2021 Nootka Sound/Esperanza Inlet Reports

[pescador]

Got back from my family and friends Derby out at Nootka on Sunday. We got our wednesday night and tried beercan bay but there was little bait and no action aside from some little shakers. Thursday morning we went to wash rock and had decent action. Tons of shakers but we got into 4 hatchery coho and 2 springs in the teens. Thursday night we went over to burdwood and found some patches of bait but only shakers over there. Friday morning we hit up Wash rock and Friendly again and has some more success. more springs in the low teens. We also fished Beano for the afternoon tide change. Saturday we tried Beano for the morning bite. Counted over 40 boats. we saw 2 springs landed, not much action and we got 1 fish that was 18 lbs. Biggest fish of our little tourney was a 21 spring, i won the lingcod belt with a 27lb ling. we did well on bottom fish as it was flat calm outside in the afternoons. White Hoochies were the best for springs and coho killers in about 45 ft for the coho. springs were between 40 and 65 ft. overall a great trip. back up with wife and kids for long weekend this thursday. hopefully a few more bigger fish coming in now.

Must have been smoking hot. What was the water temp inside the Sound?

 

[Nasty017]

Must have been smoking hot. What was the water temp inside the Sound?

73-75. Cooking.

 

[Nasty017]

Thanks for the responses on boat storage, managed to sort something out which will give us a few more trips over the coming weeks without the hassle of towing.

Was at moutcha for the Derby this past weekend. Had a bunch of fun, first time fishing competitively and first time on our new sled.
Fished along Maquinna - beano. Our success was more towards Maquinna. Bouncing in the mud at low slack, rubbing the rocks at higher tide, had to be at the dock for weigh in before high slack.
Finished with 5 springs 10-22lbs, 1 Ho, 3 hali, and a few quillback. Didn’t find a legal ling, and put lots of small but legal salmon back.
Turds, flashflies, hooch, and 5” spoons did all the work for us.
Back in a couple of weeks.

 

[pescador]

I'll be up in Nootka this Sunday for a week. Will try to post report. Sounds like things are changing daily. Heres to good weather, but not as hot as earlier in the week.

 

[redman210]

First time out with the brand new Alaskan270 finally after being allowed to come to BC.... will be in Nootka staying at Moutcha Bay Resort for 2 weeks starting July 2nd.... please watch for the big white "turd"... come by share a White Claw and some co-ordinates.... so looking forward to it!

 

[walleyes]

First time out with the brand new Alaskan270 finally after being allowed to come to BC.... will be in Nootka staying at Moutcha Bay Resort for 2 weeks starting July 2nd.... please watch for the big white "turd"... come by share a White Claw and some co-ordinates.... so looking forward to it!

What,,, no pictures of the new lady WTH !!!!

 

[Brett83]

Just got back from nootka. I fish the area once a year. We did 4 long days. All on the outside. We got a ton of shakers. We managed about ten fish. 5 Chinook, biggest being 18. 3 coho and a couple cods. The springs came on small sandlance spoons. The coho on brads bait boxes. Great weather. Which allowed us to get to farrier and all the spots. Fishing was a bit slow but great times.

 

[hooked for life]

I'll be up in Nootka this Sunday for a week. Will try to post report. Sounds like things are changing daily. Heres to good weather, but not as hot as earlier in the week.

Good luck, looking forward to your report. We are up on 16th

 

[GET"R"DUN]

Very nice fish, unfortunately I know for a fact those guys can’t drink

baaahhahah... that entire case of whiskey we drank the one night sure hit the spot! Hope you boys don't get "sea sick" again this year . Look forward to an update on your trip! The new boat looks great!

 

[GET"R"DUN]

A nice day with light winds in Esperanza means halibut! James, Jamie and Myles took full advantage of the increased halibut size limit with a 132cm 75lber and limited out on the morning. Late June means good bottom fishing and the salmon have arrived.

Can't beet Port Eliza Lodge's location! With just a 10 minute run you are fishing the edge of outside waters. Cuts way down on fuel burn and makes the runs outside very quick. For the first time ever we came in for lunch and, I had a nap 3 days in a row...lol! That of course was after we had 3 limits of hali first morning, 3 limits of springs the following mornings, a good batch of lings and rock fish, and as a treat we watched pod of orca's 1 mile from the lodge. We would Leave the lodge at 5am back for lunch, refreshments, nap, and back out for an evening fish. With fuel available and Robert's commercial fish processing at the lodge it was really convenient. Even if you are staying in the area you can get Robert to process/pack/store your fish which is a nice option. Robert, thanks for the hospitality! Looking forward to seeing you again soon and more of that apple crumble pie! Happy fishing all.

