ANOTHER BAMFIELD REPORT:
hey, Gents--Just got back, cleaned up Betsy and got her back in the barn. Did not have the firework display that some of you guys seem to have had but it was a respectable trip. The real bummer: brand new Furuno GPS and digital sounder puked on me. Thank the Lord for a hand-held Garmin I got on eBay two days before we left, "just in case".... I also had a back-up sounder which saved the day. Finally, my being so neurotic about details like back-up electronics paid off big-time......
The bread and butter spot for us was Kirby. Started on Monday morning at low slack---four teeners all on plug-cut blue label and a low 20 on a Cookies n' Cream Coyote. The evening tide was not great--- a few 12's and that was it
The next day, I was all set to go to Meares but I saw people coming back from that direction returning to Kirby so we stayed put and ground out another low-slack living.
Lots of pilchards showing, a few more teeners and some more 12's , all on cut-plug herring. Fished Bordelais multiple times---no soap. That place drives me nuts--incredible spot, lots of drama, but I can't buy a fish there!
Wednesday, a few more 12 to 16's at Kirby, but no size. We'd heard of a 37 at Kirby the day before so we were frothing at the mouth for a fish with shoulders.
Then the wind blew and Kirby got downright dangerous--not a warm and fuzzy place to be when she blows NW!!!!
Went to the other side of Bordelais and down the lee-side of Edward King. Nothing at the top end but we're down to Voss Point just past Dodger Channel and I'm looking at a blank screen on my back-up sounder beginning to feel like I'm spinning my wheels when I get a dramatic take-down and a smokin' run on the old Hardy Eddystone.
A splendid mid-20 fish. It was plugged with needlefish which got me thinking--maybe I was scaring them off with the blue label and I should drop down in size of my gear.
But here's another part I should add to this report--- we saw lots of guys at Kirby during all the tides we fished there and truth be told, I saw very few nets. And any time we hooked up, boats came towards us and wanted to know what we were using and what color and how deep, which sometimes helps tell a story about how rich the waters are beneath your boat.
So go figure---it did not seem to be wall-to-wall fish on the inside as you might presume from reading some of the earlier reports, but if you put your time in the right spot, it's easy to think they're freaking everywhere.
Short story---we worked hard for a handful of nice fish ---that's my idea of a good trip.
here's the kiss n' tell.....
And I have to include a mood-shot of Bordelais---what a cool part of Barkley Sound!