hooked for life
Active Member
Hi
Any news from esperanza? heading up there next week all reports welcome.
Any news from esperanza? heading up there next week all reports welcome.
Esperanza anybody?
- Thread starter hooked for life
- Start date
Sushihunter
Active Member
I talked to a guy who boated a 75 pound Halibut at Ferrer Pt. today - trolling for Salmon!
I ran over to Esperanza to fuel up this afternoon and trolled from the dock through the cut to Monzino Pt.
I hooked a fish about 200 yards off the dock, but lost it because I was alone and trying to get downriggers out of the water. Probably about 10 pounds or so.
I'll try to report back tommorrow night after my charter.
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
hooked for life
Active Member
Thanks,
BTW what was the price of fuel?
BTW what was the price of fuel?
Charlie
Well-Known Member
Shame on you Jim! Should never lose one that way!
I learned along time ago, when fishing with "two" downriggers by myself... I leave the other one down and leave it alone! It is better off down, then up and a lot less mess! I keep the fish away from it if possible! And it is a lot easier to untangle the line from the downrigger cable. Been there... done that!
PS... how's the fishing? Will be there in about a week! Look forward to meeting with you!
Island Fish Lifter
Well-Known Member
wooow charlie..... never leave your downriggers down unless youre sure its a small one. It will bite you in the butt!
Charlie
Well-Known Member
quote:Originally posted by Island Fish Lifter
wooow charlie..... never leave your downriggers down unless youre sure its a small one. It will bite you in the butt!
Nope... disagree, when fishing by yourself! I usually don't even run two downriggers. Just a big pain when you have two lines, two cables, etc. But, if I had two cables and two poles I would leave it down! It's easier than having the cable and line to deal with!
I'm with Charlie on this one, usually fish alone with manual riggers, its better to leave the terminal gear where it is and concentrate on the playing of the fish. When solo, especially among a group of boats, you have to focus on the course of your boat, and the fish you are playing. If you try and get caught up in getting gear up too, it is too much.
Chum derby last year was a prime example, with the crowd, trying to crank up gear, steer boat, play fish, net same... ? yeah right.
You will lose some to fouling on the gear, but less than if you try and get it up first, play fish second.
and sorry for taking this thread off course.... I would like Esperanza reports too, hoping to get up there in Sept
Chum derby last year was a prime example, with the crowd, trying to crank up gear, steer boat, play fish, net same... ? yeah right.
You will lose some to fouling on the gear, but less than if you try and get it up first, play fish second.
and sorry for taking this thread off course.... I would like Esperanza reports too, hoping to get up there in Sept
Sushihunter
Active Member
Tuesday.
Picked up a small Coho 6 pounds at Black Rock. Went outside. Tried to get across the 77cm line and picked up 2 nice fish at 26 and 31.5 pounds.
Got stopped by Fisheries on the way in toward Low Rock after one of the guests started getting seasick. The two guests, inspite of me telling them to mark their fish on their license, did not, and their fish cost them each $100 ticket. First time that's happened on my boat. I didn't realize that they hadn't done it right when they were handing the licenses to the fish cop. Too late to get them back and mark them.
However, they took it in great stride as a lesson learned.
Boated a nice 12 pound Coho at Black Rock.
On the way home we hooked a very nice Chinook at Rosa. Fought like a Coho. It jumped out of the water before the rod came out of the holder and was jumping and running hard all around the boat. Fish was released in good condition beside the boat.
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
Picked up a small Coho 6 pounds at Black Rock. Went outside. Tried to get across the 77cm line and picked up 2 nice fish at 26 and 31.5 pounds.
Got stopped by Fisheries on the way in toward Low Rock after one of the guests started getting seasick. The two guests, inspite of me telling them to mark their fish on their license, did not, and their fish cost them each $100 ticket. First time that's happened on my boat. I didn't realize that they hadn't done it right when they were handing the licenses to the fish cop. Too late to get them back and mark them.
However, they took it in great stride as a lesson learned.
Boated a nice 12 pound Coho at Black Rock.
On the way home we hooked a very nice Chinook at Rosa. Fought like a Coho. It jumped out of the water before the rod came out of the holder and was jumping and running hard all around the boat. Fish was released in good condition beside the boat.
