2022 Nanaimo Reports

[Maxpri]

"Blue Grady" here. This is my first season of salt water fishing. Sorry guys, indeed no clue about the area, and thought it was ok (btw noticed a few more traps in the same area later in the day). Also got the downrigger line tangled in someone else's trap too (my bad, I guess). Lesson learned.
Kept 63cm Spring, a nice size Coho, a Pink, and a couple of Rockfish. Released a few smaller springs and a dogfish.
Peace.

Good for you for owning up, respect.

 

[Grace underfire]

Anybody fish Entrance lately? With Sep 1 coming and what appears to be less consistent fishing in close I'm wondering if its worth going a little further.

 

[Don Julio]

Anybody fish Entrance lately? With Sep 1 coming and what appears to be less consistent fishing in close I'm wondering if its worth going a little further.

One spring in the last 3 outings there. Still deep (200ft plus) but limited action for me.

 

[Unreel]

"Blue Grady" here. This is my first season of salt water fishing. Sorry guys, indeed no clue about the area, and thought it was ok (btw noticed a few more traps in the same area later in the day). Also got the downrigger line tangled in someone else's trap too (my bad, I guess). Lesson learned.
Kept 63cm Spring, a nice size Coho, a Pink, and a couple of Rockfish. Released a few smaller springs and a dogfish.
Peace.

Welcome to the forum and the area @zloy Beauty boat you have there. Kinda as i expected as i haven't seen your boat at all out there before. I dont prawn but i think alot of guys set along the trough and off neck pt. Good luck out there.

 

[Captain Dudds]

Trialed a "fish early then try to get to work on time" plan today. Had lines in the water just after 6 and left at 8.

I stayed around the fingers. Picked up a 73cm at 7:30 at 96ft. Had one other on earlier that I think would have made the slot. At least one other guy there was getting some fish too. Spoons and bait had most action. Hootchies did nothing for me today.

At work by 915. I'm calling the trial a success.

 

[Aces]

Anybody fish Entrance lately? With Sep 1 coming and what appears to be less consistent fishing in close I'm wondering if its worth going a little further.

Pedator charters from Horseshoe bay pounds Entrance every day he can cross over and had some regular success

 

[Salmon City]

Well after 46 straight days of fishing in front of Nanaimo, for 8+ hours a day, I feel an obligation to make my first ever post on these boards.

Hello Everyone... "long time listener, first time caller" as they used to say on the radio call in shows. I've actually met quite a few of you out on the water, back at Brechin boat launch, cleaning station, etc. but this is my first formal introduction online, so here's my 2022 Nanaimo report:

Fishing was excellent, and continues to be excellent, out front of Nanaimo since I first dropped in at Fiver Fingers back on Chinook opening day July 15th, and almost every day since. I was originally scheduled to go up north to Rivers Inlet to run charters for the better part of August, but after seeing how hot things were here in July, and the demand for people who wanted to go fishing here in town, why would I go anywhere else?

I think Unreel covered things pretty well with his earlier reports above, but the Fingers to Neck Point corridor has been remarkably consistent the last 6 weeks. The only reason I fished elsewhere was the pesky NW wind, and even then I sometimes smashed head long into the chop down to Rocky Point in my Whaler and and did the drift down to Clarke Rock because the fishing was just so good.

I keep detailed catch stats in a log book as part of the Avid Angler program for all my charters, and I figured it might be of interest to some of you to share that info with you on here:

Days fished: 46

Total hours fished: 322

Chinook caught: 285

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook caught: 137

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook retained: 101

Days without at least one 62+ cm Chinook landed: 4 (yes, we all get skunked once in a while)

Over 80 cm Chinook released: 3 (Entrance Island July 23, Northumberland Channel July 24, Neck Point Aug 28). Lost one off the Fingers after a half hour battle which I'm pretty sure was a Tyee... there's always that one each season that got away, isn't there?

