Fishing Reports for August 17

By on August 17, 2016

Washington

Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco)

no report this week

Marine Area 2 (Westport)

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This winter we will be scratching our heads trying to figure out the 2016 fishing season in Westport and the weather on the coast. we have been catching fish and some really nice fish have been coming across the docks. Salmon fishing will close at the end of the day this Sunday. August 21st. The weather looks good for this weekend and fishing should be good.

Fish have shown up on the south beach in 60 feet of water or less. Divers, in-line Flashers, Bait or Spoons are working best. Our success can this week in 275 feet of water, north of Grays Harbor. Silver Horde spoons, #4 Cookies & Cream and #4 Herring Aide have been really killing fish again this week.

This weekend was the Annual Washington Tuna Classic and despite the weather we were able to fish the event. It was a success and many folks and Northwest Harvest benefited greatly. Programs to help take veterans fishing also picked up a lot of support. 60 boats and teams were registered. Our team finished in 6th place.

Tuna and Bottom fishing will continue in Westport after this weekend so please continue to support this coastal community. I have heard strong rumors that Razor Clam digging will possibly resume in the next month or so. That is Great news

Have Fun, be Safe, and we will see you soon in Westport!

Report by Kevin Lanier, owner of KC Sportfishing Charters,  425-328-8558, President PSA Ocean Anglers, VP PSA State Board. Photos by Cyndi Lanier Art and Photography. 

Marine Area 3 (LaPush and Forks)

no report this week

Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay)

no report this week

Marine Area 5 (Sekiu)

no report this week

Marine Area 6

no report this week

Marine Area 7

roryo'connor

More Chinook have shown up in the San Juans. However, fishing is still spotty.  Rory O’Connor got this nice fish round the outside.
Submitted by Kevin Klein, Team Parker Boats NW.

Marine Area 8.1

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reports “Excellent” prospects for pinks in Marine Area 8.1 during August.

Marine Area 8.2

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reports “Excellent” prospects for pinks in Marine Area 8.2 during August.

Marine Area 9 (Admirality Inlet)

salmon for soldiers 2

LET FREEDOM RING! Our Salmon areas are closing now , so we focused our attention on stepping up for our Veterans this weekend.

salmon for soldiers 1Alderwood Golf Course graciously hosted our 2nd Annual Salmon for Soldiers Charity Golf Tournament this past Saturday. With over 30 generous teams and dozens of personal and corporate donations this year, we were happy to collect thousands of dollars to keep our veterans on the fish all over the Northwest and Alaska.

We will be at the Port of Everett on September 17th for our annual event. Even though we cannot fish, we will have dozens of boats at the event and a gigantic THANK YOU BBQ for Veterans and their families with lots of fun and prizes … and some boat rides! Our generous boat captains and their crews will be on hand for sure with some great fishing stories, too.

Get involved and check-out our Facebook page and also our website SalmonforSoldiers.com.

Freedom is not Free and we thank our Veterans and their families from the bottom of our hearts year-round.

Report submitted by Nelson “Spud” Goodsell – Salmon for Soldiers, IGFA Life Member, FISHTALE2

Marine Area 10

no report this week

Marine Area 11

The Chinook salmon fishing has been fair recently with most of the action out in front of The Pt. Defiance Marina/Tacoma Yacht Club area.

The salmon are being caught between 40’ to 90’ in water running 50’ to 200’ mostly trolling flasher and spoons or artificial squid starting in shallower water to start the day then gradually deeper as the sun rises further in the sky.

Salmon fishing will close in area 11 as of Sept. 1st, 2016

Please remember to carefully release unclipped chinook and all Coho.

The crab fishing has improved a little recently with little pressure because crab fishing has been slow over the last month.

Point Defiance Marina has rental boats and motors and launch and overnight moorage facilities with pump out stations and shore power.  In addition we have storage space for boats up to 17 feet as well as kayak storage.  For more information call 253-591-5325

Basic Fishing Classes are offered throughout the summer months.  2 Hour classes are $15.00 and can be designed for youth and adults.  Boat House Tackle Shop open 7 days a week. Boat lifts open at 5am tackle shop open 5:30am tackle shop close 8:30pm boat lifts 8:50 and facility 9:00pm. For more information call 253-591-5325 Call 253-591-5325 or visit us on Facebook “Point Defiance Marina.”

If you would like a daily report, just call 253-591-5325 and there will be one recorded.

