Fishing Reports for March 28
Washington
Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco)
no report this week
Marine Area 2 (Westport)
We’re through week two since the Lingcod opened on March 10th and fishing is as expected…outstanding. Limits of Lingcod (2, any size), and limits of Rockfish (7 total) have been the norm for the All Rivers & Saltwater Charters team.
Our fishing program is as fun as it is productive with the use of light tackle and live bait. The use of live bait also yields a nicer grade of lingcod which has made for heavy bags of fillets at the end of the trip!
Our go to set-up for the Seabass is a lightweight 7’ Okuma Tarvos spinning rod, 50# Tufline braised line, and a double dropper loop rig with shrimp flies. Tons of fun.
We’re focusing on bottom fish out of Westport through May and as June approaches we’ll be looking for Salmon and Albacore.
Report submitted by Mark Coleman, All River and Saltwater Charters; 425-736-8920.
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
Rory O’Connor with a great looking Chinook!
Chinook fishing has been fair in the Islands. Hopefully it’ll pick up for larger fish coming into April. It sounds like we’ve got quite a bit of quota left for the season in Marine Area 7 and will most likely be able to fish until the April 15th closure. That’s some good news.
Submitted by Kevin Klein, Team Parker Boats NW. The cover image of this week’s fishing reports was also contributed by Klein.
Marine Area 8.1
no report this week
Marine Area 8.2
no report this week
Marine Area 9 (Admirality Inlet)
Big Bait + Big Lures = BIG FISH … we headed out to the banks again and found quite a lot of large herring suspended off of Hein Bank.
It was the 4 inch Resurrection and also the Irish Crème that put some high teeners on the Fishtale two this past weekend. Most of the bait was suspended 20 feet off the bottom in 130-150 feet of water. Reports of “no bait” came in from Mid Channel bank. Don’t waste too many hours trolling and searching for bait in one area if there is no bait there. Move on and find the bait and try to stay on it.
See you on the water!
Report submitted by Nelson “Spud” Goodsell – Salmon for Soldiers, IGFA Life Member, FISHTALE2. The cover image of this week’s fishing reports was also contributed by Goodsell.
WDFW just announced that, starting Friday, March 30th, the limit on Blackmouth Salmon will be raised to 2 per angler. WDFW said they expect the season to be open until April 15th.
Depending on weather, fishing has picked up with a larger percentage of legal fish being caught. There are still plenty of seals and sea lions to share your hooked fish with. Mid-Channel Bank has been off and on, good fishing one day, bad the next. There has been good fishing at Pt No Pt and Pilot Pt. Fair fishing in the Possession Bar area.
SU Staff
Marine Area 10
no report this week
Marine Area 11
The salmon fishing has been pretty good the last couple of days even though it’s been a little windy, the hand full of fishermen that have ventured out have found Blackmouth/immature Chinook at the Clay Banks in 140-170 feet of water at the low and high water tide changes near bottom trolling flasher and spoon, Jigging with salmon jigs and mooching with herring. Also there are some Coho to 16” and sea run cutthroat trout being caught with light gear along the shoreline mostly in MA 11 and 13. Most legal salmon are in the 4-6 pound range with a few up to 10 lbs. Call for a more updated report at (253)404-3960.
Basic Fishing Classes –Adults (Ages 15+) May 26, 2018 from 10 am to 12 pm. Learn local freshwater and saltwater skills, regulations, and safety. Cost $15. Youth Ages 8+ April 7, 2018 from 10 am to 12 pm Cost $15
Trailering Class – April 14, 2018 Saturday 10 am to 12 pm Cost $20 including Launch pass to practice skills learned. Learn the basic fundamentals of trailering including: care, safe hookups, towing, launching, docking, maintenance, and more. Register at MetroParksTacoma.org/GO, or via phone at (253)404-3960.
Report submitted by Point Defiance Marina. For more information contact: Gene Anderson, Boathouse Marina Technician, 253.591.5325 genea@tacomaparks.com www.pointdefiancemarina.com.
Marine Area 12
no report this week
Columbia River
Fishing is slowly picking up as we approach the end of March and everyday this run is building. River conditions are ideal for down-trolling herring with generally lower water levels due to an unusually cool spring.
We like to focus our fishing efforts on the Kalama-Portland/Vancouver zone because it yields to the downriver-trolled herring technique so well. That’s due to the tidal effects of slowing the river current during the flood tide. Sometime we’ll anchor fish with wrapped plugs or herring on the ebb-tide when the river really start to pick up speed.
