R
Rodbreaker
Guest
The PREDATOR'S PEN Date: November 1st/2003.
An update of the local saltwater fishing scene for Vancouver To : Saltwater Angler
By: David Korsch (Predator Charters)
E-mail: davek@dccnet.com Web Site: www.predatorcharters.com
Phone: (604) 329 - 8642 Fax: (604) 886 - 1928
Hello Fellow Anglers
Well.....our fall fisheries are over for another year (other than a few Chum which I choose not to pursue). Looking back on the Capilano Chinook fishery, I can honestly say it was the best year yet as far as I am concerned. In past years I did have the odd day where we landed more than 4 big Chinook (the most we landed on any day this fall), but I also had some skunks during those years. A skunk did not happen this past fall!!! It is just too bad that record rainfall had to occur, as it cut the Capilano fishery short by at least a week.
I fished the Capilano exclusively from September 20th until October 23rd, and during those 27 charters we were successful on EVERY trip. I had at least a short bit of the flood tide on 26 of those 27 trips, and on every one we landed at least one mature legal Chinook. The one trip without any "flooding tide" we didn't manage a Chinook, though we did land a Chum - my only one of the year. Actually, we did have two or three nice Chinook on that morning as well, but they managed to escape us before getting boated. In addition, the largest Chinook to ever come aboard the Predator off the Capilano occurred this fall - 41 lbs on Oct 22nd (way to go Alicia) - just a half pound shy of the "all time" largest fish boated on my boat. It really is nice to see such a consistent mature Chinook fishery right on Vancouver's doorstep, and I can hardly wait until the middle of September 2004 for it to start up again!!!
Since the demise of the Capilano fishery, I have been plying the waters of Howe Sound for winter Chinook, and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. I did three charters during the last few days of October, and we landed legal sized feeder Chinook on each of those trips - even right after the passage of that intense cold front last Tuesday night (that usually kills the fishing for a couple of days). Successful trips have also been the norm for my associates, and this consistency so early in the winter fishery has me quite excited.
The winter fish begin arriving in Howe Sound by late September, and October usually sees some decent numbers, but the winter Chinook fishery traditionally begins to peak in December. The fact that we are enjoying good success rates in October should mean that we will have a fantastic winter fishery this year. In addition to decent numbers of feeder Chinook, they are also quite large. I know of two in the mid to high teens and some in the lower teens already - a great size for this time of year. Hopefully the typical pattern of building Chinook numbers during November will occur this winter, and the nice thing about "winter" fishing in November is that it is generally warmer than during the real winter (December thru February).
The water is now clearer, and "winter" Chinook are actively feeding fish, so it is time to change up the terminal tackle a bit. During the winter you want to imitate the natural forage fish - for the most part small herring and shiner seaperch in Howe Sound. The main "trick" is to fish very close to the bottom in water ranging between 120 and 200 feet deep. Also, don't use lots of flashers - two are generally more than enough. I have found that using more than two often slows the action....they may actually spook the fish since all lines are usually concentrated within 10 feet of the bottom.
Gypsy or Coyote spoons have been quite effective the past few years (especially glow army truck, paddy wagon, punk skunk, glow green), but other spoons that work well are Diamond Lance, P2B, and Diamond King. Most spoons work very well without a flasher, but the army truck Gypsy on a 6' leader behind a flasher has been my best combo these past couple of winters. Bait (with or without a flasher) also works well, and herring strip is the traditional hot winter bait, but these past couple of year anchovies have gained in popularity. Other lures can be extremely effective, and should be given a try. Glitter Strip was developed in order to combat the dogfish problems associated with natural herring strip, and at times it works far better than the natural bait - try it in blue/green, green/yellow, blue/purple, green/glow, or blue/glow. Small Tomic plugs also mimic the shiners very well, and can be an excellent choice - use blue/green or green/yellow colour combinations (#171 has been great over the past couple of years).
I typically have lots of open times at this time of year, so booking in a trip if you are interested will usually be quite easy. I am taking each Saturday off during November and early December, so I won't be available on that day of the week, but I can make most other days work. In addition, due to my relatively "open" schedule at this time of year and the unpredictable weather, I am quite flexible on moving the date of your charter around in order to avoid unpleasant weather.
As always, feel free to pass this information along to any associates whom may appreciate the report. If you have any questions, or wish to book a charter, e-mail me davek@dccnet.com), or call me at (604) 329 - 8642.
Tight Lines,
David Korsch
Predator Charters
(604) 329 - 8642
davek@dccnet.com
www.predatorcharters.com
that's why there's a warranty!
