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haverodwilltravel
Guest
Oh the water looks so beautiful. Any bluebacks around?
Charter Tofino
Well-Known Member
Heard there was a few may 4th 1978 [xx(]few and far between in the straight nowadays. Hear lots of old timers storys draggin bucktails and coming home with huge limits of 2-3lbers.
Striper Sniper
Well-Known Member
Around 25 years ago I used to fish for them with my dad around Sangster and it was nothing to limit out in a couple of hours (for the both of us)...... As I recall they were great on the BBQ but not as flavourful as a nice fat 20 lb. Northern.... 
SS
SS
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haverodwilltravel
Guest
Well I'm over here in Qualicum. I used to fish for them years ago, bucktailing. Lotsa fun. About 5-6 years ago at about this time (hockey playoffs) we ran into a nice school of them. Picked up 6 chucking spoons. I'm gonna give it a whack tomorrow and see what's around.
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haverodwilltravel
Guest
Went out this morning for a couple hours. Nothing. Didn't see one jump. Didn't see a thing. It was very lonely out there.
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haverodwilltravel
Guest
After the fanastic year we had last year....yes, i am surprised. I know what the reports are supposed to be, but I am a diehard optimist.
eaglemaniac
Well-Known Member
Hey Haverod: Good on yah for giving it a shot.The last time I fished for Bluebacks was 93. Limits where usually expected. They where great on the barby and in the can. I don't think we ever scratched the surface as far as reducing those runs. Although not long after that the Coho runs seemed to dive bomb. I still don't quite understand what happened to our glorious Coho, but I feel responsable to some degree. I can only hope that in spite of all we have done that they will return in the future for our next generations to enjoy. eman
The last time I fished for Bluebacks was 93. Limits where usually expected. They where great on the barby and in the can. I don't think we ever scratched the surface as far as reducing those runs. Although not long after that the Coho runs seemed to dive bomb. I still don't quite understand what happened to our glorious Coho, but I feel responsable to some degree. I can only hope that in spite of all we have done that they will return in the future for our next generations to enjoy. eman
Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
Hmmm, bluebacks, last time I fished for those was when I was a kid in Campbell River. Lots of fun! But urban development, habitat destruction and DFO allowing overfishing of herring has made fishing for these guys a thing of the past for most of us.
The Georgia Strait blueback fishery was great. Kicked off about early May and held strong right through June when they started to build some girth. By July they were full-on Cohos and moving around a fair amount.
There's all kinds of reasons for the general decline, but the actual dramatic change was over 1 - 2 years. I recall one season catching perhaps 500 or so (whatever typical daily limits were for my guests for 6-8 weeks guiding in that early season fishery) to the following season catching 8 cohos all year. It was like the tap was simply turned off.
Although there was lots of speculation, noone seemed to have any real idea as to what happened or why. The build ups were apparent: herring stocks gone, early season shrimp blooms gone, cod stocks gone...there is a whole list of stocks that effectively disappeared. I recall perhaps the mid-80's a serious concern over gray algae blooms and it's effects on the stocks - this was overrunning the Strait and apparently choked out oxygen.
Clearly the over-fishing of every marine creature (except seals) in the strait has to have had an impact. Consider everything and anything that you have ever admired on a beach, dug in the sand, viewed down through the water, or caught on your line. It has all been stripped - and along with it all of the feed in the form of eggs, babies, krill (actually they trawled that into oblivian as well), and the rest of what balanced that system was removed through the privatization of your resources. This is the federal DFO.
I've heard that some of the inside river systems still get reasonable returns of cohos in the fall (ie Quinsam, Oyster). Yet the inside coho fishery is flat. Maybe these returns are different strains? Different runs that always went to the outside anyway and unneffected by whatever has taken place on the inside?
Were the Straits Cohos actually a particular strain that is now extinct or do they simply head straight out to the West Coast following new water temperatures? The change was so dramatic and apparently permanent that the real answer is likely shelved somewhere. Maybe its time for a real review for real answers and real solutions.
How many of us recall the Johstone Strait Fall Northern Coho fishery -Holly S**t was that fun. Boatloads of cohos averaging 12lbs, many upwards of 16 to 20+ lbs - daily limits for 4 = 16 cohos per trip. What a blast. That was an amazing fishery. DFO rearranged the seine and gillnet fleet and turned Johnstone into a gut fishery that decimated those runs. Completely wiped out...Maybe it's high time to fire DFO.
I'm not sure I've heard any real answers yet, but would have very serious concern for any remaining cohos or for that matter any resident fish still swimming in the Georgia and Johnstone Straits.
There's all kinds of reasons for the general decline, but the actual dramatic change was over 1 - 2 years. I recall one season catching perhaps 500 or so (whatever typical daily limits were for my guests for 6-8 weeks guiding in that early season fishery) to the following season catching 8 cohos all year. It was like the tap was simply turned off.
