Victoria Reports 2015

[Humpbubble]

Whew,slow few hali days..up haro in 220' thursday 11-2, 2 skate.then trolled the flats to get sealed.
today east of discovery in 250' 12-3.then back to the flats to lose 3 again to a seal.all salmon were barely legal or undersize.
Great conditions other than the short window to bounce bottom.
Back at it again tomorrow,wind permitting.
Tough life

 

[Kildonan]

Anybody out today? It looked amazing on the webcams but sadly I was stuck on shore.

I was out Friday for a couple hours as the kid had a pro-d day and she's been begging me to go. Back and forth from the green marker to Saxe in the morning, I got nothing. I heard of a few hook ups at Clover but many hungry seals rained on the parade.

 

[Humpbubble]

Quick pick for hali off chinese cemetary to hide from the winds...dogfish a plenty.

Packed up and trolled clover to flag pole..shook two lil ones.glad i didnt feed the seals today.

Cumon guys,someone must have boated something this weekend?

 

[kaelc]

Great afternoon on the water, a flat lander from PG got ashow. Donated a couple flashers, a shaker and one nice fish to the seal at Constance. Switching to garage sale flashers and hootchies for tomorrow.

 

[chevyshaulass]

30lb main and 25lb leader might save you some flashers if its that bad down there

 

[Humpbubble]

Most of the time the seals will leave you a head and your gear.just gotta know when to nurse/horse.

 

[scott craven]

A few fish around even though there's not much bait ...
9 & 8 lbs this morning on spoons.

 

[Bent-Tip]

Short fish in front of Albert Head today. One shaker that got to the boat just in front of snuffy and swam away for another day. Couple of keepers in the trap on the way in after the short soak. They're enjoying a hot tub party right now!

 

[kaelc]

Thanks Chevys, I'll give that a try and I've switched my knot.

 

[wagonmaster]

/Users/shansinclair/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Modified/2015/2015-02-22/photo.JPG
Grandson and friend with spring off the waterfront this morning. Cop car, 103 ft. in 140 ft. of water. 9:00 am. Trolled until 11:30 and no other hits. Saw three other fish caught (four boats). Never saw a seal all morning.

 

[wagonmaster]

First attempt at posting a photo with my wife's Mac. Did the copy/paste routine, but just words, no photo. Oh well.

 

[Beaudog]

Had a beautiful morning out on Sunday with my 9 year old son. Dropped the gear right off the flagpole at 170' in 200' of water and had a double header on in about 10 minutes with my brand new Andrew P spoons! First was too small, released at the side of the boat but the second was a nice 9lb'er. Not much else through the morning but couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

 

[Humpbubble]

Not too much,if any talk about the banks ie,middle,border.
I tryed middle,and did well a couple weeks ago,and what with us catching mostly clipped washington fish these days
Would this not be a good spot to find some hugging the structure on the deeper side of the strait?

Another question would be about crossing the border to fish..i was careful to stay on our side,but whats the protocol if i wanted to "explore" a little?

 

[scott craven]

If you see a W.A. state fisheries boat coming at you at high speed
you're probably on the wrong side.

 

[Chero]

Fished from 1200 till 430 today starting at the Gap marking a fair amount of fish using bait and hochies but no love. Water was flat and just a sprinkle of rain made for a beautiful day on the water none the less. Seals were everywhere. Moved to the flats and seals were always in sight but managed to pull in a nice 9lb red hatch on the ebb behind Brodie Rock on a black and white hochie with glow skirt at 130 ft. Lost another to Sammy about the same size trolling back over the same area with the same gear. Not a lot of fish marked and bait balls were rare, seals were the only thing in abundance but didn't need any electronic device to know that. Bait and my regular killer squirts did nothing today. 8 beautiful dungies to finish a great day on the water. Will be heading back to Whirl Bay in the next few days for a hopefully a little more action. The flats are not showing much bait or fish this year and I was wondering if Scott C had any ideas why its such a poor year as I consider you the guru in OB.

 

[Humpbubble]

Dec,jan,early feb were quite decent in oak bay..20+ trips and we at least brought home 2 nice fish and released a few
Didnt see many other boats early in the year tho.past two weekends has been less than successful to say the least.

Thought everyone had done well

 

[scott craven]

Hi Chero,

Usually the winter months are slow on the flats , the bait doesn't seem to show up until April/May.
until that time we usually concentrate our efforts west of Trial.
Especially on the ebb when you get a nice backeddy off the island.
The waterfront is plagued with seals however and most guys end up losing 50%
The real guru is Barrie, he charter fished Oakbay for years.

Good luck !

 

[mhbradley]

Hi Chero,

The real guru is Barrie, he charter fished Oakbay for years.

Barrie was guiding in OB when I was a kid and my parents had a boat in the marina...we sold the boat when I was 6... I am almost 30 now, so he knows the turf!

Good times on that dock as a kid....

^ Scott - I have seen you disclose that wonderful piece of info about West of Trial on the ebb, and it makes sense due to the direction of the ebb in that area... thanks for sharing, can't wait to give it a run when the bait shows up.

 

[barrie]

Scott,
You forgot that as an ex-OB'er, I'm-a-man, a-Myth and a Legend! ( in my own mind) My secret to catching was follow someone who knew how to fish and a good set of binnoculars!! Fishing OB is tough, because by the time the fish get there, ALL the dumb ones are dead! Thats why after many many years I eventually moved the boat out to Sooke.......lots of dumb fish out there!

 

[mhbradley]

Scott,
I eventually moved the boat out to Sooke.......lots of dumb fish out there!

There are no fish in Sooke.... don't know what you speak of