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
Sushihunter
Active Member
quote:Originally posted by Island Fish Lifter
wooow charlie..... never leave your downriggers down unless youre sure its a small one. It will bite you in the butt!
That's always been my theory - In hindsite, I should have just left the boat in gear and surfed him into the net, leaving the other downrigger down. Oh well, no big deal.
My biggest problem was that I was not ready for a fish, and did not even expect one so quick. The net was in the cuddy and snagged on everything it passed as I dragged it out on deck.
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
Sushihunter
Active Member
July 16 - Headed out to Ferrer. Only boat there for first half hour or so. Picked up a 6 pound Coho. Nothing really happening.
Headed out to the Highway and started hitting fish. Nothing big, but all keepers. Biggest was a little over 10 pounds - All hatchery fish!
Got a nice double-header and got both in the boat.
These new regs suck We can't keep big fish inside, and there are no small fish inside to catch, so we go outside looking for big fish and get a bunch of small fish that would have been keepers in the inside waters.
Heard lots of boats on the radio. Not a fantastic day for anyone, but it seems like everyone did get some fish. Halibut seemed a little scarce with only 1 34 pounder coming into the Westview dock.
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
Headed out to the Highway and started hitting fish. Nothing big, but all keepers. Biggest was a little over 10 pounds - All hatchery fish!
Got a nice double-header and got both in the boat.
These new regs suck
We can't keep big fish inside, and there are no small fish inside to catch, so we go outside looking for big fish and get a bunch of small fish that would have been keepers in the inside waters.Heard lots of boats on the radio. Not a fantastic day for anyone, but it seems like everyone did get some fish. Halibut seemed a little scarce with only 1 34 pounder coming into the Westview dock.
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
N
northriverrunner
Guest
Coming up to Esperanza at the end of the month and was wondering how far out from Rosa is this highway everyone talks about and how do you get there? Always fish close to shore but with these new regs might have to move outside.
Sushihunter
Active Member
West Marine - the big Catalog mail-order company?
Link to URL please...
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
tyeeking
Active Member
Northriverrunner,
The Highway is offshore and it loosely described as when you hit the 50 fathom depth line. It's the migration route for salmon heading south. How far out depends on the bearing you take. If you run offshore on a magnetic bearing of 220 from the Gillam Channel whistle/racon buoy you will hit it about 10 miles out.
Be prepared as it can get quite rough. You will want to monitor your VHF for weather updates. When the westerlies start to pick-up in late morning or early afternoon you will probably want to pull your gear and head to shore before it gets too rough.
If you have a good boat, know how to run in bigger seas, take your time, make sure that stuff is stowed properly and know when the conditions warrant a change in plans then it is safe.
Have fun . . . I'm heading up the 6th of August and hope to fish the Highway every morning.
The Highway is offshore and it loosely described as when you hit the 50 fathom depth line. It's the migration route for salmon heading south. How far out depends on the bearing you take. If you run offshore on a magnetic bearing of 220 from the Gillam Channel whistle/racon buoy you will hit it about 10 miles out.
Be prepared as it can get quite rough. You will want to monitor your VHF for weather updates. When the westerlies start to pick-up in late morning or early afternoon you will probably want to pull your gear and head to shore before it gets too rough.
If you have a good boat, know how to run in bigger seas, take your time, make sure that stuff is stowed properly and know when the conditions warrant a change in plans then it is safe.
Have fun . . . I'm heading up the 6th of August and hope to fish the Highway every morning.
Charlie
Well-Known Member
Okay... I'm bad!
Here's the info
One of the best-kept secrets of the Esperanza Commercial Salmon Trolling Fleet is known as the highway¡¨. It has always been there but generally ignored by sport fishermen until recent years. I used to notice while the majority of us worked off structure at Rosa Harbour, Pin Rock, Ferrer Point, Catala Island, Black Rocks, the commercial boats would glide past heading straight out Esperanza Inlet? If you have a chart of this area go and get it, the rest of this article will make more sense with the chart in hand. By understanding the area, your salmon production and catch will go up! The highway is teaming with bait and is the migrating path for all salmon heading south to spawn in their native rivers and streams throughout British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California. It is the migration path for thousands of salmon following the continental shelf down Vancouver Island and the western United States. Tagged fish caught on the highway have been identified from Robertson Creek, Port Alberni, the Fraser River, Vancouver, the Skagit, Cowitz, and Columbia Rivers in Washington, the Kalamith River in Oregon and several rivers in California. The highway literally has thousands of salmon on it from all over the west coast.
