2019 Winter Harbour Reports

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Just back after fishing in Quatsino/Winter harbour from Aug 2 to 7. The trip started out very promising with an arrival day late afternoon fishing & shakedown cruise at Cliffe Point, managing to pick up a 15 lb spring and a small coho, right near the navigation light. The rest of the trip we fished at Lippy Point in the mornings and outside & inside the Lighthouse on our way back in the afternoons. We managed to hook up 7 springs ( only landed 6 ) over 5 days at Lippy, in 200 feet of water, with one rigger just off the bottom and the other at 50 to 85 feet. One spring was a small hatchery at 8 lbs, the rest were around 15lbs. Caught a few smallish coho and lots of small pinks. We only hooked one spring outside the lighthouse but it was a nice 20 lbs fish. Also got smallish coho there as well. Nothing more inside the Lighthouse or at Cliffe. The one short trip to the salmon highway, we were in lumpy water and windy conditions and were only hooking and releasing wild coho and lots of small pinks, so we didn't try that again. From VHF chatter, it didn't sound like the guides were hooking up to springs out there either. No halibut fishing this trip and the VHF chatter wasn't promising o that front either. The upside was the calm weather and smooth seas. A real treat.
 
Really slow fishing for us today - one decent coho by Cliff pt and a couple of small coho's near Quatsino on the way back in. Not much on the sounder and the boats around us didn't seem to have much luck either. Hopefully it is just a lull in between runs?
 
We had a slow day as well. Was able to pick up a small spring and a couple coho in Brooks Bay. Picked up a couple ling behind solander. So many pinks released as well.
 
Very slow for us again yesterday, Cliff, Kanes, Grant - nothing. Ended up hooking a decent spring and coho by Quatsino.
Still new to the area - should we expect to catch salmon in the sound only going forward, or are there typically still runs going by on the outside later in August?
 
Very slow for us again yesterday, Cliff, Kanes, Grant - nothing. Ended up hooking a decent spring and coho by Quatsino.
Still new to the area - should we expect to catch salmon in the sound only going forward, or are there typically still runs going by on the outside later in August?
We are always there for the 1st week of September, and typically do very well at cliff and Cain’s, as well as off shore. In between runs is probably what is going on there.
Boats are coming in to WH right now with lots of tuna. Two boats yesterday came in with 54 total.
 
As always, had a great week up in Winter Harbor. We arrived Friday evening, fished pretty hard for 7 days and caught a fair number of fish. As noted above, springs were few and far between out on the highway or up at the corner of the RCA. Tons of wild coho though. We probably worked through 50 coho between both our boats with no hatchery keepers on the outside. Moved up to our biggest spoons trying to keep them from biting, but we still couldn't hardly keep them off.

But we did catch springs inside the surf line, largest at about 24 lbs. Good hali and lingcod fishing on the couple of beautiful flat days we had. If i had brought my tuna gear, I think you could have run the whole way out as fast as you wanted to go on those days.

Hate to think that now I have to wait another year. Will probably try for an extra trip earlier in the year next year.
 
Heading up to Quatsino on Aug 16 for a weeks fishing with old school buddies. Hope the action picks up and the weather cooperates.
 
Heading up to Quatsino on Aug 16 for a weeks fishing with old school buddies. Hope the action picks up and the weather cooperates.

Fishing by Quatsino is actually pretty good. Good number of Coho around with the odd Spring and a few Pinks mixed in. Coho are not very big, but catching them shallow in flat calm waters is fun.
 
Was in WH Aug 8-10 for a first time visit. Nice luck with weather, offshore was flat for 2 of the 3 days. In a 22 C-dory I could comfortably go full speed out there, which was unexpected. Didn't fish very seriously as it was a family trip but fishing seemed pretty good when we did it. Found some lingcod and worked out the fish descender on yelloweye and vermillion. Caught springs up to low 20's at Kains. No luck on halibut other than one x-large that I fought for a while and eventually broke off. Boats going out for tuna were doing well, apparently the fish were ~45 miles out.
 
