2018 Bamfield and Barkley Sound Reports

Those shakers might be the first generation of the Sooke net pen project. Hope they keep growing well and making it back next year and 2020.
 
Can anyone shed some light on prawning? Is it worth bringing my traps next trip to Barkley in a few weeks? Are there still some ledges and areas where you can get 20 or 30 prawns per trap?

Last time I prawned near bamfield it was 2-4 prawns a trap haha But this year I have ground up albacore tuna bellies and scraps for bait. Should help!
 
Today was the best day of the year so far for quite a few people, including myself. Got to Swale this morning around 7:00AM, 10 minutes later I had my 2 springs, around 12 lbs each, then did some catch and release , got 3 other nice chinooks, and by 7:30, the shakers started showing up... So I went up to Meares Bluff, and between Meares and Cree, there was about 25 boats, and everybody were catching nice chinooks (lots of Charter boats) .... More catch and release... So came back home around 10:00am after all that fun, and reports from other guys that were fishing the Beale/Whittlestone side were getting the same thing.... Just a large amount of Springs in the 10 to 15 lbs range came in at the same time.... Obviously, the surfline was place to be this morning.... At last, a great fishing day, with lots of action :)
 
Today was the best day of the year so far for quite a few people, including myself. Got to Swale this morning around 7:00AM, 10 minutes later I had my 2 springs, around 12 lbs each, then did some catch and release , got 3 other nice chinooks, and by 7:30, the shakers started showing up... So I went up to Meares Bluff, and between Meares and Cree, there was about 25 boats, and everybody were catching nice chinooks (lots of Charter boats) .... More catch and release... So came back home around 10:00am after all that fun, and reports from other guys that were fishing the Beale/Whittlestone side were getting the same thing.... Just a large amount of Springs in the 10 to 15 lbs range came in at the same time.... Obviously, the surfline was place to be this morning.... At last, a great fishing day, with lots of action :)


thanks Robert ,
im on my way :)

fd
 
Got a few inexperienced buddies heading your guys' way in a wide open ****** 17' aluminum and considering the forecast I was hoping to send them some intel on sheltered areas. Any help would be appreciated. They're fishing out of Bamfield.
 
Morning will be calm heat toward Meares bluff 85ft on the DR or Kirby Pt 40ft on the DR. Have fun wish I was in your place now. Number of years ago we fished purple label herring in a echip head and spanked them at Meares. If they are there they will eat.
 
Went down Friday night. I was tired of getting shakers and wanted some bigger fish and maybe some white flesh. My wife has never been "off shore". She has been past the surf line at Beale but not out to 7 Mile or the Rats Nose. I thought that this might be a good weekend to make a run. Listened to the marine forecast before bed and though that it would be rough run out but Wx conditions would improve and it would be a good day out there. Well the Wx conditions were a little late in improving. By the time we got past 7 mile, had seen two charter boats turn back and were seeing some massive swells with wave action on top I decided that even if we made it out there that we wouldn't be able to get set up, so I turned around and headed back to beale. Trolled all the way back to the mouth of Bamfield harbour with only a 30" Ling. Seen a couple big fish caught along the way but for the number of boats it wasn't a productive morning. We had a few hits at the mouth of the harbour but nothing stuck. So we headed back to the cabin for lunch. Decided to drop a couple of crab traps. Pulled 1 trap (Round) and nothing. Pulled the second (Square) and here was a 4' Spiny dogfish stuck inside. Not a happy camper (the fish) so a little fun on the release but it looked good swimming away. Up early again Sunday. Decided to try Swale ( along with another dozen boats ). A few shakers on the out side and didn't see anything big being caught. Moved on to the inside where there was just a couple of us. Hooked up with a real dancer. BIG. Wife grabbed the rod and was doing everything right. It acted like a Coho but it was big and just gleamed in the morning light as it made three tail walks across the water before it spit the hook. I told a bit of a white lie (and what fisherman doesn't) on the radio when I said that it was a 20lb coho (but it was big). Anyways fish were caught on a white and green hoochie with green flasher at 35ft. Didn't matter what we put on the other rod or the depth nothing else worked for us. Maybe this weekend the shakers will have left Pill and I will be able to hang out there.
 
Friends just got back from bamfield. Said slow fishing overall. Fair amount of boats fishing and few springs over 10lbs. Hopefully things pick up for my August trip!

Any word on prawning ? Is it worth bringing my traps? Don’t want to hit the mother load but 20-30 per trap would be nice.
 
Heading out to Poett Nook for a week. Any more current reports for the area?
 
overall fishin is slow inside , pockets here and there , very few fish at the tables ,
is what it is , inside , Small spoons , Herring aid patterns best
cree/ austin most consistent for sure , Danvers to Ellis also on the floods ,Meathole , i found my fish , had to work for them for sure , 40 lber weighed in on friday !!

fd
 
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overall fishin is slow inside , pockets here and there , very few fish at the tables ,
is what it is , inside , Small spoons , Herring aid patterns best
creeéaustin most consistent for sure
fd
Thanks again. We are very familiar with Cree/Austin/Meare's so it's great for my grandson to get started there. He's 9 so maybe we can pick up a fish before he gets bored. On the right day we'll try the Bank.
 
I was having most luck on Sunday with Herring Aid Coho Killer at 50’, trolling with the ebb. Green flasher seemed to be outperforming my purple.

If the weather holds I’m going to try offshore Bamfield for the first time this weekend; last time the weather shut us down. Any guidance on where and (salmon) tactics would be much appreciated. I’m all good to put in the time to hunt ‘me down but any pointers would be much appreciated given it will be new territory for me. Happy to report back to the gang afterwards.
 
overall fishin is slow inside , pockets here and there , very few fish at the tables ,
is what it is , inside , Small spoons , Herring aid patterns best
cree/ austin most consistent for sure , Danvers to Ellis also on the floods ,Meathole , i found my fish , had to work for them for sure , 40 lber weighed in on friday !!

fd
Congratulations! Cheryl at the Nook told me a 40#er had come in. That was you!! Thanks again for the intel.
 
I was having most luck on Sunday with Herring Aid Coho Killer at 50’, trolling with the ebb. Green flasher seemed to be outperforming my purple.

If the weather holds I’m going to try offshore Bamfield for the first time this weekend; last time the weather shut us down. Any guidance on where and (salmon) tactics would be much appreciated. I’m all good to put in the time to hunt ‘me down but any pointers would be much appreciated given it will be new territory for me. Happy to report back to the gang afterwards.

Thanks again for your report. On a good day I'd try 5 mile (5 miles off of Beale) first because it's close. As for the salmon, it's often hard to get down through the coho to the springs. Last year we were having great success on 4 inch blue iridescent Coyote spoons, white hootchies and Lucky bottle caps. lol Seriously the fish seemed to bite on anything. If memory serves me well, we were fishing around 65 feet. I'll have a better idea in a couple of days. Also, check with Fogducker - he's been out there recently.
 
No no no lol
Unfortunately I can’t take credit for that one , that fish was caught by our incredible hard workin caretaker Gilles , I seen it hanging on the scale, she was a monster, congratulations !! thinking that’s going to be the biggest fish of the year at our docks

I will say that if you are looking for a quality fish like this, they are around , I had three bust off and take the spoons as souvenirs , so make sure you’re paying attention , especially if you’re fishing solo , they hit like freight trains ,

FD
 
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