 

[Fishtech1]

Thanks for the reports and pics, for those of south of the border looks like its the closest were going to get again this year.

 

[spring fever]

Thanks for the reports and pics, for those of south of the border looks like its the closest were going to get again this year.

I think there is a chance the border will open 21 July for the vaccinated

 

[Port Eliza Fishing]

Some bigger fish starting to show in the Esperanza area. The biggest of rhe season, 34lbs was weighed in today at Port Eliza Lodge after 32 on Wednesday. Fishing for chinooks continues to be good in the Grassy area!

 

[hooked for life]

Some bigger fish starting to show in the Esperanza area. The biggest of rhe season, 34lbs was weighed in today at Port Eliza Lodge after 32 on Wednesday. Fishing for chinooks continues to be good in the Grassy area!

Normally fish Nootka area Where is grassy out of esperanza?

 

[Port Eliza Fishing]

Normally fish Nootka area Where is grassy out of esperanza?

Grassy island is North of Tatchu point towards Kyuqout Sound. The area includes Grassy island (because its got lots of grass on it) Mushroom point and the McQuarry islands. A bit South is Sandstone which can also be productive.

 

[spring fever]

Grassy island is North of Tatchu point towards Kyuqout Sound. The area includes Grassy island (because its got lots of grass on it) Mushroom point and the McQuarry islands. A bit South is Sandstone which can also be productive.

Make sure you are very familiar with your charts of these areas-lots of hazards for the unwary!!

 

[chris73]

Just back from Moutcha since Monday. Weather was a mixed bag; Mon still hot but no wind, Tue blew snot, Wed and Thu morning decently calm but afternoon sporty. Still waiting for another end of June - early July trip with no wind.
Fishing was good though. Salmon ok with the seasonally typical teen springs around and a few schools of coho now and then. Coho a bit smaller than we are used to this time of year. Bites came on lotsa stuff; didn't really seem to matter. Best might have been white hootchie and smaller spoons. Most salmon with empty belly or tiniest herring (~2-3cm). All between lighthouse and beano. The guides often fished inside for salmon due to the winds and scratched up a few feeder springs each trip in the typical inside places. But the outside was definitely better for salmon if you could stomach the conditions.

Bottom fishing was from another planet. My boys had sore arms from jigging up hali after hali, lots of skates too and some nice lings. Because we fished mostly sandy-gravelly areas we didn't get many rock fish - thankfully. A few big soles though. There are more halis around then I have ever seen in the last 10 years there. We released halis to get closer to the slot size limits. And it worked. Non-stop hali up to 40# on jigging gear was a great fun! Go, get some!

 

[Doubleheader]

Don’t need to run past high rocks imo. Filled the meat locker before noon yesterday.

 

[Blue Thunder]

Just back from Moutcha since Monday. Weather was a mixed bag; Mon still hot but no wind, Tue blew snot, Wed and Thu morning decently calm but afternoon sporty. Still waiting for another end of June - early July trip with no wind.
Fishing was good though. Salmon ok with the seasonally typical teen springs around and a few schools of coho now and then. Coho a bit smaller than we are used to this time of year. Bites came on lotsa stuff; didn't really seem to matter. Best might have been white hootchie and smaller spoons. Most salmon with empty belly or tiniest herring (~2-3cm). All between lighthouse and beano. The guides often fished inside for salmon due to the winds and scratched up a few feeder springs each trip in the typical inside places. But the outside was definitely better for salmon if you could stomach the conditions.

Bottom fishing was from another planet. My boys had sore arms from jigging up hali after hali, lots of skates too and some nice lings. Because we fished mostly sandy-gravelly areas we didn't get many rock fish - thankfully. A few big soles though. There are more halis around then I have ever seen in the last 10 years there. We released halis to get closer to the slot size limits. And it worked. Non-stop hali up to 40# on jigging gear was a great fun! Go, get some!

Hi Chris73,

How deep and how far out did you have to go for your Halis? I have found that the last 2 years for halis out of Nootka were slow compared to prior years. Hoping this year will be more productive.

 

[Samnjoe]

Anyone know if Tuta Marina is open this year. Just wondering if Larry and Shirley are still around.
Had some great times there a few years ago. Great location good people.