Fishing Reports for March 22
Washington
Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco)
Marine Area 3 (LaPush and Forks)
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
no report this week
Marine Area 8.2
no report this week
Marine Area 9 (Admirality Inlet)
Not Off-The-Chart : Catching has been pretty slow with very few reports coming in from the usual spots like Possession and Point No Point.
On the other hand, the catching has been pretty good up in the Port Townsend area with Mid-Channel Bank putting out some nice Kings.
Irish Flag Kingfishers spoons with and without Tailwaggers has been feeding them in 100-130 feet of water.
Marine Area 10
no report this week
Marine Area 11
If you prefer to mooch or jig there are salmon being caught at Pt. Dalco on the flood and Clay bank area on the ebb.For an updated report call (253)591-5325.
Crabbing is now closed until July 1 with no winter crabbing in Area 11. For a more up to date report call 253-591-5325
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
Learn fall fishing opportunities and how to pursue the Basic Fishing Youth/Adult April 8, 2017 Saturday 10 am to 12 noon Cost $1
Point Defiance Marina Basic Trailering Class- Ages 18+ April 15, 2017 Saturday 10 am to 12 noon Cost $20 Point Defiance Marina
Plan ahead for the ABC Boater’s Education Class on Wednesday Nights from 7-9 pm May 3-31, 2017. This class will provide the requirements for the mandatory WA State Boater’s Card for boats with 15 hp or greater. The class will provide a Boater’s Manual and Navigational Software. Cost is $50. The class is taught by Tacoma Power Squadron
Boat House Tackle Shop open 7 days a week.
Boat lifts open from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. Tackle Shop hours are 6:30 am to 7:30 pm. For more information call 253-591-5325 Call 253-591-5325 or visit us on Facebook “Point Defiance Marina”
Summer Camps Fair at Tacoma STAR Center will kick off the start of summer camps registration March 20, 2017 from 10 am to 1 pm . For more information http://www.metroparkstacoma.org/. Sails and Trails Camp for Ages 11-15. Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm. Cost $260/wk. Participants spend the week fishing and educational trail hikes at Point Defiance and Sailing and Kayaking at Tacoma Youth Marine Center. Also one day is spend at Foss Seaport Center with hands on marine science. July 10-14, July 17 21, July 24-28, July 31-Aug 4.
Report submitted by Point Defiance Marina. For more information contact: Art Tachell, Boathouse Marina Technician, 253.591.5325 art@tacomaparks.com www.pointdefiancemarina.com.
Freshwater – Lake Chelan
no report this week
Freshwater – Potholes Reservoir
With the finally warming temperatures all ice is gone from the lakes in the area. I did see a lot of boat trailers at the ramps and I understand there was a bass tournament this past weekend. For the most part no boats were in sight so the fishing was up in the dunes. We walked into both Canal and Janet Lakes to find few fishermen and not much activity. I guess that fishing will pick up with finally warming water. No grass to mow yet!
Report submitted by Tom Pollack
British Columbia
Vancouver
A solid outing last weekend
We have seen fishing pick up over the last 10 days in local waters. All of the normal Howe Sound winter spots continue to produce some nice fish and we have also seen a couple springtime fishing spots start to show some signs of life. In addition to the good fishing, the wildlife viewing has been amazing! We have had frequent encounters with Transient Killer Whales, Humpback Whales, Sea Lions, Porpoise, Bald Eagles, Otters and Harbour Seals. These amazing animals are been drawn in by the big schools of herring and anchovies now in local waters.
We are hoping that the last of the snow is behind us. Although we were getting quite used to fishing in the snow, we are enjoying the warmer temperatures that have now set in. We have continued to spend most of our time in Howe Sound and we have had pretty decent results on all of our trips over the last two weeks with some nice fish up to 20 pounds. On most charters we have had a shot at 4 to 8 fish. Most of the fish have continued to be pretty close to bottom, but there is the odd fish starting to getting hooked higher up in the water column. This especially holds true for spots like Hole in the Wall and the Bell Buoy that have started to pick up recently.
Nothing beats some family time and good fishing.
