What Worked For You This Year.

[Beartooth]

Seemed like a good year was had spring fishing this year (inside waters). Although it's not over my mind has turned to hunting. I used to fish hootchies a lot along with spoons. Used plugs and spoons exclusively this year as that is what started out working for me and I stuck with it. Pesca spoons worked really well along with a "no bananas" plug. How about the rest of you?

 

[Dogbreath]

!

 

[trophywife]

bamfield inshore....small spoons from may to sept. bait was tiny this year. only used hootchies in known squid spots. they worked... but lil spoons was the go to. i think i used three packs of bait all season.

 

[outbeen]

jigging for salmon, my new favorite method

 

[ILHG]

I agree it was a good year. Despite the gloomy predictions, it turned out better than I thought. While it was productive it was also different than years past & I had to adapt.

1. Fish were later than expected
2. Fish were not were they would typically be found (expected)
3. fish were smaller (not so much something I had to adapt to I guess)

When fishing up north I found the runs to be a bit behind the typical schedule. Also the fish were not stacking up where you would typically expect them. An example is in Northern Haida Gwaii. Typically its a beach fishery where you grind kelp, however during my time there it was slim pickings. (Is this because of select runs of salmon in low numbers??) I ended up going offshore & finding a "Salmon Hi-Way" which produced very well. However the fish were smaller than what you would find inshore? On the north end the Coho seemed to show up early & where larger than I typically see. Offshore was a fantastic Coho fishery for me. As for tackle, meat produced the best for me. While I did get some on spoons, small herring & anchovies were the ticket.

On the Westside of Hadia gwaii the fish were again later than I typically see, & average sized was smaller. Early season (Early June) you had to work a bit harder for your fish. Small spoons & Turds were the ticket. Later in the season (Mid July) had some decent size Chinooks & lots of them. However Coho were not as thick? Again, meat was the answer here, although some were caught on gear, bait out fished 3 to 1.

Halibut seem to be changing by the year for me. I caught some big fish 55-80 lbs this year that I had to let go. Not as many chickens to be found, but lots of paddles however. Seems to be more bigger fish than smaller?? I only marked a couple fish between 10-13 lbs on my license this year for Halibut. (Luckily my wife caught a couple of decent size this year 15 & ~25lbs)

One important note is that areas where Halibut were typically thick did not have the numbers this year. Those same areas were full of Arrow Tooth flounders which is troubling..

 

[profisher]

The same as the previous 32 years of guiding in Sooke, 8 pack anchovies. They work for me no matter what size bait is in the area.

 

[Fishalot]

The same as the previous 32 years of guiding in Sooke, 8 pack anchovies. They work for me no matter what size bait is in the area.

Knowledge and presentation beat all the latest fad colours etc. I would bet the anchovy head and flasher colours don’t change much either for you.

 

[profisher]

ran 2 flasher. olours all season for springs, purple and green and now all green for coho. I fished maybe 6 different teaser heads but have my favorite 3 that get most of the rod time.

 

[Hagar]

I now love the AP Sandlance spoon!

 

[wildmanyeah]

I used a rubber band to tie my net bag to make it smaller for sockeye season. Worked great, easier to net and also easier to take out of the net

 

[the gambler]

I fish out of Beacher Bay year round. Nothing beats chovy! 8 or 10 packs, nice tight roll, a treble with a stinger and you can't go wrong. Fish eat fish. Same as Profisher, two or maybe three flashers for the whole summer. My buddy insists fishing spoons and coho killers on his side of the boat and the bait out performs 3-2 almost every time.....
If i could just figure out where the dungeness went this year in Beacher Bay....

 

[el.Pereh]

My first year fishing hootchies confidently. Caught almost all my fish away from the Fraser mouth. Used to be a spoon and bait guy. Blue and green glow splatterbacks got fished hard and consistently produced. Finally found a leader length they liked maybe (38” from back hook to top of swivel)

 

[spoiler]

ran 2 flasher. olours all season for springs, purple and green and now all green for coho. I fished maybe 6 different teaser heads but have my favorite 3 that get most of the rod time.

I noticed the Mint pearl teaser head out-produced everything else I used this year by far.

 

[Stizzla]

The same as the previous 32 years of guiding in Sooke, 8 pack anchovies. They work for me no matter what size bait is in the area.

I just went out and bought all the 8 packs of bait in the entire city.

I stuck with some of the old classic spoons and flashers and stuck it out a grinded a few fish. I wasn’t able to put in big long days, which would help get more to the boat. As this old guy I know Don would say, “You have to stay to make it pay!”

 

[Kildonan]

I had one purple haze JDF teaser that caught so many fish this year. Funny how that is. It’s absolutely chewed to rat turd, it was stepped on once and I have to squeeze the anchovy head on smalls to load them in after it was stepped on. It just kept working. LOL it was paired up with a silver Betsy flasher My best producer all summer.

 

[Tom Mac]

This year all my chinooks 8 and 10 packs of anchovies. Last year I got a few nice ones on spoons

 

[SteelyDan]

This was the year of the blue spatterback hoochie for us (chinook)

 

[tubber]

Everything worked at various times in Ukee.
I don't like fishing with flashers, but I keep buying hoochies so I use them. Plain white for salmon and uv glow spackle turd for halis were often best. I have so many spoons, but I just bought more from littlechucky, so I'll keep using them. I used tiny ones at Wya and up to 6" at Big Bank. I don't fish bait often, but the 2 packs of smalls I put in my bait cooler in dry salt, and left in the boat all summer caught fish whenever needed. I really like fishing plugs, and got several on those too. Am I the only one that changes the lure after catching a fish just to see what else might work?
The wife is already asking what she's supposed to do with all this stuff when the doctor tells me it's time to point my boat toward Japan. Watch for garage sales in about 30 years.

 

[paguy]

Spoons have done the most damage for us the last couple years, With some hootchies picking up the slack.

Everything worked at various times in Ukee.
I don't like fishing with flashers, but I keep buying hoochies so I use them. Plain white for salmon and uv glow spackle turd for halis were often best. I have so many spoons, but I just bought more from littlechucky, so I'll keep using them. I used tiny ones at Wya and up to 6" at Big Bank. I don't fish bait often, but the 2 packs of smalls I put in my bait cooler in dry salt, and left in the boat all summer caught fish whenever needed. I really like fishing plugs, and got several on those too. Am I the only one that changes the lure after catching a fish just to see what else might work?
The wife is already asking what she's supposed to do with all this stuff when the doctor tells me it's time to point my boat toward Japan. Watch for garage sales in about 30 years.

Put me in the will for the old stainless spoon you posted in the other thread.

 

[paguy]

The three inch AP herring spoon in sunburst was a killer.