Fish Reports Archive

March - April 2008

Fishing for Chinook salmon has been fair to excellent in the Ucluelet area. Chinook from 5 to 15 pounds have been caught in the regular locations such as the Red Can, Great Bear and Alley Rock, Sail Rock, swale rock and Vernon Bay. Fishing can be somewhat like the weather in that it changes every day. We have had extremely hot fishing on some days and real scratchy fishing on other days. Lots of needlefish and herring have been found in the bellies of these beautiful bright fish. Spoons, hootchies and bait have been the gear of choice.

Halibut, lingcod and rockfish have also been very consistent, with most of the fishing been done around the inshore/offshore reefs and rock piles. This time of the year we catch quite a variety of bottomfish. The crabbing and prawning has also been excellent this early spring.

June 2007

Early June the salmon fishing has become alot more consistant, especially along the inshore waters. Regular limits of chinook salmon are being caught mostly between 5 to 20 lbs in areas such as longbeach, great bear and alley rock, austin and cree island, and mearse bluff. There has been a good showing of coho salmon this past month both inhore and offhore, which is great to see. There has also been the odd showing of pink and chum salmon.

Halibut fishing has been excellent both inshore and offshore. The inshore areas in which we get the larger halibut has been good with fish averaging anywhere from 20 to 100 lbs. The offshore areas such as the wreck, west stinky big bank,shallow spot and gullies have been the go to places for the "chicken" halibut averaging 15 to 25 pounds. limits of halibut offshore are the norm.

Fishing for both salmon and halibut will continue to get even better as we enter into the prime time part of the fishing season.

April 5, 2007

Steady feeder chinook action with fish averaging 5 to 15 pounds. The most reliable locations of late have been the inside and outside south bank, great bear and sail rock. Been trolling close to bottom out on the south bank with anchovie, spoons and hootchies picking up both winter chinook and halibut, averaging 10 chinook and 4 halibut by the end of the day. The Chinook have been feeding on mature and juvenile herring, needlefish and krill. Bottom fishing for rock fish, cabezons, and lingcod has also been excellent. Lingcod open up again on the april 15, and provide non stop action and some great table fair. Fishing should only improve for chinook salmon and halibut as the season progresses.

October 2006

Fishing for both Chinook salmon and halibut/lingcod continues to be excellent on all offshore locations such as the Wreck, Shallow Spot, and Gullies;With the majority of the salmon caught being feeder or immature Chinook salmon 5-15 pound on average with the odd chum and coho salmon. The halibut and lingcod fishing has been on FIRE all season, the best I have seen in years. I have been doing trips out to the Wreck in late October and I have to pinch myself as we are still “whackin and stacking” halibut and lingcod. As fast as you can get your gear down, you have a bite. Double, triple and quadruple headers of halibut and lingcod were all too common this season. The weather dictates everything this time of the year. The windows of good weather will start to get smaller and therefore the opportunities to get offshore will start to dwindle. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my clients, guests and friends for a great 2006 season. We continue to strive to make your west coast fishing experience the best possible. Please don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions in regards to fishing on the west coast of Vancouver Island

JUNE 2006

Fishing has really picked up the past couple of weeks for both chinook and halibut. There is even some coho to be found both inshore and offshore. Most of the really good action for chinook and halibut have been found on the offshore banks 18 to 23 miles out. Limits of 10 to 25 pounds chinook salmon has been the norm lately and should only continue as the summer progresses.

Hot spots on the big bank have been the gullies and the shallow spot. Spoons, hootchies, and plugs have all been working well. More and more bait fish have been showing up on the banks, primarily pilchards and herring. Schools of coho have also been showing up on the banks which is a good sign of things to come.

Halibut fishing has been on fire with limits of fish being the norm on a daily basis. Either trolling them off the bottom or drifting them up with power grubs seems to be working well. Most catches have been 15 to 30 pounds out on the big bank with the occasional hali up to 80 pounds. Inshore halibut fishing has also been good, with a larger average of 20 to 100 pounds and most of the halis inshore in the 30 to 70 pound range.

