2020 Sooke Reports

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kaelc said:
Going to moor our boat at Cheanuh the rest of September. First time fishing since July! Can't wait to get out there. How has the crabbing been?
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I put out 2 traps on Monday for a few hours and got 1 keeper in each.
 
wolf said:
Well ill bite id say in sooke its been a great year n july limits of coho at will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chinook in aug was very good even having to let go many over the slot. You cant compare sooke to any other place really if you are trying to compare to other places , sooke is a awesome place to fish and it takes years to understand when where and how (ask englishman) I know personally that renfrew has been very tough where here getting lots ... Up where I used to guide in knight its like a dead sea one or 2 hits a day... Big fish have been her got more this year then in past but the new norm is a 15 lber and number have been good this year id say excellent not like last year when it was insane...
Now last few days its been a struggle HUGE ebbs ad that rain but like others have said wait for the weekend im sure it will be better when we have the early am floods
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Thanks got the response. Much appreciated.
 
Newf said:
Can't answer your question because I don't fish Sooke area too often but maybe you can answer a question for me. What is your definition of "Success"? How many fish would be a "success", what size and in what time frame?

My last trip out of Cheanuh I fished for 7 hours. Brought about 12 to 15 fish to the boat. 8 cohos were all wild and the chinook were shakers. I still considered this a very good day of "fishing" for me and certainly not typical for my number of fish to the boat. I've had my share of days with no fish so any day I can bring a fish to the boat is a bonus. I think the days of dropping your lines and consistently filling you quota in a hour or so are long gone for this part of the coast.
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Success?? It’s really related to time and overall size of fish. I’m putting in hours for maybe 1 or 2 fish and both the coho and springs are much smaller than I’ve been accustomed to in other areas. I see some fish being caught in other boats but looking at the shear volume of boats, there doesn’t seem to be many being caught by others either. A commercial fisherman friend of mine tells me it’s a poor year overall. I just wanted the opinion of the locals. Thx
 
Rex4deo said:
Success?? It’s really related to time and overall size of fish. I’m putting in hours for maybe 1 or 2 fish and both the coho and springs are much smaller than I’ve been accustomed to in other areas. I see some fish being caught in other boats but looking at the shear volume of boats, there doesn’t seem to be many being caught by others either. A commercial fisherman friend of mine tells me it’s a poor year overall. I just wanted the opinion of the locals. Thx
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It’s not all about the catching.....
 
Rex4deo said:
Success?? It’s really related to time and overall size of fish. I’m putting in hours for maybe 1 or 2 fish and both the coho and springs are much smaller than I’ve been accustomed to in other areas. I see some fish being caught in other boats but looking at the shear volume of boats, there doesn’t seem to be many being caught by others either. A commercial fisherman friend of mine tells me it’s a poor year overall. I just wanted the opinion of the locals. Thx
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LOL it is not poor year. Look at Vancouver right now, and other areas across island..

It is a big area honestly, and I doubt you are going to see everything everyday. Remember this is way different area than UKEE bank fishing where they are still on too feed. Even just coming back from Barkley Sound it is different. It is little more challenging as they really get lockjaw as they aren't eating/just cruising through. This area pissed me off for a few years, but how it is different from other areas is currents. If you study where fish are in certain current change you will be begin to see where they most likely are.

It isn't rocket science, but just like any area you have to put the time in. The first year is always frustrating. It is true look at Englishman, and others in past posts.
 
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I'd say this has been a typical year for Sooke. I have seen better ones but also worse. If you hit it the right day in the right spot it can be bionic. If you hit the wrong day you will be putting in long hours for a few bites. But even on a slow day you always have a chance of a nice fish. Combine that with typically calm waters, close fishing grounds, stunning background panorama and shallow fishing - that makes Sooke one of the best places to fish on this coast.
 
SpringVelocity said:
LOL it is not poor year. Look at Vancouver right now, and other areas across island..

It is a big area honestly, and I doubt you are going to see everything everyday. Remember this is way different area than UKEE bank fishing where they are still on too feed. Even just coming back from Barkley Sound it is different. It is little more challenging as they really get lockjaw as they aren't eating/just cruising through. This area pissed me off for a few years, but how it is different from other areas is currents. If you study where fish are in certain current change you will be begin to see where they most likely are.