Point Defiance Marina Fall Swap Meet

Date: Saturday, October 1, 2016
Time: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Location: Point Defiance Marina
5412 No. Waterfront Drive

Tacoma, WA 98407 genea@tacomaparks.com

Report submitted by Point Defiance Marina. For more information contact: Art Tachell, Boathouse Marina Technician, 253.591.5325 art@tacomaparks.com www.pointdefiancemarina.com.

Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal)

no report this week

Marine Area 13

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reports “Fair” prospects for Coho in Marine Area 13 during August.

Freshwater – Potholes Reservoir

This past weekend the finals of the Pacific Northwest Walleye Trail event saw 34 teams fishing. There were 212 walleye weighed at the finals at Mardons in two days and careful handling meant no fish died. Weather was hot with no wind. The big fish of the event was 8.95 pounds caught by the team of Lusk and Lusk. The overall catch was by Derek Baher and Andrew Barboe with 47.34 pounds; they received the grand prize of $8,000. Money was paid out to the top seven teams. The father and youth team of Nathan and Kyle Cox placed 5th with a two-day catch of 28.6 pounds; they won $1750 for their efforts. The majority of the fish were caught in waters under 15 feet in depth. No secret lures were reveled as the winning combination. It was great to see that the Walleye are starting to show and will be getting better. Weather continues to remain hot as well as fishing will be good.

Now and through the late summer and into fall fishing will be good. Yellow belly catfish are pest for most all fishermen but can be exciting for new fishermen. In my garden tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers we cannot keep up with and soon will have too many apples. A nice problem to have.

Report submitted by Tom Pollock.

British Columbia

Vancouver

no report this week

Vancouver Island (Saltwater)

no report this week

Alberni Inlet, Barkley Sound, and Ucuelet

August11-Sam1000

The run we have been waiting for is finally here and it has started earlier than expected. That maybe shouldn¹t be a surprise considering it is supposed to be the biggest Barkley Sound run in 20 years. Most of the fish we have been getting in close to shore now have been over 20lbs, which is what we expected with such a large number of 4-year fish returning through the inshore. One of the bonuses is that you don¹t have to travel very far. Along the shoreline anchovies have been working well along with small 3-3.5 inch coyote and Silver Horde spoons. The fastest action seems to be on anchovies.

Hotspots: The fishery along the shoreline should continue to be good during the next 3-4 weeks. The Rat¹s Nose at Big Bank has been producing good numbers of Chinook and some days there are some large fish mixed in with the smaller feeders. Halibut are being trolled up at Northwest corner. The bait has moved on around South Bank and the fish have been biting well there, providing some decent days in the area.

Submitted by Sam Vandervalk of Salmon Eye Charters (1-877-777-4344). Salmon Eye is recommended by USA Today, Cruise America and New York Times bestselling author Peter Greenberg in his book The Ultimate Insider’s Guide to the Greatest Experiences Around the World.

The summer months are quickly moving by and the salmon fishing in many areas of Vancouver Island just seem to be now picking up and getting better and better as we move into mid August.  The salmon fishing in Barkley Sound and the West Coast off of the Ucluelet Harbor for Chinook and Coho have improved dramatically.  The Chinook and Coho on the surf line and the various banks are getting larger and more numerous. Most of these salmon continue to be migratory salmon moving to destinations or watersheds well to the south.  Many of the West Coast Vancouver Island salmon are now also beginning to show on surf line areas and on the west and east shorelines of Barkley Sound.  We are expecting some of the salmon returning to nearby rivers, streams, and creeks of the Pacific Rim and Alberni Valley regions to be the highest return in a decade.    From mid August into the first half of September there should be some world class sport fishing out in most of Barkley Sound.  The Port Alberni Inlet with salmon migrating into the Somass River will have a good return of Chinook.  By mid August good numbers of these Chinook will begin to show in Inlet areas close to China Creek and the Port Alberni Harbor.

Sockeye Salmon fishing continued strong into August in the Alberni Inlet. Family from Kelowna fished with Slivers Charters and did extremely well on Sockeye Salmon

Sockeye Salmon fishing continued strong into August in the Alberni Inlet. Family from Kelowna fished with Slivers Charters and did extremely well on Sockeye Salmon

The sport fishing in the Port Alberni Inlet for Sockeye salmon in June and July was incredible.  The sockeye return forecast still holds at 1.1 million which was a fantastic run and return.  Returns to the system for conservation are at four hundred and fifty thousand.  These fish have migrated into Sproat and Great Central Lakes and will sit in deep water until the fall before spawning.  The Chinook returns to the Somass system should begin with salmon showing in good numbers in Inlet areas by the middle of August.  Pre season forecasts are showing s very high number of Chinook returning to the terminal area of Barkley Sound and the Inlet.  Most of these fish will be returning to the Robertson Creek Hatchery.   The age class of this year’s return is predominately four and five year old Chinook.   With this in mind there should be a good number of Chinook in the twenty to twenty-five to thirty pound class.  Coho numbers are hopefully expected to be normal.  Coho returns to the Pacific Rim and the many creeks and stream tributaries of the Somass system through conservation have become stronger over the past decade.  We should see Somass-Stamp River Coho begin to show in Barkley Sound close to the end of August and peak during the second week of September before moving into the inlet.

