2015 Nootka Sound/Esperanza Inlet Reports

Halibut Notice

Fishery Notice
Category(s):
RECREATIONAL - Fin Fish (Other than Salmon)
Subject:
FN0023-RECREATIONAL - Fin Fish (Other than Salmon) - Halibut - 2015 Recreational Fishery Opening Date and Management Measures in effect until March 31, 2015


Coast wide:

Open time:
Effective at 00:01 hours February 1, 2015 fishing for halibut will be opened
coastwide until further notice.

Further updates on the fishing regulations for April 1, 2015 will be provided
in February following meetings with the International Pacific Halibut
Commission (IPHC) and the Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB).

Licensing:
The 2014/2015 Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licences and Conditions of Licence
remain in effect until 23:59 hours March 31, 2015.

Limits and sizes:
Effective 00:01 hours February 1, 2015 until further notice:
- The maximum length for halibut is 133cm.
- The daily limit for halibut is one (1).
- The possession limit for halibut is two (2), only one (1) of which
may be over 90cm.
- The annual limit is six (6) halibut per licence holder, as set out on
the 2014/2015 Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence.
- All halibut retained by the licence holder shall be immediately
recorded in ink on the 2014/2015 Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence. The area
from which each halibut is caught and its length shall immediately be recorded
on licence.

The exceptions to these openings are:

Areas 121:
No person shall fish for or retain halibut, rockfish and lingcod in Area 121
outside the 12 nautical mile limit seaward of a line that begins at 48 degrees
34.000 minutes and 125 degrees 17.386 minutes W and continues south easterly at
a bearing of 116 degrees True to a point at 48 degrees 28.327 minutes and 125
degrees 01.687 minutes W.

Area 121:
Closed to all finfish, year round in the waters of Swiftsure Bank, inside a
line from 48 degrees 34.00 minutes N and 125 degrees 06.00 minutes W, thence to
48 degrees 34.00 minutes N and 124 degrees 54.20 minutes W, thence to 48
degrees 29.62 minutes N and 124 degrees 43.40 minutes W, thence following the
International Boundary between Canada and the U.S. to 48 degrees 29.55 minutes
N and 124 degrees 56.20 minutes W, thence in a straight line to the point of
commencement.


Non-residents of Canada wishing to fish for and retain halibut in Management
Areas 121, 23 and 123 must purchase an electronic licence through a Canadian
vendor.

Note: Rockfish Conservations Areas (RCA's) remain in effect - refer to the
following website for descriptions:
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/restricted-restreint/rca-acs-eng.htm.

Variation Orders 2015-12 and 2015-18.


FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact: Brad Beaith 250-756-7190, John Webb 250-627-3409 or Devona Adams 604-
666-3271.

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0023
Sent January 12, 2015 at 0912
 
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It looks like my annual camping/surfing/fishing trip Nootka with the crew is planned for May Long. We camp on the west side of Nootka. Anything from mooching the kept forests (cut plugs on paddleboard?!) to running out to the 60 fathom line. We did well last year at Bajo and around Friendly Cove.
 
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The Springs are already reported over the dam at Bonnyvile-224 reported 4 days ago so I am very confident that if you were to go out to the hiway(50 fathom mark)-you would do well. Weather is always the restriction!!
 
My 1st hand prawn report..
My son works up in Nootka after summers guiding in the Charlottes..his report on prawning this yr over last yr "at this time" is a complete 180 from foj recent report..
Sons crew fished 9 traps with no love.
Yes foj is "pushing" for business and so he should..its his business.
Myself I would not go..its a long way to go for most to fish for poor results

P.S. your responsible to know the regs...read them!!
 
