2021 Nootka Sound/Esperanza Inlet Reports

[Dan The Man]

Same results . Friday was SUPER windy tough to fish but Saturday it was flat clam and fishing was on. Medium size herring and anchovies seemed to be ticket. 4'' spoons on the bottom. Most places are LOADED with bait. Make sure you have all your safety equipment on board , RCMP checking everyone.

 

[Port Eliza Fishing]

Fishing is on fire in Esperanza. Fish all over the place, low rock all the way to Grassy Island, probably at Ferrer too just haven't gone there. Almost all teenagers, 12 to 18 lbs. These guys had 17 on and were back at the lodge before noon. Anchovies were working but most switched too spoons as they worked just as well. Doesn't really matter what colour spoons! Nice to see coho showing up in numbers too!

 

[Gordon J]

Looking forward to returning to Port Eliza Lodge for a third year, July 7-18. Robert and his staff are great hosts. Launch at Zeballos, much better road than Gold River-Tahsis.

 

[Just Sayin’]

Had a great weekend out with the wife and kids. Little windy Friday to go outside so decided to fish Beercan for Fri/Saturday. Wasn’t getting any action on hoochies so I switched it up to 6” spoons and 7” plugs. WOW!!! Pretty quit for fis hour then “BAM”!! Double header for an 18 & 20 lb spring. After that it was non-stop action for about 3-4 hours. Wound up adding 5 more at 15+ including a 24. Why are these fish inside so early? Doesn’t make any sense to me. We finished the day there then decided to try the Beano tack. A few boats out there but not much happening. We had a few shakers running hoochies and nothing on the plugs and spoons. Anchovies didn’t change our luck at all either.
We had 9 springs in the boat and no real action since beercan bay. The kids were fighting a lot and beginning to agitate me. Things came to a head when my oldest clubbed his sister with the gaff hook. Not good…. I’m starting to sense some racism towards his sister….Things settled down after that and we went outside for bottom fish up above bajo close to the beach where I usually do well on Hali’s and ling. Started out with 2 hali in the 30+ range then my wife hooked into a hog that took 45min to get to the boat. I estimate that one at 150-170. The circle hook on the spreader bar had formed a “lassoo” around its tail which explained the brutality of the fight. Quick release as we only needed to cut the leader to set it free. The remainder of the day supplied 4 more hali and 7 decent lings.

 

[draino]

With all these reports there isn’t much yo say but Yeah it’s on!!!!
Got to fight your way through a pile of shakers first… turds down low worked for us at the beach and at Beano. Tried Bearcan this morning for an hour, tuns there in smaller size.
It’ll only get better with every passing day!
Bottom fishing was excellent just had to go find them…

 

[Nasty017]

Sorry, not report relatedDoes anyone have a number or contact for boat storage in gold river?

En route. Will report.

 

[donnie d]

Sorry, not report relatedDoes anyone have a number or contact for boat storage in gold river?

En route. Will report.

Contact Critter Cove. Also Moutcha bay has storage ($$$$)

 

[doug78]

Contact Critter Cove. Also Moutcha bay has storage ($$$$)

Many $$$?? I might need storte mine for a day or two while I grab my trailer...

 

[donnie d]

Many $$$?? I might need storte mine for a day or two while I grab my trailer...

Gold River Storage - Rates

Small mini 5x10' - $60 plus GST = $63 per month based on the annual rate $90 per month, for terms of 8 months or less plus GST = $94.50 Medium mini 10x10' - $90 plus GST = $94.50 month based on the annual rate $135 per month, for terms of 8 months or less plus GST = $141.75 Large mini 10x20'

sites.google.com

looks like $40 for a couple days?

As for Moutcha I can’t recall their rates I just remember it being pricey mind you that was for a longer period.

 

[Crali2014]

Gold River Storage - Rates

Small mini 5x10' - $60 plus GST = $63 per month based on the annual rate $90 per month, for terms of 8 months or less plus GST = $94.50 Medium mini 10x10' - $90 plus GST = $94.50 month based on the annual rate $135 per month, for terms of 8 months or less plus GST = $141.75 Large mini 10x20'

sites.google.com

looks like $40 for a couple days?

As for Moutcha I can’t recall their rates I just remember it being pricey mind you that was for a longer period.

Crittercove has storage at the Tomic shop for 10.00 a day

 

[pacemaker]

Just got back from a few days at Critter. Weather and conditions were great, and fishing was good too. We only fished on the outside waters, but heard a bit of chatter that there were some fish on the inside too. Fishing was good on the normal outside spots, but somewhat sporadic. If they were here yesterday, they were probably somewhere else today. The very large tides with the full moon really moved the fish around. Maybe because of the full moon though, the fish were full of squid, and off white and UV haze hoochies worked well for us fished right down in the mud. There were lots of lings to be had on the pinnacles and nuggets if you targeted them. No real big springs yet, but enough in the low - mid 20’s to keep a person interested. Gold River boat ramp worked as it should, no problem at all.

