2014 Ucluelet Fishing Reports

[the fog ducker]

gonna guess the heavily congested time of July n August
detoured most from posting , social media just makes things way to easy for the lurkers ,
makin crowded areas even worse in most cases , Costco parking lots,
think most figured this out , a little tight lipped ,
was a great summer of fishin , most of us are packin it in now ,
let the Tuna fleet have at er,,, gd lk boys...

one last outting for us this week , and were done , will do a rap up post when we return ,
wknd was slow inside ( East Barkley) from the guys i spoke to , coulda been the 1000's of boats poundin the area for the derby ,
the wall down to Sarita had its moments , Cape Beale , Keeha Bay Pachena were areas of interest

later

fd

 

[Sharphooks]

I can echo it was a slow weekend---huge amounts of boats in all the spots, saw lots of long faces.

Got consistent fishing beyond the surf but fish were small and snakey looking (starved??)---you had to weed through lots of fish to get a teener or his big brother. That was my experience, anyway---released a few biggies on our first day out at Turtle thinking it would be lights-out fishing in Barkley-----BIG mistake

Outside fishing---I couldn't find any bait in the 0 - 150 column out on the prairie. Bait (inconsistent, spread out) seemed to be in the 180 to 250 and if you could get your gear down to it when you saw it, your rod would usually go off. We had wind and rain so fishing deep was tough---the downside of having a wheelhouse on a small boat is when that wind comes up

Not the best trip I've had to that part of Van Isle- but it's hard to beat the scenery, especially when Fall is in the air:






The question I was left with---where was the bait?

No pilchards, I understand. But there were times I saw a white screen in places that usually are PLUGGED with bait. Same out on the prairie.

My nephew got a fish that should have been 20 lbs but it was so skinny it looked like a snake. Worrisome....

I'm hoping this is not the new normal....

 

[Redfisher]

Off to Uke for the weekend. Weather looks great. Any fresh reports around South Bank for springs or coho? Hoping not to have to go off shore if possible. thanks.

 

[Charter Tofino]

I can echo it was a slow weekend---huge amounts of boats in all the spots, saw lots of long faces. Effingham seemed to be a biological desert---no bait no-where no-how

Whittlestone/Wall----piles of boats. Fished through several tides and saw very few rods going off---some guys got grumpy---aggressive driving, shoving their way into the line-up with little regard for other people/other boats. Usually the sign of not too much happening.

Got consistent fishing beyond the surf but fish were small and snakey looking (starved??)---you had to weed through lots of fish to get a teener or his big brother. That was my experience, anyway---released a few biggies on our first day out at Turtle thinking it would be lights-out fishing in Barkley-----BIG mistake

Outside fishing---I couldn't find any bait in the 0 - 150 column out on the prairie. Bait (inconsistent, spread out) seemed to be in the 180 to 250 and if you could get your gear down to it when you saw it, your rod would usually go off. We had wind and rain so fishing deep was tough---the downside of having a wheelhouse on a small boat is when that wind comes up

Not the best trip I've had to Barkley Sound---my guess is if I'd stayed in Uke and fished La Perouse instead of the Bamfield area, it would have been a way better trip but it's hard to beat the scenery in Barkley Sound, especially when Fall is in the air:





My biggest mistake this trip: letting this guy into my boat.




He refused to let me fish a flasher and an anchovy (which I heard from guys on the dock in Bamfield was the ONLY GEAR that would hook a spring. Any other method----FORGET ABOUT IT.)

So I guess I'll go to my grave never having caught a spring on a flasher and an anchovy. The only flasher I own is a dummy on my cannonball

There could be worse fates, but I'm starting to see that in a terminal fishery (fish heading into the river, starting to change color).... maybe that is indeed what they want to see before they'll consistently bite.

The biggest disappointment for me, though--- yes, I could get them without a flasher with the normal stuff I use but once I got the hooks in, there was NO FIGHT. On all the inside springs I caught this trip, during the "fight" I found myself thinking----there's a 50/50 chance this fish is either a rockfish or a ling....

When the fish turned out to be a spring, it was a huge let-down.

When you mix non-fighting fish into the Koolaid, I lose interest---- The trip turns into more of a meat-harvest then a fishing adventure.

The question I was left with---where was the bait?

No pilchards, I understand. But there were times I saw a white screen in places that usually are PLUGGED with bait. Same out on the prairie.

My nephew got a fish that should have been 20 lbs but it was so skinny it looked like a snake. Worrisome....

I'm hoping this is not the new normal....

You have to remember a few things before you get too worried. First of all it's hard to drop into an area for a weekend and be dialled in. The last month we have seen daily limits (6-8) of 15-25lb Springs but they haven't always been in the regular spots. Guys who just try a few of the go to spots have struggled to catch fish during this time. Secondly at this time of year you are catching primarily local fish ie Robertson Creek and Nitnat fish. Both of these runs are genetically skinny long fish, especially the Nitnat. Thirdly chovies this time of year are going to out fish everything inside, so if you don't want to use them you're hurting your success. Finally I'm not sure why your fish didn't fight as we've seen the opposite. If you're fishing no flashers the fish will run less and head shake more.

 

[searun]

Have to agree whole heartedly with Kelly - especially on bait. I have seen guys try to fish tin and plastic inside Barkley during August, but not with the same degree of success as the bait. Obviously on any single day tin can have its day, but day in day out bait will out-fish anything.

 

[Charter Tofino]

Always appreciate your reports though sharphooks! Didn't mean to come across harshly it's just not all doom and gloom out west.

 

[Sharphooks]

Yo Kelly

You make some good points ---they're not lost on me and I considered your comments a teachable moment. Thanks!

But a good chunk of my salmon fishing habits (for better or for worse) were derived from three decades of chasing steelhead. As in---- if you see people, go somewhere else. And if they're using chicken guts on a popsicle stick, do the precise opposite.

I'm starting to see it doesn't quite work that way in the chuck for salmon, at least in a terminal fishery like what I participated in last weekend in the Sound

But as far as fighting fish on just a hook and a swivel instead of a flasher-- my experience has been the opposite. This summer up north it was not uncommon to have 150 yards of line out on a fish on the first run --- last week it was all in close and splashy. The fish I saw other people catching did the same so maybe I drew unfair conclusions.

I've got a stubborn attitude-- I'm pretty sure I'd crash and burn if I guided for a living--

Ya, wrong forum for this...sorry