Fishing Reports for May 30
Washington
Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco)
no report this week
Marine Area 2 (Westport)
no report this week
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
Ling Cod and Spot Prawns are now available for the taking in Marine Area 7. Please read the regulations before you go. There’s a size slot limit for Ling and various rules for shrimping in the designated areas in the San Juans. Remember to check the tides when both Ling fishing and Prawning. Both are best on a flatter tide.
Submitted by Kevin Klein, Team Parker Boats NW. The cover image of this week’s fishing reports was also contributed by Klein. It shows Chuck Payne.
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
Salmon fishing is currently closed in MA11 through May but will open June 1st with a 2 salmon limit which only 1 may be a clipped Chinook and clipped or unclipped for Coho.
We expect a decent salmon fishery when it reopens, best areas should be The Clay Banks, shelf area and Pt. Evans, mooching, trolling and jigging should all be productive in about 140’ to 180’ of water near bottom.
There has been some good chinook fishing in MA13 but slowed a bit yesterday, I expect that fishery to pick back up soon and MA13 is open year around 2 salmon release unclipped Coho and Chinook
Pt. Gibson area, Concrete Dock and Green Pt. have been productive in MA13 for salmon. Ling Cod is open and has slowed some under the Narrows Bridge and adjacent shorelines up t o 120 feet in depth with live herring or sole. For an updated report call (253)404-3960
There will be no crabbing this summer in MA 11 or 13.
ABC Boating – Basic Boating Education: Everyone born after 1955 must complete an approved Washington Boater Education Course, pass a test and purchase their card in order to operate any watercraft with 15 horsepower or greater on Washington waters. The Basic Boating Courses are the traditional civic service of the United States Power Squadrons and are designed as an introduction to legal and safe power and sail boating. Instructors are knowledgeable volunteer members of USPS who have taken advanced squadron courses. | Monday/Thursday 7-9 PM June 4-18 | Cost $50 | Includes a student manual, CD, and an introductory navigation software CD from RosePoint Navigation | Must pre-register. Class size is limited. More info call Point Defaince Marina (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
Freshwater – Lake Chelan
What’s hot is trolling for Lake Trout on Chelan early in the morning at Colyar Ledge. Also hot is trolling between Chelan Shores and Lakeside for Lake Chelan Kokanee. Finally, Roses Lake is smoking hot for quality Bluegill and Crappie. When the wind lets you fish the early morning bite at Colyar Ledge, it is very good. The best depths seem to be between 220 and 270 feet. As always, fish within 3 to 5 feet of the bottom and keep your speed around 1.2 mph. The Mack’s Lure Bead and Blade combo our guide, Jeff Witkowski has developed has been very productive. He uses a bead combo to give the rig about a 4” long profile. Bait this rig with a chunk of Northern Pikeminnow. T4 Purple Glow Flatfish and Silver Horde Kingfisher Lite spoons have also been productive. Trolling between Chelan Shores and Lakeside for Kokanee has been very productive. Mack’s Kokanee Killer behind Sling Blades baited with shoepeg corn scented with Pro Cures Bloody Tuna or Pautzke’s Fire Corn in Natural is standard fare there. Most people are having success working suspended fish over depths of 35 to 70 feet. Finally, Roses Lake has yielded monster catches of Bluegill and Crappie. These are 8 to 9 inch bluegill and crappie from 11 to 13 inches. Slip bobbers with bait or cast and retrieve small jigs will yield as many as you want to fillet… Your fishing tip of the week is to remember scent. I use Pautzke’s Kokanee fuel on everything as a cover scent. Jeff is partial to Pro Cure’s Bloody Tuna. You don’t want those fish to shy away as they charge your lure.
The kid’s tip of the week is to keep the fishing foray’s short this time of the year. A couple of hours is plenty. With the first big hot spell of the summer rolling in you don’t want to make it a survival test out there. Work the hours of low light and cooler temperatures. Mid-days this time of the year are good for swimming and staying cool inside.
