Fishing Reports for September 14
Washington
Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco)
no report this week
Marine Area 2 (Westport)
no report this week
Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay)
no report this week
Marine Area 5
no report this week
Marine Area 6
no report this week
Marine Area 7
Submitted by Kevin Klein, Team Parker Boats NW.
Marine Area 8.1
no report this week
Marine Area 8.2
no report this week
Marine Area 9 (Admirality Inlet)
no report this week
Marine Area 10
no report this week
Marine Area 11
The salmon fishing is closed through January 2017 in area MA 11 however in MA 13 from the Narrows Bridge to Olympia salmon fishing will reopen Oct. 1st 2016.
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. Two-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.”
Pier Peer in Tacoma Marine Night
Saturday September 17 , 2016 from 7:30 – 9 pm Ages 8+ Cost $8 each Family Night on the Point Defiance Pier learning about marine life that divers find and that can be seen in the night lights off the pier. More information here.
Point Defiance Marina Fall Swap Meet
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
no report this week
Freshwater – Lake Chelan
no report this week
Freshwater – Lake Union
The bite on Lake Union has been pretty consistent this summer. A mixed catch of smallmouth, rockbass, largemouth, perch, crappie and pumpkin seed. About a week ago we were finding fish in 12 to 20 feet of water. Dropshot, jigs and even crank baits proved to be successful for all species. With cooler mornings upon us and the lake temperatures dropping those bigger bass have gone deeper. Put in your time and you may find a few good fish. You have a to land several small ones before you can put a larger one in the boat. Fall is in the air. Tight lines.
Report submitted by Brad Hole of Kayak Fishing Washington. (206-313-5567)
Freshwater – Potholes Reservoir
Last week found me fishing Walleye three days with modest results, bringing home three or four per trip ranging 16″ to 23″. I fished the humps outside of Crab Creek with the humps coming up to seven feet and dropping down to 25 feet. Most came on the drop with smile blade worm harnesses and trolling at 1 mph. I did watch a guide boat trolling side planers and plugs and trolling fast. A lot of boats were clustered off the side of Goose Island and finding success for Walleye.
The weekend was a noisy one with the annual gathering of the real fast and noisy boats. Also, there was a bass tournament going on. I stayed clear of the water. Now Monday and Tuesday there are wind warnings up. The temperature is mild and Wednesday on almost no wind.
Local fruit stands are full of fresh picked apples. Also I took a short drive and sawa field full of the Sandhill Cranes. There will be more arriving daily. The youth duck is this weekend and my oldest granddaughter Bridgette will be here with her dad.
Report submitted by Tom Pollack.
British Columbia
Vancouver
no report this week
Vancouver Island (Saltwater)
no report this week
Alberni Inlet, Barkley Sound, and Ucuelet
The Alberni Valley and all of Barkley Sound has experienced rain fall over the past few days which has helped many of the migrating salmon swim much more quickly to their natal streams, creeks and rivers. Fresh Chinook and Coho are moving from the vast Pacific Ocean into Barkley Sound. The salmon that have recently reached the waters of Barkley Sound will migrate fairly rapidly up into the Alberni Inlet. The water in much of the Inlet and also Barkley Sound is not stagnant and has cooled down dramatically which help the salmon to migrate a little more quickly. The Chinook and Coho will also be a little more eager to bite the variety of lures put out by many anglers. There are currently plenty of Chinook and Coho Salmon in the system.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has announced that there is a decrease in the Chinook run size returning to the Somass River System. The original forecast of one hundred and twenty thousand Chinook returning to the River system has been cut in half to approximately sixty thousand.
The best salmon fishing currently is in Barkley Sound. The many salmon that were in the Alberni Inlet have moved into the River system. The Inlet will fill with fresh salmon in the coming days. Weather conditions are forecast to improve and warmer air is in the immediate forecast which will slow the salmon migration. This will also be very true of the salmon down in Barkley Sound locations. The ample Chinook and Coho at Swale Rock, Harbor Entrance,Pill Point, Assets Island, and the Bamfield Wall should hold for a few days. The Bamfield Wall has been inconsistent for the last ten days. Pill Point, Swale Rock, Harbor Entrance and Assets have all had very consistent sport fishing over the same amount of time. The salmon in the sound have been biting and feeding very hard around tide changes. The Chinook and Coho are also very active between tides. The same scenario has been true for those fishing in the inlet. The salmon are in fairly shallow water in Barkley Sound and also the Alberni Inlet. Fishing between thirty and fifty feet has not been uncommon. The best lures in the Alberni Inlet are the O-2, 0-15, 0-16, spatterback and AORL 12 hootchies. Anchovy in the Inlet is also working. In Barkley Sound anchovy in a variety of Rhys Davis Teaser Heads seem ideal and for many is working the best. Leader lengths from five and a half to six feet behind gold, green, or burgundy flashers with a gold face are working very well. The AORL 12 hootchie with 38 to 42 inches of leader behind a burgundy and gold flasher or a kinetic flasher is ideal for Coho in Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet.