Although there was lots of speculation, noone seemed to have any real idea as to what happened or why. The build ups were apparent: herring stocks gone, early season shrimp blooms gone, cod stocks gone...there is a whole list of stocks that effectively disappeared. I recall perhaps the mid-80's a serious concern over gray algae blooms and it's effects on the stocks - this was overrunning the Strait and apparently choked out oxygen.
Clearly the over-fishing of every marine creature (except seals) in the strait has to have had an impact. Consider everything and anything that you have ever admired on a beach, dug in the sand, viewed down through the water, or caught on your line. It has all been stripped - and along with it all of the feed in the form of eggs, babies, krill (actually they trawled that into oblivian as well), and the rest of what balanced that system was removed through the privatization of your resources. This is the federal DFO.
I've heard that some of the inside river systems still get reasonable returns of cohos in the fall (ie Quinsam, Oyster). Yet the inside coho fishery is flat. Maybe these returns are different strains? Different runs that always went to the outside anyway and unneffected by whatever has taken place on the inside?
Were the Straits Cohos actually a particular strain that is now extinct or do they simply head straight out to the West Coast following new water temperatures? The change was so dramatic and apparently permanent that the real answer is likely shelved somewhere. Maybe its time for a real review for real answers and real solutions.
How many of us recall the Johstone Strait Fall Northern Coho fishery -Holly S**t was that fun. Boatloads of cohos averaging 12lbs, many upwards of 16 to 20+ lbs - daily limits for 4 = 16 cohos per trip. What a blast. That was an amazing fishery. DFO rearranged the seine and gillnet fleet and turned Johnstone into a gut fishery that decimated those runs. Completely wiped out...Maybe it's high time to fire DFO.
I'm not sure I've heard any real answers yet, but would have very serious concern for any remaining cohos or for that matter any resident fish still swimming in the Georgia and Johnstone Straits.
eaglemaniac
Well-Known Member
Hey Nimo: Very interesting observations. I still kind of wonder what happened there? eman
Hi Eman,
Unfortunately all I really have to offer are symptoms observed over about 15 - 20 years. I could guess, but really have no idea what caused this catastrophy. The response by DFO has been suspiciously absent.
Most of us just sat back and assumed that that's just the way it is...If people had any idea of what existed in the straits going back 20-30 years, if I had any real idea, there would be shouting in the streets.
Other than a wholesale closure of the entire Georgia Strait marine environment, which is an option, I do not know where we would start. Maybe the entire region needs to be designated protected and resources pounded back in. It really is a sad story.
Unfortunately all I really have to offer are symptoms observed over about 15 - 20 years. I could guess, but really have no idea what caused this catastrophy. The response by DFO has been suspiciously absent.
Most of us just sat back and assumed that that's just the way it is...If people had any idea of what existed in the straits going back 20-30 years, if I had any real idea, there would be shouting in the streets.
Other than a wholesale closure of the entire Georgia Strait marine environment, which is an option, I do not know where we would start. Maybe the entire region needs to be designated protected and resources pounded back in. It really is a sad story.
It's not just Georgia Strait. Look at the waters around Victoria. I still like to leaf through the Charlie White books "How to catch..." but I always get very sad while reading...Man were there salmon and bottomfish of any kind abundant in the Saanich Inlet, Cowichan Bay, Victoria waterfront, Oak Bay....And that is "only" 20 years ago! Sad, sad...
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haverodwilltravel
Guest
Yep, not looking good. At times we used to pick off coho right beside the boat as we put our gear in the water. This was right in Qualicum just off the beach. It was swarming with fish, although I remember there were times when they didn't show up.
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haverodwilltravel
Guest
The strait is barren wasteland...
No kidding. I remember there always used to be bait, or grilse, or something jumping. This last time when I went fishing I let my buzzbomb bounce on the bottom. Used to be you would catch a flounder, or a bullhead, or something. S**** F*** A****.
No kidding. I remember there always used to be bait, or grilse, or something jumping. This last time when I went fishing I let my buzzbomb bounce on the bottom. Used to be you would catch a flounder, or a bullhead, or something. S**** F*** A****.
Yeah that "(S)eperated (F)amily (A)llowance " is bad stuff , in the '70's bluebacks were great all over , I liked Tribune Bay with my Dad in an old 14 ft aluminum with a 1966 10hp Evinrude for power would go out to Tribune and Flora Rk. , then back into Qualicum Bay just smacking them , used to cast orange with black spots Deadly Dicks , what a blast that was !
Oh and a Tom Mack spoon in Red and White too !
AL
Oh and a Tom Mack spoon in Red and White too !
AL
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haverodwilltravel
Guest
We used to use 8 inch dodgers with Tom Macks or Crippled Killer's all the time, and oh yes, a 4 ounce Peetz slip weight.
Also I remember using Coronation bucktails. It was a polar bear bucktail with blue, on red, on white. Sometimes we put a mother of pearl spinner ahead. Those were the days.
Also I remember using Coronation bucktails. It was a polar bear bucktail with blue, on red, on white. Sometimes we put a mother of pearl spinner ahead. Those were the days.