Your safety tip of the week is to keep a sharp look out for floating debris. The lake is filling rapidly and floating loads of woody debris off the shoreline. You don’t want to hit them! As we approach the Memorial Day weekend, I want to remember my friends, Terry Gilden who died in the 1983 Beirut embassy bombing and Randy Shughart who died in the 1993 Mogadishu incident made famous by the movie, Blackhawk Down. Both were members of Delta when they died. I had the privilege to serve with them in the Rangers when we were young. I get to do the things I love doing and spend time with my grandkids because of their sacrifice.
For more info call Anton & Sandra Jones of Darrell & Dad’s Family Guide Service;darrellanddads.com; antonj@aol.com or call (509)687-0709 or toll free at (866)360-1523.
Freshwater – Potholes Reservoir
no report this week
British Columbia
Vancouver
Right on schedule, our offshore chinook fishery has started! Good numbers of 8 to 15 pound chinook salmon are now out in the deep water off the South End of Bowen Island and the outer reaches of Vancouver Harbour. It has been a good first couple weeks of April, really looking forward to the second half!
Every spring, the longer days trigger the first plankton blooms of the year in the Strait of Georgia. This plankton bloom draws the herring, stickleback and anchovies out into the deep water to feed. Right behind all the “bait fish” is the feeding chinook salmon. For the next 4 to 6 weeks the offshore waters will be a very good option that can provide some explosive angling opportunities. Having said that, we are fishing out in the structureless water and some days you have to spend some time trying to find them or you have to wait for the right current for them to bite. Good areas to focus on this time of year include the Hump, the QA Marker, the Bell Buoy and the Gulf Island’s. Productive depths are typically in the 65 to 150 foot range. One thing to pay attention to out there is the currents, we find that these fish don’t like to bite in heavy current this time of year. Quite often we will look for areas with softer currents if we are between tide changes or fishing days with big tidal swings.
The offshore fish we are getting into now seem to be keying on bigger herring and walleye pollock and subsequently bigger 4.0 spoons seem to working well. We have been running 4.0 G Force and Silver Horde Spoons. Our Gibbs Delta G Force Spoons this time of year are the Trailhead, No Bananas and the Bon Chovy. Irish Cream, Green Glow and Kitchen Sink patterns from Silver Horde have been productive as well. We have not been running bait much as on a lot of days it is hard to keep up with the undersized and the baits are constantly getting fouled.
It looks like we are in for another solid spring chinook fishery in our local waters. It is very encouraging to see the strength of spring fishery in Strait of Georgia year after year. It is truly one of the most consistent fisheries in British Columbia in April, May and June. Give us a call or an email to get out there! If you have the time, an 8 or 10 hour charter is always a good bet this time of year. On our 10 hour charters, it opens up the possibility to fish the Gulf Island’s if weather and fishing conditons permit!
See you out on the water…..It looks like things are going to warm up this week.. FINALLY!
For more info call Jeff or Jason at Bon Chovy Fishing Charters (604) 763-5460, bonchovy.com email: info@bonchovy.com.
Bamfield
no report this week
Barkley Sound and Port Alberni
The fishing has had its ups and downs like we often expect from the early season. We have been having to work for our fish but have also been getting rewarded with some nice catches both offshore and from protected water. This past week saw a stretch of some really great weather with almost flat seas and sun making it a true fishing paradise. Inside Barkley Sound the Chinook were biting on 3 inch green Silver Horde spoons and needle fish hutchies. Offshore the fish were being taken on white hutchies and 3-3.5 inch Silver Horde spoons if in the top 100 feet and glow needle fish hutchies near the bottom.
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 cover image of this week’s reports was also contributed by Vandervalk.
