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Sooke Fishing Report

Welcome to the Sooke Fishing Adventures website! On this page, we will post regular updates on what's happening with Sooke fishing, Vancouver Island fishing, and other news of interest to our fishing friends from around the world.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Halibut update

DFO has closed halibut for the season early, see the notice below. Better get out in the next week and get some for the winter! Constance Bank has been quite good, and halibut are being caught right in front of Sooke Bluffs toward the trailer park too.

Fishery Notice - Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Subject: FN0806-Halibut: Coastwide Closure

Effective 00:01 hours October 31, 2008 until 23:59 hours December 31, 2008,
fishing for halibut recreationally is closed.

This action is necessary due to the recreational fishery for halibut exceeding
the recreational allowable catch. Although the recreational fishery is
generally managed on the basis of a pre-season plan and post season review,
there are instances in the fishery where in-season changes are required. The
department will continue to manage the recreational fishery in general to meet
opportunity and expectations based on pre-season plans. As those plans
improve, the necessity for in-season management actions will decrease. The
department will be reviewing catch figures and fishing patterns in preparation
for consultation on a pre-season management plan for the 2009 halibut fishery.

October 23 Sooke Fishing Report

There are still reports of decent salmon and halibut fishing around Sooke. It's typical Fall weather...meaning it changes every 5 minutes. However, the last couple of days have been BEAUTIFUL....sunny, calm seas, warm midday...perfect fishing weather.

For salmon, the winter springs are still the main target, and it's consistent from the Sooke Bluffs to the trailer park. Bounce the bottom with purple haze or glow hootchies, and catch your fill of 6-12 lb feeder springs. There's reports of chum being caught too, whether on land by the Sooke River or out in the deeper water. [just for fun, here's a September fishing picture, sent in by Ryan at Fresh Fishing Charters]

For halibut, people are chasing them right off the Sooke Bluffs, or out towards Jordan River or Constance Bank.

******

The Sooke News Mirror reports the following this week: (reported by Kiwi Magic)

Halibut fishing continued to be the anglers choice this past week. Hali’s are being caught from west of Sooke to Victoria. East Sooker Teague Griffin pooned a 50-lber off Beecher Bay on the weekend. Anglers are finding a spot on the chart or map and throwing out the pick, as in anchor or drifting on a good tide with depths from 60 to 250 feet will produce. Stick and stay and make it pay is the Hali way. As for salmon fishing the Sooke Bluffs to Otter and beyond in the 120’ to 180’ line should be productive. More and more anglers are getting dialed into fishing for salmon and when the currents suits them they switch over to the Hali show, making the opportunities of a day on the water very rewarding. Crabbing remains good with some nice keepers being taken. Remember crabs have to be 6 1/2 inches across the back with a limit of four crabs per person a day and females have to be released. Nine days left til the all new Sooke Harbour Marina Chum Derby which runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 9. There will be some special events taking place at times during this 10-day event. For more info call 250-642-3236 or sookeharbourmarina.ca.

Keep your rod tip up!

Kiwi Magic

*****

DC Reid reports on chum fishing around Sooke in the Victoria Times Colonist today:

It's that time again: making chums of chums. The fish of great numbers that return this time of year in so voluminous schools that they are hard to believe, are here. Sooke River has turned on, the Nitinat has so many it's hard not to tread upon them, and for saltwater guys, try Seymour Narrows north of Campbell River.

For saltwater trolling, try hootchies before a blade. Many different hootchies do the trick, including: the Googly Eyed Wild Thing, a local concoction that you can buy in Campbell River, and shades of purple, pink with white spots, pink and blue, blue, pink, bubble gum and the coastwide rage: Purple Haze. Plankton sizes in pink and purple are consistent backups. Leaders should be 33 inches. Flasher choices include blue and purple and Purple Haze. Because the waters are ultra-clear this late in the season, Plaid flashers with their 3-D effect make sense.

What you are looking for, surprisingly, is a bright sunshine, blue sky, high-pressure system day. These chum bite more frequently on high pressure days on a flooding tide.

Closer to Victoria, in the Sooke Basin, on foot fishing can be had at Billing's Spit. It is a good place for gear chuckers to cast Buzz Bombs, Stingsilda's and other lead-weight lures that are retrieved: lift, drop and reel, lift. Find the most jumpers and cast among them. The rising tide is better than a falling tide, but both will pick the fish up and deposit them on the opposite, or 'downstream' side in a back eddy. Where you see the most fish is where to fish.

