MA 5 and 6 went to a non-selective coho fishery on September 27.  For reasons known only to the fishing gods, the bite really dropped off.  Fish are being caught, but not in the numbers we were experiencing just two weeks ago.  My boat limited today in about three hours.  I’m thinking we were one of the luckier boats as we didn’t see many nets flying.  Our four fish came between 35′ and 45′ on the wire.  A Herring Aide spoon accounted for three fish and a Cop Car spoon took the fourth fish.  We’re hoping more fish show up over the next two weeks.  The season ends October 15.

On a side note, the City of Port Angeles has pulled half of the floats at the Ediz Hook launch to reduce the chance of damage/loss should we have an early fall storm.  I think there are five or six floats still in the water.  Launching will be challenging at lower tide levels.  The Yacht Basin ramp is seeing an uptick in usage.

Report submitted by Dave Croonquist, Puget Sound Anglers – North Olympic Peninsula Chapter

Bamfield, Barkley Sound, & Port Alberni

The Sport Salmon Fishing is gradually slowing down in this Pacific Rim area.   Barkley Sound has continued to have some good Coho fishing.  There are still some good sized Chinook in various areas of the Sound.   A beautiful thirty-two pound Chinook was landed along the Bamfield Wall close to the Bamfield Harbour mouth over the past weekend.  However most of the Chinook landed have been in the mid to high teens.   The Coho are getting bigger as they continue to gorge on the rich sources of bait fish.  Wittlestone, The Wall, Sanford, Kirby, and Fleming Island have been the best spots to fish over the past few weeks in Barkley Sound.  The salmon are in relatively shallow water from twenty-five to fifty feet.   Some of the Coho are hitting lures right at the back of the boat on the surface.   The AORL 12 continues to be a very good hoochie.   Purple Haze, Army Truck and dark green Spider Back hoochies are also very good for Coho and Chinook.  Some anglers (those who are still out and enjoying some very nice early fall weather) are still having some success using anchovy in a variety of teaser head colors behind a green gold or purple gold flasher with six to seven feet of leader.   The fish are waiting to get into their natal streams and creeks and waiting on rain to make their final journey.

This beautiful Chinook salmon was landed by Kelly at Fleming Island close to Bamfield in thirty-five feet of water using a AORL 12 hoochie

The Alberni Inlet has both Chinook and Coho but only Bells Bay, Mactush and the Franklin Wall to the fish boundary are the areas that most sport anglers are having any success.  A variety of hoochies in shallow water are helping those anglers create any success.   The AORL 12, Halloween, Purple Haze and White Glow hoochies are working.   The fish are in depths of twenty to fifty feet.

Brian landed this low teen Chinook on a nice early fall day in Barkley Sound using anchovy in a purple haze teaser head

The large return of Chinook salmon back to the Somass River is now downsized to approximately ninety thousand Chinook.  Escapement up to the 19^th of September has been minimal.  A target for Robertson Creek Hatchery is twenty-one thousand pieces.  Escapement through Stamp Falls has been thirteen thousand.  Coho escapement through the Stamp and Sproat River has been eleven thousand five hundred pieces.   The Sockeye return and escapement into Great Central Lake and Sproat Lake has been terrific with approximately three hundred and forty five thousand Sockeye through the counters.

Nine pound Coho landed by Brad using a white glow hoochie in Barkley Sound

Tight lines

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

South Vancouver Island overview:

Sooke

Port Renfrew

Pedder Bay

Victoria

Oak Bay

Sidney & Vancouver

Lakes and Rivers

No report this week.

Cowichan River

No report this week.

Trout