victoria bc - sidney salt water fishing...
- Thread starter the shark
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lpaulcarter
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I live in Sidney, and although I’ve never fished from the pier, I have caught coho salmon and sea-run cutthroat flyfishing the beaches nearby. I’ve trolled up a fair number of salmon and a couple of halibut and sole about 2 klicks out from the pier. Unfortunately a lot of them are too small to keep, but ya never know…this year we’ve caught 2 over 20 pound springs not far away.
When the pier was built there were huge concrete spheres (like practice golf balls) installed below the pilings to act as an artificial reef. I’m sure there must be something living down there by now…various rockfish, lingcod, greenling (look weird, but taste good), maybe a sea-run cutt or coho at the right time of year…crab, shrimp (again at the right time of year).
One night, I can remember seeing zillions of squid in the water at the Sidney Pier and on another night, a 4 foot ray. It circled under the lights at the old docks that were north of the fishmonger’s pier for quite a while – long enough for a crowd to gather – then simply disappeared.
So, like I said before…ya never know.
Best lures are probably buzz-bombs or ZZingers. Black and grey, or green and white were always my favourites when I jigged. There are thousands of lures and colours to choose from. I know, I have hundreds, and only regularly use about 10. And if you’re going to spend time there fishing, you may as well have some sort of crab trap working for you. Just remember to check the regs so you know how big each species needs to be before you can keep him. There are lights on the fishing pier, so it might be good for shrimping in the fall. In the "old" days, we used to take a camp stove to the docks and catch 'em, cook 'em and eat 'em on the spot. Don't know if that's still allowed.
Good luck!
When the pier was built there were huge concrete spheres (like practice golf balls) installed below the pilings to act as an artificial reef. I’m sure there must be something living down there by now…various rockfish, lingcod, greenling (look weird, but taste good), maybe a sea-run cutt or coho at the right time of year…crab, shrimp (again at the right time of year).
One night, I can remember seeing zillions of squid in the water at the Sidney Pier and on another night, a 4 foot ray. It circled under the lights at the old docks that were north of the fishmonger’s pier for quite a while – long enough for a crowd to gather – then simply disappeared.
So, like I said before…ya never know.
Best lures are probably buzz-bombs or ZZingers. Black and grey, or green and white were always my favourites when I jigged. There are thousands of lures and colours to choose from. I know, I have hundreds, and only regularly use about 10. And if you’re going to spend time there fishing, you may as well have some sort of crab trap working for you. Just remember to check the regs so you know how big each species needs to be before you can keep him. There are lights on the fishing pier, so it might be good for shrimping in the fall. In the "old" days, we used to take a camp stove to the docks and catch 'em, cook 'em and eat 'em on the spot. Don't know if that's still allowed.
Good luck!
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Dogfish, sculpins, flounder/sole and possibly a huge skate. Saw some guys haul up a 80 lb skate at the James Island wharf just South of there. I understand the are pretty regular catches under a full moon.
Hopefully not too many cutthroat are caught of the pier. They have to be released and I can't imagine being hauled up and tossed off a 20 ft high pier can be good for them.
Hopefully not too many cutthroat are caught of the pier. They have to be released and I can't imagine being hauled up and tossed off a 20 ft high pier can be good for them.
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