2017 Sooke Reports

Englishman said:
maybe late summer IS the time to leave the shallows and go looking for Chinook out there in JDF after all. You, Jama, and Prettyboyfloyd have demonstrated that methinks!:)
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Happened to me last year with a 13# white out in no-mans-land about this time.
This year, not in Sooke, already happened once with a 9lb.
I'm a believer, that's for sure.
 
Yes, you do run into Springs well off shore in the Sooke area from time to time.
BUT you will spend A LOT MORE TIME looking and the guys will out fish you MANY TIMES over in the proven hot spots.
Remember, we are not talking about fishing the banks like Swiftsure or Constance.
 
There are times when all 3 resident killer whales come through in a feeding frenzy that fish will either get pushed right up into the shallows or out to the ozone...just depends on how they are herding them and which way they go to hide.
 
Sept 12 @ 10ish to 4ish

Great day out of sooke. Heading to Otter for springs. Made it to the trailer park when we hit a wall of water. The Deeper water looked cleaner. Changed plan to coho. Put the rods down at the first contor line around 330' or so and trolled east to the trap. Moved in and out and did the odd loop. Manage to fight close to or more than 20 fish. Landed 2 of 4 springs. The springs we were 15 and 11 on the spring scale. Landed a 13 hatch coho and two more smaller ones. and one feeder chinook

Dummy flashers.
Ap spoons and juhead squirts

50-90'

JL

Ps. One spring was dark and one was chrome. both red. Small 4-5" herring in stomachs of the fish.
 
Yes the springs are out deep in sooke this time of year. When you start hearing reports of people fishing the regular spots and not getting any springs. They are out deep. They are out deep usually for a couple of things. Whales have just been thru, Summer temperatures got to hot, or its late in the season and springs generally go a little deeper. I would stay in September your odd's of landing a spring in the deep is just as good as landing a spring in shallow. I have had many springs out deep water in about 90-110 feet of water. A couple of weekends ago. I couldn't catch my breath in shallow. I fished everywhere. 8 hr day. I fished Aldridge, Beechy, Trap. Fish hard. All depths. Nothing. Then I heard the whales where thru night before on the radio. So I go out a bit deeper like 200-250 ft of water drop the lines down to 110 and 150ft and have two springs smaller in less than an hour. I gave up and was like ok this is where they are. Lol. If you fishing out deep I usually like to fish 3 / 4 rods so you can cover most depths with larger spreads. So you are in Cohoville and catch the odd spring. I am a believer. It sure makes if fun when you have 4 rods out fishing by yourself and you hook into a good spring. Gong show that is for sure and as your battling the spring. Two other rods go off and they have coho. This is what fishing is all about the stories, the chase and for that epic day of fishing everyone dreams about.
 
Was a good day out there today....Started fishing out front of Sooke Harbour in about 300 ft of water, 2nd tide line. The incoming swells were big at first light but die down. Put on some spoons (No Flasher) and started looking for some Coho....Did not take long, first hit and fish to the boat in 10 minutes, (nice 5lb Hatchery). After that it was none stop wild Coho, all released nice and safe. So after 4 hrs, I had my fill. Went home with 2 nice hatchery and one sore hand. Just love it when they come straight out of the water like torpedoes...
 
It was a good day out there, although I didn't like those early swells. Definitely mostly wilds today. I ended the day with just one hatchery in the box, but had fun. BTW, if anyone is wondering if the Scotty net really does float when it goes overboard, I can confirm that it does. In fact, the net goes down, but the handle pokes straight up for easy retrieval. An engineering marvel!
 
Man some beauty wild 'ho's out there right now......like teener big.
Too bad the stupid DFO are handcuffing us with stupid unsustainable regs. I know it's an old song and this horse has been beat plenty but for Christ sake.......let the fishers keep one each and be done with it
 
We had lines in off the Head and then went straight out this AM. We just started getting fish to the boat in 450 when the first mate started getting green from the swell. My bad for not remembering she needs a pill for the September swell. We went back in and fished Aldridge until it flattened out outside and tried again. Unfortunately we missed the morning bite but we did manage to get one clipped amongst a handful of wild. Out in the yak at Otter tomorrow.
T2
 
GNB
I totally agree. I hate thinking about how many unclipped Coho must die once caught and released so we can keep a clipped fish.
Stosh
 
Stosh said:
GNB
I totally agree. I hate thinking about how many unclipped Coho must die once caught and released so we can keep a clipped fish.
Stosh
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I had a 30+ coho hookup day not long ago ( not this year in cr )o to get my 2 fish. They were grabbing the hootchie on the surface as i was trying to put my line in the clip. I went home feeling like a mass murderer. one of the stupidest regs EVER.
 
I also totally agree , you would think fisheries would clue in by now, barbless hooks or not, the amount of crab food being produced by coho fatalitys. How does this help the coho population??????
 
Not sure what you guys are doing but there is something terribly wrong! There is no need to harm a wild coho when to be released! Fish a single barbless hook - not too big! - and then unbutton with the gaff or plyers beside your boat without touching. That way 90+% survival guaranteed. Don't blame the regs for your bad fish handling practices! If DFO learns that too many of us are too lazy or dumb to practice a decent catch and release then they will shut this fishery down, and rightfully so. Come on guys, get your act together, it's not hard! Only take your net out once you positively ID a keeper outside your boat!
 
calmsea said:
Not sure what you guys are doing but there is something terribly wrong! There is no need to harm a wild coho when to be released! Fish a single barbless hook - not too big! - and then unbutton with the gaff or plyers beside your boat without touching. That way 90+% survival guaranteed. Don't blame the regs for your bad fish handling practices! If DFO learns that too many of us are too lazy or dumb to practice a decent catch and release then they will shut this fishery down, and rightfully so. Come on guys, get your act together, it's not hard! Only take your net out once you positively ID a keeper outside your boat!
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So when they get to the boat and they start spinning like a whirling dervish, you have NEVER seen them tear themselves apart?
If you answer yes I call BS
 
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I guess the guys netting every fish regardless of size to see if it has a fin have no impact
I see many fish swim away from my boat untouched in great condition not sure after netting flopping on the floor picked up with hands then released !!
 
RiverBoy said:
I had a 30+ coho hookup day not long ago ( not this year in cr )o to get my 2 fish. They were grabbing the hootchie on the surface as i was trying to put my line in the clip. I went home feeling like a mass murderer. one of the stupidest regs EVER.
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30 hookups to catch 2 fish AND others who got there limit of fish but kept fishing for the sport of it.
The debate of the survival rate of released fish will never end, but I would not hold your breath for DFO to change the regulation until the wild Coho stocks in all the rivers return to healthy levels.
What might change however is if you guys keep posting how many unclipped fish you are killing is DFO will close it down altogether.
I am of the opinion that if a salmon is released properly the survival rate, including tangled gills, eye hookups etc. is 80% or higher
 
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