Fishing Report for Week Ending August 24, 2014

SALTWATER


OVERVIEW – Salmon fishing is PICKING UP SLOWLY. The best location for salmon is still Swiftsure Bank near Port Renfrew. Salmon and halibut fishing there was GOOD, but as you traveled east the catching really dropped off. It has picked up a little bit near Victoria and Oak Bay and Sidney but it’s still SLOW.  Halibut fishing was GOOD this past weekend.

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For the latest updates in DFO regulations go to http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=search_results&lang=en&ID=recreational&Year=2014

PORT RENFREWFishing has been GOOD for springs out at Swiftsure Bank. The springs are very deep, from 120 to 220 feet on the downrigger. Most of the springs are cookie cutters and weigh15-20 lbs. The top producers are spoons. Along the “beach” it’s been hot and cold with some good days and some fruitless days. 

SOOKE – Salmon fishing was SPOTTY this past week. There would be fish in one area one day, and the next day they would have moved on to another area. If you could locate the fish, you could catch a few. The most consistent spots were Sheringham Point, Muir Creek and Otter Point. The springs were running into the mid 20’s, but most were in the teens. Sockeye anglers were having limited success out in the strait in 400 to 500 feet of water and near the tide lines. We heard that the boats out the farthest produced the most sockeye. There are some coho too, but not many hatchery ones that can be retained. As with the sockeye, the further out you are the better your chances. Choice of lures has stayed very similar to last week; Anchovies are working well with Blue Green Chrome and Bloody Nose teaser heads being good colors choices. G-Force spoons in Irish Cream and No Bananas have been catching their fair number of fish. The most popular flashers recently have been the Gibbs Madi, the Outfitter and Oki’s Super Betsey. Halibut anglers are having best success out west towards Jordan River and Sombrio Point.

 

Dave Webb with a 25 lb spring caught while fishing for sockeyes Dave Webb with a 25 lb spring caught while fishing for sockeyes


BECHER BAYSalmon fishing has been SPOTTY in East Sooke, very similar to last week. Some springs are being caught, with most fish weighing in the teens to low twenties. The best salmon fishing was near Beechey Head, Aldridge Point and the Trap Shack. Anglers have been catching springs between depths of 40 to 90 feet on the downrigger. There are a few coho and sockeye being caught, especially out farther into the strait, close to the US border. Most of the coho have been wild, unmarked fish. Dan Webb caught a 25 lb spring on Friday the 22nd at 10am in 500' of water off the Trap while fishing for Sockeye.  Most anglers are having their best results fishing anchovies. The most productive teaser heads for anchovies were the Blue Green Chrome and Bloody Nose. For flashers the Madi and the Purple Onion have been very good lately. Spoons such as G-Force in the smaller sizes have been working as well.

PEDDER BAY – Salmon fishing was SPOTTY both in the Pedder Bay and in Whirl Bay, just like last week. The springs are mostly between 8 to 20 lbs in size.  Many of the springs are being caught between 100 to 120 feet on the downrigger at the mouth of Pedder Bay. A few anglers have had good success trolling cut plug herring at 60 feet. Anchovies were productive with Chrome Joanne, UV Green and Purple Haze teaser heads being top choices in teaser heads. Anglers are still getting some fish while trolling 3.5” spoons. Coho Killers and G-force spoons with both glow and green have been working the best. Squirts are working too with UV colors like the Jellyfish, Purple Haze and Electric Chair the best patterns. The best flashers have been the Silver Betsey, Green/Silver Hot Spot and Purple Haze.

Halibut – Halibut fishing was FAIR over the weekend. We also heard that there weren’t as many dogfish around. Anglers that were fishing were using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Berkley Gulp and Powerbait soft plastics also work very well. You can also use a large spoon fished off a spreader bar, Mudraker or Lucky Jigs or other large Jigs if you want to stay away from the dogfish.

VICTORIA – Fishing has been SLOW off Victoria.  Constance Bank was pretty quiet this past week.  Anglers were finding few decent fish in the 9-15lb range.  The better springs that were getting caught were close to the bottom and biting most frequently on the tide change. Closer in, the salmon fishing was SLOW and the vast majority of boats are still catching nothing. Although some big springs up to 32+ lbs have been caught in close, most of the fish are in the low teens in size. The salmon seem to be passing through quickly and not stopping to feed. The odd sockeye and pink salmon have been caught as well. Most anglers fishing Constance are using artificial lures, usually with Coho Killer (yellowtail or green/glow). G-Force spoons in Outfitters or No Bananas colors. Good choices in plastic baits are the Electric Chair, Purple Haze and the Glo Blow. Gibbs Coho Killer, Kingfisher and Coyote spoons in all colours have been very effective. Closer in, anchovies are the best choice with green, Purple Haze or Bloody Nose popular choices. Good flashers have been the Green Onion and the HOT SPOT Silver Fever.

