Calm water salmon or halibut spots Oak Bay

Irishwolf

Crew Member
Hi there,

I’m new to the forum and new to saltwater fishing. I have a 14ft Lund deep hull with a modest set up for salmon fishing. I’ve been out a few times off Cattle Point but only managed to get to the flats one of those times because of rough water.

I tried again yesterday, but stupid me forgot to check the marine forecast.... needless to say I was met with a wall of whitecaps just past the marina plus a massive fishing trawler bearing down on me. :( While my boat can handle a bit of the rough, it's just not fun, nor safe. If I want to bounce around, I can do that on my kids trampoline. ;)

So we ended up drift fishing (bottom bouncing / jigging) across the front of Willows beach through to Caddy Bay where the water was calmer, but not a sniff of anything. Given I'm new to this, I have no idea if this was a good idea or not. I was marking, but not sure if these were fish or floaters of some sort.

So my questions is, is there anywhere within the protection of the Oak Bay islands that would be good for halibut or salmon ideally, but I just want to catch something especially if I have my kids with me. Or should I just not bother going out on windy days?

Any advice that you guys can offer would be super appreciated.

Cheers,
Chris
 
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A great place to fish off Oak Bay is The Gap. You wont get halibut, and salmon are not exactly plentiful there but they are around and it's a spectacular spot on a sunny morning. At the turn to a flood, start just inside Commodore Point on Discovery and you can drift with the tide all the way up to the end of Baynes Channel. However, with kids in a 14' boat you definitely don't want to go out in anything more than 10 knots of wind or so.
 
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I always thought the gap was between discovery and chain islets intersecting with Baynes Channel and Plumper passage.
 
I always thought the gap was between discovery and chain islets intersecting with Baynes Channel and Plumper passage.

Correct. I'm saying drift through The Gap and continue to Baynes Channel. I think basically Plumper Passage = The Gap, although maybe more specifically you could say "The Gap" is where there is a narrowing of the passage to the east of Virtue Rock?

Here: https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#boating@14&key=}zofH`igoV
 
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Man, I’ve been fishing out of a 14” Lund for 4 seasons now. You gotta love the feeling of being low to the water, it’s a true west coast experience and at this point I wouldn’t trade it for a bigger boat. Before I go out I always check the weather via big wave and the weather network. If it’s blowing under 15km I’m going, but anything higher is to bumpy. The flats and the gap as mentioned are good, but other then the gap there isn’t really a hidden spot to hide from the wind in oak bay. I’ve taken my boat all the way up to otter point on calm days. I’ve also started mastering sidney, as Sidney is nearly always calm enough to fish in a small boat, even when it’s blowing 20kn elsewhere, sometimes. Tight lines man!
 
Sweet info guys. Really helps out, last year was my first year to the OB area as Scott already knows. I didn't really get to explore it much as I came in late and ended up just running downtown most times. But this year we got in tied up early so we are all about looking about. And yes Irish I was out on Saturday and it was not much fun for the kids on the boat so we moved into some protected areas with notta.... a bit disouraged but didn't deter us, went out Sunday morning from 11-2 and had a double header on both legal too :) Looking forward to hopefully more this season.
 
not sure why someone said the Gap does not hold salmon or halibut as both can be caught there. My boat has got 5 springs out of the Gap in the past 3 weeks. the jiggers have been doing very well there as well. the best time to fish the Gap is on a well established ebb tide. I also fish out of a black 14 foot lund with a merc 20 4 stroke. we fish a lot in Oak Bay and the waterfront. PM me if you want any further tips or spots to fish.
 
Thanks for the info guys, this is super great info and much appreciated! Happy to hear you got a couple there on Sunday Argento. Also glad to hear the small Lunds can catch them. I'm still getting used to "being so low on the (ocean) water" :) Where do you have your rigger(s) set up @brands51? On the back or middle bench? I had a manual rigger set up on the middle bench that seemed to balance the boat better in terms of set up - my buddy up front could set up while I drove. I just put an electric scotty on the back bench because I was worried about the cable getting caught in the prop, but so far I'm not convinced it's a better location for this and it's a lot to manage.... likely just need to get used to it, but curious on your set up.

