May long weekend-Sooke

D

Dragos

Active Member
Good day
I’d like to take my wife for a weekend of fishing in May ( 21 to 24 long weekend). I will be driving from Vancouver and I will be trailering my 23 ft Striper. We don’t need accommodation as we plan on staying on the boat
Could you please recommend a place where we can park and leave the trailer for the duration of our stay and a place with moorage for our boat ?
Thank you in advance
D
 
Dragos said:
Good day
I’d like to take my wife for a weekend of fishing in May ( 21 to 24 long weekend). I will be driving from Vancouver and I will be trailering my 23 ft Striper. We don’t need accommodation as we plan on staying on the boat
Could you please recommend a place where we can park and leave the trailer for the duration of our stay and a place with moorage for our boat ?
Thank you in advance
D
Click to expand...
Or Sooke Harbour Marina which is closer to fishing. I used to stay at Sunny Shores for years but I think the marina is getting pretty rough. What about Pedder Bay instead?
 
Thank you gentlemen for your quick responses !
Sooke it’s not in stone and any other suggestion will be much appreciated as long as is roughly in the same distance range . We are just looking for a couple of days of relaxation ( especially my wife, she is a Covid nurse at RCH). Catching and eating a salmon would be the icing on the cake.
We thank you again for your suggestions/ recommendations
D
 
Dragos said:
Thank you gentlemen for your quick responses !
Sooke it’s not in stone and any other suggestion will be much appreciated as long as is roughly in the same distance range . We are just looking for a couple of days of relaxation ( especially my wife, she is a Covid nurse at RCH). Catching and eating a salmon would be the icing on the cake.
We thank you again for your suggestions/ recommendations
D
Click to expand...
Hope the travel restrictions are lifted by then, Pedder bay would be my choice. Please thank your wife for me, I'm thank full for people like her.
 
Not sure your level of comfort but you could launch at Crescent Beach Marina, White Rock, and take your boat across. Much cheaper and quicker than the ferry. I have done that many times. Its about 45 min to an hour to get into Acitve Pass and then you have the whole gulf islands to explore. Overnight in Ganges and lots other great places.
I think Thrasher Rock is good salmon fishing that time of year too.
Not much to do in Sooke on a boat other than fish and not sure what opportunities you have in May for Salmon.
 
Sir Reel said:
Not sure your level of comfort but you could launch at Crescent Beach Marina, White Rock, and take your boat across. Much cheaper and quicker than the ferry. I have done that many times. Its about 45 min to an hour to get into Acitve Pass and then you have the whole gulf islands to explore. Overnight in Ganges and lots other great places.
I think Thrasher Rock is good salmon fishing that time of year too.
Not much to do in Sooke on a boat other than fish and not sure what opportunities you have in May for Salmon.
Click to expand...
Haven’t done the cross yet ( just got the boat few months ago). But I can probably do is especially now after you volunteered to be our guide
Thank you Sir Reel !
 
BYOS, bring your own salmon. Bottom fishing will be open though. Jig up a couple rockfish, bring your crab traps. Hard to beat fresh dungies and rockfish. I'd suggest Pedder Bay or perhaps Sooke Harbour Marina. Sunny Shores unfortunately is in very rough shape. If you're stuck on salmon, you'll need to go to the west coast.
 
Sooke salmon restrictions could be an issue
I like the crossing and staying at Ganges idea, many other places to stay as well. Sidney offers up decent salmon fishing just not real big numbers. Jigging Sidney spit or the back side of James Island and tying to a mooring ball or anchoring inside the spit is pretty nice way to spend the night. lots to see
 
If you really want her to relax...go to Sooke Harbour Resort but book a 2 bedroom Condo there as well. They are nicely appointed and right on site. Get up in the morning and your boat is waiting for you just foot steps away. Closest marina to some of the easiest hot spots to fish...which is key to someone new to the area. Lots of other good fishermen are moored there as well so you might trade a beer for some local tips. In my mind the key is you want her to have a good enough time that she is eager to do it again....book the condo!!
 
profisher said:
If you really want her to relax...go to Sooke Harbour Resort but book a 2 bedroom Condo there as well. They are nicely appointed and right on site. Get up in the morning and your boat is waiting for you just foot steps away. Closest marina to some of the easiest hot spots to fish...which is key to someone new to the area. Lots of other good fishermen are moored there as well so you might trade a beer for some local tips. In my mind the key is you want her to have a good enough time that she is eager to do it again....book the condo!!
Click to expand...
Thank you !
All great ideas!
D
 
It depends on how much money you want to spend. Sunny Shores is basic but they do have the only fuel dock on the water in Sooke and lots of close trailer parking etc. is very inexpensive and I have not had problems with thieves there. If you stay there, it is a longer trip out of the harbour and you would be advised to follow someone out to learn the route the first time as it is easy to run a ground if you don't know it. Even if you don't stay at sunny shores you may want to go over into the basin to fuel up.

From Sunny Shores, you cross the basin and start your run close to the first point on the south side (Hill Head). You stay to the south as there is a huge gravel bar that comes off Billings Point on the north side by the Sooke River and every year boats run aground on it and some have even sunk. It looks wide and inviting but it is not, more so at low tide. Hug the shore on the south side by the houses and docks all the way around and as soon as you are past Trollope point turn in tight to shore and you will see the green bouy that you stay on the inside (shore) side of close to shore or again you can run a ground. After you pass around the next point (Eliza Point) the water depth widens out and you can go straight across and well past Christie Point so that you can go around the Red bouy which is there to keep you from running aground on the reef that comes out from shore by Christie Point. Then you just head straight to the end of the Spit (has a tower on the end of it) and out of Sooke harbour and into Sooke Inlet. When going out I like to go very wide before making the turn around the end of the spit as it will buy you more reaction time if someone is coming in at very high speed as the entrance to the harbour is very narrow and a blind corner. For that matter there are lots of boats going around all those points at higher speeds in both directions and many of the turns are blind with a narrow travel channel close to shore, so be careful.

There should not be a lot of fog in May but it's Sooke and you always have to be prepared for the possibility. Keep an eye out for crab floats, anchored boats and lots of very small one and two man paddle boats in the harbor, especially in good sunny wheather.
 
Sir Reel said:
Not sure your level of comfort but you could launch at Crescent Beach Marina, White Rock, and take your boat across. Much cheaper and quicker than the ferry. I have done that many times. Its about 45 min to an hour to get into Acitve Pass and then you have the whole gulf islands to explore. Overnight in Ganges and lots other great places.
I think Thrasher Rock is good salmon fishing that time of year too.
Not much to do in Sooke on a boat other than fish and not sure what opportunities you have in May for Salmon.
Click to expand...
Thrasher rock and the whole Georgia straight is closed for salmon retention in May
 
salmon fix? launch in port alberni, come into bam and stay at mckay bay. good food, nice rooms, brady beach walks and feeders in the harbour.
 
profisher said:
If you really want her to relax...go to Sooke Harbour Resort but book a 2 bedroom Condo there as well. They are nicely appointed and right on site. Get up in the morning and your boat is waiting for you just foot steps away. Closest marina to some of the easiest hot spots to fish...which is key to someone new to the area. Lots of other good fishermen are moored there as well so you might trade a beer for some local tips. In my mind the key is you want her to have a good enough time that she is eager to do it again....book the condo!!
Click to expand...
Take that advice.... Sooke Harbour resort is nice. As for restrictions it will be non retention, but not closed to fishing. You can also fish hatchery only retention within Becher Bay. It is a pink year also, but it may be a bit early.
 
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