Inshore fishing for salmon has been a bit more scratchy but should only pickup as the season progresses. Places like south bank , great bear, sail rock and austin and cree island should all have some nice chinook salmon.

Stay tuned as the season is shaping up to be another bountiful year.

March - April 2006 - Ucluelet Fishing Report

Fishing for chinook salmon has been hit and miss throughout March and April. although the fishing is getting more and more consistent as we get into late April. generally, if you work one of the well known spots like the South Bank, Red Can, Great bear, alley and sail rock, mearse bluff and austin island you are going to get into a few these beautiful bright chromers. the chinooks are a mix of feeder and early migraters working the coastline primarily feeding on pilchards, herring and needlefish. the nicer chinookies are averaging 14 to 20 plus pounds. Lures of choice are anchovies, needlefish hootchies, spoons such as coyotes etc.
bottom fishing for an assortment of rockfish such as vermillions, canaries, quillback, yellow eye, and blacks has been excellent. Ling cod fishing opened April 15, and the action has been excellent. halibut fishing has been steady with fish coming in from south bank, wreck, local rock piles, 5 mile , 7 mile and 12 mile bank.

The wildlife viewing has been awesome with regular sitings of grey and humpback whales, stellar and california sea lions, eagles, otters, porpoise etc.

November & December 2005 - Ucluelet Fishing Report

Fishing has been very consistent during the months of November and December for feeder winter chinook. In November, most of the fish caught were coming from South Bank when the weather permitted. Fishing in December for chinook heated up even more with large concentrations of pilchards and herring hanging around the Red Can west along the edge in front of Little and Big beach. This body of fish hanging around the hay stacks of feed produced some beautiful silver bullets averaging 10 to 15 pounds, with the biggest this winter weighing in at 25 pounds. The hot lures of choice are coyote spoons, glow and purple haze hootchies and 5 and 6 inch plugs. Being such a short run from home and with the beautiful weather this December we have spent plenty of time fishing for these strong bright salmon. In fact , this is my favorite time of the year to fish as the ocean is fresh and void of other boats and the fish are tasty eats. The main key to catching these fish is to find the concentrations of bait, these winter feeder chinook are a very aggressive feeding fish which generally feed on and off all day long. Come the New Year , we will have the prawn traps set and continue fishing for those strong fighting and tasty winter chinook salmon. Come out and enjoy a fine day out on the water with us, not only catching fish but also taking in the beautiful scenery and wildlife.

August & September 2005

Fishing continues to be excellent for all species of fish. Large chinook and coho salmon are being caught both inshore and the offhore banks. Inshore hotspots include wyaa pt , little beach , swale rock, whittlestone, and kirby pt. The most consistent locations for chinook and coho offshore is the Wreck, Shallow Spot and Gullies out on the Big Bank. due to the large consentrations of large sardines(pilchards) and herring, large 7 inch plugs and spoons seem to be the best producers as well as the usual flasher and hootchie combos. limits of chinook and coho are the norm out on the banks. Halibut fishing has also been consistent with most of the action coming from the Big Bank and the Wreck area. Spreader bar and power grubs are the bait of choice.

MAY/JUNE 2005 Ucluelet

Fishing had been very consistent for both chinook, coho and halibut through the months of May and June. Lots and lots of feeder chinook around both inshore and offshore ranging from 5 to 12 pounds. Larger numbers of mature chinooks ranging from mid to high teens to 20,30 and 40 pounds are starting to show up in greater numbers as the summer progresses. Coho have also been very abundant with the larger bodies of fish being 5 to 25 miles offshore. Halibut fishing has been excellent with daily limits of chickens from 15 to 50 pounds on average. Jay Williamson our newest guide helped our albertan guest Valerie Skowlicki catch our largest salmon to date, a 43 pound chinook. There has been lots of feed both inshore and offshore made up mostly of medium to large herring and pilchards.