My 1st hand prawn report..
My son works up in Nootka after summers guiding in the Charlottes..his report on prawning this yr over last yr "at this time" is a complete 180 from foj recent report..
Sons crew fished 9 traps with no love.
Yes foj is "pushing" for business and so he should..its his business.
Myself I would not go..its a long way to go for most to fish for poor results

had a buddy up there as well and fished the classic spot with no love as well, said it was **** poor. 60 pieces
 
Hi Andrew P
You sound like the adventurist type "West side of Nootka Island in mid MAY" & Mooching kelp beds on a paddle board. Way To Go!
Skuna Bay/Cove is located just north of Calvin Creek. You say you did well at Bajo & Friendly last year. No Doubt the Columbia River Chinook are thick in there all of April & May.
Just a thought you went right by one of the HOTTEST Spots on the coast for that time of year. Beano Creek- fish the tip of the reef for Chinook & Ling. Fish the kelp bed in front of the caves just south of the creek for Salmon.
Have fun & be careful you already know, since you have camped there before,how wild it can get offshore that time of year!!!
FOJ
 
Where was your son fishing? If it was down in Nootka we do not have many fishers if any going that way. As you know Prawning is just like other fisheries it can be all about where you are fishing, in this case your trap. All our reports are from upper 1/2 of Tahsis Inlet & Hecate Channel. They are very much real. Shall we put up more recent photos??

Your report on Nootka Sound is of a concern. As you probably know the local SFAC pushed hard to get less pressure by commercial on both Both Nootka & Esperanza. WE also have pushed for none commercial prawning areas in Nootka & Esperanza. We have also asked to raised the spawner index from 15% to 25%. Other measures have been proposed by the SFAB Ground Fish Advisory Committee.
All of this has fallen on deaf ears. The DFO commercial mgr. for prawns made a presentation at the last South Coast SFAB basically saying there is No Problem.
Nootka gets hit harder than Esperanza simply because it is a much larger body of water. Last season near the end of the commercial prawning there were approx 20 comm. boats in Nootka & Approx. 7 in Esperanza.
no one we know including the commercial prawners believe this much pressure on the Spot Prawns by the Commercial sector is sustainable.
Time will tell & maybe it already is in Nootka.
That is why we have been consistent in saying get you prawns before May 15, 2015 when the commercial prawning is schedule to begin.
FOJ
 
Hi foj..I'm not questioning your reports...I just reported what I know from someone I know ..my son.. :-D

My son works on the water usually Mon-Fri from Gold R.up to Tassis all throughout the sound and sometimes beyond. .
Will not tell you where they have fished but will say
their sets so far this yr have been NOTHING like last yr and have not even been worth their time and effort and they are there working on the water with no cost being incured to them..

so far his luck sucks in finding them..
And yes he said last yr the commercial guys completely carpet bombed the whole sound...
 
Wow,sure get mixed reports...I called a friend who lives year round in Tahsis,retired.He's not a fisherman like the most of us,but he prawns a bit to help get him by.AND give him something to do.He's been out a couple times and has about 400 or so.4 traps.He said it was good until a part let go on his newly acquired puller,used,and he hadn't been out in about 3 weeks waiting for the part,but said it was good and they were big.He's not one to adventure far so I know he stayed close to home.He's honest as the day is long,so I think there is some to be had.Like John says it's the area for sure I usually go in June and it was SAD last year with just a few in each trap.The commercials really cleaned them up last year.Hope your son locates them SpringFever.
 
m2b
ive been prawning the west coast for quite a few years now , and its a fact , the numbers are no where near where they were in Barkley,
there are definitely pockets of good prawning to be had , but nothing like it use ta be 5- 7 years ago,
i will prob take some flak for sayin this , its just being hit way to hard hard by the commercial fleet and natives ,
the pressure by the rec sector is not even around before it gets mopped up , it needs to be managed better , period ,
prawning is almost non existent to us sporties after May 15 , how fair is that to all Canadians ??
this also includes Dungenous Crabs , way to many Commy traps out there , even worse this year

m2b

fd
 
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By the time summer rolls around the prawns are gone!! at least the last 5 yrs anyhow! Had spots that we great but the last few years comes up with a trap full of slime eels!
not fun!
 
