2024 Victoria and Oak Bay Reports

islandboy said:
The last time I was pulled like this it was a 28 lb salmon. This time who knows :(
I located a huge school of bait and fish about 1.5 km out from Saxe pt. Jigged up some herring.
Rigged one up and dropped it to the bottom. Then the ride went into reverse! :)

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Daaaaaaannnnngggggggg. I still flinched when the gear came up fish-less, even though I knew how it ended. It was definitely a big wild, anyway ;)

Are you using 8oz to get it down? I like the idea of dropping live herring down from my kayak, but I haven't tried it, yet.
 
Deepaaaar said:
Are you using 8oz to get it down? I like the idea of dropping live herring down from my kayak, but I haven't tried it, yet.
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I was using 16 oz this time. Probably would have been fine to use 6 or 8.
 
islandboy said:
I was using 16 oz this time. Probably would have been fine to use 6 or 8.
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What was the purpose of the clip? I thought you might have been using the other rod as a downrigger so I was surprised to see the clip and ball come up with it.
 
Rain City said:
What was the purpose of the clip? I thought you might have been using the other rod as a downrigger so I was surprised to see the clip and ball come up with it.
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I use modified clip weights while trolling or mooching. 16 oz on one side 8 oz on the other. I bottom bounce the 16. If it hangs up all I lose is the weight.
 
islandboy said:
I use modified clip weights while trolling or mooching. 16 oz on one side 8 oz on the other. I bottom bounce the 16. If it hangs up all I lose is the weight.
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Oh wow, that crossed my mind too but couldn't rap my head around donating such nice balls so easily.
 
Rain City said:
Oh wow, that crossed my mind too but couldn't rap my head around donating such nice balls so easily.
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The clips only release by hand. The weight is attached to the clip with 15 lb monofilament that is the breaking point. I've only snapped one off.
 
islandboy said:
I use modified clip weights while trolling or mooching. 16 oz on one side 8 oz on the other. I bottom bounce the 16. If it hangs up all I lose is the weight.
Click to expand...
Ahh yeah, I've tried trolling with 12oz, but if the conditions require more than that, I typically switch to jigging. Cool setup with the clip weights, though.
 
Deepaaaar said:
Cool setup with the clip weights, though.
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Here's the modification:
20240410_164203.jpg
Slice and insert a small piece of plastic on one side (right in picture). I use leftover zip tie plastic.
Cut a recess on the opposite side so the bump you created tucks in. This holds the system to the main line while fishing. See below.
20240410_164034.jpg
I watched this and came up with the modification to bottom bounce 'safely'.
 
Went out for a solo mission this morning (first for me with the new-ish to me boat). On the anchor for a couple hours in the wee morning hours with a single dogfish for the efforts, then trolled to esquimalt for about an hour+ looking for a hatch for dinner. Not a sniff for me. Apparently there were a few hali that came through though the docks at esquimalt. Very few boats out there going for salmon, but more going out for the afternoon bite. Crabs were abundant and big, but still soft. There was a big US Coast Guard boat being sheperded around by two small tugboats while doing some low speed maneuvers around the waterfront - not sure what was up with that. A beautiful west coast day out there!
 
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Out Oak Bay this morning. Tried a few jigging spots for salmon but no chrome. Current was moving too fast. The only place I found bait was out 100+ ft. Tried drifting for Hali, but again current made it hard to keep the bait on the bottom. When the tide finally slowed down after noon I got one on but lost it. Zipped back and drifted over the same spot again and got it for keeps this time. 107 cms.

Lots of bait shallower on the way in, around slack, but no salmon.

Willows beach is saturated in traps, so I felt lucky to get a couple of good crabs for dinner.
 
Beauty day to bottom bounce a choked herring. Pulled up a rock-fish (2 weeks too early :( ) and a Sablefish (??). Released both.
Fairly sure it was a Sablefish though AI identified it first as a Lingcod, then a Coho.
Sablefish2024-04-14 12-10-58.png
 

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islandboy said:
Beauty day to bottom bounce a choked herring. Pulled up a rock-fish (2 weeks too early :( ) and a Sablefish (??). Released both.
Fairly sure it was a Sablefish though AI identified it first as a Lingcod, then a Coho.
View attachment 105181
Click to expand...
Yep. Sablefish. Man, it's wild how many are out there this year. I had a friend pick one up while trolling for salmon off Moresby recently. El Nino water temps or something?
 
You might want look into the legality of using juvenile sable fish for Bait. I am pretty sure it is illegal to waste fish that is edible for human consumption. And as Sable fish is a very valuable commercial species they probably have to be returned to the water in the least harmful way if you are not going to eat them yourself. Now one could argue that bait is not wasting ......but i wouldn't want to bet too much on that defense. Some one else may Know for a fact that it is ok.....but i did find this in the fishery regulation on line


  • (3) No person who is food fishing for personal use or fishing for recreational or sport purposes shall waste any fish that is suitable for human consumption.
 
Kasiks said:
You might want look into the legality of using juvenile sable fish for Bait. I am pretty sure it is illegal to waste fish that is edible for human consumption. And as Sable fish is a very valuable commercial species they probably have to be returned to the water in the least harmful way if you are not going to eat them yourself. Now one could argue that bait is not wasting ......but i wouldn't want to bet too much on that defense. Some one else may Know for a fact that it is ok.....but i did find this in the fishery regulation on line


  • (3) No person who is food fishing for personal use or fishing for recreational or sport purposes shall waste any fish that is suitable for human consumption.
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That is true
 
eroyd said:
Out Oak Bay this morning. Tried a few jigging spots for salmon but no chrome. Current was moving too fast. The only place I found bait was out 100+ ft. Tried drifting for Hali, but again current made it hard to keep the bait on the bottom. When the tide finally slowed down after noon I got one on but lost it. Zipped back and drifted over the same spot again and got it for keeps this time. 107 cms.

Lots of bait shallower on the way in, around slack, but no salmon.

Willows beach is saturated in traps, so I felt lucky to get a couple of good crabs for dinner.
Click to expand...
What depths are you drifting for Hali in OB?
 
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