Cheers guys
 
Thanks for the info guys, this is super great info and much appreciated! Happy to hear you got a couple there on Sunday Argento. Also glad to hear the small Lunds can catch them. I'm still getting used to "being so low on the (ocean) water" :) Where do you have your rigger(s) set up @brands51? On the back or middle bench? I had a manual rigger set up on the middle bench that seemed to balance the boat better in terms of set up - my buddy up front could set up while I drove. I just put an electric scotty on the back bench because I was worried about the cable getting caught in the prop, but so far I'm not convinced it's a better location for this and it's a lot to manage.... likely just need to get used to it, but curious on your set up.

Cheers guys
I’ll send you a pm when I’m off work with some pics man.
 
I'm also part of the 14 foot Lund crowd. I've had mine for 8 seasons now and it's great to fish from. Just have to pick your days. I use big wave dave's website for wind predictions to pick my days. Like Brands51, 15 knots is my breakpoint. I don't go when those winds are predicted.

http://www.bigwavedave.ca/forecasts.php

I have one rigger set up in the middle where a buddy can run gear from the front seat, the second mounted near the stern. Works perfectly.

I fish mostly Vic waterfront launching from Esquimalt, the launch is close to my home. Clover point to Albert Head is the area I haunt.

Summertime fishing is coming soon, there will be lots of calm days for you and your kids to enjoy.
 
Is the launch in Oak bay open to the public? If not, where is the nearest launch? I have a 20 ft KF aluminum...easy to launch in most cases so far. Will be there in August and I’d like to take the little kids out that way in calm water.

Also if any of you can recommend a beach to pull up to in that area for run around time that would be great. Thx!
 
Hi @donnie d . Cattle point just on the North side of Willows beach has 2 public launches (on the north and south ends of Cattle Point). Most people use the southernmost launch (the first one you come to when you drive in). It's a good ramp and it's free and lots of parking. Downside is there is no dock or any means to tie your boat up once launched so you will need another body to hold the boat while you park and if the tide is low, the part you can stand on is slippery.

I've seen guys launch 18 footers out of that launch but not sure about 20 footers. I mean it looks like it can - it's a bit more than 2 lanes wide and its concrete, but I don't have any direct experience with boats of that size so maybe someone else can pipe in here. The launch on the north side is narrower but steeper. Never tried this one but some guys use it.

Regarding beaches, I've seen guys pull up to Willows Beach or the beach at Cadboro Bay just a short buzz to the north of the launch. In my opinion, these are the 2 best beaches in Victoria. Cadboro Bay has a super cool park for the kids called Cadboro-Gyro Park. Just watch your tides.

Cheers
 
Yup, free launch and parking at Cattle Point in Oak Bay. All of Chatham, and the northern half of Discovery is FN, so you can't land on any of the beaches unfortunately. Puget Cove and bay between Vantreight and Chatham are absolutely gorgeous anchorages. It's also a great spot to look out for the lone wolf. One evening we heard her howling. The southern half of Discovery is a marine park. If you are very careful, you can land on the beach at Rudlin Bay in a small boat. There are rocks and reefs everywhere tho! If you check Google Maps satellite view currently you can see a small boat heading in the safe way. There is also a couple of small bays on the west side of Commodore Point you can land on.
 
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Awesome thanks Guys. Looks like a workable launch. My boat is quite light so it shouldn’t be a problem.

One more question. Is the Oak Bay Marina a good pick up drop off point for kids/wives or is it locked down to marina tenants only?

Cheers guys
 
OB Marina is a good stop for family pick up or bathroom break. You can drop off or pick-up quickly at one of the end caps if they're vacant or at the gas dock out of convenience. After hours access to the dock is limited to tenants but its open most of the day. My usual routine is go out early, drop traps, go fishing solo then come pick up the fam off the dock and go for round 2 of fish and trap check. Also a chance to fuel/ice up or get your wife to bring you a coffee from the cafe. if you're lucky!
 
OB Marina is a good stop for family pick up or bathroom break. You can drop off or pick-up quickly at one of the end caps if they're vacant or at the gas dock out of convenience. After hours access to the dock is limited to tenants but its open most of the day. My usual routine is go out early, drop traps, go fishing solo then come pick up the fam off the dock and go for round 2 of fish and trap check. Also a chance to fuel/ice up or get your wife to bring you a coffee from the cafe. if you're lucky!

Love it!

Thanks All
 
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