We have had really good results on hootchies over the last few weeks. Green and Chartreuse Yamashita Spacklebacks, white Glow, and Army Truck hootchies have been a few of our favourites recently. Spoons that have been good for us have been the Trailhead and Bon Chovy G Force and the Outfitter and Bon Chovy Skinny G. We have been running Guide Series Lemon Lime, Madi, STS and Bon Chovy Flashers. We still have not bothered to run any anchovies or herring yet as spoons and hootchies typically work just as good if not better in the winter and early spring. We have all the right gear for local waters available at our charter/tackle shop on Granville Island.
As we look forward to April we will see the days get longer, warmer and brighter! This will trigger the start of our offshore fishery off the South End of Bowen often known as the “Hump” . Some years it starts during the first week of April and some years it does not get going until the 3rd week of April. With the good numbers of fish around this winter, we should see this transition into a productive local fishery in April and May.
Only a couple weeks left to take advantage of our winter special! It is a great way to get out on the water do some salmon fishing, prawning and crabbing at a great rate! Check out this link for more information. Please give us a call or send us an email if you would like to get out on the water!
For more info call Jeff or Jason at Bon Chovy Fishing Charters (604) 763-5460,bonchovy.com email: info@bonchovy.com. The cover image of this week’s fishing reports, showing Brittney and Amy with a couple of winter springs, was also contributed by Bon Chovy.
Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound
no report this week
Bamfield
no report this week
Becher Bay
Salmon fishing was GOOD this past week. Springs are all throughout the area and the largest fish, a 12 lber, was caught near the Trap Shack at 110 feet. Aldridge Point and Church Rock produced springs up to 10 lbs. Most of the anglers are using artificial lures and are trolling close to the bottom. Spoons, especially G-Force and Skinny G spoons, in Bon Chovy or Outfitters’ colours have been very effective. Anglers using bait are catching their share of salmon and are finding anchovies in glow teaser heads have been working best. For flashers, the Betsey, Lemon Lime and Green/Silver Hot Spot have been good.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
48 lb halibut caught by Hunter Grant and Greg McKerihen
Salmon fishing was FAIR recently. There are small springs up to 10 lbs on the flats but the seals have been a problem here. Many of the local anglers are fishing at Constance and Border Bank, just to escape the seals. All of the anglers have been bottom bouncing or trolling close to the bottom. Good trolling lures have been Coho Killers, Bon Chovi or Outfitters Skinny G spoons or AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons. Sandlance lures and squirts (needle fish) are best in pearl, white & green, or white glow.
Halibut fishing was VERY GOOD with fish taking salmon heads, large herring and octopus in the 250 to 370 foot depths. Be sure to get setup about an hour and a half before the slack to catch the tide swing and to be able to stay on the bottom. Most anglers that were fishing for halibut are using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Also working well was the 8” Powerbait Grubs and Delta Hali Hawgs.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Pedder Bay Marina reports salmon fishing was GOOD for winter springs up to 14 lbs in size. The largest fish of the weekend, at 14 lbs, was caught near the can at the entrance to the bay. The fishing was similar in Whirl Bay and the largest salmon that we know of from there weighed 10 lbs. Most anglers are using artificial lures and trolling close to the bottom, but anchovies are also producing well. The fish haven’t been too picky about what they will strike Spoons, especially G-Force and Skinny G spoons in Brass/Silver, Bon Chovy or Outfitters’ colours, have been very effective. Hootchies and squirts with a green and glow color combination have been good plastic baits to use, especially with a 30” to 36” leader. Anchovies were still working 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.
Halibut fishing was GOOD this past week. There was a line up at the cleaning station as lots of angers wee successful. Most anglers that were fishing for halibut are using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Also working well was the 8” Powerbait Grubs and Delta Hali Hawgs.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Sidney
Salmon selfie with Brian Gibson, Darren Wright and Ward Bond during the Saanich Inlet Salmon Spectacular
Salmon fishing was FAIR this past week. Most areas produced good fish with Wain Rock, Moses Point, Coal Island, Fairfax, the Sidney Channel and Hamley Point all good spots to try. The Saanich Inlet Salmon spectacular had 150 anglers participating. There were 17 fish weighed in and the winning fish weighed 12 lbs. Anglers using spoons found Coho Killers, Gibbs Needle G and AP Tackleworks spoons the most successful spoons this past year. Anchovies and Tiny Strip were the good producers of fish.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Sooke
22 lb hatchery spring caught by Todd McIntrye this past weekend.
