Nootka Report

Bites on! Fish are showing up in good numbers on the inside at all the regular hot spots. The large amount of rain has kept the fish scattered and moving but with the weather getting hotter so will be the fishing, Hali fishing off shore has been consistent. With many chickens. Fish closer to the Escalante rocks for bigger halibut but dogfish may become a nuisance the closer you get. The highway has lots of springs running at 120 ft and boy do they fight hard. And lots of coho as well. There is a lot of bait in the sound so a lot of non local fish have been taken on the inside. I have even seen a few white springs inside the sound. I would assume they followed the bait in. Bajo and Ferrier were slower then I’m use to but the fishing at the highway and the inside have been great. Fisheries has been making there rounds looking for barb less hooks and the police boat has been around looking at safety gear and boat licenses. I have meet them both and they were quite nice so be respectful and they should be no problems. The biggest fish taken so far has been a 42.5 pounder but that’s soon to change as soon as I get my lines back in the water:D. O ya nice coho on the inside as well a 10 and 12 pounders caught at the Hisnet. Please keep the loading zone at cougar creek clear and be sure to give me a wave if you see me on the water.

Good times ahead[8D]
M.C.
 
Thx for the report mornin,,,

Did you read that beak,,, bet you're not sleepin tonight... Good luck out there buddy and tight lines [8D] [8D] [8D]..
 
Excellent, thanks for the report. I have to wait another two weeks...:(
 
Heading up on 27th finally. It seemed like it was taking forever. What's the bite of the day choice. Want to make sure I'm bringing enough of the right gear. It's my first time in the area, and a bit of a newby in the fishing dept. I'll take any help I can get. Thanks in advance.
 
quote:Originally posted by duckworthy1

Heading up on 27th finally. It seemed like it was taking forever. What's the bite of the day choice. Want to make sure I'm bringing enough of the right gear. It's my first time in the area, and a bit of a newby in the fishing dept. I'll take any help I can get. Thanks in advance.

Fish are finicky in Nootka often. I would take squirts, anchovy and also herring. Try different stuff until you hit some fish, it will be obvious what they prefer from my experience in Nootka. There are times when everything works, but we have not been so lucky there yet. Also, most folks are pretty open about what's working once you get there, just ask around and you'll get some good input.
 
Dman hit it bang on... it seems that once you figure out what they are hitting you will load up, until then you'll scratch for fish. Last year we hit almost every fish on the same lure, so naturally this year because I am taking a few of those they'll be hitting on something else :D
 
Thanks for info. I'll try my best. Hopefully meet up with some guys up there that are into sharing some knowledge. Are the people at Critters helpful? If everyone had their choice, Nootka or Port Hardy? I went on a guided trip with Cod fathers early July and sleighed the fish, and now know a few of the good spots, but had never been out to Nootka, so I thought I'd try it. What is your take on the better spot?
 
I have never been to hardy, but Nootka is a beautiful place to fish!! Tons of area to cover, fish pretty much anywhere. The guys at Critter are great, Cam and Catherine do a great job running the place, restaurant is top notch, and the beauty of it is everyone is there doing the same thing (fishing) so if you walk around the dock and chat with people they will help ya out if you are not getting fish! Have a good trip. Gone Fishn
 
You fished out of Codfather's Sea Sport? He usually keeps a ton 'o fish in the Critter freezer. The folks at Critter are most helpful, I've never found them to be at all elusive about catching fish, it's good for business.
 
quote:Originally posted by dman

You fished out of Codfather's Sea Sport? He usually keeps a ton 'o fish in the Critter freezer. The folks at Critter are most helpful, I've never found them to be at all elusive about catching fish, it's good for business.

Duckworthy, your not the gent works for the oil Co. with the red Duckworth that was our neighbor at Critter last year are you?
 
No wrong guy, but I do have a Duckworth 20' welded. Grey though. Starting to see a few of them out there now.
 
Ducky
I've been battling all week whether to go to Port Hardy,Nootka,or Winter Harbour.Have fished them all and love to fish them,leaving tommorrow as well leaning towards Hardy,will probably decide tommorrow when I'm in the truck
 
Dman, I think he means codfather charters out of Port Hardy (i think), not Codfather the SeaSport at Critter Cove. Different all together!
 
Got out of Nootka on Saturday and again enjoyed the area. I have been fishing Nootka for about 20 years and it never seems to amaze me that just when you think you have everything "dialed in" it all changes again.
I alway enjoy cutplugging, however, this year I ran out of firecrackers half way through the week (I guess that was a good problem to have) and I had to switch to larger herring (which was sporatic) and then I decided just to experiment for the last few days as I had two fish in the cooler and I really didn't need anymore.
This is where the fun begins, not only did I try different artificial baits and combinations, I also tried different areas that had looked "fishy" during some of my previous visits.
The biggest discoveries were: bigger baits give you bigger coho, however bigger baits do not necessarily give you bigger chinook. I caught some high twenty chinooks on some very small needlefish patterns pulled through the water at fast speeds (up to 3.2 mph).
I also caught fish by being really agressive with the depth sounder. If I marked fish at 50 feet I would lower the wire and spin around and sometimes hookup, and if I made a couple of passes and marked fish at 20 I would repeat the process. It was suprising how you would hookup fish at 130, then 50, then 80 all within the same area.
I would also recommend bouncing your downrigger ball off the bottom (of a flat area!!) as it seems the halibut were where you found them, that is, I caught halis in 55 feet of water and deeper.
All the fishing I did was outside the lighthouse, however, I think the results would probably be the same inside as well.
I just received a call from my friend that guides out of Nootka and he tells me things are just getting better and better with lots of fish on the inside and outside.
If you have any other questions just post them here and I will try and respond.
Cheers
ItchyScratchy
 
quote:Originally posted by Gone Fishn

Dman, I think he means codfather charters out of Port Hardy (i think), not Codfather the SeaSport at Critter Cove. Different all together!
Oh, OK, I know the Critter Codfather is part owner in Tomic lures and I believe he guides also, but perhaps Nootka only.

Thanks
 
Not too sure on that, I know he has tomic stickers on his boat, etc. But not too sure about the ownership thing. Cam and Catherine own Tomic, they run Critter that what you are thinking?
 
I'll ask Cam, I heard second hand Codfather "demos" lures for them and owns a share of the business.
 
For sure I know he fishes alot of tomic stuff and does well. Good guy for sure!
 
I meant Codfather charters out of Port Hardy. Went up on a business trip. Couldn't afford it any other way. I had a blast but I think I'll have to try out Nootka. I've got a friend popping into Cougar creek as well. See some of you up there.
 
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