 

[spenergy]

Just got back from a few days at Critter. Weather and conditions were great, and fishing was good too. We only fished on the outside waters, but heard a bit of chatter that there were some fish on the inside too. Fishing was good on the normal outside spots, but somewhat sporadic. If they were here yesterday, they were probably somewhere else today. The very large tides with the full moon really moved the fish around. Maybe because of the full moon though, the fish were full of squid, and off white and UV haze hoochies worked well for us fished right down in the mud. There were lots of lings to be had on the pinnacles and nuggets if you targeted them. No real big springs yet, but enough in the low - mid 20’s to keep a person interested. Gold River boat ramp worked as it should, no problem at all.

If you stayed in inside waters, does anyone know what size boat would work? I have a decent 18' boat well equipped and was thinking about staying at Port eliza lodge. Any chance this combo would be successful or should I think about somewhere else? Would Barkley maybe be better?

 

[PlugLife]

If you stayed in inside waters, does anyone know what size boat would work? I have a decent 18' boat well equipped and was thinking about staying at Port eliza lodge. Any chance this combo would be successful or should I think about somewhere else? Would Barkley maybe be better?

No problems inside at Nootka, you could use a dinghy if you wanted

 

[pacemaker]

If you stayed in inside waters, does anyone know what size boat would work? I have a decent 18' boat well equipped and was thinking about staying at Port eliza lodge. Any chance this combo would be successful or should I think about somewhere else? Would Barkley maybe be better?

Depending upon what make and model of 18’ boat that you have, you should be just fine for fishing in most any normal spot in the Nootka/Esperanza area. I have been fishing that area constantly for 40 years now. Before I got my current boat, I fished for many years out of my 17’ Malibu Tyee. It was a tremendous fishing platform and went safely and comfortably in all of the outside spots. Never fished it inside if I didn’t have to.. To my way of thinking, as long as your boat is structurally and mechanically sound, and most importantly that you are a competent boater who knows the water, your equipment, and your abilities, you should be fine. If any of these ingredients are missing, just don’t go. Good luck if you do decide to go. It’s a great and beautiful part of the world out there.

 

[Doubleheader]

If you stayed in inside waters, does anyone know what size boat would work? I have a decent 18' boat well equipped and was thinking about staying at Port eliza lodge. Any chance this combo would be successful or should I think about somewhere else? Would Barkley maybe be better?

18’ is lots of boat on most any day inside Esperanza. And all the boat you need for the surfline out most days. Wait until July 12 and fish ferrer for 3 days before it closes, or wait till July 20th and the rest of the spots inside the surfline will have consistent springs.

 

[whitetail300]

How is the road from Gold River to Moutcha Bay?
how long is the boat ride from GR to MB?

 

[pacemaker]

How is the road from Gold River to Moutcha Bay?
how long is the boat ride from GR to MB?

The road from GR to Moutcha is a bit rough right now, and very dusty. About 40 km or so.
Boating from GR to MB should take about 1 - 1 1/4 hrs depending upon your speed and the water conditions. Can get a bit lumpy in Muchalat Inlet when the afternoon Westerlies are blowing, which they certainly will be in these hot conditions. Still a lot better than dragging your boat over the road to MB.

 

[Salmon Seeker]

If you stayed in inside waters, does anyone know what size boat would work? I have a decent 18' boat well equipped and was thinking about staying at Port eliza lodge. Any chance this combo would be successful or should I think about somewhere else? Would Barkley maybe be better?

I went to Port Eliza last year in my dads 15' with a 60hp. was no problem.

 

[kingspring]

Where can one get detailed Topo map with ocean floor sediment included?

Maybe try Amazon??

 

[Mervillite]

Got back from my family and friends Derby out at Nootka on Sunday. We got our wednesday night and tried beercan bay but there was little bait and no action aside from some little shakers. Thursday morning we went to wash rock and had decent action. Tons of shakers but we got into 4 hatchery coho and 2 springs in the teens. Thursday night we went over to burdwood and found some patches of bait but only shakers over there. Friday morning we hit up Wash rock and Friendly again and has some more success. more springs in the low teens. We also fished Beano for the afternoon tide change. Saturday we tried Beano for the morning bite. Counted over 40 boats. we saw 2 springs landed, not much action and we got 1 fish that was 18 lbs. Biggest fish of our little tourney was a 21 spring, i won the lingcod belt with a 27lb ling. we did well on bottom fish as it was flat calm outside in the afternoons. White Hoochies were the best for springs and coho killers in about 45 ft for the coho. springs were between 40 and 65 ft. overall a great trip. back up with wife and kids for long weekend this thursday. hopefully a few more bigger fish coming in now.