Most of Barkley Sound has been mediocre through June and July and the first week of August.  Swale Rock, Austin Island, Cree and Pill Point have been the only spots with any consistency.  Meares or Effingham Island and Austin Island out to Cree Island has been the best area for the sport fishery for most of the summer months.    The salmon have been out in the deep water on the low tide and often on the flood move in towards the rocks and feed on the huge quantities of rich resourced bait fish.  Chinook have been in 80 to 120 feet of water and have been averaging from the mid teens to mid twenties in terms of weight.   The Chinook that are now showing and returning to local rivers are much shallower. The Coho have been in twety-five to fifty feet of water and are gorging themselves putting on a pound a week and are currently averaging eight to fifteen pounds.  Some of the salmon are migratory fish moving to watersheds to the south.  The West Coast Vancouver Island salmon are now arriving.  This is not to say that some Somass Chinook and Coho have not already arrived as there have been some fairly early returns to the Somass system over the past ten days.  When fishing the waters of Barkley Sound it is ideal if sport fishermen have anchovy on board.  To this date anchovy has not been essential as the salmon have been hitting various small three and a half inch coyote spoons and some hootchies behind glow and kinetic flashers.  In Coyote spoons, silver glow, Cop Car, Cookies and Cream and Irish Cream have all been working.  Various small Coho Killers have all been working.  The various whites (AORL12) and greens and blues in hootchies have had some great success over the past week.  Anchovy should have at least a six foot leader and the army truck, purple haze, and green haze in Rhys Davis Teaser Head have all been working well.  We are expecting Barkley Sound to have continued great salmon fishing well into September.  With the late summer run of migratory salmon and local salmon returning to their natural streams and creeks there should be some continued terrific fishing right into mid September in all of Barkley Sound for Coho and Chinook salmon.

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Ron with a twenty five pound Chinook landed offshore at the Rats Nose on a Coyote spoon

Areas outside of the Ucluelet Harbor around the Starfish, Hyacinth and Long Beach and as far as the Big Bank or shallows West to Portland Point which is close to Tofino have all had rather phenomenal sport fishing over the last few weeks.   Most of the banks have had plenty of bait fish and the migratory salmon have been feeding heavily in these many favorite offshore Ucluelet areas.  When bait fish are in the different areas during the summer months the sport fishing is normally extraordinary.  The Big Bank (Rats Nose) the Starfish and Hyacinth have been the best areas to fish to date. Hootchies and smaller spoons seem to be working the best offshore.   Some sport fishermen are using bait and having great success but like Barkley Sound bait has not been essential.  Over the past week the Chinook salmon have been getting bigger as there are many more in the mid to upper twenty pound range being landed by guests on our charter boats.  Sport fishermen in their privately owned boats have also been landing some bigger fish.  A few Coho offshore are also getting up and over the ten pound mark with a few fish in the low to mid teens being landed.  August and September are really exciting months to be on the water.  These are the two months that bigger Chinook and Coho begin to arrive along the west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. as they have been spending weeks during their long migration feeding constantly on bait fish.

The saltwater sport fishing for the rest of 2016 should be fantastic on the surf line and offshore west coast Vancouver Island locations.  We are really expecting the inshore areas of Barkley Sound to pick up as well as the Port Alberni Inlet during the last two weeks of August.  If you are thinking of a fishing trip, this is the year and August and the early part of September is the time to come.

For more information and/or reservations, call Doug Lindores at Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing (250) 723-2435; (250)724-2502; cell (250)731-7389 or 1-877-214-7206 www.catchsalmon.ca or www.catchsalmon-ca.com; dlindy@shaw.ca. The cover image of this week’s reports, showing Jacinta of Calgar with a 22-pound Chinook landed with a Coyote spoon, was also contributed by Lindores. 

