Fishing Reports, September 9, 2021

By on September 9, 2021

Washington

Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco)

The WDFW closed chinook retention here as of August 27th. Fishing remains open for other species. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8437
no report this week.

Marine Area 2 (Westport)

The WDFW closed the recreational salmon season here on September 8th. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8465
Chinook fishing has slowed a bit this week, with fish averaging up to about 19lbs. and the largest chinook this week being about 25lbs. Keeper silvers are still averaging in the sub-10lb range.

The WDFW closed the recreational salmon season here on September 4th. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8467
Halibut fishing is open here Thursday-Saturday until September 25th if the quota is not reached. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8316

Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay)

“Coho, Pacific cod, and halibut from Neah Bay on Thursday Sept. 2nd… Not red hot, but solid action. Lots of shaker blackmouth trolling back to Sekiu. We stopped fishing after a while because it felt like we were just injuring small salmon”

Halibut fishing is open here Thursday-Saturday until September 25th if the quota is not reached. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8316
The WDFW has lowered the chinook retention to one fish in MA 4, as of July 24th. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8314
The chinook fishing has slowed off of Neah Bay. Fish are still averaging in the teens, with a few in the 20’s and the coho so far are small, with clipped fish in the 7-9lb range, but lots of unclipped fish out there.
The Makah Nation, including Neah Bay continues to be closed to the public due to COVID-19 – so most sportfishers fishing in Area 4 are running there from Sekiu. As of August 25, 2021, the Makah Nation web site states that the Makah Nation will be closed to the public until at least October 1, 2021. For more information, please see the Makah Nation website here: https://makah.com/

Report & pic submitted by Sam from Port Angeles.

Marine Area 5 (Sekiu)

Halibut fishing is open here Thursday-Saturday until September 25th if the quota is not reached. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8316
Coho are showing in greater numbers and they are getting bigger, but there’s a large number of unclipped fish to sort through in order to retain any clipped fish… some reports are saying as many as 20 to 1. The fishing has been steady and Sekiu has been crowded, as the Makah Nation is still closed to visitors – so most of those folks fishing MA 4 are launching out of Sekiu.

Marine Area 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait)

Halibut fishing is open here Thursday-Saturday until September 25th if the quota is not reached. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8316
Halibut fishing has been decent, with fish up to 50lbs. being caught.

Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands)

Halibut fishing is open here Thursday-Saturday until September 25th if the quota is not reached. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8316
Area 7 may reopen later in the summer for coho retention.

Marine Area 8.1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island, Skagit Bay)

no report this week

Marine Area 8.2 (Ports Susan and Gardner)

Coho fishing has been decent, with fish to 10lbs. Cop Car Coho Killers and pearl white hootchies have been doing the trick. Pink fishing has been good to great, depending on the day… on fish up to about 7lbs. As usual, try trolling small pink hootchies, or jig pink jigs.
For tips on catching pinks and how to handle them once you’ve caught them, see our article here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/818
The WDFW re-opened the Tulalip Bubble fishery on August 13th, until September 6th. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8370

Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet)

The WDFW has suspended chinook retention in MA 9, as of 12am on August 5th. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8337
Coho fishing has picked up, with clipped fish up to about 10lbs. The pink fishing has been good to great, depending on the time of day.
For tips on catching pinks and how to handle them once you’ve caught them, see our article here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/818

Marine Area 10 (Seattle / Bremerton)

The WDFW suspended chinook retention in MA 10 on August 22nd. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8415
Coho fishing has picked up, with fish to about 8lbs. Pink fishing remains good… take a kid fishing!

Marine Area 11 (Tacoma / Vashon Island)

The WDFW suspended chinook retention in MA 11 on August 25th. Details here: http://salmonuniversity.com/archives/8420
Coho fishing has been good, with fish to about 10lbs., and pinks in the mix as well.

Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal)

no report this week

Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound)

no report this week

Freshwater – Grays Harbor Rivers

no report this week

British Columbia

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is no longer providing printed BC Sport Fishing Guides from previous years or link to access an online PDF version.
Interest in the Guides has diminished and there is an increasing gap between the information in the paper guides and the actual online fishing regulations.
For current fishing regulations in your area, please see the online Sport Fishing Guide at: https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/index-eng.html

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact your local fisheries office at: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/contact/regions/pacific-pacifique-eng.html

Bamfield, Barkley Sound, & Port Alberni

PORT ALBERNI LABOR DAY WEEKEND DERBY

The Alberni Valley Labor Day Weekend salmon fishing derby was a success. The true derby with all of the various activities at Tyee landing did not happen due to Covid 19 restrictions, but this being year 50 of the derby organizers made the actual fishing “part” of the derby occur. Almost 1,800 tickets at $50 a ticket were purchased by various anglers. All of the proceeds are going to enhancement. There were prizes for the largest fish of the derby and the top three fish for each of the three days of fishing which was September 4th, 5th, and 6th. The winning fish was landed by Terry Good of Nanaimo, B.C. Nanaimo is a close community to Alberni and Terry and his fishing pals have been attending the derby for over ten years. The winning fish was a Tyee and came in from Whittlestone which is close to Bamfield and weighed 31.12 pounds. The salmon was landed on a White hootchie very early on the first day of the derby. The second largest fish of the derby was landed on Monday and was a Tyee as well. Very late on day three Mike Black brough in a 31.02 pound salmon landed on the Bamfield Wall. Len Van Vliet had Sunday’s largest fish which did not quite make the Tyee size at 29.14 pounds.