Coho caught: 7

Pinks caught: 12

Chum caught: 1

Ling Cod caught: 21 (primarily while jigging)

Rock fish caught: 18 (primarily while jigging)

Locations Fished (in order of time spent on the water):

1. Neck Point (on fire the second half of August)
2. Rocky Point (perhaps the most underrated spot we have in my opinion)
3. Hudson/Pipers/Clarke (so much bait in here all summer long)
4. Five Finger Ledge (I don't seem to do as well out here as some, even though I hooked a big boy off the ledge last week)
5. Entrance Island (fishy spot as we all know, but I get tired of dropping my cannonballs half way to Japan down 250+ in the trench)
6. Northumberland Channel (nice spot to hide from the wind if your guests are sea sick... catch and release only for chinook of course)
7. Gabriola Island, between Entrance and Thrasher (would have fished this area more if there wasn't so much NW wind)
8. Thrasher Rock (didn't seem to be very good there this summer... mostly shakers every time I made it out that far)
9. Valdez Island (just southeast of Breakwater Island... those pinnacles are super fishy and give some protection from NW wind)
10. Porlier Pass (only made it out there a couple times... did well for bottom fish there, not as great on salmon)

In terms of gear, I keep things pretty standard. 20 pound rigger balls down any where from 60 (Neck) to 290 (Entrance) feet, but usually in the 140-180 range out front. I always keep one rigger ball just off the bottom, and the other one following the bait, which is also quite often off the bottom. In terms of lures, the usual array of small spoons, hoochies, plugs, anchovy, and even cut plug herring have recently been really successful for me in tight to the beach out front. I think some of the shore casters aren't a fan of me hugging the rocks as I almost got hit by a buzz bomb off Rocky Point the other day... sorry about that, fellas. I'll see if I can find a way to add some photos to this post later from my phone, but in the mean time I wanted to say thanks to everyone for their support in my first full summer of fishing out of Nanaimo. As I wait for my plane up to Masset on my way up to do some guiding at Langara Island for the last three weeks of the summer, I can't help but feel that I'm actually leaving the more productive fishing waters behind in Nanaimo. Best of luck to everyone the remainder of the summer, and save a few winter springs for me later on in the year.

~tight lines~

SC

 

[ab1752]

Well after 46 straight days of fishing in front of Nanaimo, for 8+ hours a day, I feel an obligation to make my first ever post on these boards.

Hello Everyone... "long time listener, first time caller" as they used to say on the radio call in shows. I've actually met quite a few of you out on the water, back at Brechin boat launch, cleaning station, etc. but this is my first formal introduction online, so here's my 2022 Nanaimo report:

Fishing was excellent, and continues to be excellent, out front of Nanaimo since I first dropped in at Fiver Fingers back on Chinook opening day July 15th, and almost every day since. I was originally scheduled to go up north to Rivers Inlet to run charters for the better part of August, but after seeing how hot things were here in July, and the demand for people who wanted to go fishing here in town, why would I go anywhere else?

I think Unreel covered things pretty well with his earlier reports above, but the Fingers to Neck Point corridor has been remarkably consistent the last 6 weeks. The only reason I fished elsewhere was the pesky NW wind, and even then I sometimes smashed head long into the chop down to Rocky Point in my Whaler and and did the drift down to Clarke Rock because the fishing was just so good.

I keep detailed catch stats in a log book as part of the Avid Angler program for all my charters, and I figured it might be of interest to some of you to share that info with you on here:

Days fished: 46

Total hours fished: 322

Chinook caught: 285

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook caught: 137

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook retained: 101

Days without at least one 62+ cm Chinook landed: 4 (yes, we all get skunked once in a while)

Over 80 cm Chinook released: 3 (Entrance Island July 23, Northumberland Channel July 24, Neck Point Aug 28). Lost one off the Fingers after a half hour battle which I'm pretty sure was a Tyee... there's always that one each season that got away, isn't there?

Coho caught: 7

Pinks caught: 12

Chum caught: 1

Ling Cod caught: 27 (primarily while jigging)

Rock fish caught: 46 (primarily while jigging)

Locations Fished (in order of time spent on the water):

1. Neck Point (on fire the second half of August)
2. Rocky Point (perhaps the most underrated spot we have in my opinion)
3. Hudson/Pipers/Clarke (so much bait in here all summer long)
4. Five Finger Ledge (I don't seem to do as well out here as some, even though I hooked a big boy off the ledge last week)
5. Entrance Island (fishy spot as we all know, but I get tired of dropping my cannonballs half way to Japan down 250+ in the trench)
6. Northumberland Channel (nice spot to hide from the wind if your guests are sea sick... catch and release only for chinook of course)
7. Gabriola Island, between Entrance and Thrasher (would have fished this area more if there wasn't so much NW wind)
8. Thrasher Rock (didn't seem to be very good there this summer... mostly shakers every time I made it out that far)
9. Valdez Island (just southeast of Breakwater Island... those pinnacles are super fishy and give some protection from NW wind)
10. Porlier Pass (only made it out there a couple times... did well for bottom fish there, not as great on salmon)