The Esquimalt Anglers’ Association held their Annual Salmon Derby this past Sunday. There were a total of 28 salmon entered - 21 Chinook, 4 sockeye and 3 coho weighed in at the derby. The winning fish was a 32 lb 11 oz spring caught by Cao Nguyen. Second place went to Mark Turner for a 24 lb spring. Third place winner was Mike Salter with a 20 lb 15 oz spring. Fourth place went to Then Nguyen for a 19 lb 12 oz spring. Fifth place went to Liz Jatkowski for a 19 lb 9 oz spring.

Halibut – Halibut fishing was GOOD this past week. Angler’s that were going out were using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait with octopus being the most productive bait this past weekend. Berkley Gulp and Powerbait soft plastics also work very well. You can also use a large spoon fished off a spreader bar, Mudraker or Lucky Jigs or other large Jigs if you want to stay away from the dogfish. 

OAK BAY Salmon fishing was VERY, VERY SLOW for those trolling out on the Flats and in the Gap.  Can’t honestly say if anyone caught any fish there this past week. Most the anglers were trolling this past week with a few boats jigging and both were reporting slow fishing.   Anglers were using squirts, spoons, or tiny strip. The fish that were being caught trolling were caught on Coho Killer spoons and 3” to 4” G-Force & Gypsy spoons. Good squirts were the Electric Chair, Pickle Green, J-79 and Jellyfish. Good flashers have been the Purple Onion, Green/silver or Green Jellyfish.

Halibut  Halibut fishing was GOOD this past week. Paul Gessler managed to land a 49 inch, 56lb halibut using a spreader bar with a large pink hootchy and herring, while fishing near Discovery Island. Berkley Gulp and Powerbait soft plastics also work very well. You can also use a large spoon fished off a spreader bar, Mudraker or Lucky Jigs or other large Jigs if you want to stay away from the dogfish.

SIDNEY- Salmon fishing was SLOW near Sidney this past week. We’ve heard that the channel has a lot of smaller, undersize chinooks holding in the deeper water, but no good keepers. Some sockeye have been caught near Moresby Island, but not many. Many anglers are fishing for springs using anchovies in UV Green teaser heads. Squirts have been out producing hootchies recently and the hot patterns for springs now are Purple Haze, Glow Below and Electric Chair. Coho Killer spoons have also been working well, especially in double glow and 50/50 colors.

Notable Catches The Esquimalt Anglers’ Association held their Annual Salmon Derby this past Sunday. The winning fish was a 32 lb 11 oz spring caught by Cao Nguyen. Second place went to Mark Turner for a 24 lb spring. Third place winner was Mike Salter with a 20 lb 15 oz spring. Fourth place went to Then Nguyen for a 19 lb 12 oz spring. Fifth place went to Liz Jatkowski for a 19 lb 9 oz spring. Dan Webb caught a 25 lb spring in 500' of water off the Trap while fishing for Sockeye.   

Please send photos (in jpeg format) and descriptions of your notable catch to our email info@fishingvictoria.com 

FRESHWATER


OVERVIEW – Fishing is SLOW on most lakes in the South Island area due to the hot weather and warmer water temperatures. Remember that ALL wild trout must be released on all streams in region 1. Wild rainbows and cutthroats over 50 cm must be released in Cowichan Lake. The lower reaches of the Cowichan River have been closed to all recreational uses until further notice.

COWICHAN RIVER – Water levels on the river are very, very low. The lower reaches of the Cowichan River have been closed to all recreational uses until further notice. The trout fishing in the mid and upper river is good to excellent, especially very early in the morning and late in the day, but it really stresses the fish to catch and release them now. There are rainbows as well as resident brown and cutthroat trout that are active in the top end right now. Bead head nymphs are the top producer there and our favorites are the Prince Nymphs, Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ears and Pheasant tails. There are lots of insect hatches during the day now and the dry fly fishing can be excellent if you match the hatch.

TROUT – Trout fishing was GOOD on most lakes in the South Island area this past week. The total Island trout release this spring is 57,305 Fraser Valley strain rainbow trout.