Fishing in the area should continue for awhile longer. Of course heavy rains are needed to get the salmon moving into their spawning areas. Coho salmon to date have not been abundant and it is hoped that they are coming late into Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet.

The 2021 sport fishing season was excellent in this Pacific Rim area. We have a wonderful lodge accommodation in Barkley Sound and many take advantage of night stays and fishing in the sound and offshore if offshore waters are fishable. Of course there are day trips in the Inlet and down to Barkley Sound. The 2022 season is very busy already as many individuals due to Covid have not come sport fishing.

Tight Lines

Report & pics submitted by Doug Lindores, Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing (888) 214-7206 dlindy@shaw.ca; www.catchsalmon-ca.com

Ucluelet

no report this week

Becher Bay

Cheanuh marina reported that salmon fishing has been SLOWER this past week. Anglers targeting chinooks were having spotty success catching springs. Depths of 50-70 feet have been the best for catching springs. Some pink salmon and hatchery coho were found out farther in the strait. Anchovies and small herring have been the best bait for salmon, but many anglers are using spoons. Spoons such as Skinny G’s, Wee G’s, Coho Killers, Coyote spoons and AP Tackleworks spoons have been good for springs. Good choices for teaser head colors for bait are Chartreuse, Tiger Prawn and Bloody Nose. Popular flashers have been Jelly Fish Glow, The Bon Chovy, the Madi and the Super Betsey. Coho fishing has slowed down. Most anglers fishing coho and pinks are using spoons and pink hoochies. Halibut and Lingcod fishing was SLOW this past weekend. Crabbing has been GOOD inside the bay.

Here are the 2021 Salish Sea Salmon Challenger report from the weekend. The third annual Salish Sea Salmon Challenge fishing derby took place on Saturday September 4th and was again a success. One hundred and eleven rod tickets were sold at $60 each, totaling $6,660 ticket sales revenue. Therefore, the Biggest Salmon Prize, the Random Cash Draw Prize and money raised to support the Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative were $2,220 respectively. On Saturday, the weather was moderate, and winds were light and there was not a lot of fog around. Report from the derby entrants was the conditions were good, but hooking the big ones was the main challenge. We weighed in 14 Chinook and 1 hatchery Coho. A special thank you to our dear friends at Cheanuh Marina for their gracious hospitality and for allowing us to have the derby weigh scale and event headquarters at the marina.
AND THE WINNERS WERE:
Biggest Salmon Cash Prize ($2,220) was won by Rick Weiss with a 25.02 lbs Chinook
Skippers Challenge (worth $850 cash) was won by Jerome Thomas with a 20.9 lbs Chinook
Random Cash Draw Prize ($2,220) was won by Rick Lyon
Random Draw Downrigger Prize ($750 value) was won by Jeff Taylor

Random Draw Krippled KC Spoons Prize (14 pieces) was won by George Fales

1st Swag Draw Prize – Scotty Downrigger ($750 value) was won by George Fales
2nd Swag Draw Prize – Mooching Rod & Reel Combo ($500 value) was won by Art Bamford
3rd Swag Draw Prize – Bradley 4 Rack Smoker ($549 value) was won by Dave Fairfield
50/50 Draw Prize – Cash ($105) was won by Art Bamford

Congratulations to our lucky winners. And a really big thank you to all the derby entrants, we hope you had fun and will come back next year. Your participation has help raised approx. $2,750 net on the day And finally, it goes without saying that these small events cannot succeed without support from the community. Our sponsors came through for us again this year and were as follows. Thank you all!! Cheanuh Marina sponsored the prize board. Scotty Manufacturing provided a great deal on 2 High Performance Downriggers. Island Outfitters provided a great deal on an excellent 10’ 6” Mooching Rod and Reel Combo and donated a Bradley 4 rack Smoker too. Many, many thanks to all our sponsors for supporting the Salish Sea Salmon Challenge and being excellent members of our local angling community. Look out for the Salish Sea Spring Fishing Derby at the end of March 2022
_____________
Christopher Bos
President
South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition

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

Oak Bay

Fishing was SLOW on the Flats this past week. There were still springs around but not nearly as many as in previous weeks. Most springs have been between 6-15 lbs in size, but some smaller feeder springs are moving onto the Flats. Not many pinks have been caught here recently. Small spoons and squirts have been the best lures in this area. Halibut fishing was SLOW in Oak Bay. Crabbing has been FAIR nearby.

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

Pedder Bay

Salmon fishing has been GOOD inside Pedder Bay and by Church Rock. Pinks and springs were being caught from the mouth of the bay all the way west to the Bedfords. Most of the pinks have been from 3-6 lbs in size. Coho fishing has slowed down. Most anglers fishing coho and pinks are using spoons such as Skinny G’s, Wee G’s, Coho Killers, Coyote spoons and AP Tackleworks spoons. Anchovies have also been excellent for all salmon. Good choices for teaser head colors are UV Green, Purple Haze and Bloody Nose. Popular flashers have been Jelly Fish Glow, The Bon Chovy, the Madi and the Super Betsey. Halibut fishing was SLOW this past week.