It isn't rocket science, but just like any area you have to put the time in. The first year is always frustrating. It is true look at Englishman, and others in past posts.
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Thanks for this .. much appreciated.
 
chris73 said:
I'd say this has been a typical year for Sooke. I have seen better ones but also worse. If you hit it the right day in the right spot it can be bionic. If you hit the wrong day you will be putting in long hours for a few bites. But even on a slow day you always have a chance of a nice fish. Combine that with typically calm waters, close fishing grounds, stunning background panorama and shallow fishing - that makes Sooke one of the best places to fish on this coast.
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There is no doubt the beauty is beyond words.
 
Well as reported we would on Tuesday, we gave it our last shot today. Weatherwise it was fantastic, with ESE airflow so no fog, flat calm, hot sun and not too many boats (except Otter of course! :)LOL)

Unfortunately the fishing was a complete bust again. We had only one unclipped coho all day. Tried everything- bait, hootchies and spoons – going slow with bait and fast with lures - but not a touch, except for the coho on the hootch. We only saw two fish caught by others.

So in summary we have fished 3 of the last 4 days, with only four hits and one chinook and one coho to the boat.

Tuesday and today was a blank for chinook so I am convinced our chinook season is done. :( I am just wasting gas, by keep going out now. I shall sit on the deck drinking beer during this hot week-end coming up, and we and the boat will stay on shore until the coho in October.

Good luck to all in the derby on the 5th. Many folks are going to need it!!:D


P.S. To continue the thread raised by Rex4deo, I am the "Englishman" referred to in a couple of posts above. I have been fishing here for 10 seasons now and to begin with it was very difficult. In some ways it still is. That is because I am still a regular "Joe" and not a guide (or a fishing god as I call them LOL :)) and do not know much about the currents. If I worried about those as well as the weather and launching "convenience" I would never go fishing! Right now the fishing has completely died for me. (See post above.) That said we have had some really good days this August. I would say the best chinook fishing is normally the middle two weeks in August. This year was the same. Normally chinook for me dies in September and very long hours are the norm. However, I did get a 22lb fish on September 2nd last year. But definitely NOT this year at all. Good luck.
 
Just left Sooke after a weeks fishing, some asshole decided to steal my crab trap. Beware there are scumbags out there.
 
wildmanyeah said:
lol, naw it’s about keeping don’t see many boats out for catch and release
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Englishman said:
Well as reported we would on Tuesday, we gave it our last shot today. Weatherwise it was fantastic, with ESE airflow so no fog, flat calm, hot sun and not too many boats (except Otter of course! :)LOL)

Unfortunately the fishing was a complete bust again. We had only one unclipped coho all day. Tried everything- bait, hootchies and spoons – going slow with bait and fast with lures - but not a touch, except for the coho on the hootch. We only saw two fish caught by others.

So in summary we have fished 3 of the last 4 days, with only four hits and one chinook and one coho to the boat.

Tuesday and today was a blank for chinook so I am convinced our chinook season is done. :( I am just wasting gas, by keep going out now. I shall sit on the deck drinking beer during this hot week-end coming up, and we and the boat will stay on shore until the coho in October.

Good luck to all in the derby on the 5th. Many folks are going to need it!!:D


P.S. To continue the thread raised by Rex4deo, I am the "Englishman" referred to in a couple of posts above. I have been fishing here for 10 seasons now and to begin with it was very difficult. In some ways it still is. That is because I am still a regular "Joe" and not a guide (or a fishing god as I call them LOL :)) and do not know much about the currents. If I worried about those as well as the weather and launching "convenience" I would never go fishing! Right now the fishing has completely died for me. (See post above.) That said we have had some really good days this August. I would say the best chinook fishing is normally the middle two weeks in August. This year was the same. Normally chinook for me dies in September and very long hours are the norm. However, I did get a 22lb fish on September 2nd last year. But definitely NOT this year at all. Good luck.
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Thanks for the response.. kind of how it’s been for me as well. Great to be on the water, but fishing is very slow.
 
Went 1 for 3 this morning on springs and a 2nd chum that wold have been 14 lbs. I'm seeing lots of large salmon schools on the sounder (and no bites) which I have seen in the past at this time of year. I'm predicting a good run of chum this fall.
 
2 clipped coho for us today 5 and 6lbs and lots of little shakers. Both coho on purple haze flasher and cop car spoon, 550ft of water with 90ft on the DR. Tried lots of combinations at different depths but that was it for us today.
 
5:30-8pm off the head for us.
Best weather we've had all year!
And a Humpback.
Fishing was an absolute bust though... One hit right at pack-up, but just stripped the bait.

Also saw one giant school of salmon, but surmise that is Chum too
 
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