There are so many people confused on regs. I received a phone call yesterday from dfo Admin. in Victoria. Area 20 dash 5. Sooke area is 3 hatchery and one wild. Wolf also verbally got same response. If you have any doubts I have been told you can call the Victoria office. They apologized for all the confusion. The maps and things on web haven't been updated.
 
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Thanks for the absolute clarification.... There are some conflicting maps out there... Headed out after the weekend.... looking forward to some Coho action for my last trip of the year! I usually call DFO myself on the way out... no need now!
 
Out yesterday afternoon kept 2 hatchery's and 2 wilds and a nice bright chum, released a few wilds. Snagged a nice one by the tail that took a while to get in . Anchovies, hootchies and one on a fly rod with a spoon. Next trip going to try black magic ( just a black hook with a silver swivel) and some butterfly inserts in hottchies with no flasher.
Those butterfly inserts are a blast to use if they are hitting on them. We used to use them for late season coho back in my commie trolling days.
T2
 
Out today 8:00 until 11:30am. Started out in 350’ of water off the Bluffs where a couple of clouds of gulls indicated herring activity. Motored around them but did see any herring, just scales in the water so no scoops of bait to be had. Had one line down with UV/pink hootchie which kept going off before I could get the second one down. However, all hits proved to be small hatchery chinook. We kept one for the bar-b-q and released the rest.

Unable to find any decent coho in the vicinity of the herring we motored out to 570’ feet of water. Got a few hits and brought in two 6lb unclipped, one on the pink hootchie and one on the venerable old Kippled K spoon I had forgotten about until today. Both at about 70’.

By 10:20am it had all gone quiet and with not a single touch in the next hour, not counting shakers, of which there seemed to be many, we called it a day.
 
Out today 9 am-130 pm used anchovie and coho killer 50 -90 ft. 3 shakers total didn't see much action in other boats, nice day and water but NO FISH....////C.A.
 
9-3pm shift today. 400-600’. A bunch of shakers, released 3 5-6lb wild’s, kept an average hatch. Couldn’t find anything of size. Anchovy around 60’. A few whales around which was a good sign but just had a hard time finding the fish. No rhyme for the bites, just every 30-45min. The Flood was definitely late today.
 
Out of Sooke today 10 to 130 trailer park 500 feet of water. R11 white hootchie on one rod large anchovie the other. Started with 2 shakers clipped then small spring clipped and released . 1130 the Coho fun started clipped 9lbs,wild 10, 12, 12 three more wilds in the same weight range released.Half dozen pin poppers. 130 called was plenty of fish for the three of us. 48' and 53' on riggers 3.2 SOG on GPS. Bait and plastic 50/50 on hits.
 
Out yesterday for Ho's with two buddies. Kept two unmarked and never filled the third unmarked slot while looking for a really big one. Also kept 3 clipped including a very healthy 10.5 lber which was nice to see. Released one wild that had a lot of those parasites in the skin, the kind that make the scales bulge out. Still no Chums for us this year.

We were catching them both off shore in deep water and in closer on chovies, glow plastic and a small glow spoon with pink, green and glow white on it from 30 to 80 feet down.
 
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Out today 8 til 1 slow action. 3 coho 1 12 lb clipped off secretary 500 ft half hits on spoon half on anchovy 30 to 80 ft
 
Fished in coho Derby yesterday. 8-2
Was dead slow all morning. Tried all depths, all the proven gear and covered some ground. Only had 1 in the boat till about 12:30. Then it turned on and couldn't keep them off till we left at 2 to weigh in. Kept 5 and lost/ missed a few.
Lots of shakers out there also.

Green glow coho killers 40-50 ft was the ticket.

Looked like lots of fish weighed in but same story from most I talked to. Dead till after noon.

Tips
 
Out today from 10:00 - 2:30 fished the tide lines out in 500'+ of water south of trap shack, tried everything from the surface down to 120' not a touch.
 
Fished 500+ ft out from Secretary, 8-12, got one wild, 6lbs, 9:30, a couple shakers, that's it. Xena
 
Fished way deep like most people today from race to secretary along second and third tidelines. Got to watch a sub getting towed on the usa side. Gave up on deep at noon and went shallow on the west side of secretary in the backwash from the ebb. hit a school there and picked up 5 and 10lb cohos and an 8lb chinook. Cleaning tables were bone dry back at pedder on arrival. Great sunny day.
 
Out twice today for 7 hrs fishing total...10 coho up to 9 pounds. 7 wild - 3 clipped. 45 & 50 ft were the only depths that worked for me. All further out in about 550-590 ft straight out from Sooke Harbour. Afternoon was better than the morning again.
 
Out with the family today. Fished against the tide towards beechy in 400'. 90' on the rigger 3 x10 #
1 x8# and one 6#

Missed the second rod on 2 doubleheaders ( old man moves to slow)

Bellies full of 6" herring

First time ever I had a woman ask me to sell her fish at the cleaning table. She wasn't happy with me when I said it was against the rules...
 
Did the same tack as Nautigirl from nine till four, but stayed out and did the return trip as well. Only one keeper to the boat before noon, with lots of shakers. Then about 2 I picked up an 11 lb Chum that I tubbed as a wild Coho. I saw a white mouth and didnt expect a Chum at 3.5mph into the tide. several more wilds in the three to five pound range all released plus many shakers. Most on White Hootchies with purple Haze flashers between 120 and 70 feet, but 90 was most productive for us today. Only one Hatchery fish to the boat all day for us, including the shakers.
Watching the pleasure boat almost get whacked by the freighter was interesting. The Freighter was blowing the horn mutiple times, and for longer each time, till he just held it down. The pleasure boat didnt seem to notice. It was hard to tell angles and distance from my vantage, but it looked like only 1 or 200 yards clearance when it passed by.
 
Long day from 8 - 4 with flat calm waters all day but slow going. Kept going straight out from Sooke Harbour to shipping lane then ended up at Muir following ebb all morning with 7 & 8 lb wild coho then picked up and motored to Secretary to fish flood. Finally picked up 1 7lb hatch around 3pm. Raided the tackle box to find anything that would trigger some bites but far and few between. All 3 fish on bait at 50'.
 
Out 830-1pm today. 3 wild cookie cutters about 8 pounds in first hour about 400 ft off secretary in the big pile of birds/bait ball. Ran back in and grabbed my mother for 1 more but nothing until it was time to pick up and go.I had a hit as we were pulling up the other side. Acted funny like it was hung up on the other rod. Got the other rod in and realized its not tangled and then the fish starts pulling the line. I'm thinking it was wrapped but anyways get it up to boat and surprisingly the fish looks close to 20 lbs and dark as a rubber boot. Flipped the hook before I could get a close enough look but thinking it was a big chum ready for the river. Too bad that would have been all 5 species this year.
My son isn't done and wants to keep fishing so I left him with the grandparents to head down to Sooke River. He sends me this pic as I get home looks like he got the one I wanted lol
 

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