An update of the local saltwater fishing scene for Vancouver To : Saltwater Angler
By: David Korsch (Predator Charters)
E-mail: davek@dccnet.com Web Site: www.predatorcharters.com
Phone: (604) 329 - 8642 Fax: (604) 886 - 1928
Hello Fellow Anglers
Well.....our fall fisheries are over for another year (other than a few Chum which I choose not to pursue). Looking back on the Capilano Chinook fishery, I can honestly say it was the best year yet as far as I am concerned. In past years I did have the odd day where we landed more than 4 big Chinook (the most we landed on any day this fall), but I also had some skunks during those years. A skunk did not happen this past fall!!! It is just too bad that record rainfall had to occur, as it cut the Capilano fishery short by at least a week.
I fished the Capilano exclusively from September 20th until October 23rd, and during those 27 charters we were successful on EVERY trip. I had at least a short bit of the flood tide on 26 of those 27 trips, and on every one we landed at least one mature legal Chinook. The one trip without any "flooding tide" we didn't manage a Chinook, though we did land a Chum - my only one of the year. Actually, we did have two or three nice Chinook on that morning as well, but they managed to escape us before getting boated. In addition, the largest Chinook to ever come aboard the Predator off the Capilano occurred this fall - 41 lbs on Oct 22nd (way to go Alicia) - just a half pound shy of the "all time" largest fish boated on my boat. It really is nice to see such a consistent mature Chinook fishery right on Vancouver's doorstep, and I can hardly wait until the middle of September 2004 for it to start up again!!!
Since the demise of the Capilano fishery, I have been plying the waters of Howe Sound for winter Chinook, and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. I did three charters during the last few days of October, and we landed legal sized feeder Chinook on each of those trips - even right after the passage of that intense cold front last Tuesday night (that usually kills the fishing for a couple of days). Successful trips have also been the norm for my associates, and this consistency so early in the winter fishery has me quite excited.
The winter fish begin arriving in Howe Sound by late September, and October usually sees some decent numbers, but the winter Chinook fishery traditionally begins to peak in December. The fact that we are enjoying good success rates in October should mean that we will have a fantastic winter fishery this year. In addition to decent numbers of feeder Chinook, they are also quite large. I know of two in the mid to high teens and some in the lower teens already - a great size for this time of year. Hopefully the typical pattern of building Chinook numbers during November will occur this winter, and the nice thing about "winter" fishing in November is that it is generally warmer than during the real winter (December thru February).
The water is now clearer, and "winter" Chinook are actively feeding fish, so it is time to change up the terminal tackle a bit. During the winter you want to imitate the natural forage fish - for the most part small herring and shiner seaperch in Howe Sound. The main "trick" is to fish very close to the bottom in water ranging between 120 and 200 feet deep. Also, don't use lots of flashers - two are generally more than enough. I have found that using more than two often slows the action....they may actually spook the fish since all lines are usually concentrated within 10 feet of the bottom.
Gypsy or Coyote spoons have been quite effective the past few years (especially glow army truck, paddy wagon, punk skunk, glow green), but other spoons that work well are Diamond Lance, P2B, and Diamond King. Most spoons work very well without a flasher, but the army truck Gypsy on a 6' leader behind a flasher has been my best combo these past couple of winters. Bait (with or without a flasher) also works well, and herring strip is the traditional hot winter bait, but these past couple of year anchovies have gained in popularity. Other lures can be extremely effective, and should be given a try. Glitter Strip was developed in order to combat the dogfish problems associated with natural herring strip, and at times it works far better than the natural bait - try it in blue/green, green/yellow, blue/purple, green/glow, or blue/glow. Small Tomic plugs also mimic the shiners very well, and can be an excellent choice - use blue/green or green/yellow colour combinations (#171 has been great over the past couple of years).
I typically have lots of open times at this time of year, so booking in a trip if you are interested will usually be quite easy. I am taking each Saturday off during November and early December, so I won't be available on that day of the week, but I can make most other days work. In addition, due to my relatively "open" schedule at this time of year and the unpredictable weather, I am quite flexible on moving the date of your charter around in order to avoid unpleasant weather.
As always, feel free to pass this information along to any associates whom may appreciate the report. If you have any questions, or wish to book a charter, e-mail me davek@dccnet.com), or call me at (604) 329 - 8642.
Tight Lines,
David Korsch
Predator Charters
(604) 329 - 8642
davek@dccnet.com
www.predatorcharters.com
that's why there's a warranty!