Fishing should continue to get even better through the months of July and August with lots of large chinook and coho salmon. Halibut should also continue to be "hot" with limits of chicken halibut being the norm. Hots spots for chinook and coho salmon have been great bear island, austin and cree island, inside and outside south bank,S.W. Corner, big bank "big gullie" and shallow spot.

Mid to Late March 05 Ucluelet

Fishing has been good to excellent for chinook salmon in and amongst Barkley Sound. The Hot Spots for these feisty chromers were Swale Rock, Begg Island, and Sail Rock. Been lots of chinook salmon in the mid teens and even the odd fish in the low to mid twenties. The last few trips have produced at least one fish over 20 pounds. Fish have been feeding on herring, pilchards, needle fish, and squid. Lures of choice have been anchovie, coyote spoons, and hootchies. Bottom and halibut fishing has also been good. Picked up some nice halibut to 60 pounds on the rock piles outside of Barkley Sound. The best fishing I have seen this early in the season, lots of nice fish around.

Febuary 25, 05Ucluelet

Had a Jim Irish and son out from seattle. Had a great morning at Beg Island with more nice fish showing up along with lots of herring. We must have been into approx. 12 chinook. The hot ticket was anchovie, and sonora hootchie. The biggest fish was 20 pounds with a few in the 15 pound range. Finished the day off by pulling the prawn and crab traps. Excellent day had by all!!

Febuary 24,05 Ucluelet

Had Ken and Teresa Goosen out on there honeymoon. Started fishing at Beg Island where we were into 8 chinooks. We kept 4 with the biggest being 15 pounds. The anchovie,coyote spoon and sonora hootchie all caught fish. Took off down to sechart channel and found some more chinook. Must have caught and released 10 chinook with biggest being around 14 pounds. Pulled the prawn traps and filled the bucket with a bunch of spotted prawns. Tide was falling so we went and picked a bucket of oysters from a local beach. Cruised back home late afternoon on a beautiful calm day and finished off by pulling and rebaiting the crab traps. Kept 5 nice dungeness crabs. Saw a early grey whale and fed some eagles to finish off a great day.

Febuary 23,05 UCLUELET

Same crew out again for some more fishing and fun. Started off at Beg Island where we were into a couple fine chinooks with the biggest being about 15 pounds. Lots of herrling but the fishing was slow so we tried over on the Bamfield side of Barkley Sound. Fishing was slow but we managed to bonk another chinook. Pulled the prawn traps and filled a bucket full of spotted prawns and then picked some tasty oysters off the beach. Headed back to Ucluelet where we pulled the crab traps.

Febuary 22,05 UCLUELET

Had the Black Estate Winery crew out for a full day fish. Started out at Beg Island where the fishing was slower. We were into 4 chinook and bonked 3 fish weighing 10, 12 and 14 pounds. Went and set out the prawn traps down in the back of Barkley Sound. Finished the day by pulling the crab traps. Weather was blue bird and calm.

Febuary 19,05 UCLUELET

Spent the day fishing just off Beg Island not far from Ucluelet harbour. Lots of herring showing up in the area. Was into approx. 10 feeder chinook throughout the day. We caught fish from 55 feet down to the bottom. The biggest was 14 pounds and the others averaged 10 to 12 pounds in size. Blue and chrome 5 inch coyote spoon did most of the damage. Beautiful blue skies and calm seas made for a great day on the water. Finished the day pulling and rebaiting the crab traps, kept 6 nice dugeness crabs.

NOV 27,04 VICTORIA

Fished winter chinook out on the boarder bank(coyote bank) 7 miles out from victoria. Fishing was steady with the largest being 14 pounds caught on a coyote spoon. Most of the chinook were 8-10 pounds on average.

