2021 Sooke Reports

[silver spring]

I went out with 2xeagle16 on Rockfish's boat today. It was great to fish on a nice calm day. We fished the usual inside tacks but the bite was very slow and we didn't mark many fish. We headed out to deeper waters to give that a shot. We used various lures including chovies, skinny G's, and various spoons, but the hot lure today was a glow white hoochie! It has always been Rockfish's favorite lure. Even though we fished deeper water, we found the springs shallower at 52ft and 58ft. The first keeper spring swam towards the boat after the initial pin pop so we didn't think that it was that big. Once we got it to the boat, it woke up and took some powerful runs before we got it in the net. We measured it the net by the side of the boat and knew that it was very close before we pulled it in to the boat. We measured 3 times to be sure but it was 79cm! The second spring was also a pin popper that had a heavy bodied fight and our fear that it might be an over. We were pleasantly surprised that it was under the slot at 78cm. We also caught and released two sockeye. One of them had it's side gashed by a seal or a sea lion.

 

[Bent-Tip]

I went out with 2xeagle16 on Rockfish's boat today. It was great to fish on a nice calm day. We fished the usual inside tacks but the bite was very slow and we didn't mark many fish. We headed out to deeper waters to give that a shot. We used various lures including chovies, skinny G's, and various spoons, but the hot lure today was a glow white hoochie! It has always been Rockfish's favorite lure. Even though we fished deeper water, we found the springs shallower at 52ft and 58ft. The first keeper spring swam towards the boat after the initial pin pop so we didn't think that it was that big. Once we got it to the boat, it woke up and took some powerful runs before we got it in the net. We measured it the net by the side of the boat and knew that it was very close before we pulled it in to the boat. We measured 3 times to be sure but it was 79cm! The second spring was also a pin popper that had a heavy bodied fight and our fear that it might be an over. We were pleasantly surprised that it was under the slot at 78cm. We also caught and released two sockeye. One of them had it's side gashed by a seal or a sea lion.

Couple of nice fish there Lorne. Both red???

 

[tigerprawn]

Handed in a hatch head today 13lb outta Aldridge

Thank you so much. This is such valuable info for projects like the Sooke net pen project. This information helps determine if this project continues or not.

 

[Tips Up]

Thank you so much. This is such valuable info for projects like the Sooke net pen project. This information helps determine if this project continues or not.

@tigerprawn
Maybe you could start a thread on the net pen. Details on the project and how people can help.
Members could report there of heads deposited. Updates on the project… call outs for volunteers when needed…
@Admin could book mark it to the top.

 

[Rockfish]

I went out with 2xeagle16 on Rockfish's boat today. It was great to fish on a nice calm day. We fished the usual inside tacks but the bite was very slow and we didn't mark many fish. We headed out to deeper waters to give that a shot. We used various lures including chovies, skinny G's, and various spoons, but the hot lure today was a glow white hoochie! It has always been Rockfish's favorite lure. Even though we fished deeper water, we found the springs shallower at 52ft and 58ft. The first keeper spring swam towards the boat after the initial pin pop so we didn't think that it was that big. Once we got it to the boat, it woke up and took some powerful runs before we got it in the net. We measured it the net by the side of the boat and knew that it was very close before we pulled it in to the boat. We measured 3 times to be sure but it was 79cm! The second spring was also a pin popper that had a heavy bodied fight and our fear that it might be an over. We were pleasantly surprised that it was under the slot at 78cm. We also caught and released two sockeye. One of them had it's side gashed by a seal or a sea lion.

Both were red. I actually got to play one as there were no boats close to steer my boat through. Only one White so far this year, a 14lber a couple of trips back. JDF is full of Chinook right now, and they were all over the sounder from 33 feet to 155 feet. There are lots of small ones from 1 to 5 lbs which bodes well for two years down the road. Lots of the small local Chinook feeders are marked, and I suspect most are hatchery, just not marked. Not many Ho's for us so far this Aug, and we have only kept one hatchery around 6 lbs. The Sockeye are mostly inside following the shoreline, not way out in the strait like the big run every few years that they actually give us an opening on. I used to know what river the off year, inside close to shore run of Sockeye are from but can't remember it. You can see them doing that sort of sideways jump they like to do. People are still cleaning pinks at the marina. Lots of salmon out there.

 

[SpringVelocity]

@tigerprawn
Maybe you could start a thread on the net pen. Details on the project and how people can help.
Members could report there of heads deposited. Updates on the project… call outs for volunteers when needed…
@Admin could book mark it to the top.

Good idea

 

[gone fishin]

Do the present regs for Chinook change in area 20-5 Sept. 1?

 

[Eden Island]

Do the present regs for Chinook change in area 20-5 Sept. 1?

Yes. From Fisheries Notice 0665 - https://notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&DOC_ID=247209&ID=all

"Subareas 20-3 to 20-7 (excluding the closures and non-retention areas listed above):

-Effective 00:01 hours August 1 to 23:59 hours August 31: One (1) Chinook per day with a maximum size limit of 80 cm on marked and unmarked Chinook.

