2019 Nanoose Bay/French Creek Reports

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Dmurph, great fish. It's a shame that with DFOs non conservation rules you had to put that back. Almost zero chance of any encounters with upper Fraser stock Chinook right now in your area. Zero reason for a slot limit except to appease the uneducated public.

Your son deserved to be able to take that home and proudly display it to friends and family. The small things like this are key with your family on the water.
These are the basic building blocks of raising our kids on the ocean.

**** DFO
 
Took a friend out front for an evening troll, 6 until about 830 or 9, picked up 2 beauties at 150 with 3.5 herring aid. One was right on 80cm and weight was 17.5 lbs other was the most football spring I think I’ve ever caught had a few real big herring inside, surprisingly the big plug got no action same as hootchy . Everything on the herring aid spoon. Great evening.
 
Went out the same time as @dmurph and finally found some fish off Ballenas around 7:30. Gerald, Yeo, and the usual holes around there were empty. Ran one side with everything from Green Spackleback to Cop Car to an electronic flashing head hootchie - nada.

However, landed 2 very nice slot limit legal springs, one wild and one hatchery on a smallish green bellied plug at 120 and 155 on the DR.
 
What do you guys recommend for a spoon hook replacement?

Gamakatsu big river bait hooks.... they are fantastic. Also using them for plugs, on a bead chain inside Chinook hootchies... and on the swivel inside little pink hootchies for pinks/sockeye/chum.... I was blown away with my hooked to landed ratio for sockeye last year with these hooks
 
784F9284-9A36-4B67-8BA7-05961F50BDC5.jpeg Late report as took off for Zebellos after the derby last weekend. We won for the biggest Coho. Crazy thing is for the longest time we thought it was a barely legal Spring. Paying so much attention to slot size we didn’t notice it was a big Coho.
 
Went out the same time as @dmurph and finally found some fish off Ballenas around 7:30. Gerald, Yeo, and the usual holes around there were empty. Ran one side with everything from Green Spackleback to Cop Car to an electronic flashing head hootchie - nada.

However, landed 2 very nice slot limit legal springs, one wild and one hatchery on a smallish green bellied plug at 120 and 155 on the DR.

Hi Bigdog, What boat are you fishing on. I'm out in those spots a lot. I'm usually always jigging for my salmon. Been a good year so far. Kept a 10lb spring last night and let a big one go. All on shimano butterfly jig. My spots I like are Ballenas, Sangster, Gerald, Douglas and the Green Can. It's nice to give a fellow forum members a wave out on the water.
 
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Love the area - fished here decades ago when Beachcomber was a campsite :). This year's boat is a 23' Striper HT (250 and a 9.9)
 
Love the area - fished here decades ago when Beachcomber was a campsite :). This year's boat is a 23' Striper HT (250 and a 9.9)
I'll keep an eye out for you. I live at Nuttal Bay and moor my boat there. That is where the campsites were those decades ago.
 
Any reports from Sunday or Monday? Heading out with the boy my friend and his two young boys from the mainland. Gonna fish a few days maybe overnight somewhere Wednesday. It’s been a evening show it seems out front, wondering if it still happening the same. Think I mentioned in my last report the fish had big herring in them, thinking I’ll get some 7 inch plugs on the go, that being said 3.5 inch spoon hit the fish on Saturday evening lol
 
Monday night out front- if you could get a hook to stay in a dog doodie you could catch a spring on it. 110 to 175 feet.

Had a couple rookies on the boat and lost a ton. Fought through all the 60 cm fish to get a couple footballs.
 
Hi Bigdog, What boat are you fishing on. I'm out in those spots a lot. I'm usually always jigging for my salmon. Been a good year so far. Kept a 10lb spring last night and let a big one go. All on shimano butterfly jig. My spots I like are Ballenas, Sangster, Gerald, Douglas and the Green Can. It's nice to give a fellow forum members a wave out on the water.
I'm always trolling for them, and haven't jigged a salmon in a decade. Dumb question maybe - but doesn't your arm get tired, jigging all the time?
Nothing like the feel of a big spring hitting while jigging up, though! I miss jigging the big boiling bait balls off Sangster.
 
I'm always trolling for them, and haven't jigged a salmon in a decade. Dumb question maybe - but doesn't your arm get tired, jigging all the time?
Nothing like the feel of a big spring hitting while jigging up, though! I miss jigging the big boiling bait balls off Sangster.

My arm doesn't get too tired from jigging, more from bringing in the fiesty springs. I try and use a lighter rod and reel with the 80 gram shimano butterfly jigs. I also use a heavier rod and reel when i fish the 100 gram jig. I can fish deeper more effectively with the 100 gram jig but the 80 gram isn't bad either. A stiffer shorter rod (9') is better than using the 10.5' downrigger rods. I use baitcasters for my reels.
I love fishing Sangster as well but really haven't needed to go that far.
 
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