Sooke Reports - Spring and Summer 2012

Smiley said:
Early in the day we were laughing about those who have been complaining about the cohos not putting up a fight, then we experienced it ourselves. Not one of them put up any fight at all, even the one that popped the pin! Weird.
So, I am not complaining, but commenting ;-)
Great practice opp for the kid to do gaff hook releases.

Brown's Bay next weekend - fingers crossed for some early chum or late hos/springs.

Smiley.
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well, not sure - seemed all our wilds put up a pretty good fight - they were all 8-10lbs - few of them took a few nice runs, one was real scrappy - even a little baby 2lber seemed like it was fighting like a 4-5. Unfortunately, as seems to be the case for many, mostly all wilds for us - 1 hatch as well that is now in my stomach (that was off secretary). No consistent depths - few around 90, a nice one at 110, 1 big hit deep 150 that didn't stay on long, another few at 55. Did find way more action with bait though - only thing else that came close was coho-killer, with another on green glow coyote and one on white glow squirt. Hot day out there once the fog lifted.
 
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oh yeah, seems transients are around as well :) They were having a solid workout with a large sealion at the entrance to Pedder - took some chunks out of him until he decided to hug the hull of a large sailboat. They eventually got bored and moved west - looked about 6 of them.
 
Just wondering how you guys would propose getting away from filtering through all the hatcheries. Just open wilds up so you are allowed 2 of anything or 2 of anything but no releasing...just keep your first 2 Coho period? It seems to me that unless you make it the last option, not much will change. Just as many fish will be handled to get the biggest wild or hatchery possible. I can't see anyone being happy with going out early catching 2 small Coho in 5 minutes and then having to quit. Would be better for the fish but not for us. So really is there a good viable solution?
 
Profisher,

Im not sure if there is a way to avoid going through alot of Coho, looking for the right ones with the regs DFO currently has in place. But one thing I would like to see
is a ban on the old style nets that rip the scales off the fish and strip them of their slime. There are great catch and release nets, that are way easier on the fish.
Not all anglers are adept at the gaff release or ID'ing the fish with out close inspection. If your going to net the fish and release it, get the right net. Better yet make it manditory.
It might be small but it would help the fish that are handled.

Cheers
Rich
 
pro, keeping first 2 period is silly and would not be considered at all by anyone. But just a straight coho limit clipped/unclipped of 2 is the best route IMH. Perhaps this shouldn't be in effect until say Sept 15 as I think you would find there would be much more sifting through the summer since the coho are typically smaller, but for weekenders like me at this time of year, we would have been more than happy to just take the 6 8-10lbers and call it a day. They were beautiful chunky fish and I personally don't feel the desire to chuck them because 'maybe that 15lber will hit next'.

Now that is me, and I'm sure there are greedy pigs out there that would rather just keep chucking to find teenagers, but I don't believe they would be the norm.

After all, that is exactly what the current spring fishery is right now - whats the diff? Yeah, maybe a guy throws back a 15lb spring in search for bigger, but is that the norm? I doubt it.
 
I dont know if its something specific to coho but I noticed coho dont really have much of a slime coat? These are hatchery fish im talking about so not ones that may have seen 5 nets earlier that day.

With all these easy to catch cohos around I think lots of people are fishing just to play fish they dont even care about weather there catching wild or hatch so how many you can keep wouldnt matter.
 
Deewar25 said:
pro, keeping first 2 period is silly and would not be considered at all by anyone. But just a straight coho limit clipped/unclipped of 2 is the best route IMH. Perhaps this shouldn't be in effect until say Sept 15 as I think you would find there would be much more sifting through the summer since the coho are typically smaller, but for weekenders like me at this time of year, we would have been more than happy to just take the 6 8-10lbers and call it a day. They were beautiful chunky fish and I personally don't feel the desire to chuck them because 'maybe that 15lber will hit next'.

Now that is me, and I'm sure there are greedy pigs out there that would rather just keep chucking to find teenagers, but I don't believe they would be the norm.

After all, that is exactly what the current spring fishery is right now - whats the diff? Yeah, maybe a guy throws back a 15lb spring in search for bigger, but is that the norm? I doubt it.
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Have to agree and what is the difference after Oct 1st when you can keep one unclipped. I don't think someone will be throwing back an unclipped 14 to look for a 17lber.
 
The difference is that 80 % of the guys don't hook up on springs every day. And most certainly no one hooks up 25 to 30 springs a day. But if you plan on putting in a 6 hour fishing trip...most will be releasing Coho no matter if its hatchery or wild. Right now you can easily get 6 Coho on in 1/2 an hour. So you keep 2 and let 4 go and go home? Your not comparing apples to apples. You more often than not need 6 hours just to get your 2 spring opportunities.
 