WHERE IS THE HIGHWAY?
The Highway is the 300 foot (50 fathom) depth line which runs up and down the coast following the continental shelf. Bearings - note that Vancouver Island runs generally east & west NOT north & south as many believe. To find the Highway off Esperanza Inlet, locate the whistle/racon buoy in Gillam Channel, Esperanza Sound. Go south for approximately 1.5 nautical miles. Watch the depth sounder and when you get to 285 feet - start fishing! If you have a GPS map, getting on and staying on the Hwy is a lot easier. The Highway follows the 50- fathom (300 feet) ridge line. You want to stay in 285 to 315 feet of water - no deeper no shallower. The 50-fathom ridge line dives in quite close to shore at the mouth of Esperanza Inlet allowing easy access. Once on the highway start moving east or west it really doesn¡ seem to matter which direction - just stay on the Highway. With the exception of Brooks Peninsula, the mouth of Esperanza Sound is the closest to the Highway on the west coast. It can also be located 6 to 8 miles off the whistle buoy heading 220 degrees magnetic until the sounder indicates approximately 240 feet. At this point put your lines down and start trolling toward deeper water. It is not uncommon that you may not get to the 300 foot depth before you have already limited out!
HOW TO FISH THE HIGHWAY
The answer varies with the time of day and the time of year. The normal process is to go early. First light usually sees a procession of boats heading for the Highway. Most days the mornings are calm with the wind picking up around 11am. It was common place to have boats with a box full of Highway caught salmon prior to noon. The depth to fish is usually directly related to where the bait is with 60 feet being the norm but 20 feet to 160 feet is not uncommon. You can also try setting the downriggers to 150 - 200 feet, again check the depth sounder to find the bait - there are large schools of herring and pilchards. Trolling large lures, plugs, herring and anchovies produced the best results. If fishing bait, blue and green herring or large anchovies work best. If you are fishing lures OKI Titan 6 inch color 602, army truck glow, and cop car produce results. If you want to mix it up a bit, use a Coyote 4 inch trolling spoon on a light action pole with no weight. Color of the lure doesn¡¦t seem to matter. Let out about 100 - 150 feet of line. Put the clicker on with drag on light and set the pole in the highest pole holder on the boat. The rod holders above the cabin - works great! Now just wait. The surface area on the highway is loaded with Coho feeding on needlefish. You will see them jumping from time to time. As you are eyeing the downrigger pole and waiting for that spring to pop the release, that upper light pole and reel will start screaming and way out behind the boat a nice Coho will be doing back flips! No need to bring up the downriggers, just slow the boat down to less than one mile per hour and reel in the fish. By the time you reel in the 150 feet of line the fish will be ready to come to the boat. Daily Coho are caught in this area from late May until September - 20 pound plus fish were not uncommon. Now bring the boat back up to trolling speed - often at this very moment - or at the point of deceleration to retrieve the Coho, a Chinook will take the bait. Often just that change of speed will cause a different wiggle in the spoon or bait and the fight is on! Here is another wrinkle you might want to try. After catching salmon, if the winds and tide are not pushing too hard, drop down to the bottom with halibut gear and hold on! Halibut fishing is also very productive near the Highway!
Note: Dave and I started fishing the highway¡ in 1992 off Ucluelet. We just didn't know what it was! We just knew that¡ we were were catching fish! I also, highly suggest you have a sea worthy boat! If you are out there when the westerly's come in it can and does get rough!