Fished WH from the 17th to the 19th for our annual boys trip. Arrived in Coal Harbour around 2pm on the 17th, by the time the dust settled we had the lines in at Kaines by 6pm, lost one pin popper and released a bunch of Coho. Woke up early on the 18th and decided to head outside despite the gale-force winds. Pounded our way out to Lippy and bonked one spring right away around 18 pounds. The hangover from the night before combined with the 10 foot swell and 5 foot chop, all mixed up like a washing machine, had two of the guys losing their breakfast over the side. After the first spring we kept fishing around Lippy in 50ft of water but came up empty. Decided to tack out further where we hit fish two years ago and picked up 3 nice lings and released some yellow eye. After getting smashed around for long enough we headed back to the cabin to regroup in the afternoon. That evening we headed back to Kaines. Fished the inside and the chute. The Chute produced some nice springs, two of our boats lost some fish that could not be stopped and snapped us off so we were hopeful there was some 30s in the mix. Monday morning we went straight back to the chute and landed a double header of springs as soon as we dropped the lines. That seemed to be the extent of the bite until we had one more pin popper hit in the backside of Kaines. Nothing more for the next few hours so we decided to head back to Lippy and were hopeful that new fish may have moved in. As soon as we dropped the lines we hit a nice 20lb spring so things were looking up with the nice weather. Not 5 minutes later the wind started to howl and we were back in the same sea conditions as the day before. Regardless we stuck it out and the fishing was outstanding. We managed to tub out on 8 springs and some coho in the mix. All the fish this trip came on the smallest anchovies. No love for spoons or plastic. All the bait in the fish were less than 2 inches.B9E928CB-4B64-4DED-B99D-ED3874FA8A3F.jpeg

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Fished WH from the 17th to the 19th for our annual boys trip. Arrived in Coal Harbour around 2pm on the 17th, by the time the dust settled we had the lines in at Kaines by 6pm, lost one pin popper and released a bunch of Coho. Woke up early on the 18th and decided to head outside despite the gale-force winds. Pounded our way out to Lippy and bonked one spring right away around 18 pounds. The hangover from the night before combined with the 10 foot swell and 5 foot chop, all mixed up like a washing machine, had two of the guys losing their breakfast over the side. After the first spring we kept fishing around Lippy in 50ft of water but came up empty. Decided to tack out further where we hit fish two years ago and picked up 3 nice lings and released some yellow eye. After getting smashed around for long enough we headed back to the cabin to regroup in the afternoon. That evening we headed back to Kaines. Fished the inside and the chute. The Chute produced some nice springs, two of our boats lost some fish that could not be stopped and snapped us off so we were hopeful there was some 30s in the mix. Monday morning we went straight back to the chute and landed a double header of springs as soon as we dropped the lines. That seemed to be the extent of the bite until we had one more pin popper hit in the backside of Kaines. Nothing more for the next few hours so we decided to head back to Lippy and were hopeful that new fish may have moved in. As soon as we dropped the lines we hit a nice 20lb spring so things were looking up with the nice weather. Not 5 minutes later the wind started to howl and we were back in the same sea conditions as the day before. Regardless we stuck it out and the fishing was outstanding. We managed to tub out on 8 springs and some coho in the mix. All the fish this trip came on the smallest anchovies. No love for spoons or plastic. All the bait in the fish were less than 2 inches.View attachment 47287