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pro, us weekenders aren't like you and some of your fellow guides - I listened to the radio all day and it sounded like many were like us and did not get 6 in 1/2 hour. We found it hard to sit on any schools we found and we didn't get what would have been a days worth for us til about noon - that was almost 5 hours of fishing. Maybe that is because we started at Beecher and trolled west and the thicker school was ahead of us.

Guides can still catch and release if they need to entertainment for their guests to last because they know how to properly release. Its the weekenders that don't release the way they should and sift 20 or 30 that need to have this rule in place and get the hell off the water when they have their quota. I do believe its the lessor of the two evils.
 
High Five said:
I think this should be proposed to DFO. Two a day clipped or unclipped..Its makes sense. Seems like most anglers I speak to would be OK with this....It should be proposed at our fall SFAB meeting....
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I believe that a few years ago DFO proposed something similar to this and the South Thompson natives threatened to blockade the Trans Canada hiway as those measures were originally put in place to "save" their Cohos. Obviously the Feds backed down right away.

Perhaps Derby or someone else with more inside knowledge can elaborate
 
Not sure that would be an issue Shaun. Aren't most of if not all these little guys US hatchery and local South Island stream Ho's?
 
I'm not so sure. With springs if you are by yourself and you nail a double right off the bat (both really nice fish) 99% keep them and go in. Its a rare bragging opportunity. (yep had my 2 and was gone before 7am) But with Coho I think the vast majority of guys out there have planned to fish until a certain time of the day and will sift through the fish no matter what the rules are just to put in the time.
 
I think there is truth to both sides, profisher and deewar. There are a number of us who fish for the sport and the excitement and some that are more after the meat. Those are two acceptable attitudes and are both integral part of the sportfishing philosophy. In order to accommodate both, I think there are two things that need to happen: 1) DFO should make it 2 of any kind coho and 2) ALL of us sportfisher need to learn how to properly do catch and release. There is no excuse that because you are a weekend warrior that you don't have the right equipment nor the right knowledge how to gently handle a hooked fish. The assumption that sportfishermen can exercise catch and release properly with an insignificant mortality rate is the BASIS of many areas still open for us to fish. If we prove that we are incapable of doing this properly then we WILL be shut down completely in high risk areas (many areas today!). So here is something we as the sportfishing community can do; educated yourself and your buddies how to properly identify and handle fish for harmless release. Maybe profisher or some other experienced fisherman should to do another fundraiser seminar on this!?
 
ChoveyRoller said:
Coho:20-3 to 20-7: Oct. 1 - Dec. 31, 2012: four (4) Coho per day, one (1) of which may be wild (unmarked).

Sooke is 20-5 so 3 hatchery 1 wild. unless im missing something.
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Same crap every year - first PDF says 3 hatch 1 wild, 2nd PDF says 2 of which one may be wild. I am pretty sure its only 2, but you wonder why we have no flipping clue when DFO produces crap like that.

IMH, 3 hatch 1 wild would be ridiculous given the ratio out there right now, so hopefully 1 and 1 still applies.

edit: you know what, actually I have no clue - I always thought it was 1 and 1 down here, but I see most writing DOES say 3 and 1....only place it says 1 and 1 is here on page 3:
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/opportunities-possibilites/PN/2012/18-19-20-29-co-ch.pdf
I think though there is more than enough justification to be 3 and 1 so what the hell, go sift 50 to find your 3....

Side note for profisher, my big problem with their no wild rule (pre-oct of course) is the fact that we all know many of these wilds are in fact unclipped hatchery....they cap the clipping and make us throw back the fish they'd rather not see in the rivers anyway!
 
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chris73 said:
For area 19 and 20 (Sidney to Sheringham Pt.) it's 2 Cohos of which one may be wild (unclipped).
Click to expand...

Area 19 is two per day with one wild. But Subareas 20-3 to 20-7 the limit is 4 per day, one of which may be wild.

Here is the reg: http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/x..._notice&lang=en&DOC_ID=143198&ID=recreational

Portion of Subarea 20-1 (Port San Juan Light), Subareas 20-3 to 20-7
-----------------------------------------
Effective 00:01 hours October 1 until 23:59 hours December 31, 2012 in that
portion of Subarea 20-1 (seaward of a line between a square white boundary
sign at Owen Point, the Port San Juan Light and Whistle Buoy, and San Juan
Point) and Subareas 20-3 to 20-7, you may retain four (4) Coho per day, one (1)
of which may be wild (unmarked).

Here is the map of area 20:

area20.jpg


http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/maps-cartes/areas-secteurs/20-eng.htm
 
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