The salmon fishing has been GOOD for springs. Most of the fish are running from 5 to 12 lbs in size but there were bigger ones around Todd McIntyre caught a 22 lb hatchery spring near Secretary Island on the weekend with fishing in a family and friends derby. All of the other fish in the derby were between 8 and 12 lbs. The best fishing has been in 110 – 150 feet of water. The salmon are holding close to the bottom so you have to troll deep. Most of the anglers are using artificial lures but the largest fish have been caught on herring or anchovies. There are large herring in the area and the bigger fish are keying in on them. The top spoons for Sooke anglers have lots of green, glow or Moon Jelly as the primary color. Good choices for teaser head colors are UV Green, Chartreuse, Bloody Nose and Purple Haze. For flashers, you can’t go wrong with a Super Betsey, Madi or Bon Chovi Flasher. Hootchies in White, Glow/Green and Purple Haze 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
Well what a winter we’ve had here on Vancouver Island. I am writing this on March 5th and looking out at snow covered boats in my front yard. The Obsession Too went in the water a couple weeks ago for its first sea trial of the year with some new modifications. As you can see from the picture of Angie below, there are fish to be caught! We are ramping up for an incredibly busy summer lodge season. I am having fun testing out some of the new rods and fishing gear that suppliers are working to get to the market place. Once again our guests will be able to use the hottest new gear and tackle available.
The salmon fishing has been very consistent for the last month around Victoria. The herring are spawning so big spoons have been working well with no flasher. We ran AP herring spoon in glow moon jelly Sunday morning with decent action on it and trolled near the bottom just off the Victoria breakwater in 60-120 feet of water. This past Thursday it was the no bananas G-Force spoon with a purple glow flasher that had most of our action.
As the summer lodge season gets closer we are excited to get back out on the water and showcase Reel Obsession’s team of professionals to everyone who will be joining us this year. June is our overall best month for halibut and bottom fish, and last season we had some of our best action on Chinook salmon as well. Mike and Cindy Bentz were with Guide Tallon the last week of June and landed 2 Tyee’s, limited out on there salmon, halibut and had a tub full of bottom fish as well.
We are very pleased to announce that all of our guiding team will be returning to show the rest of the coastal guides how its done. A big shout-out to Wade, Troy and Tallon! Glad to have you guys back. With that said, majority of our lodge staff will be returning apart from hiring a couple more professionals to join the Reel Obsession land-based team. With excitement, we are thrilled to publicise the return of Chef Jason Brimblecombe! Yep, Chef Brimblecombe will be back working his magic in the kitchen for all to enjoy. We are also happy to report that again this year guests will be able to take home 8 salmon (4 can be chinook and 4 coho or pinks), 2 halibut, 6 ling cod and 6 rock fish. As we know and hear from our guests, we typically catch enough fish for you to enjoy until your next great trip with us.
Don’t miss out on some great opportunities for fishing this Spring – call me in March to book your spot in the boat for June or grab one of the few remaining spots for August.
Report submitted by Adrian O’Connor, Reel Obsession Sport Fishing (1-888-855-7335 | adrian@reelobsession.ca). The cover image of this week’s fishing reports was also contributed by Adrian.
Lakes and Rivers
Fishing was PICKING UP in most lakes for trout and bass as water temperatures are slowly rising. Winter run steelhead are in most rivers on both sides of the Island. The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC has started their stocking of spring catchable rainbow trout into Vancouver Island lakes. On March 14th, Shawnigan Lake received 1,750 catchable trout weighing 242.6 grams. On March 10th, Thetis Lake received 1,500 trout and Colwood Lake 250 trout averaging 236.54 grams. On March 6th, Durrance Lake received 1,000 trout and Glen, Kemp and Matheson Lakes received 500 trout averaging 231.7 grams. On March 2nd, Elk Lake and Prospect Lake were each stocked with 1,750 trout weighing 238.82 grams each.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Oregon
Lake Michigan
no report this week
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