2023 OFFISHALL Vancouver-Howe Sound-Sechelt Reports Thread

[Kfishr]

Out yesterday at SH. Manage 1- 11lbs, few pinks in.morning. calm down in afternoon, headed toward T10, lucky spot Wed. By ourselves. Drop riggers down 100-110 fow, in 260-300 ft. Hit 3, 14-15 lbs. Lucky Skinny G still hot. Getting good work out. Also released 2 sox, 1 wild cohoe. Day off today.

 

[Alison2]

Finished the day early at sandheads but had to go down to 100’ to get them. Lots of happy yelling from boats and nets out. Pretty hot here.

 

[staying alive]

Went Hans Solo at the T10 yesterday got a couple of pinkies right way them worked a bit for 2 springs anchovies and Skinny G around 80’
Springs were on a line from T10 heading to SH in 150’ got. About a 8 and 12 lb
Was a little breezy and lumpy at times for Solo but managed, no net just flipped them in by hand after tiring them out

 

[Aquaholic]

Change your user name to slaying alive.

 

[wildmanyeah]

Put in a 5 hour shift at sand heads 1-5, 1 chinook and one hatch coho for hour efforts.

Would have had more chinook but I lost Atlest one good one.

Better then a poke to the eye with a
Blunt stick, tho I hate loosing fish that felt like a kick to the nuts.

Decent size coho

 

[Harrison]

Finished the day early at sandheads but had to go down to 100’ to get them. Lots of happy yelling from boats and nets out. Pretty hot here.

100, interesting!

 

[Aces]

Put in a 5 hour shift at sand heads 1-5, 1 chinook and one hatch coho for hour efforts.

Would have had more chinook but I lost Atlest one good one.

Better then a poke to the eye with a
Blunt stick, tho I hate loosing fish that felt like a kick to the nuts.

Decent size coho

View attachment 97606

Dandy coho!

 

[ElectricDyck]

Flat calm today..caught 1 16lb, 2 9s and the released the next 8 trying for a big one but settled on a another 16...1 snake of a hatch coho and a couple pinks..spoons and hoochies all depths

 

[ElectricDyck]

 

[doug78]

Spent most of the day at sandheads dragging anchovies. Two dog fish...stopped counting pinks but boated 4 springs at 9,10,14 and 18 lbs. Lost a nice low teens spring 12 feet from the boat to the most innocent head fake. One under size spring released.

Most action at 80 feet. Some at 100. Anchovies did the trick, just lost a lot of bait to pinks. The larger almost herring size anchovies had immediate success on springs when we switched sizes.

Flat calm, 4 guys, 4 springs, 6 nice pinks for the smoker.

Can't complain, even stayed in the edge of the crowd all day.

 

[Tinny]

Sandheads 8:30 to 12:00 today. First hour nothing worthwhile but noticed lots of arches down around 200 with bait everywhere close to bottom. Put on a skinny G and dropped to 200’. Within 5 minutes fish on. Then proceeded quickly to go 7 for 8 but had to release the last one which came on a double header as we limited at 6. I think the depth and flasher helped our success ratio as the fish were tired by the time they can to surface. No energy for acrobatics. Straight to the net. Although the big one almost spooled us!

5 of the 6 were whites with the biggest one at 28lbs. Still no Tyee for me locally! Then zipped across and picked up two lings. Couldn’t find the third. Lots of fish to clean makes the beer taste soooooo good!

Was surprised to find them so deep but I think they are not sniffing enough fresh water to swim up river so are staging deep to hide from seals, orcas, and propellers. None of the fish had anything in their bellies. Yet they they are hanging out with the baitfish and what I suspect are feeder chinook - we also brought up 5 undersized beauties around 50-55cm.

God, I love living here!!!!!!

 

[Bonefizz]

Sand heads north of the marker . 80-130’ in 200’ of water. Chovies and white hoochie was the ticket.. limit in 4 hrs beautiful day. Life is good.

 

[Cohoslayer]

Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this but I have never seen so many “wild” coho in recent memory. I am 12 for 12 on my last coho in a row being wild……… Quite the streak…… I Wonder if the hatcheries are just not clipping all the fish or as many as they used to. Either that or the “true wild” population is thriving which would be amazing if that was the case!! Interesting to think about anyways……I have enough fish in the freezer so it’s all good and amazing to just catch and fight fish but I found this interesting and wonder if this will be the same in the upcoming river season.

 

[littlechucky]

Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this but I have never seen so many “wild” coho in recent memory. I am 12 for 12 on my last coho in a row being wild……… Quite the streak…… I Wonder if the hatcheries are just not clipping all the fish or as many as they used to. Either that or the “true wild” population is thriving which would be amazing if that was the case!! Interesting to think about anyways……I have enough fish in the freezer so it’s all good and amazing to just catch and fight fish but I found this interesting and wonder if this will be the same in the upcoming river season.

No fin clipping during Covid perhaps?

 

[Corey_lax]

Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this but I have never seen so many “wild” coho in recent memory. I am 12 for 12 on my last coho in a row being wild……… Quite the streak…… I Wonder if the hatcheries are just not clipping all the fish or as many as they used to. Either that or the “true wild” population is thriving which would be amazing if that was the case!! Interesting to think about anyways……I have enough fish in the freezer so it’s all good and amazing to just catch and fight fish but I found this interesting and wonder if this will be the same in the upcoming river season.

Lots to unpack there. Either 1) they didn’t clip near enough coho during pandemic years when nobody did anything or 2) wilds are thriving or 3) Alaska missed their early troll fishery and that’s why we have more salmon returning or 4) ocean has been good for salmon to survive and make it back to spawn.

Who knows, but my real life experiences seems like salmon numbers are up this year. I don’t know what the fish counters on the river say though. I hope the salmon are just surviving better out there and we can enjoy good fishing for years to come.

But then again, Japan just started to dump the Fukushima water into the ocean so we will see where that goes in the next ten years

 

[Sttr]

Evening bite was hot tonight,
Fished 6-8pm, non stop nooks,
not one pink or coho. Managed to net our limit. White hoochie , 50-70 on the rigger
400fow away from everyone.
2 reds, 2 whites

 

[Cohoslayer]

No fin clipping during Covid perhaps?

Very good point

 

[Cohoslayer]

Lots to unpack there. Either 1) they didn’t clip near enough coho during pandemic years when nobody did anything or 2) wilds are thriving or 3) Alaska missed their early troll fishery and that’s why we have more salmon returning or 4) ocean has been good for salmon to survive and make it back to spawn.

Who knows, but my real life experiences seems like salmon numbers are up this year. I don’t know what the fish counters on the river say though. I hope the salmon are just surviving better out there and we can enjoy good fishing for years to come.

But then again, Japan just started to dump the Fukushima water into the ocean so we will see where that goes in the next ten years

All good and potentially valid points and yes I also hope that it is the real wild population thriving, that would be amazing

 

[littlechucky]

Very good poi

All good and potentially valid points and yes I also hope that it is the real wild population thriving, that would be amazing

Hopefully we will find out this winter where they were all going from the CWT and/or DNA data.

 

[Tails-up]

Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this but I have never seen so many “wild” coho in recent memory. I am 12 for 12 on my last coho in a row being wild……… Quite the streak…… I Wonder if the hatcheries are just not clipping all the fish or as many as they used to. Either that or the “true wild” population is thriving which would be amazing if that was the case!! Interesting to think about anyways……I have enough fish in the freezer so it’s all good and amazing to just catch and fight fish but I found this interesting and wonder if this will be the same in the upcoming river season.

same thing ... 6 for 6 on wild Cohos ... nice fat fish.