Above the silver bridge on the Sooke River is considered freshwater and retention is not allowed. You must also fish with fly rods, etc. The All Sooke Day's Park has open fishing, as in a spacious lawn, and you are looking for mornings, late, and any time in-between when the estuarial fish come on in their bite. At the bottom of the lawn is a mud reef. Stand back from the water, making the fish zone only about two- feet deep -- resist that temptation to walk right in as it pushes the fish out; then up at De Mamial Creek where fish taste the water and stop.

On high tide days, follow the fish up as they will be lifted right at the head of the tide. A medium, nine-foot (2.9 metres) tide will lift them a half mile more. Access this from the trail and parking spot up from the De Mamiel bridge. And on higher days, keep on trucking up with the fish, all the way to the cliff corner, run up stream and Martin's pool just above.

Good colours this year have included purple and egg-sucking leeches (even a small blob of pink yarn on the hook of your fly will induce a bite) -- any peaty river makes pink and purple standouts.


***
There's fun to be had! Get out there and enjoy it, before the winter rains come!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

October 16 Sooke Fishing Report

Sooke's late season fishing continues to be pretty decent -- either that or the winter fishing season has started early, depending on how you look at it.

Mark Price from Footloose Charters reports six salmon caught today in just a few hours. Two were coho, one about 6 pounds, the other about 12. Four were winter springs between 10-15 pounds. Mark says "Looks like they are coming in early and they are good size".

The hot spot is between the Sooke Harbour mouth and Otter Point, from the Sooke Bluffs to the Trailer Park, bouncing the bottom 130-160 feet deep. Good gear to use is a glow flasher, and any glow hootchie or jellyfish/purple haze hootchie. You have a pretty good chance of catching a winter spring salmon, which many consider to be the best table fare...nice fatty fish ready for the BBQ. And the nice thing about fishing bottom, sometimes you get a nice surprise with a halibut bycatch!

There's some good size coho around too, plus the chum have arrived...which can make for some really fun fishing. See the sportfishingbc forum for some tips on how to fish for chum.

Sooke Harbour Marina is hosting a fishing derby, Oct. 31 to Nov. 9. Entry fee is $25, or $15 for juniors. Chum is the main goal, as the most sizable salmon around Sooke this time of year, but prizes are also awarded for chinook, coho, and halibut too. Proceeds go to the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society.

Fun fall fishing!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

October 9 Sooke Fishing Info

An excerpt from DC Reid's Times-Colonist article today "Where to Fish Around the Island", related to Sooke River fishing:

"Deb and Ashby: We'll be fishing in the Victoria area, towing a boat for freshwater and fly fishing freshwater with float tubes. Where should we go?

Answer: Go to gofishbc.com and find out the stocked lakes on Vancouver Island. There are about 35 in the Capital Region District alone, and these are stocked into October with new fish. The Sooke River fly fishery at All Sooke Days Park will have coho and chum."

****

Below the Sooke River bridge is tidal waters, which means you can retain salmon -- current rules are 4 salmon per day, which can include 4 coho, but only one of which may be wild (has adipose fin). Chinook is CLOSED anywhere inside Sooke Harbour.

Above the bridge it is fly fishing only and catch and release.

Map of salmon fishing regulations for Sooke

Another local fishing spot -- you can also cast out from the shores of Muir Creek into the estuary, and try to catch a chum.

Good luck out there!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Sooke Fishing Report, Oct.7

Some decent Fall fishing in Sooke this week. People are reporting catches of winter springs, coho, and chum. You can now keep 1 wild coho in Sooke waters. Plus the halibut fishing has been quite successful lately. You have to pick your days, a few good westerly blows have come through, but in between the storms, some nice glassy days. All in all, if you can find the time, it's definitely worth getting out there for a few hours.

Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society is in the Sooke River this week netting their Chinook brood stock. After a couple of disappointing days, today was a winner -- 42 Spring salmon caught, with some in the 40-50 pound range. Wow! Those are some good genes to be passing on. They also caught some 20 pound plus coho, thrown back until later in the season. This was a welcome relief, after last year only netted 12 Springs in total.

Support the SSES in their continued efforts to keep Sooke's salmon stocks healthy -- it is a completely volunteer run organization, so donations and volunteers are always needed. Great tag line "They hatch 'em, so we can catch 'em". That's a cause worth supporting!

Sooke Fishing Adventures
info@fishingsooke.ca
Phone: 1-250-642-2587