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Winter Harbour Advice
- Thread starter Whole in the Water
- Start date
Reviving this old thread instead of starting a new one, since a lot of the questions are covered here already. Thinking about heading up this way next summer. Main thing I am curious about is the weather - I get the impression it can get quite windy. Wondering if that mostly applies to the outside, or if the inside spots could be tough fishing weather wise for a 17' boat? Is there a particular time of year that is better/worse, or luck of the draw? Would hate to pin everything on one time window just to get weathered out. Would launch in Port Alice (have inlaws in Port McNeil). Any fishing worth doing on the run out, or just b-line it straight out?
Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
Yes the outside can get quite windy and quickly at times. There are places to fish on the inside that are more sheltered like on the east side of the lighthouse, etc.
RiverBoy
Well-Known Member
iv e made the run from Coal Harbour to Kains several times. this time of year there are coho all over the place on the inside. Mahatta, Koskimo, Stephens Creek runs. Cliff point and Kains are goodplaces to hide in a good blow and usually hold fish. the seal and the kelp can be problematic at Cliff. when the springs swim into the kelp bed it all over but the crying
sly_karma
Crew Member
The coast around WH is justifiably notorious for wind. Solander Is to the south, Sartine Is and Cape Scott itself are fabled locations in the marine world, those weather stations record some of the gnarliest wind conditions in Canada. I've been chartering out of WH for over a decade now, and occasionally wonder about bringing my own 19 ft boat now that I know the area OK. The answer is always NO. I'd be so limited in options, only on rare flat days could I go offshore where the real fishing is. Even getting across to relatively sheltered places like Cliffe Pt would be uncomfortable on some days.
To tow all that way and then spend most of the time thinking about the boat rather than the fishing.... not for me.
Thanks for the reality check. I was primarily talking about the inside, as I'd pretty much already gathered that the outside would only be an option for us if the stars aligned and we had an exceptionally good weather window. Even then, my own limited experience on outside water period would probably deter me. Sounds like even inside could be iffy for us. Winter Harbour is attractive mostly as a new area to explore, and because of the close proximity to the inlaws in McNeill which would open up options like ditching the trailer there etc. But we're cautious and naturally risk averse people.
N2013
Well-Known Member
What kind of 17' boat?
17' Arima Sea Ranger. 75hp main, 9.9 kicker. Pretty stable trolling platform, not particularly fast from a to b. The general idea was going to be to pick a likely window of opportunity and do 5 days or so out of WH itself, bookended with a week on the east side out of McNeill. Flexible now as to what timing most likely to be ideal, but would have to book in advance both for vacation time from work and accommodation in WH.
Macdeep
Active Member
Whether it was wise or not, the last 7 years I've taken my 17ft aluminum bow rider to Quatsino Sound in July (dark blue with a pink stripe - probably a few here might recall my wee boat out there). Never had a day where I couldn't fish cliffe or kains for at least the morning. I even made it to Grant Bay once a couple years ago, but only once and never again... way to f-ing risky for an open boat between the wind and the fog or both...
With the small boat fishing, we always came home with fish, but fishing the inside waters is no where as good as the outside. But if you're ok with the inside, your Arima will be just fine. I'm always with a group of 3 boats. Buddy with a 24ft Hewes, and my father-in-law makes do with his 16.5ft lund, though he wisely focusses on the inside waters and I usually keep him company when I had my 17footer.
But now I have an 18 1/2ft glass boat with a cuddy/closed bow and was outside every day on our last trip at the end of July this year. Felt very comfortable in the afternoon wind running home from Lawn Point or from 3-4 miles off Grant Bay. But I always check 3 wind models and keep my eyes and ears open for changing conditions and have yet to get caught out too late.
That being said, I know there are days when it's not suitable for that small of a boat, but on those days, it would still be very lumpy running in a 24 or even a 30ft offshore boat and I probably wouldnt go into a 15-20 knot wind with 3-4ft chop on top of the swell, but that's just me.
I've seen plenty of 14ft skiffs at Kains and Cliffe, so I guess a lot depends on your comfort level and whether you have a buddy along in a second boat.
Trouble with planning back up fishing out of McNeill/Hardy is that area 12 is the regs are so constrained for openings in July and early August. I don't even bother fishing in my back yard unless I'm out with the family for whales. And running from Hardy to Sutil has about the same overall exposure and risks as fishing Quatsino Sound and outside waters. I'd feel safer in either your or my boat off Kains or Cliffe rather than Sutil...
Yeah lots to think about. Yes, the east side is obviously less attractive due to the slot and other regs, but I live in Nanaimo and a lot of the same sort of things apply here. I could work remotely from the inlaws in McNeill for a week and fish mornings/evenings/weekends with a change of scenery, and take a week vacation for WH.
Macdeep
Active Member
If your base is McNeill, and the weather works out during the week, I'd be inclined to advise you to fish out of Hardy heading north to Sutil. It's amazing how many "perfect" weather days there was this year where small boats were just fine out that way. But I get it, and McNeill is still fun to fish. If you find the right spots at the right time, you should get into plenty of chinook around McNeill - you just will have to send them back. Still fun, and you can fill your freezer from your WH expeditions.
Depending on what you like to eat - Hali fishing can be decent around McNeill with less risks of heading off shore from WH or off Sutil.