Just got back from several dates in Thasis and the prawning was horrible. Worked the my usual spots and pulled a lot of empty pots. We ended up with a few but it was by far the worst I have had there. Not sure what happened because talking to a couple residents the prawning bad been really good and then just dropped off. Weather was rough so could not get to the normal spots for halibut.

Not looking forward to the commercial guys wiping it clean up there. Doesn't seem like it will be to long and the prawns will be but just a memory. It is really a sickening sight to see almost every inlet shelf covered in pots.
 
Yes they need to get a handle on it saanauk.Seen what can happen here in the states when too much pressure and take happens.The halibut here took a massive hit when the salmon were closed for a few years,just coming back but nothing like what it was.These are much smaller here,California butts,they get up to 45# but usually around 10 to 15#.Hope we can find a few,gonna give it a try next week,good luck to all.
 
Califbill
We can only speak to Nootka Sound & Esperanza Inlet.
The Salmon, Halibut & Ling Cod Fishing will be GOOD.
Leave your prawn traps at home. Commercial Prawning is scheduled to begin on May 15th. By EARLY June there will be FEW prawns left in the water.

For those of you who Know me "I am ever the Optimist/Fisher & seldom say the doom & gloom stuff" BUT in this case it is the WAY IT IS. At this point we have fought the fights and lost. We will continue the fight & possibly the evidence of far few prawns in the Commercial Harvest will turn the tide.

The forum has already spoken it's mind BIG TIME earlier on this subject. DFO came on the form with their thoughts- Thank You. Most of the Ground Fish Working Group (GFWG) committee from SFAB are on or around this forum they have had their oar in the water on this subject.
My point is- no amount of talk, harassment, facts, etc. is going change what IS for this spring Prawning Season. May 15 is not far away. When the Commercial Fishers show up & realize what is happening. Maybe then we can finally set down with them in a meaningful way & figure it out for ALL Stakeholders.

For now let's go fishing
. The Columbia Chinook continue to grow in numbers as they move through the counter down south on the river, as reported by Springfever earlier. So Maguinna Rocks, Bajo Reef & Beano Creek in Nootka
and Pin Rocks, Outer Black Rock & Ferrer Point in Esperanza Should be loading up with salmon.
Fish On John
 
How is bajo in May to go out there weather wise , have a 22 foot thunderjet tyee ... Wouldn't mind trying the May fishery while we wait for our trip in August but would really suck to come out there for 3-4 days and can't make it out there due to weather ...

beans creek is fun to fish but There is a slot limit there if I'm. To mistaken and I like to keep some fatty for the BBQ..

never fished Esperanza side but will def try in August .
 
How is bajo in May to go out there weather wise , have a 22 foot thunderjet tyee ... Wouldn't mind trying the May fishery while we wait for our trip in August but would really suck to come out there for 3-4 days and can't make it out there due to weather ...

beans creek is fun to fish but There is a slot limit there if I'm. To mistaken and I like to keep some fatty for the BBQ..

never fished Esperanza side but will def try in August .
Who knows how it will be!! Every year is different as is every week! You can get great weather but on the other hand it can be absolute SH#T. If you are retired like me you sit glued to Swell watch and then make phone calls-if you have to work and pick your times by calendar-then it's a crap shoot. No easy solution-last year May was bad-but who knows! I should add that there are few fish inside if you can't go out
 
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Who knows how it will be!! Every year is different as is every week! You can get great weather but on the other hand it can be absolute SH#T. If you are retired like me you sit glued to Swell watch and then make phone calls-if you have to work and pick your times by calendar-then it's a crap shoot. No easy solution-last year May was bad-but who knows! I should add that there are few fish inside if you can't go out

That goes for most of the west coast of the Island. It can be great and it can be terrible. You pay your money and you take your chances, lol.
 
Well all I know about May on the west coast of Nootka is that this is what it looked like last May long and I am praying to the gods that it is the same this year. The fish gods were good to us but the wave gods could have given a little more. We did enjoy shoulder high waves to ourselves before heading out each day. Fishing pic is out at the 50 fathom straight off Skuna.
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