Coho, springs...and SEALS!

[drhook]

Got out to Porlier yesterday and before we could get our second stacked line on the downrigger a coho grabbed our lure at 15 feet down and took off. Got into one more coho a little later at 50 feet down. Great to see some back on the inside again. These are the 4th and 5th coho respectively that I caught this year fishing inside waters.
Later, hooked into 3 springs (one double header) but lost 2 to seals. Something definatly has to be done to bring the seal population under control!

 

[Degree of Freedom]

Great to here about the coho. Were they wild or clipped?
Anyone know where a guy could purchase a silenced rifle?

 

[drhook]

All that we've landed so far have been wild.
At least 'not clipped' anyway.
I think only a small percentage are clipped at the hatcherys anyway.

 

[nedarb2]

Im going out sunday,
but dont have too much fishing experience at porlier, can you help me out?
Outside or inside, depth of water? depth on rigger? and what were you dragging behind you? it would be great if u dont mind giving away some secrets ill be going for springs there or at tent island what would u recommed?

 

[drhook]

Looking at the weather forcast, you might have to stay inside anyway.

We fish outside, on the bottom in 120 to 180'. The tough part out there is finding the fish.
Usually use coyote spoons in green/nickle, green/glo, cop car or various green hued hootchys in army truck or green glo. Strip and anchovy work out there as well but I dislike checking bait often when fishing such deep depths and 4 rods.
Sometimes too the fish will statify in anywhere from 60 to 120 feet so its always a real guessing game.
Lots of flounder (rock sole?) around at Tent right now so check your gear on a regular basis. Can be draggin' around those guys and you can't tell.

 

[nedarb2]

awesome thanks!

 

[RobTufnail]

what were the coho on??
i really to want to see one coho this year in the strait
and only certain steams that are big enough have their fish clipped, the nanaimo river doesnt clip their fish.

 

[drhook]

Thanks for the info on clipped fish Rob. I suspected as much.
That's one reason why we should be allowed 2 coho (clipped or unclipped) instead of trying to weed through 20 'wild' fish for one 'clipped'.
We got those coho on a green/spackleback hoochy and a green/nickle coyote, both behind a flasher.

Talked to the guy at Bucky's yesterday. He said his friend was out at Porlier recently and lost all 6 of his springs to seals.
Not worth the gas for that kind of success.

 

[RobTufnail]

hooking into 6 fish around here is great, but loosing all to seals??
you'd think after that happened you'd take it upon yourself to make them a little more scarce.
In my lifetime i've never seen a coho in the strait, but this is the first time i've ever heard multiple reports of them

and the cowichan river's fish are clipped so you'd think we'd see some of those around here eh?

Im guessing that they were blueback?(3-4 lbs)

 

[Charter Tofino]

i havent caught many coho either. i think it was 2002 or 2003 we were fishing out of french creek and honest to god couldnt keep them off. We kept trying to get down to springs because they were closed and it was coho after coho 7-10lbs

 

[drhook]

That's the size, Rob.

 

[nedarb2]

Went to tent for about 45 minutes and it was gross- wondy and wavy. So we headed to porlier where it was much much calmer. FIshed the outisde with 3 other boats for about 2 hours and nobody had so much as a nibble. We went into the pass for some bottom fish and got about half a dozen strikes right off the bat and then we couldnt buy a fish anywhere in the pass [xx(] headed home with 15 prawns

 

[drhook]

One of my fishin buddy's was out there with you. He also didn't get a sniff but they did pick up one nice ling in the pass which they released.
They only got 12 prawns.
Hopefully, the commercials get shut down soon!!

 

[hstat]

Backatit, low velocity 22 shells sound like a cap gun, very quiet. Also, talked to fisheries, there is a % of hatchery fish they do not clip to ensure a return.