Becher Bay
Salmon fishing PICKED UP in East Sooke. The hot spots this past weekend were the Bedford islands and inside the bay near Aldridge Point. Most of the fish have been from 8 1/2 to 14 lbs. The best depths off Aldridge Point were 70-80 feet and close to the bottom off the Bedfords. The majority of anglers are using spoons with Coho Killers and 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. Needlefish 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. Early in the week there were quite a few in the teens being caught. Then it slowed down into the weekend. The Flats was producing the best on the flood tide, while the tail end of the ebb produced the best at the Gap. The salmon are feeding on needle fish and close to the bottom where the feed is located. Most of the anglers have been either bottom bouncing squirts and spoons or jigging close to the bottom. Best bets for Oak Bay trolling lures are Wee Gs and Skinny Gs, Coho Killers and AP Tackleworks Sandlance spoons. Squirts will also work with Jelly fish and Electric Chairs good bets. Jiggers are doing best with Deep Stingers and Point Wilson darts.
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 TO GOOD salmon fishing but not too many anglers were out due to the strong winds all week. The majority of the salmon have been from 5 to 12 lbs in size but there have been some high teen’s hatchery fish being caught. The anglers catching most of the fish have been jigging rather than trolling. GIBBS 6oz to 8 oz anchovies have been the best jigs to use here. Squirts were the hot lures again this past week if you’re trolling and green and glow, Purple Haze or UV white are good color choices. Spoons have been producing well and the Skinny G’s, Wee G’s, AP Tackleworks and Coho Killers are the top choices. Green with either silver or glow has been the color choice in spoons. Flashers that are popular include the Guide Series Madi, Outfitters and Lemon Lime. Anglers are also starting to get good results using anchovies for bait. Good choices for teaser head colors are Bloody Nose, Chartreuse and Purple Haze.
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. Coal Island was good the most productive location to catch springs into the high teens. Dan Fears caught a 69 cm spring off Coal Island Tuesday morning while jigging from his kayak and using a P-Line Laser Minnow. The Powder wharf area has been holding lots of bait and fish into the mid teens have been caught there as well, just not as many. We’ve also heard of springs up to 10 lbs coming from the Pender Bluffs, 135 feet down on Cop Car spoons. Anglers using spoons found that AP Sandlance spoons, Coho Killers and Gibbs and Needle G spoons productive this past week. Suggested colours are Kitchen Sink and Irish Cream. Anchovies and Tiny Strip were also good in Glow or UV Purple teaser heads.
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 FAIR on this past week. Most of the fish are from 5 to 10 lbs in size with the occasional larger one into the teens. Otter Point provided the best catches this past weekend. Most of the salmon are close to the bottom in 100 – 140 feet of water but there are some at mid water depths. There has also been some wild, oversize fish into the 20’s caught and released. Anglers are starting to get good results using anchovies for bait. Good choices for teaser head colors are Bloody Nose, Chartreuse and Purple Haze. Spoons such as Skinny G’s, Coho Killers and 4″ Coyote spoons have been good. Hootchies in White, Glow/Green and Purple Haze are the top choices in plastic baits. Anchovies are still the most popular choice for those fishing bait. For flashers, Red/Glow Hot Spots, the Delta Guide Series UV Moon Jelly, Madi and the Lemon Lime Chartreuse are popular.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Victoria
Halibut fishing has been excellent in all the regular spots. The pinnacles at 8 mile, the C&B, and the “T” have all been very consistent. Mackerel has been the best bait, but octopus and herring are also catching fish. We are getting lots of fish over the legal slot size, so make sure you have your tape measure. Try to use circle hooks to keep the fish from swallowing trebles and J hooks then injuring them upon release. Do your best to leave the fish in the water and avoid bringing them onboard for a picture. Halibut are not that good looking!
Salmon fishing has been a little slow, but more fish have been showing up by the day. The 120-140 foot contour from Low rock to Grassy have been the best spots. The bait is very small, so match your lures accordingly. The Gibbs Delta Skinny-G in No-Bananas and Bon Chovy colors have been our best lures. Trolled on 4-5 foot leaders behind Oki purple glow/silver and red glow/jelly fish colors have been working well. The size of the fish is good right now, with average fish in the mid to high teens.
We recently had one boat become available June 4-6 and also July 6-8. These are the only boats available until August 31st. Give me a call or drop me a line to get in on our world class fishery and enjoy some incredible west coast hospitality at our West Coast Vancouver Island Fishing Lodge.
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 GOOD in most lakes for trout and REALLY GOOD for bass.
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