-Effective 00:01 hours September 1 to 23:59 hours December 31: Two (2) Chinook per day, no maximum size limit.

REMINDER: Chinook minimum size limit is 45 cm in Area 20."

 

[Englishman]

Got up later today as low tide was 7:08am at Sunny Shores, so we waited until 9:10am for enough water to launch. Foggy in the Outer basin but not too bad.

Decided with the fog and a slight swell we would stick to harbour mouth and Possession and forgo the long run down to Muir.

Lines down at 9:30am and a quick pink in the boat then released a sockeye and unclipped coho. We passed against the flood through the Possession hot spot around 10am and got a booming rod slamming hit on one side. As a said this was a decent fish to my wife, the other one goes off as well. The second seemed smaller but we never found out because in the chaos of trying to steer one handed through all the boats and handle the running fish that guy did a long distance release. We finally got mine to the boat in the clear of other boats and we netted a deep, fat female that measured exactly 80cm and weighed 18lbs.

Got our act together again and did another circuit but only release another sockeye on that pass.

Did another pass against the flood around 11:00am through the same hot area and got a rod jigging bouncing hit. This one was puzzled and did nothing at first but suddenly woke up and went for a long run. Meanwhile, as my wife was clearing the riggers some guy tooted us because we thought we were too close. I guess some guys do not notice when someone has a fish on!!

We finally netted this one and he was a 76cm clipped fish that weighed 16 lbs. Both fish fell to the same green/gold t.h. with a small herring fished at 55’ in around 120’ of water.

We packed up then and as we headed in the fog began to clear from the west and it calmed down nicely for the run home. Another good day in the books!!

 

[SpringVelocity]

Do the present regs for Chinook change in area 20-5 Sept. 1?

yes wide open. two a day min size 45.

Got up later today as low tide was 7:08am at Sunny Shores, so we waited until 9:10am for enough water to launch. Foggy in the Outer basin but not too bad.

Decided with the fog and a slight swell we would stick to harbour mouth and Possession and forgo the long run down to Muir.

Lines down at 9:30am and a quick pink in the boat then released a sockeye and unclipped coho. We passed against the flood through the Possession hot spot around 10am and got a booming rod slamming hit on one side. As a said this was a decent fish to my wife, the other one goes off as well. The second seemed smaller but we never found out because in the chaos of trying to steer one handed through all the boats and handle the running fish that guy did a long distance release. We finally got mine to the boat in the clear of other boats and we netted a deep, fat female that measured exactly 80cm and weighed 18lbs.

Got our act together again and did another circuit but only release another sockeye on that pass.

Did another pass against the flood around 11:00am through the same hot area and got a rod jigging bouncing hit. This one was puzzled and did nothing at first but suddenly woke up and went for a long run. Meanwhile, as my wife was clearing the riggers some guy tooted us because we thought we were too close. I guess some guys do not notice when someone has a fish on!!

We finally netted this one and he was a 76cm clipped fish that weighed 16 lbs. Both fish fell to the same green/gold t.h. with a small herring fished at 55’ in around 120’ of water.

We packed up then and as we headed in the fog began to clear from the west and it calmed down nicely for the run home. Another good day in the books!!
View attachment 69440

Good for you Roland.

 

[Rockfish]

In terms of the change of regs Sept 1st, keep in mind that the numbers of large spawner Chinook off Sooke really drop off once September hits. The first week of Sept can be OK, but after that the numbers drop off substantially. Yes there are always some stragglers and some get caught. We have caught large gold spawning Chinook off Sooke in Oct. but there are not many, as most are past us or in the rivers. By October, it is usually good for larger Coho fishing and sometimes a few Chums, that is if the weather holds, and we don't have to pull the boat out of the marina because of big storms.

 

[SpringVelocity]

Keep in mind that the numbers of large spawner Chinook off Sooke really drop off once September hits. The first week of Sept can be OK, but after that the numbers drop off substantially. Yes there are always some stragglers and some get caught. We have caught large gold spawning Chinook off Sooke in Oct. but there are not many, as most are past us or in the rivers. By October, it is usually good for larger Coho fishing and sometimes a few Chums, that is if the weather holds, and we don't have to pull the boat out of the marina because of big storms.

I agree it sucked last year 2nd week.

 

[Deewar25]

In terms of the change of regs Sept 1st, keep in mind that the numbers of large spawner Chinook off Sooke really drop off once September hits. The first week of Sept can be OK, but after that the numbers drop off substantially. Yes there are always some stragglers and some get caught. We have caught large gold spawning Chinook off Sooke in Oct. but there are not many, as most are past us or in the rivers. By October, it is usually good for larger Coho fishing and sometimes a few Chums, that is if the weather holds, and we don't have to pull the boat out of the marina because of big storms.

won't rain til November at this rate - they will be a around for a while

 

[Rockfish]

Got up later today as low tide was 7:08am at Sunny Shores, so we waited until 9:10am for enough water to launch. Foggy in the Outer basin but not too bad.