View attachment 47288
Where abouts is the Chute is that’s the pass between kains
 
Fished WH from the 17th to the 19th for our annual boys trip. Arrived in Coal Harbour around 2pm on the 17th, by the time the dust settled we had the lines in at Kaines by 6pm, lost one pin popper and released a bunch of Coho. Woke up early on the 18th and decided to head outside despite the gale-force winds. Pounded our way out to Lippy and bonked one spring right away around 18 pounds. The hangover from the night before combined with the 10 foot swell and 5 foot chop, all mixed up like a washing machine, had two of the guys losing their breakfast over the side. After the first spring we kept fishing around Lippy in 50ft of water but came up empty. Decided to tack out further where we hit fish two years ago and picked up 3 nice lings and released some yellow eye. After getting smashed around for long enough we headed back to the cabin to regroup in the afternoon. That evening we headed back to Kaines. Fished the inside and the chute. The Chute produced some nice springs, two of our boats lost some fish that could not be stopped and snapped us off so we were hopeful there was some 30s in the mix. Monday morning we went straight back to the chute and landed a double header of springs as soon as we dropped the lines. That seemed to be the extent of the bite until we had one more pin popper hit in the backside of Kaines. Nothing more for the next few hours so we decided to head back to Lippy and were hopeful that new fish may have moved in. As soon as we dropped the lines we hit a nice 20lb spring so things were looking up with the nice weather. Not 5 minutes later the wind started to howl and we were back in the same sea conditions as the day before. Regardless we stuck it out and the fishing was outstanding. We managed to tub out on 8 springs and some coho in the mix. All the fish this trip came on the smallest anchovies. No love for spoons or plastic. All the bait in the fish were less than 2 inches.View attachment 47287

View attachment 47288
Well done fellas!! Great report! Love the intel! We are headed up to WH for ten days starting next Thursday! If anyone else is heading that way in the same time frame , let’s get together. Sounds like you guys had a great trip bucketload. We will report back!
 
Well done fellas!! Great report! Love the intel! We are headed up to WH for ten days starting next Thursday! If anyone else is heading that way in the same time frame , let’s get together. Sounds like you guys had a great trip bucketload. We will report back!

Hey there after hoursI’ll be in the Winter Harbour marina campground as of Tuesday the 27th. I’ll be the guy in the small 16 ft tinny. Love to swap info over beers
 
Hey there after hoursI’ll be in the Winter Harbour marina campground as of Tuesday the 27th. I’ll be the guy in the small 16 ft tinny. Love to swap info over beers
Hey Matsutake, sounds good. We should be rolling into harbour around noon on Friday. Staying at Cape Scott winter harbour cottages. I will watch for you.
 
We were up in Quatsino Aug 16 to 22. Fished exclusively at Cliffe Point near the nav light. Found the fish bite was sporadic and short lived. Coho were on the smallish side for what I would have expected for this time of year, with only one weighing in at 10 lbs. Caught two decent chinook at 20 and 23 lbs, but the rest were in the teens and not many of them. Stomachs were either empty, had very small silver bait fish or squid. Best action was on black and white or green and white small spoons behind either red or green flashers in the top 50 feet of the water column. Couldn't beat the weather and calm water at Cliffe. Hope to get up there one last time on Friday. Coho should be more in the Sound by then.
 
Belated report... fished Aug 9-11 on a charter with Qualicum Rivers. Amazing flat water and warm calm weather, best conditions I've ever had fishing out of WH. No springs had been caught by guide for some days before our arrival and with calm water it was decided to run to Cape Scott area and work hali, with an afternoon exploration for springs - if a run were to arrive, it would be up there first. Hit the halis really well, all of limited and some big fish were brought to the boat. A few ling mixed in with them too. And some springs showed up too, just a couple of hits and one in the boat, but they were around after a dry spell.

Both of our remaining days were spent offshore chasing springs. We had a frustrating second day bringing numerous springs to the boat but landing only a handful. We're all experienced guys and no one - guide included - could figure out what was wrong. Redemption came in the form of a furious hour on coho as we dropped by the lighthouse on the way home. Got our limit and had a blast with short sharp fights right on the edge of kelp bed. A couple of those cohos went 12 lb so we got our money's worth. Final day we went way down south almost to Brooks/Solander - smooth water meant you could go anywhere at 25 knots. The morning started well out on the highway with every tack netting one or two low-20s springs. Even the appearance of some passing orcas didn't put them off the bite; within minutes, we pulled in two fish that were still bleeding from fresh wounds on their flanks. Limited out and headed back to lighthouse for more coho. Our mates on the other boat filled their tickets on springs sooner than we did so they went jigging down near Solander and got some big lings, four over 30 lb.