Halibut Facts__
The Pacific Halibut is the largest fish sought after by Sport Fishermen along the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. They can attain weights of up to 500 lbs, up to 9 feet in length, and may be 45 to 60 years old. Halibut over 100 lbs are almost always female, producing thousands of eggs annually, and should be released as brood stock when possible. Halibut spawn in winter in deep water, and a 140 lb female may spawn approximately 2.5 million eggs. Young fish settle to the bottom of inshore water banks, eventually returning to deep water with age. Mature adults may migrate up to a range of 2,000 miles from California to the Bering Sea and Northern Japan in depths of 60 to 3,600 feet. These bottom dwellers have well developed teeth on both sides of their jaws and feed on a variety of fish, crab, clams, octopus, and squid. Exercise caution with your catch. Whether it is a 20 lb ¡§Chicken¡¨ or a 200 lb ¡§Barn Door¡¨ you are after, do not attempt to bring a large halibut into the boat until it has been properly subdued ¡X the slap of a halibut¡¦s tail can break bones!
Halibut are plentiful out at 270' off Tatchu Point. Top halibut lures this year was Berkley glow 6" powergrubs w belly teasers on the trailing hook. Next best was B2 in glow. I use 50-65# spectra to minimize drag. I find hookup rate goes way down with backtroll as boat will crab slightly sideways.
The majority of these fish were taken in 60-80m of water working the underwater structure from Catala Island to Tatchu point. Most of these fish were in the 40-80lb ranges. The preferred set up for these bigger fish is a spreader bar rig with 150lb test mono leader around 18-24inches with two 10/O J hooks. Mackerel, Herring, Sardines and Octopus are all good bets. Hardware definitely has its time and place as well with Mud Rakers, Spinnows and Berkley or Hali hog¡¦s soft plastic baits a good choice. Don¡¦t forget about the fantastic Ling Cod and Rock Fish still abundant in the area. With Limits of three Lings and Three Rock Fish this can be a lot fun for the young ones and a great time to get them interested in fishing. The sand and gravel around Catala Island and Gilliam channel produced a good number of smaller chickens as well. Try trolling your salmon gear right along bottom here in 35-50m of water.
Sushihunter
Active Member
Charlie:
Excellent article on fishing the Highway! [8D] [8D] [8D]
Oh, "Westview Marina" -- [:I] For some reason I was thinking West Marine.
Makes more sense now!
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
Excellent article on fishing the Highway! [8D] [8D] [8D]
Oh, "Westview Marina" -- [:I] For some reason I was thinking West Marine.
Makes more sense now!
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
cohochinook
Well-Known Member
Heading over August 20th to 23rd. Staying at Rodgers Fishing Lodge. It's my first time over to Esperanza Inlet, I normally hit Tofino. A buddy of mine has gone several times, so he's invited me to join him this year. He's not a serious fisherman but more a go once a year guy. He normally uses one of their guides. I am planning to bring my boat over and we'll fish out of it. I have a 17.5 foot Campion with a 90 Mercury. Any insight into how the fishing might be at that time of year and if we would need to go off shore or not would be helpful?
That can be one of the best times of the year. The general tourzits' tend to be gone home by then (improves the experience) and fishing can simply get better and better towards the end of August (perhaps fewer 30 - 40 pounders than earlier in the year though.) I recall many a third weekend in August at Katela (sp?) Isl where it lit right up with Springs 20 - 25 pounds. You'll not likely be disappointed.
Hint: definitely check the updated regs for fishing closures because traveling for an additional hour to get to the fish can be a drag.
Good luck
Hint: definitely check the updated regs for fishing closures because traveling for an additional hour to get to the fish can be a drag.
Good luck
Charlie
Well-Known Member
Tell Doug... I said HI! You will enjoy your stay! For the larger tyee... you will have to go offshore! It is a new reg thing! It is not "Katela", but rather Catala. It is not Ferrier Point, but Ferrer Point! And, again, Yes... you will probably have to go off shore... due to the new regs if you want to keep anything of "Tyee" range! A 17.5 is a little light for off shore... so make sure you check the weather before going out to the highway... Also, make sure you go early in the AM... and try to be back before noon... it is a "westerly" thing! It can get quite choppy out there.
BTW... you are going on the tale end of a "full" moon, with low tides at 9:00a and highs around 4:00p, so I guess you can sleep in!
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