this is where things have become really interesting over the last couple months.
For Oregon’s Klamath River, biologists are forecasting four times more salmon than last year – and an astounding 15 times more than in 2006. The ocean salmon population is estimated to be 1.6 million adult Klamath River fall Chinook, compared to last year's forecast of 371,100. This estimate is based largely on the 85,840 two-year-old salmon (jacks) that returned to the Klamath in 2011. This is the highest number of jacks to return since at least 1978, when recordkeeping began. A little further north, Washington State and Columbia River Chinook and Coho will also contribute well over 1 Million Salmon to the mix.

California’s Sacramento stocks are also looking better; with a conservative forecast of ocean abundance of 819,400 Sacramento River fall Chinook, up from 729,000 last year. Sacramento fall Chinook are known to be a genetically “robust” species, so combining the average size and strength of these Salmon with prime Ocean survival conditions should equate to over three quarters of a Million healthy Sacramento Chinook salmon feeding along southern Vancouver Island this spring and early summer. With nearly 2.5 Million Chinook Salmon for these two rivers alone, and numbers compounded by over one hundred other runs that feed and travel past Tofino, the Salmon forecast has become much brighter.
Some other positive aspects to the local Salmon Fishery for 2012 are related to returning 5 year old Chinook salmon to Robertson Creek hatchery in Port Alberni. While Chinook returns to RCH in 2011 were higher than forecasted, the anticipated 4 year old component of the run size was not there quite as expected. It is speculated by some that due to high quality ocean conditions, this portion of the run may have stayed at sea, and could very likely return as larger 5 year old Chinook in 2012. Coho Salmon numbers are also anticipated to be good to strong for many systems again this season, which has contributed to the consideration by DFO to potentially remove an inner boundary line which has been deemed redundant to management of stocks and enforcement. This potential change would truly enhance Tofino’s inshore and near-shore Coho Salmon fishing opportunities for the many local anglers who cherish the great summer action with lighter tackle, within a safe proximity to Tofino’s harbour.
The recreational Halibut Fishing season in B.C. has received attention and change by DFO since the New Year, with changes to the overall allocation of Halibut within Canada to a split of 85% Commercial and 15% Recreational. These changes alter the management of the allowable catch for the user groups, as well as new size and possession limits for sport fishing on the B.C. coast. With 2012 being a year of low abundance of the “Exploitable Biomass” of Pacific Halibut, the amount of Canada’s harvestable Halibut has further decreased from 2011, which saw an in-season closure by the first week of September. In efforts to allow for a full season for sport anglers, new regulations will allow a catch limit of 1 Halibut per day of any size, with a possession limit of 2 for anglers fishing more than one day away from their primary residence. One of the Halibut in possession will have a maximum size limit of approximately 15 pounds, which will help reduce and “stretch” the seasonal catch poundage out through the main summer fishing season. With a strong overall biomass of Pacific Halibut, it is anticipated that B.C. Halibut fishing will cycle back to “normal” regulations and allowable catch limits within a couple years.
With the enhancement of the Salmon Fishing forecast, and the current stability of Halibut fishing opportunities, Tofino and Ucluelet’s fundraising fishing derbies have an excellent landscape for success. Numerous grassroots fundraising initiatives have been success stories along the BC coast, most of which help Salmon Enhancement and Habitat by leveraging funds and co-operative efforts of groups large and small. Everything from Derby's to individual donations compound positive $$ for Salmon. Some people are still of the mind-set that it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to foot the bill for all of these types of programs. We will be waiting a long time for that to happen as budgets are slashed and manpower is reduced, so stakeholder involvement is crucial to say the least. Tofino and Ucluelet Salmon Enhancement sees benefit from three main Fishing Derbies during the summer months, as well as other smaller aspects of fundraising and donations. We encourage you to consider involvement in either or all of the following; Tofino Saltwater Classic Derby, Tofino Legion Derby or the Ucluelet Salmon ladder Derby. Fun, Fishing and Fundraising, a great combination to be involved with.
With great numbers of Chinook salmon already present in the Tofino area, and spring-like conditions looking even better on the horizon, 2012 looks to be a season that will provide many great Fishing opportunities for most species.
Fishing Charter and Package options are still available for a number of shoulder and high season dates for groups large and small, and Clayoquot Ventures Tofino Fishing is eager to help with all options. Fly and Tackle Specials extended to SFBC members who arrive with their own vessels..
Call or e-mail for more info - Don't miss out on this exceptional season!

[tofinofish]

Some promising numbers of southern stocks that we sure hope to see along Southern WCVI;



"Sky-high forecast"

Preseason and postseason forecasts for ocean abundance of adult Klamath River fall Chinook:

2002: 362,500; 619,422
2003: 310,200; 594,313
2004: 216,300; 281,781
2005: 239,800; 234,912
2006: 110,000; 159,225
2007: 546,200; 413,367
2008: 190,700; 152,269
2009: 505,700; 268,943
2010: 331,500; 257,292
2011: 371,200; 301,235
2012: 1.65 million; ?

Source: Pacific Fishery Management Council

Also this news article helps our outlook..
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...lmon_fish.html

[kanuckle head]

Wish my boat was ready, so then you'll be complaining about them Ukee fishermen crowding the Tofino grounds................lol

Len

[tofinofish]

Lots of room and lots of Fish.....no complaints from my end!

[tofinofish]

Still not enough offshore days for our liking, but Very consistent Salmon numbers spread from Raph Pt. (Hot springs) Cleland Island down past Long Beach and the common Portland pt. area that is approx 5 miles off the beach.
Salmon seem to be traveling through steady, as the average sizes seem to vary each trip. Local FN troller who buys gear from us told said a few days ago none of his Salmon were under 20, while the day before none over 20...
Standby Hoochies are Needlefish and Octopus Glow Green splatterback, B103 with or without stripes, and Glow White. Very Clear water so the Watermelonand 50/50 Nickel Green spoons have also been popular in sizes up to the new 5.5 from Oki. This spoon fished extremely well when I tested it last summer on mature Chinook, and now very happy to see how it is producing in the early season. It has been one of the favourites of a few FN trollers as well. The Kinetic series in Chart and Pink has been really effective.
Inshore has still been producing near Burgess and Monk, with some quality fish coming out of the shallows. I have heard of a few more Coho, and excellent fishing for Sea Runs, probably best I've seen in many years.
Tough weather today in the forecast again, so will likley be stuck inside with multi boat charter, so hope to post some fresh info later.