2017 Victoria and Oak Bay Reports

[Humpbubble]

Found adding a split ring/swivel/siwash hook to the end of a spoon, or jig helps a bunch.
Though a spring jumping a half dozen times deserves some credit

 

[Andrew P]

Yup, certainly more challenging to land a fish on a single barbless spoon rather than tandem singles or trebles...especially a jumper! Careful with adding swivels on the back of spoons...and this usually allows the hook to flip upside down which will can have worse hook set. Most spoons are designed to have the hook towards the concave for this reason. Adding to the front has less effect on action also. I find the best thing to increase your odds is to give your siwash a bent beak and also a little tweak to the shank to make it more like a circle hook.

 

[saltydawg]

Quick afternoon fish on the flats. Saw a couple caught out of a handful of boats. Great bait and bird show everywhere on the tide change. Hooked one on an Andrew P spoon (the only lure that catches fish for me these days) that played possum right to the surface and then jumped about 6 times, throwing the hook on the last one. My boat is about 5 for 20 on hooked to landed this season. No crabs for once

To land 1 fish out of 4 seems high. When this happens to me and it has, I think harder hook sets and tighter line.

 

[chris73]

Andrew, I do really well with spoons with swivels front AND back. I lose occasionally a fish on them but definitely land way more than I lose. I think you have a theory why a swivel may not be good but practice tells me otherwise. Just so you know. Cheers.

 

[Bugs]

Interesting, I agree with Englishman's comments, spoons do have a lower hook up to land ratio. I do almost all my winter fishing with either Anchovy or small Tomic plugs with the pins pulled. Almost never lose a fish. Andrew, I personally found my success with your spoons increased a lot when I dropped the swivel from the front (that is how I originally rigged it).

On another note I hope some of you guys are keeping stomachs!

The program is going well and we are still looking to sign up anglers, particularly those that fish year round. PM me if you would like instructions and data cards. Stomachs can be dropped at Island Outfitters in their freezer.

All participants will receive a summary of data to date at the end of the year.

Interesting that in one stomach from last week off Victoria we are starting to see the new year class of sandlance show up. These guys are really tiny, like 5 cm. Andrew maybe you need to make a microsandlance!

http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum...ational-salmon-diet-monitoring-program.64885/

 

[Humpbubble]

Knew I shoulda kept my mouth shut. Lost a hog jigging next to the glass house at sunset. 3 massive jumps next to the boat which put water into the boat, but no fishy. Wild oversize anyhoo

 

[brands51]

Knew I shoulda kept my mouth shut. Lost a hog jigging next to the glass house at sunset. 3 massive jumps next to the boat which put water into the boat, but no fishy. Wild oversize anyhoo

The glass house? That's too bad though! As for the spoon argument goes this spring when I was fishing Sidney and oak bay using AP spoons and skinny gs I would have to say I probally went 1-4 on "good winter fish." For whatever reason a few big head shakes and they'd get off, or they spit the hook at the side of the boat. Looking for fix this for next year.

 

[Humpbubble]

Cadboro pt, south of ten mile.
I'm jigging a 4oz lead with a 7' rod and 10# test. Fun times. If you can get a fish to run instead of play next to the boat, there's a good chance it will get bonked.

 

[scott craven]

The glass house? That's too bad though! As for the spoon argument goes this spring when I was fishing Sidney and oak bay using AP spoons and skinny gs I would have to say I probally went 1-4 on "good winter fish." For whatever reason a few big head shakes and they'd get off, or they spit the hook at the side of the boat. Looking for fix this for next year.

Try Gamakatsu "big river" 3/0 hooks on your spoons
they hold well

 

[porcupine]

Found a crab trap tangled up with a ball of kelp floating in Ross Bay yesterday. No name, no phone number. It did have WN1920NR carved into the float. Message me if it's yours and it'll be returned. First trip of the summer, no springs landed, one rockfish kept and a 20+ lb lingcod released.

 

[Englishman]

The glass house? That's too bad though! As for the spoon argument goes this spring when I was fishing Sidney and oak bay using AP spoons and skinny gs I would have to say I probally went 1-4 on "good winter fish." For whatever reason a few big head shakes and they'd get off, or they spit the hook at the side of the boat. Looking for fix this for next year.

I still don't believe there is a fix possible for this. A heavy dense piece of metal (that is what a spoon essentially is) flopping and whipping about in a fighting fishes mouth is more or less bound to flip a barbless hook out. Yes you can keep a tight line, and let the fish run, and use swivels etc to improve things, and obviously not every single fish is lost.
However, the boating to hook ratio for spoons versus lighter lures such as hootchies and teaser heads can never be as high, ever!

 

[fishbadger]

+1 on the Gami Big River Siwash hooks.

fb

 

[scott craven]

View media item 452Just about 19 lbs on the scale and 84cm



View media item 451

 

[fshnfnatic]

Nice looking fish SC.Way to go. AP spoon I'm guessing?

 

[scott craven]

Nice looking fish SC.Way to go. AP spoon I'm guessing?

A.P. spoons rule !

 

[saltydawg]

Nice to see the Transient Orcas turn the water bloody at the flats this afternoon. Hee hee. (Damn seals got a few of my fish.)

 

[PatyO'Furniture]

tried esquimalt this morning. 3 bites, 1 to the boat around 55cm, pretty damn quiet out there.

 

[Andrew P]

Anyone reports from this week? I'm itching to get out.

 

[tinboatrobb]

I will report that the wind has kept us all off the water..lol. Hope to get out on Saturday am to fish a quiet little back eddy in oak bay.

 

[Kildonan]

Looks like slot gone Friday midnight too.