Entries for this year’s Salmon Festival Derby have been remarkably encouraging. There will be many boaters on the water. Safety precautions are always of importance.
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 Jin from Toronto with a twenty-three pound Chinook, was also contributed by Doug.
Salmon fishing was FAIR this past week and spotty at times. Some nice springs are still coming in but not as many as in previous weeks. The Trap Shack, Beechey Head and Aldridge Point were the most productive locations to fish. The coho fishing has been steadily improving and anglers are catching 7-11 lb hatchery fish as well lots of wild coho. Those who targeted coho did quite well using spoons. Anglers using bait are finding anchovies in glow teaser heads have been working best. Also good are spoons, such as the G-Force and Skinny G, in Bon Chovy or Outfitters’ colours. 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 again this past week. There were some springs up to 10 lbs caught on the flats but not too many were taken. Most of the salmon anglers who fish Oak Bay have moved over to either Sooke or the waterfront. Good trolling lures have been Coho Killers, Bon Chovi or Outfitters Skinny G spoons or AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons. Anglers jigging have been using Needlefish Darts, Point Wilson Darts or Deep Stingers.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Pedder Bay
Salmon fishing was GOOD this past week. The best chinook fishing was in Pedder Bay and just off Bentick Island. The coho have also moved into the bay, so you don’t necessarily have to go out to the shipping lanes to find them. Most of the hatchery coho have been from 8 to 14 lbs and even larger unclipped fish have been taken and released. The bite periods have been early in the morning, on the tide changes and late in the evening. Anglers targeting the coho have been quite successful trolling out in the deeper water. Anchovies were the top bait this past week. 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.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Sidney
Salmon fishing was BETTER this past week. The Pender Bluffs produced mostly coho as large as 11.5 lbs. The coho were suspended at 80-90 feet. There were some bigger fish off Hambley Point where 27 & 24 lb chinooks were caught. The fish off Hambley were in 130-140 feet of water. The springs are being caught on anchovies and the Bloody Nose teaser has been the best onr. Anglers using spoons found Coho Killers, Gibbs Needle G and AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons the most successful spoons this past year. Anglers jigging have also been caught springs 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 VERY GOOD during the week but slowed way down on the weekend. Otter Point, Possession Point and Secretary Island were the hotspots. The springs seem to be either at one or the other of these locations each day. The fish have been running shallower with 20-60 feet on the downrigger the best depths. The coho fishing has been very good and many of them are big. The hatchery fish were running from 8–14 lbs and some of the wild, unmarked coho were even heavier. The unclipped fish greatly outnumbered the clipped fish this past week. 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. For flashers, you can’t go wrong with a Super Betsey, Madi or Bon Chovi Flasher. Hootchies in White, Cop Car and Army Truck have been effective recently.
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 GOOD this past week. The week started out with lots of springs and coho off the harbour area but it slowed down by the weekend. The wild coho were as large the mid teens in size and hatchery coho up to 12 lbs were caught. There were good bites at times and other long periods were there was nothing happening. The best depths have been 40 to 75 feet on the downrigger. There were good bites at Macauley, the V21 buoy (green can), the breakwall, Brotchie Ledge and Clover Point. Most of the springs have been from 8 to 15 lbs in size but some big ones were caught. Thomas Brandwood landed a 34.5 lb spring off the waterfront on Monday and a 34.1 lb spring was seen on the ramp on Sunday. Anchovies have been a good bait to use (12 or 10 pack) and Bloody Nose, UV Green 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, 3.5” Cop Car spoons or AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons have also brought good results in Victoria.
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
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. For clarity, in freshwater management units 1-1 to 1-6 only the Big Qualicum, Puntledge and Quinsam/Campbell Rivers remain open to angling. Effective immediately to 23:59 hours Friday September 30th 2016 the Nitinat River will open to recreational angling for chinook and coho. The daily limit will be 4 salmon per day of which: • Two (2) may be chinook, of which only one (1) may be greater than 77 cm. in length, and• Two (2) may be coho, marked or unmarked.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
no report this week
Oregon
Tillamook Bay
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that fishing on the bay is fair with fall Chinook starting to show up; a few fish are being caught.
Great Lakes
Lake Michigan
no report this week