Decided with the fog and a slight swell we would stick to harbour mouth and Possession and forgo the long run down to Muir.

Lines down at 9:30am and a quick pink in the boat then released a sockeye and unclipped coho. We passed against the flood through the Possession hot spot around 10am and got a booming rod slamming hit on one side. As a said this was a decent fish to my wife, the other one goes off as well. The second seemed smaller but we never found out because in the chaos of trying to steer one handed through all the boats and handle the running fish that guy did a long distance release. We finally got mine to the boat in the clear of other boats and we netted a deep, fat female that measured exactly 80cm and weighed 18lbs.

Got our act together again and did another circuit but only release another sockeye on that pass.

Did another pass against the flood around 11:00am through the same hot area and got a rod jigging bouncing hit. This one was puzzled and did nothing at first but suddenly woke up and went for a long run. Meanwhile, as my wife was clearing the riggers some guy tooted us because we thought we were too close. I guess some guys do not notice when someone has a fish on!!

We finally netted this one and he was a 76cm clipped fish that weighed 16 lbs. Both fish fell to the same green/gold t.h. with a small herring fished at 55’ in around 120’ of water.

We packed up then and as we headed in the fog began to clear from the west and it calmed down nicely for the run home. Another good day in the books!!
View attachment 69440

Good going, Roland, but what is that funny looking reel you have on the rod in the picture; something from the old country for carp fishing?

 

[Englishman]

Good going, Roland, but what is that funny looking reel you have on the rod in the picture; something from the old country for carp fishing?

LOL Rick!!

The carp fishing rod is to the left and you can't see that. That has a nice old wooden Peetz on it. The reel you can see is a bait casting reel - at least that is what I think they call 'em in N. America. In the U.K. they are called multipliers and are used for surfcasting. Anyway, my wife cannot get on with the knuckle dustin' centre pin reels like the Peetz and the multiplier has a nice drag on it and has a gear ratio of about 4:1 so it retrieves line quite fast even though the spool is small. Gotta keep the wife happy or I would have to fish solo!! LOL

 

[Rockfish]

LOL Rick!!

The carp fishing rod is to the left and you can't see that. That has a nice old wooden Peetz on it. The reel you can see is a bait casting reel - at least that is what I think they call 'em in N. America. In the U.K. they are called multipliers and are used for surfcasting. Anyway, my wife cannot get on with the knuckle dustin' centre pin reels like the Peetz and the multiplier has a nice drag on it and has a gear ratio of about 4:1 so it retrieves line quite fast even though the spool is small. Gotta keep the wife happy or I would have to fish solo!! LOL

Ah! Enough said.

 

[Aces]

In terms of the change of regs Sept 1st, keep in mind that the numbers of large spawner Chinook off Sooke really drop off once September hits. The first week of Sept can be OK, but after that the numbers drop off substantially. Yes there are always some stragglers and some get caught. We have caught large gold spawning Chinook off Sooke in Oct. but there are not many, as most are past us or in the rivers. By October, it is usually good for larger Coho fishing and sometimes a few Chums, that is if the weather holds, and we don't have to pull the boat out of the marina because of big storms.

It opens because the fish have moved on

 

[SpringVelocity]

It opens because the fish have moved on

Pretty much

 

[carpeweekend]

Launched at Pedder Bay around 8 and ran (slowly) in the fog with the radar on. Lots of boats running much faster than we were, and without radar, in almost zero visibility. Anyways, started trolling around Becher and picked up a pink but not much other action. Picked up and ran up to Secretary where we landed a 78 and 75cm Spring. Both wild. Fishing around 50 - 60 feet. Also picked up a nice 6-7 pound hatchery Coho. Released a bunch of smaller Springs, wild Coho, Sockeye, and smaller Pinks. Bite seemed to die around noon. Called it at around 2. Great day.

A couple of different Spoons, both in herring aid was the hot colour today. Probably would have even been more productive but after losing a fish on one side of the boat, didn't inspect the hook which had broken off. That side went cold and brought that side up a few times to check for shakers and weeds but didn't bother to get it close enough to the boat to actually see the hook. After about 2 hours of trolling the hookless spoon, decided to change out that side and discovered the issue. Rookie move and lesson learned.

 

[gone fishin]

LOL Rick!!

The carp fishing rod is to the left and you can't see that. That has a nice old wooden Peetz on it. The reel you can see is a bait casting reel - at least that is what I think they call 'em in N. America. In the U.K. they are called multipliers and are used for surfcasting. Anyway, my wife cannot get on with the knuckle dustin' centre pin reels like the Peetz and the multiplier has a nice drag on it and has a gear ratio of about 4:1 so it retrieves line quite fast even though the spool is small. Gotta keep the wife happy or I would have to fish solo!! LOL

" Gotta keep the wife happy or I would have to fish solo!!"
You are a class act and good for you, keeping your wife happy