I'd have to say this was the best trip I've ever had to WH and there's been some good ones. Conditions were amazing and we loaded up our freezers for another year. No sockeye on the Okanagan this year so we had to take some salmon home for the family. Mission accomplished in a big way. We're already booked for next year same week. Everyone up there thinks the chinook limits will be on again each year for a while now so the pressure is gonna be felt in the north island as people come up looking for a good experience. Lots of boats around and it'll get busier again.

My advice is don't be afraid to at least try going offshore. If you never go past the lighthouse you're not getting the best out of the area. You'll know within a few minutes if the water conditions aren't right for you and your boat, but at least have a try. The highway is such a short run compared to Renfrew/Bamfield/Ukie, so getting there is a less of a beating and a retreat in the face of worsening weather is quicker too.
 
Spent a couple of days out there, 27-29th. A bit slow. Broke a rod and lost a bunch of gear chasing lings, picked a couple of keepers. Seemed slow for salmon especially Thursday. Once again I realize my 16 ft Lund style is a tad small for WH. Works great in Bamfield going up and down the wall but makes me a bit nervous out in WH when the breeze begins to kick up. I'll keep going back but only if I'm in a bigger boat. Great folks at Winter Harbour marina.
 
Stayed at the Outpost over the Labour Day long weekend. Ran out Friday at 11 am in less than ideal conditions...but the water was so close that it wasn't that big a deal. We fished a couple of hand lines and two cedar plugs outback. Managed to get 12 Albecore in about 6 hrs. We started about 20-22 miles offshore and hooked fish within 10 minutes. It was about 1.5-2m sea and 25 knots so we were limited to trolling directions and we missed a few fish as well. Cedar plugs were the best, followed by dive boards. We even got one on a pink Black Bart lure which was pretty cool to see.

Tried for bottom fish next day got a few decent Hali off the pinnacles at Lawn Point but it was pretty slow and im not very familiar with Hali our of winter harbour so that didn't help.

Ran back out on Sunday for Tuna, about 25 miles and found fish in much nicer conditions. Water temp around 61-63 deg and clarity was good. Bite died off for us around 10, so pulled gear and ran another 10 miles saw some other boats and figured we should try and it was decent fishing for a few hours. Got bored ran another 8 miles to see if we might get some larger fish no luck just small ones. On the way back in around 5 pm, we spotted birds, decided why not throw the gear in. Before we had the spread out we spotted Tuna jumping, and seconds later quad header followed by a triple. Ended up getting another 10 fish off that last stop which made the total for the day at 29 fish. It just goes to show that its always worth trying the end of the day if you see all the right conditions. Made a good day of fishing into a great day. The bite was wide open for about 1 hr, it was interesting to see jumpers so hungry for gear a lot of the time i've found jumpers tend to shy away if you run up to them but these guys just pilled right on the gear. tried to hook some with a popper plug but it was a tad on the large side. Overall that day the brighter orange and green plugs seemed to be a favourite but green and purple produced as well. The cedar plugs were pretty quiet which surprised me. Dive boards did very well and so did any lure with a bird attached mainline it seemed.

Nice way to wrap up the season, get out there!
 
Would love some advice -

Heading up to Coal Harbour Friday for the first time, we will be in a small RV towing a 17 ft whaler

Is there a place to tie up at night at the Coal Harbour launch? Or do you have to pull your boat out every night?

Also, any place to park and camp nearby?

Lastly, is it too late for Springs?

Thanks in advance,

BL
 
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