November 13,04 UCLUELET

Took a crew of 5 people out on a full day trip.
Weather was nice so we started out at the outside south bank. Picked up a
couple of nice chinook with the biggest being an 18 pound chromer. Kinda
scratchy so we ventured out further to the Wreck where we found the mother
load of bait and fish. We ended up limiting out on chinook and releasing
many more. The fish ave around 10 pounds with some bigger and some smaller.
Lots of herring offshore and it didn't matter what you had down for a lure.
Spoons, hootchie and plugs all worked.

AUGUST 04

Fishing has been fantastic both offshore and inshore for chinook and coho. lots of large mature chinook 20 to 50 plus pounds have been caught out on the s.w. corner, hyson bank, and big bank. spoons, 6&7 inch plugs, hootchies and bait all produce.

Fishing from 30 to 100 feet seems to give the best results. Inshore fishing has also been excellent with fishing avg. 20 pounds and up. The usual hot spots wyaa pt and little beach have been very consistent both morning and afternoon/evening bites.

Halibut fishing has been very good as well, with limits of chicken halis being regularily caught out on the big bank. Inshore halibut have also been consistent with bigger halis up to 100 pounds.

june 04

the fishing has been on fire for both chinook and halibut. offhore hot spots include inside and outside south bank, wreck and the gullies and shallow spot out on the big bank. lots of chinook out on the banks with limits of fish in the mid teens and up being common on a daily bases. the halibut fishing has also been excellent with daily limits of 15 to 30 pounders. chinook salmon are also being caught in good numbers on the inshore waters with great bear,alley , and sail rock, austin and cree island all producing fish. mid june we are starting to regularly see bigger chinook show offshore and inshore with fish in the mid 20's and up being caught. hootchies, plugs,spoons are all working....sometimes there are so many fish out there it just doesn't matter as long as you have a hook in the water.

april/may 04

fishing for both salmon and halibut have been excellent. both inshore and offshore waters have consistently produced halibut and chinook salmon. the wreck, inside and outside south bank, and big bank have all been steady producers for salmon,and halibut. most of the better chinook have been in the mid teens to 20 pounds. the offshore halibut average 15 to 30 pounds in size with limits being normal. the inshore halbut and salmon fishing have also been good with places like great bear and alley rock, sail rock and the red can all prodcucing quality chinook mostly in the mid to high teens with the odd fish in the 20's and 30's. halibut ave 20 to 80 pounds on the inside rock piles. all in all a incredible spring of fishing and weather.

march 21, 2004

had a family of four out on this day where we caught a few winter chinook just outside of ucluelet harbour. we then pulled prawn traps with great success. picked some oysters and headed for home to pull crab traps. good day outon the water.

march 20, 2004

took couple out from yukon and caught two nice 12 pounders at great bear rock. we then spent the spent the rest of the day picking oysters and setting the prawn traps and pulling the crab traps.

march 18, 2004

took the Wolliser family out from Gabriola Island. found some nice winter chinook salmon out on the south bank. kept 6 salmon from 5 to 10 pounds. moved over to sail rock where we caught a 25 pound halibut and numerous black rockfish. finished the day with pulling crab traps which were loaded with dugeness crabs. kai the young son was a natural fish slayer catching most of the fish.

Feb 8, 2004

Took the Slater Electric crew out fishing for the day. Fished Begg Island during the morning and caught 4 chinook 7 to 12 pounds. Needle fish hootchies and coyote spoons were the killers. Weather was sunny and warm as we pulled the prawn traps averaging 30 prawns a trap.  Kept 10 dungeness crabs to end the day. 

Febuary 5,2004

Fished for winter chinook along Ship Island and Edward King Island.  Kept 4 chinook from 6 to 10 pounds, released several smaller chinook. Coyote spoons and hootchies both seemed to work well. Hauled up prawn traps averaging 25 to 35 prawns per trap.  Finished the day off pulling the crab traps and keeping 12 dungeness crabs.

Febuary 4, 2004

Weather was beautiful on this day as we fished just outside of Ucluelet harbour around Begg Island.  We caught 4 winter chinook from 6 to 14 pounds.  Dropped the prawn traps and checked the crab traps to finish the day.