In terms of gear, I keep things pretty standard. 20 pound rigger balls down any where from 60 (Neck) to 290 (Entrance) feet, but usually in the 140-180 range out front. I always keep one rigger ball just off the bottom, and the other one following the bait, which is also quite often off the bottom. In terms of lures, the usual array of small spoons, hoochies, plugs, anchovy, and even cut plug herring have recently been really successful for me in tight to the beach out front. I think some of the shore casters aren't a fan of me hugging the rocks as I almost got hit by a buzz bomb off Rocky Point the other day... sorry about that, fellas. I'll see if I can find a way to add some photos to this post later from my phone, but in the mean time I wanted to say thanks to everyone for their support in my first full summer of fishing out of Nanaimo. As I wait for my plane up to Masset on my way up to do some guiding at Langara Island for the last three weeks of the summer, I can't help but feel that I'm actually leaving the more productive fishing waters behind in Nanaimo. Best of luck to everyone the remainder of the summer, and save a few winter springs for me later on in the year.

~tight lines~

SC

That's one heck of a first post, well done, and thanks!

 

[Maxpri]

Well after 46 straight days of fishing in front of Nanaimo, for 8+ hours a day, I feel an obligation to make my first ever post on these boards.

Hello Everyone... "long time listener, first time caller" as they used to say on the radio call in shows. I've actually met quite a few of you out on the water, back at Brechin boat launch, cleaning station, etc. but this is my first formal introduction online, so here's my 2022 Nanaimo report:

Fishing was excellent, and continues to be excellent, out front of Nanaimo since I first dropped in at Fiver Fingers back on Chinook opening day July 15th, and almost every day since. I was originally scheduled to go up north to Rivers Inlet to run charters for the better part of August, but after seeing how hot things were here in July, and the demand for people who wanted to go fishing here in town, why would I go anywhere else?

I think Unreel covered things pretty well with his earlier reports above, but the Fingers to Neck Point corridor has been remarkably consistent the last 6 weeks. The only reason I fished elsewhere was the pesky NW wind, and even then I sometimes smashed head long into the chop down to Rocky Point in my Whaler and and did the drift down to Clarke Rock because the fishing was just so good.

I keep detailed catch stats in a log book as part of the Avid Angler program for all my charters, and I figured it might be of interest to some of you to share that info with you on here:

Days fished: 46

Total hours fished: 322

Chinook caught: 285

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook caught: 137

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook retained: 101

Days without at least one 62+ cm Chinook landed: 4 (yes, we all get skunked once in a while)

Over 80 cm Chinook released: 3 (Entrance Island July 23, Northumberland Channel July 24, Neck Point Aug 28). Lost one off the Fingers after a half hour battle which I'm pretty sure was a Tyee... there's always that one each season that got away, isn't there?

Coho caught: 7

Pinks caught: 12

Chum caught: 1

Ling Cod caught: 21 (primarily while jigging)

Rock fish caught: 18 (primarily while jigging)

Locations Fished (in order of time spent on the water):

1. Neck Point (on fire the second half of August)
2. Rocky Point (perhaps the most underrated spot we have in my opinion)
3. Hudson/Pipers/Clarke (so much bait in here all summer long)
4. Five Finger Ledge (I don't seem to do as well out here as some, even though I hooked a big boy off the ledge last week)
5. Entrance Island (fishy spot as we all know, but I get tired of dropping my cannonballs half way to Japan down 250+ in the trench)
6. Northumberland Channel (nice spot to hide from the wind if your guests are sea sick... catch and release only for chinook of course)
7. Gabriola Island, between Entrance and Thrasher (would have fished this area more if there wasn't so much NW wind)
8. Thrasher Rock (didn't seem to be very good there this summer... mostly shakers every time I made it out that far)
9. Valdez Island (just southeast of Breakwater Island... those pinnacles are super fishy and give some protection from NW wind)
10. Porlier Pass (only made it out there a couple times... did well for bottom fish there, not as great on salmon)

