quote:Originally posted by saltspringer
thanks guys, it looks like early Sept. might be the answer. Is June way too early or would there be some springs coming in by then?
June can be hit or miss out here. Mostly we are searching for fish and it can be a couple of days before finding them. Generally there are few boats out chasing fish.
Mostly, I would expect Coho, with maybe the odd Chinook. A few years ago, I had a group of 6 guys who came up from all over the USA. It was late May and I had planned on going Halibut fishing off-shore. Come the day of the charter, the seas were 4 or 5 feet off-shore and there was no way we could even get out there, never mind drift for Halibut. So we ended up fishing Rosa Harbour and the local area - two boats for 10 hours. The other guide was a local native who knew the area very well. Absolutely nothing - not a bite.
Day 2, I had 4 of the guys by myself, and went out to Nootka Sound area around Burdwood - still heavy surf on the outside. Lots of fish showing, but nothing biting.
Day 3, 2 boats again. I suggested that we fight our way out to Ferrer Pt. We did - it was a really rough crossing to get out there but it was nice and calm in the back bay. I set the gear and within about 20 minutes or so had a nice strike. The guy on the rod got the fish up nice and close - it was a Chinook, about 12 to 15 pounds. Before I could say "don't let him get close to the prop..." He did, and got cut off
Other than about 20 undersized lingcod on day 3, that was the only fish we saw for that group.
The biggest problem here is weather - if you can get outside, you can do well, but if you are trapped inside, don't expect too much at this time of year.