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

Port Renfrew

The GIBBS DELTA SUMMER CHINOOK SHOOTOUT was held this past weekend at the Pacific Gateway Marina. There wee 125 chinooks weighed in. The top three fish weighed 27.4, 26.1, and 25.2 lbs. The best fishing spots were Walbran, Camper Creek, Logan, East Point and Wood’s Nose.

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

Sidney

Fishing for salmon was SLOW this past week. Most of the springs were under size and not keepable. Halibut and lingcod fishing was SLOW.  Crabbing and prawning has been HIT & MISS.

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

Sooke

Salmon fishing was SLOWER than in previous weeks in Sooke. Spring salmon fishing has been SPOTTY for chinooks, but a few of 20+ lb springs, and at least one 30 lb springs, were caught after the size restriction was lifted. Otter Point was the best location to find springs. The pink fishing was SLOW with the fish out in deeper water and not in close to shore. Some sockeyes and hatchery coho have also been caught as well. Many anglers fishing for salmon have been using spoons with great success. Spoons such as Skinny G’s, Wee G’s, Coho Killers, Coyote spoons and AP Tackleworks spoons have been good for springs. For those using anchovies and herring, good choices for teaser head colors are Chartreuse, Tiger Prawn and Bloody Nose. Popular flashers have been Jelly Fish Glow, The Bon Chovy, the Madi and the Super Betsey. Halibut fishing was SLOW. Crabbing has been GOOD in the basin.

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

Vancouver

no report this week

Victoria

Salmon fishing was SLOW this past week. Tuesday was the best day with a fair number of springs around, but it slowed down after that. We heard of one 30 lb spring caught near Albert Head and a couple of ones in the 20’s from Macaulay Point. Pink salmon fishing was FAIR during the week, but the numbers were slower than the week before. Anchovies and herring have been for all salmon. Good choices for teaser head colors are UV Green, Purple Haze and Mint Pearl. Popular flashers have been Jelly Fish Glow, The Bon Chovy, the Madi and the Super Betsey. Halibut fishing was SLOW at Constance Bank this past weekend. Crabbing was SLOW with most traps holding undersize male crabs.

The Clover Point Anglers’ Association 27th Annual Salmon Derby ended on Sunday. The winner was Lance Foreman with an 18 lb chinook. Second place went to Dave Bury with a 16 lb 2 oz chinook. Tom Vaida took third with a 15 lb 12 oz chinook.

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

Saltwater Notable Catches

The winner of the 2021 Salish Sea Salmon Challenger was Rick Weiss with a 25 lb 2 oz chinook. Second place went to Jerome Thomas with a 20 lb 9 oz chinook. Third place went to Art Damsor with an 18 lb chinook. The Clover Point Anglers’ Association 27th Annual Salmon Derby ended on Sunday. The winner was Lance Foreman with an 18 lb chinook. Second place went to Dave Bury with a 16 lb 2 oz chinook. Tom Vaida took third with a 15 lb 12 oz chinook.

Fish Tip of the Week

When you see birds working a ball up, don’t troll through the ball up and the birds. Feeding salmon are mostly outside of the ball up looking for the crippled bait fish that are falling away with the tide or swimming away from the ball up. You should fish to the side and below the bait and not disturb the birds that are on the top.

Lakes and Rivers

Cowichan River

The river is extremely low and warm and anglers should not fish the river.

Trout

Trout fishing has been SLOW at local lakes. The water temperatures is fairly warm and the fish are deeper near the thermocline in the local lakes. Shore anglers are catching trout on Powerbait, Gulp Eggs, and worms fished just off the bottom. White, Pink, Chartreuse and Fluorescent Yellow have been good choices recently for Powerbait. Fly anglers are mostly fishing Wooly Buggers, Leeches and Chironomid patterns. Chironomid hatches have been happening at most lakes. Trollers are catching the most trout with worms fished on Gibbs Wedding Bands fished behind Gang Trolls. Tomic Plugs in 2”-3” sizes have also been working well for trout at Cowichan Lake.

To find out about fish stockings all over the Island and the province, as well as the different strains being released, click on the link http://www.gofishbc.com/Stocked-Fish.aspx

Bass

Bass fishing continues to be EXCELLENT. Big Largemouth and Smallmouth bass have been quite active and four pound plus fish are being caught regularly. Topwater fishing is good in the early mornings and evenings with anglers having good luck with wake baits, frogs and poppers, Subsurface soft plastics continue to trigger the most bites, with wacky and Texas rig worms at the top of the list. Try fishing close to the docks and near shallow structure. Deep water has been good during the day and jigs and drop shot fishing has been effective. Hot lakes continue to be Shawnigan, Quennell, Langford and Prospect Lakes.

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

Oregon

Tillamook Bay

no report this week

Willamette River

no report this week

Great Lakes

no report this week

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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