Bamfield

012The salmon fishing has really been picking up inside Barkley Sound over the past few days and every day seems to bring more and more fish into the sound. Most of these are Chinooks returning to the Robertson Creek Hatchery in Port Alberni. Hopefully the run keeps getting stronger and the record returns that are predicted show up. There’s also quite a few Coho inside now and they are a nice size as well. I’ve seen quite a few come across the dock that are over 12 pounds. All areas are producing fish and each day is different. You just have to pick your spot and give it a try. Listen to the radio chatter because we all know that fisherman have to boast when they are doing good. Anchovy in a teaser head, fished 4 – 7 ft behind a flasher is standard for these fish but don’t count out your favorite hootchie or spoon either. Most of these fish will be 20 – 50 ft. deep.

Offshore, the banks are well stocked with a mix of both feeder Chinook and mature returning fish. Most days a few Coho are present but not great numbers. Fishing Hootchies, spoons or plugs 70 – 125 ft will do the trick.

For more info call Ken Bodaly at Rocky Point Charters, Bamfield, B.C. 250-728-3678 or the boat cell phone 250-735-4224 website:www.rockypointcharters.ca email: rockypointcharters@shaw.ca facebook:Rocky Point Charters

Becher Bay

Salmon fishing was UP & DOWN this past week, but a little better than the week before. There was a 37 lb spring caught off Beechey Head and a couple of other fish in the mid 30’s caught but not very many. Most of the fish have been in the mid to high teens and low twenties. The Trap Shack, Beechey Head and Aldridge Point were the most productive locations to fish. Anglers using bait are finding anchovies in glow teaser heads have been working well. Spoons, such as the G-Force and Skinny G, in Bon Chovy or Outfitters’ colours were also effective. For flashers, the Betsey, Lemon Lime and Bon Chovi have been good.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Oak Bay

Salmon fishing was SLOW but improved this past weekend. There were some fish into the teens caught, just not too many of them. The best limit catch that we heard of was on an AP Tackleworks needlefish spoon.. Good trolling lures have been Coho Killers, Bon Chovi or Outfitters Skinny G spoons and. Anglers jigging have been using Needlefish Darts or Deep.

Halibut fishing was GOOD early this past week. However, most anglers that were fishing for halibut were using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Also working well was the 9” Jumbo Squid in Green Glow. Also working well, and discouraging to dogfish, was the 9” Jumbo Squid in Green Glow.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Pedder Bay

Jordayn Dornblut (center) with her big halibut.

Jordayn Dornblut (center) with her big halibut.

Salmon fishing was SPOTTY this past week. There were some days when it really was good but not so good on others. Most of the fish being caught are springs but some respectable hatchery coho were also caught, mostly by angers targeting the coho. The entrance of Pedder Bay was as good as anywhere in the area. Anchovies also caught fish, but not as many as the ones taken jigging. Good choices for teaser head colors are UV Green, Chartreuse, Bloody Nose and Purple Haze. Flashers that are popular include the Betsey, Lemon-Lime and Madi.

Halibut fishing was GOOD this past weekend. Jordyn Dornblut was fishing the Race Rocks area on Saturday when she hooked and landed a 133 cm long, 76.4 lb halibut. She got the big fish on a hoochie & herring combination while fishing in 300 feet of water. Jordyn is only 18 years old and takes over first spot on our halibut leader board. Seeing it was so close to maximum size it was measured by multiple people to verify its length. The best areas were Race Rocks, William Head, 27 Fathom reef and Constance Bank. 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 Mudraker, Lucky or 9” Jumbo Squids if you want to stay away from the dogfish.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Sidney

Salmon fishing was SLOW but a little better this past week. The Pender Bluffs produced a couple of springs up to 12-14 lbs. There were fish in the Sidney Spit area as well. Anglers using spoons found Coho Killers, Gibbs Needle G and AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons were successful. Anglers jigging have also been catching springs and are using Needlefish Darts and Deep Stingers. The Powder Wharf and Shag Rocks area are popular for jigging salmon.

Effective July 25, 2016 at 00:01 hours until October 14, 2016 at 23:59 hours, you may not retain Chinook salmon in the following waters: Subareas 18-6 to 18-8, 18-10.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Sooke

The salmon fishing was BETTER this past week. Sherringham Point, Muir Creek, Otter Point, Possession Point and Secretary Island all produced salmon. There were some big springs in the 20’s and 30’s caught but still not large numbers of big fish. There was a good abundance of “teenagers” though. Anchovies are now the top choice for bait and good choices for teaser head colors are UV Green, Chartreuse, Bloody Nose and Purple Haze. The top spoons for Sooke anglers are the White Lightening and Irish Cream Coho Killers, trolled behind a Super Betsey, Madi or Bon Chovi Flasher. Hootchies in Cop Car, Purple haze and White have been effective in the past month.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com.