Bank anglers are catching trout on Powerbait, Gulp Eggs, or worms while fishing from shore and right on the bottom. Yellow and Bubblegum have been good colours recently for Powerbait. Fly anglers are fishing Pumpkinheads, Wooly Buggers, Leeches and Micro Leech patterns on full sink fly lines. Trollers have been doing well with a variety of lures. The Rhys Davis Baitrix Trout lures and UV Mini Strip Teasers work well for larger fish too. Other good trolling lures are the Apex Trout Killers with the police car one of the best and the black with silver glitter spots taking second place. Flatfish and/or Kwikfish have also been effective in sizes 5 to 7 in Frog, Black with Silver Flake or Rainbow Pattern. Smaller Rapalas in Rainbow Trout or Brown Trout patterns also work well; the jointed Rapalas have also been great for larger fish. Larger Willow Leaf Lake trolls with a size 6 hook tipped with a small 1-2″ piece of worm always produce fish. The biggest trout usually come from Langford Lake and Elk Lake.

BASSBass fishing is GOOD. At this time of year the bass are shallow in the mornings and evenings.. There have been good reports of early morning fishing with spinner baits in Chartreuse, White and Black.  During the day, soft plastics rigged Carolina style work well and crank baits can work well too. Crank baits have been effective too when fished with a fast retrieve. Soft plastics rigged “Carolina Style “is also a good choice when fishing drop offs and docks, most productive in 4” Yum bait colors Smoke or Pumpkinseed. Surface lures have been producing well in the evenings and mornings. Langford Lake, Shawnigan Lake, Prospect Lake and Elk and Beaver Lakes are the best local bass lakes. St. Mary’s Lake on Salt Spring Island is also a great lake for bass fishing.

CARP – Carp fishing is GOOD at Elk Lake. Corn and carp Boilies have been the best bait recently.

Notable Catches –  Please send photos (in jpeg format) and descriptions of your notable catch to our email info@fishingvictoria.com

FISH TIP OF THE WEEK 


When you see birds working a ball up, don’t troll through the ball up and the birds. Feeding salmon are mostly outside of the ball up looking for the crippled bait fish that are falling away with the tide or swimming away from the ball up. You should fish to the side and below the bait and not disturb the birds that are on the top. 

Island Outfitters Leader Board 2014 


Salmon 


1) 30.8 bs -– Lynn Pollard – Macaulay Point – July 13th

2) 30.7 lbs – Lance Foreman – Waterfront – July 10th

3) 30.0 lbs – Jesse McCullough – Otter Point – July 9th

4) 29.4 lbs – Al Teng – Macaulay Point– July 23rd

5) 29.3 lbs – Richard Hanson – Sherringham Point– June 14th

Halibut 


1) 70.9 lbs – Adam West – Zero Rock – May 10th

2) 67.7 lbs – Tom Schmidbauer – Rock Pile – May 11th

3) 66.6 lbs – Harvey Francis – Rock Pile – Herring – April 23rd

4) 65.7 lbs – Allen Lacharity – Oak Bay - Herring– May 10th

5) 65.7 lbs – Brock Heppell – Oak Bay – May 10th

Trout


 

1) 4 lbs 12 oz – Jeremy Thomassen– Elk Lake – April 12th

2) 4 lbs 10 oz – John Redlick – Duncan area – March 25th

3) 4 lbs 6 oz – Robert Waldner – Langford Lake - May 12th

4) 2 lbs15 oz - Duncan Watts – Langford Lake- Powerbait – January 25th

5) 2 lbs 14 oz – Ian Knowles – Lookout Lake – Leech fly – January 29th

Carp


1)   William Oliver – 75 carp weighed in, total 345.4 lbs

2)   Dan Morris – 38 carp weighed in, total 227 lbs 10 oz

3)   Blair Cox - 7 carp weighed in, total 102 lbs.

4)   Brandon Boudewyn - 3 carp weighed in, total 33.9 lbs

5)   Kory Haanen - 3 carp weighed in, total 35.4 lbs 5

2014 DERBIES and EVENTS


Island Outfitters starts and ends the year with the free for fun and prizes Salmon, Trout, Carp and Halibut Leader Boards. Simply weigh your catch in at Island Outfitters and the top five fish in each category on December 31st wins a special prize. Everybody who enters a fish gets a prize! To enter, just bring in your catch to be weighed at our store.

See our event pages for details on upcoming events and like us on facebook!