The regularly forecasted season will run through April 7th and fishing will really pick up one day to the next.
Report submitted by Mark Coleman, All River and Saltwater Charters; 425-736-8920.
Freshwater – Lake Chelan
no report this week
Freshwater – Potholes Reservoir
no report this week
British Columbia
Vancouver
no report this week
Alberni Inlet, Barkley Sound, and Ucluelet
no report this week
Bamfield
no report this week
Becher Bay
Salmon fishing was FAIR. Anglers have been having the most success on the top of the flood tide in Whirl Bay. It’s been slower inside the bay and near the marina. Most anglers are fishing close to the bottom in 100 to 140 depths. We haven’t heard of any salmon over 10 lbs here this past week. The majority of anglers are using spoons with Coho Killers, Gibbs Skinny G’s in green/glow and green/silver colors the favorites. The GIBBS Highliner Guide Series Outfitters, Madi, Lemon Lime and Red/Glow Hot Spot flashers have been working well. Hootchies in White, Glow/Green and Purple Haze are the top choices in plastic baits.
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 FAIR in Oak Bay this past week. There are salmon coming in from the Gap and from the Flats but they were mostly small. The salmon are feeding on needle fish and have been close to the bottom where the feed is located. Most of the anglers have been either bottom bouncing or jigging close to the bottom. Best bets for Oak Bay lures are needlefish spoon and squirts.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Pedder Bay
Pedder Bay Marina reports FAIR fishing in Whirl Bay. It’s been slower near the Green Can and at Whirl Bay. Most of the fish have been caught close to the bottom in 100 to 140 feet of water. The majority of the salmon have been from 3 to 6 lbs in size but a couple of 12 lb springs were caught, one at Whirl and the other in Pedder Bay. Spoons have been producing the best and the Skinny G’s, AP Tackleworks and Coho Killers are the top choices. Green with either silver or glow has been the color choice in spoons. Hoochies and squirts with a green and glow, or UV white have been popular color choices for plastic baits. Flashers that are popular include the Guide Series Madi, Outfitters and Lemon Lime.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Sidney
Salmon fishing was FAIR in the Sidney area. We have heard that there were some keeper springs being caught near Coal Island and in the Sidney channel. Some of the springs were over 10 lbs but most salmon are still smaller than that. Anglers using spoons found that APT Sandlance spoons, Coho Killers and Gibbs and Needle G spoons the most productive this past week. Suggested colours are Kitchen Sink and Irish Cream. Anchovies and Tiny Strip were also good producers of fish with teaser heads in Glow or UV Purple.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Sooke
The salmon fishing has been FAIR over the last few weeks. Most of the fish are from 3 to 8 lbs in size with the occasional larger one. The best location to fish for winter springs was from the Bluffs to Muir Creek. Most of the salmon are close to the bottom in 100 – 140 feet of water but there are some at mid water depths. The most productive lure combo has been a white hootchy fished behind a Red/Gold flasher. Hootchies in White, Glow/Green and Purple Haze are the top choices in plastic baits. Spoons such as Skinny G’s, Coho Killers and 3.5″ G Force spoons have been good. Anchovies are still the most popular choice for those fishing bait. Good choices for teaser head colors are Army Truck, Bloody Nose and Purple Haze. For flashers, Red/Glow Hot Spots, the Delta Guide Series UV Moon Jelly, Madi and the Lemon Lime Chartreuse are popular. There were very few halibut caught this past week.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Victoria
Wade Moore with a 10.6 lb spring from Constance Bank
Fishing for salmon was FAIR off the waterfront this past week when the winds weren’t too blustery. Most of the fish are still small, from 3 to 7 lbs in size, but some larger ones have been caught. It was best out at Constance Bank. Wade Moore caught 10.6 lb spring out at Constance Bank on Wednesday on a Driftwood Brewing Fat Tug lure. In closer, there were springs from the Flagpole to Trial Island. In most locations the best depths to fish were 90-140 feet but we’ve heard of some larger fish being caught at mid-water depths. Spoons have been successful in getting hook ups with Irish Cream Skinny G’s, Green/Glow AP Tackleworks Anchovy 4” spoons and Green/Glow Coyote spoons popular choices. Most of the boats out fishing were not after salmon this past weekend as the emphasis was on halibut.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Lakes and Rivers
Fishing was SLOW in most lakes for trout and bass and GOOD in the rivers for steelhead.
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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