Bottom Fishing Nootka vs Winter Harbor

[Kent K]

My son and I are looking for a place to go bottom fishing with a good chance to hook up to some lings and halibut. I have been reading an awful lot on this forum and I think I have narrowed it down to Nootka Sound or Winter Harbor. I am leaning more towards staying a Critter Cove in Nootka end of first part of August. I have a 2425 Harbercraft with a single 200 merc and 15hp kicker. Most of the fishing I have done has been has been off of Campbell river/ Kitty Coleman and have done well on the salmon. I'm very green on the west side of the Island and any pointers would be helpful.

 

[Kent K]

OK.. Let me rephrase this. Is this a good choice? Can I reasonable expect to fish most days on the outside with my boat? I'm on a budget so is this a good place? Not looking for monsters just some white meat for the table.

 

[bones]

fished nootka few times,
"good choice?" sure but never fished winter
"outside" pends on how windy that day
"budget" critter cove pretty deep in nootka, nice place. its 40miles to bajo return, so if thats out. you may need to stay closer to the outside.

 

[Kent K]

Thanks Bones!!!!

 

[Aces]

The rule of thumb is the farther north you go the better chance of wind. Sometimes Mother Nature doesn't cooperate

 

[ericl]

Be prepared for fog. Have a GPS/Chartplotter & know how to navigate. The month you are going is known as Fogust on WCVI. I always use this link to check weather:

http://livetosurf.com/forecasting-tools/

I am fond of the magic seaweed forecasts.

As bones says, it's 20 miles to Halibut country. Years ago I fished Portland Point out of Tofino for Halibut & was treated well. It's about a 7 mile run. Perhaps Fishtofino can comment on recent Halibut experiences at Portland. I started out in a 14ft there back in the 80's.

 

[Kent K]

Thanks Eric. I do have the a gps fishfinder combo that I am very familiar with. the 20 mile run is a lot farther than I'm used to but should be doable. Tofino is definitely an option. I'll save the website on my phone.