In terms of gear, I keep things pretty standard. 20 pound rigger balls down any where from 60 (Neck) to 290 (Entrance) feet, but usually in the 140-180 range out front. I always keep one rigger ball just off the bottom, and the other one following the bait, which is also quite often off the bottom. In terms of lures, the usual array of small spoons, hoochies, plugs, anchovy, and even cut plug herring have recently been really successful for me in tight to the beach out front. I think some of the shore casters aren't a fan of me hugging the rocks as I almost got hit by a buzz bomb off Rocky Point the other day... sorry about that, fellas. I'll see if I can find a way to add some photos to this post later from my phone, but in the mean time I wanted to say thanks to everyone for their support in my first full summer of fishing out of Nanaimo. As I wait for my plane up to Masset on my way up to do some guiding at Langara Island for the last three weeks of the summer, I can't help but feel that I'm actually leaving the more productive fishing waters behind in Nanaimo. Best of luck to everyone the remainder of the summer, and save a few winter springs for me later on in the year.

~tight lines~

SC

Amazing post here and well done, curios on what side of Valdez you are fishing, I’ve thought it looks fishy for a while now, thanks.

 

[Salmon City]

Amazing post here and well done, curios on what side of Valdez you are fishing, I’ve thought it looks fishy for a while now, thanks.

130-150 feet of water, dragging bottom along these pinnacles worked great for me, especially on the flood… let me know if you snag a brand new 20 pound rigger ball from the Chandler that I snapped off here last week.

 

[Maxpri]

110-130 the rigger dragging bottom along these pinnacles worked great for me, especially on the flood… let me know if you snag a brand new 20 pound rigger ball from the Chandler that I snapped off here last week.

Haha great thanks for the info, having bought one the other day, that’s a big loss lol

 

[MikePA]

Well after 46 straight days of fishing in front of Nanaimo, for 8+ hours a day, I feel an obligation to make my first ever post on these boards.

Hello Everyone... "long time listener, first time caller" as they used to say on the radio call in shows. I've actually met quite a few of you out on the water, back at Brechin boat launch, cleaning station, etc. but this is my first formal introduction online, so here's my 2022 Nanaimo report:

Fishing was excellent, and continues to be excellent, out front of Nanaimo since I first dropped in at Fiver Fingers back on Chinook opening day July 15th, and almost every day since. I was originally scheduled to go up north to Rivers Inlet to run charters for the better part of August, but after seeing how hot things were here in July, and the demand for people who wanted to go fishing here in town, why would I go anywhere else?

I think Unreel covered things pretty well with his earlier reports above, but the Fingers to Neck Point corridor has been remarkably consistent the last 6 weeks. The only reason I fished elsewhere was the pesky NW wind, and even then I sometimes smashed head long into the chop down to Rocky Point in my Whaler and and did the drift down to Clarke Rock because the fishing was just so good.

I keep detailed catch stats in a log book as part of the Avid Angler program for all my charters, and I figured it might be of interest to some of you to share that info with you on here:

Days fished: 46

Total hours fished: 322

Chinook caught: 285

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook caught: 137

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook retained: 101

Days without at least one 62+ cm Chinook landed: 4 (yes, we all get skunked once in a while)

Over 80 cm Chinook released: 3 (Entrance Island July 23, Northumberland Channel July 24, Neck Point Aug 28). Lost one off the Fingers after a half hour battle which I'm pretty sure was a Tyee... there's always that one each season that got away, isn't there?

Coho caught: 7

Pinks caught: 12

Chum caught: 1

Ling Cod caught: 21 (primarily while jigging)

Rock fish caught: 18 (primarily while jigging)

Locations Fished (in order of time spent on the water):

1. Neck Point (on fire the second half of August)
2. Rocky Point (perhaps the most underrated spot we have in my opinion)
3. Hudson/Pipers/Clarke (so much bait in here all summer long)
4. Five Finger Ledge (I don't seem to do as well out here as some, even though I hooked a big boy off the ledge last week)
5. Entrance Island (fishy spot as we all know, but I get tired of dropping my cannonballs half way to Japan down 250+ in the trench)
6. Northumberland Channel (nice spot to hide from the wind if your guests are sea sick... catch and release only for chinook of course)
7. Gabriola Island, between Entrance and Thrasher (would have fished this area more if there wasn't so much NW wind)
8. Thrasher Rock (didn't seem to be very good there this summer... mostly shakers every time I made it out that far)
9. Valdez Island (just southeast of Breakwater Island... those pinnacles are super fishy and give some protection from NW wind)
10. Porlier Pass (only made it out there a couple times... did well for bottom fish there, not as great on salmon)