Victoria

 

Fishing for salmon was SLOW considering the numbers of boats. There were some nice springs as large as 30 lbs caught but not very many. There were, however, a ton of” shakers” caught and released. These were juvenile chinooks. An unusual catch was a 13 lb hatchery coho that was caught off Macauley Point on Saturday. The best fishing was in the early to mid week and in the afternoons and evenings. Anchovies have been a good bait to use and Bloody Nose and Purple Haze have been the most popular colors for teaser heads. Spoons have been successful in getting hook ups as well. Green Spatter Back UV Coho Killers or 4” cop Car spoons trolling behind a Moon Jelly flasher has also brought results in Victoria.. Red/Glow Hot Spot flashers have also been good to use.

The Clover Point Anglers’ Association held their 22nd Annual Salmon Derby on the weekend. The winner was Tom Celuzak who caught a 21 lb 7 oz white spring near the V21 buoy Saturday Morning. Second place went to Bruce Cowan with an 11 lb 2 oz spring and third went to Lance Foreman for a 9 lb 8 oz spring.

Halibut fishing was GOOD this past week with the best areas remaining being East Constance Bank, Border Bank and the Mud Hole. Anglers that were fishing were using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Also working well, and discouraging to dogfish, was the 9” Jumbo Squid in Green Glow.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Cowichan River

no report this week

Lakes

A happy angler shows off her catch at the Elk Lake fishing dock

A happy angler shows off her catch at the Elk Lake fishing dock

Fishing is GOOD in most lakes for both trout and bass. All streams within Management Units 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, and 1-6, except the Big Qualicum River, the Puntledge River and the Quinsam River are closed to fishing until further notice.

Trout fishing is GOOD on most lakes in the South Island area. Shore anglers are catching trout on Powerbait, Gulp Eggs, or worms while fishing close to the bottom. Chartreuse and Fluorescent Yellow have been good choices recently for Powerbait. Fly anglers are fishing Pumpkinheads, Wooly Buggers, Leeches and Micro Leech patterns on full sink fly lines. Trollers are catching trout with Gibbs Gang Trolls and Gibbs Wedding Bands.  2” Tomic Plugs have also been working well for Trout.

Bass fishing is EXCELLENT. At this time of year most of the bass are in the shallows.  During the day, soft plastics rigged Carolina style work well and crank baits can work well too. Soft plastics rigged “Carolina Style” are also a good choice when fishing drop offs and docks. The most productive colors in 4” Yum baits are Smoke or Pumpkinseed. 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. 

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Stamp River

no report this week

Oregon

Tillamook Bay

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that spring Chinook are available in decent numbers, and angling is improving. Trolling herring or large bladed spinners are the most productive techniques. Keep your gear near the bottom while trolling slowly.

Great Lakes

Lake Michigan

How- East wind continues and fish are deep and still biting. Mostly a spoon bite on 200 to 300 copper. The big King Chinooks are active every trip. The action and location has been from 75-170 feet. It’s an all species bite and it may be the best time of the season for a trophy. Chinooks went for regular size Vulcan spoons in silver or green/silver. Many Chinooks over ten pounds this week most averaged 12-18 pounds. White or green Howie’s flies also working well run behind a white flasher. The big Chinooks are active 75-90 down on downriggers.

Lake Trout action picking up they were hitting the Chinook tackle.

Brown Trout action was down with little or no pressure.

Rainbow Trout were hitting Vulcan Dolphin Green and Silver spoons in the top 45 feet.

Speed – For all fish speed has been very critical with the warmer 75 degree water. The temp break to 57 is down 85 feet in 100 feet of water. I use the Depth Raider to measure speed and temp at the ball. The boat speed of 2.0 to 2.2 has been best.

Where – I fished mostly out over 100 feet all week. East wind has pushed the warmer water in. Fish 75 to 170 feet. Near shore action on McKinley pier has been slow. Some Browns being caught on Vulcan spoons. We did not get out over 225 feet of water yesterday. Head 45 degrees north in Whitefish Bay and set lines in 75 feet. Troll northeast have a great fishing season. Let’s go fishing! Note We are offering an extra hour for $35 when added to a five hour fishing charter.

Report submitted by Jim at Blue Max Charters out of Milwaukee. He can be reached at 414-828-1094.

Salmon University Staff
Salmon University is the top online resource for fishing in the Pacific Northwest. Follow us on Twitter @salmonuniv for the latest news and other updates.

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