In terms of gear, I keep things pretty standard. 20 pound rigger balls down any where from 60 (Neck) to 290 (Entrance) feet, but usually in the 140-180 range out front. I always keep one rigger ball just off the bottom, and the other one following the bait, which is also quite often off the bottom. In terms of lures, the usual array of small spoons, hoochies, plugs, anchovy, and even cut plug herring have recently been really successful for me in tight to the beach out front. I think some of the shore casters aren't a fan of me hugging the rocks as I almost got hit by a buzz bomb off Rocky Point the other day... sorry about that, fellas. I'll see if I can find a way to add some photos to this post later from my phone, but in the mean time I wanted to say thanks to everyone for their support in my first full summer of fishing out of Nanaimo. As I wait for my plane up to Masset on my way up to do some guiding at Langara Island for the last three weeks of the summer, I can't help but feel that I'm actually leaving the more productive fishing waters behind in Nanaimo. Best of luck to everyone the remainder of the summer, and save a few winter springs for me later on in the year.

~tight lines~

SC

Very cool to see those stats. Interesting how few 80+cm come around here.. wonder why that is.

 

[frozenbc]

Thanks for the excellent report, though I'm laughing at the Rocky Point anecdote. I've definitely been known to fire jig warning shots across the bow when people stray a bit too close when trolling. My feeling is that it's a very big ocean when you've got a boat, but a very small one when you don't. Anything within 120m of Rocky Point becomes "troll at your own risk territory." Tight lines!

 

[easydoesit]

Fished Thrasher yesterday for 6 hours. One Chinook undersize and one oversized. The oversize was 90 cm (measured and released) with big girth and depth. Big strong fish, looked like it could be a male, white. Bit on a yellow hoochie at 160 feet right at low slack.

 

[Grace underfire]

Well after 46 straight days of fishing in front of Nanaimo, for 8+ hours a day, I feel an obligation to make my first ever post on these boards.

Hello Everyone... "long time listener, first time caller" as they used to say on the radio call in shows. I've actually met quite a few of you out on the water, back at Brechin boat launch, cleaning station, etc. but this is my first formal introduction online, so here's my 2022 Nanaimo report:

Fishing was excellent, and continues to be excellent, out front of Nanaimo since I first dropped in at Fiver Fingers back on Chinook opening day July 15th, and almost every day since. I was originally scheduled to go up north to Rivers Inlet to run charters for the better part of August, but after seeing how hot things were here in July, and the demand for people who wanted to go fishing here in town, why would I go anywhere else?

I think Unreel covered things pretty well with his earlier reports above, but the Fingers to Neck Point corridor has been remarkably consistent the last 6 weeks. The only reason I fished elsewhere was the pesky NW wind, and even then I sometimes smashed head long into the chop down to Rocky Point in my Whaler and and did the drift down to Clarke Rock because the fishing was just so good.

I keep detailed catch stats in a log book as part of the Avid Angler program for all my charters, and I figured it might be of interest to some of you to share that info with you on here:

Days fished: 46

Total hours fished: 322

Chinook caught: 285

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook caught: 137

"Slot Size" 62-80cm Chinook retained: 101

Days without at least one 62+ cm Chinook landed: 4 (yes, we all get skunked once in a while)

Over 80 cm Chinook released: 3 (Entrance Island July 23, Northumberland Channel July 24, Neck Point Aug 28). Lost one off the Fingers after a half hour battle which I'm pretty sure was a Tyee... there's always that one each season that got away, isn't there?

Coho caught: 7

Pinks caught: 12

Chum caught: 1

Ling Cod caught: 21 (primarily while jigging)

Rock fish caught: 18 (primarily while jigging)

Locations Fished (in order of time spent on the water):

1. Neck Point (on fire the second half of August)
2. Rocky Point (perhaps the most underrated spot we have in my opinion)
3. Hudson/Pipers/Clarke (so much bait in here all summer long)
4. Five Finger Ledge (I don't seem to do as well out here as some, even though I hooked a big boy off the ledge last week)
5. Entrance Island (fishy spot as we all know, but I get tired of dropping my cannonballs half way to Japan down 250+ in the trench)
6. Northumberland Channel (nice spot to hide from the wind if your guests are sea sick... catch and release only for chinook of course)
7. Gabriola Island, between Entrance and Thrasher (would have fished this area more if there wasn't so much NW wind)
8. Thrasher Rock (didn't seem to be very good there this summer... mostly shakers every time I made it out that far)
9. Valdez Island (just southeast of Breakwater Island... those pinnacles are super fishy and give some protection from NW wind)
10. Porlier Pass (only made it out there a couple times... did well for bottom fish there, not as great on salmon)

In terms of gear, I keep things pretty standard. 20 pound rigger balls down any where from 60 (Neck) to 290 (Entrance) feet, but usually in the 140-180 range out front. I always keep one rigger ball just off the bottom, and the other one following the bait, which is also quite often off the bottom. In terms of lures, the usual array of small spoons, hoochies, plugs, anchovy, and even cut plug herring have recently been really successful for me in tight to the beach out front. I think some of the shore casters aren't a fan of me hugging the rocks as I almost got hit by a buzz bomb off Rocky Point the other day... sorry about that, fellas. I'll see if I can find a way to add some photos to this post later from my phone, but in the mean time I wanted to say thanks to everyone for their support in my first full summer of fishing out of Nanaimo. As I wait for my plane up to Masset on my way up to do some guiding at Langara Island for the last three weeks of the summer, I can't help but feel that I'm actually leaving the more productive fishing waters behind in Nanaimo. Best of luck to everyone the remainder of the summer, and save a few winter springs for me later on in the year.

~tight lines~

SC

Awesome report. The thing that stuck out to me was the lack of overs, which given the size of the sample has to be indicative of the population as a whole. I've only released one over this year and lost one at the side of the boat that was a maybe.
Are the early fish that come through in May and June bigger? My experience would say yes. Before retention was shut down during that period I regularly caught 20lb+ fish. During 1 season (I think 2015) more than 1/3 of my fish would have been over the slot.

 

[Bearded wonder]

Wondering if anyone has luck with Apex lures? I have a few left over from my days fishing with my grandpa. They were deadly off Sooke/Victoria back in the day.
Hopefully going out with the family tomorrow evening if the wind dies down. Anyone having luck finding coho or even pinks around? Springs seem to hard to find for me the last couple times out.

 

[SpringVelocity]

Wondering if anyone has luck with Apex lures? I have a few left over from my days fishing with my grandpa. They were deadly off Sooke/Victoria back in the day.
Hopefully going out with the family tomorrow evening if the wind dies down. Anyone having luck finding coho or even pinks around? Springs seem to hard to find for me the last couple times out.

They still work. Just it isn't trendy anymore.

 

[Grace underfire]

Wondering if anyone has luck with Apex lures? I have a few left over from my days fishing with my grandpa. They were deadly off Sooke/Victoria back in the day.
Hopefully going out with the family tomorrow evening if the wind dies down. Anyone having luck finding coho or even pinks around? Springs seem to hard to find for me the last couple times out.

I have caught a few cohos recently off Fingers and 2 were clipped, so there's hope.

 

[chille51]

Wondering if anyone has luck with Apex lures? I have a few left over from my days fishing with my grandpa. They were deadly off Sooke/Victoria back in the day.
Hopefully going out with the family tomorrow evening if the wind dies down. Anyone having luck finding coho or even pinks around? Springs seem to hard to find for me the last couple times out.

I recently picked up a used tackle box of FB marketplace, and in addition to the typical old spoons (Tom Macs, Diamond Lance, Krippled K, Canadian Wonder etc) and plugs, there were a butt load of Apex, many different sizes and colours. So whoever put that tackle box together (fishing out of Nanoose) sure believed in them. Haven't had a chance to soak any of them myself yet, but have had good success with smaller ones in freshwater for Kokanee, Rainbow, and to a lesser degree Cutties.

 

[Rain City]

I recently picked up a used tackle box of FB marketplace, and in addition to the typical old spoons (Tom Macs, Diamond Lance, Krippled K, Canadian Wonder etc) and plugs, there were a butt load of Apex, many different sizes and colours. So whoever put that tackle box together (fishing out of Nanoose) sure believed in them. Haven't had a chance to soak any of them myself yet, but have had good success with smaller ones in freshwater for Kokanee, Rainbow, and to a lesser degree Cutties.

I carry three colors of Apex lures in my drawer for those days they're just not biting anything else. It doesn't seem to help the situation. Maybe if I threw one out when they ARE biting I'd have a better opinion of them.