2018 Winter Harbour Reports
- Thread starter SFBC
- Start date
Game Changer
Well-Known Member
Good luck Chasin Dreams! Looking forward to hearing your report!I should have an up to date fishing report for you guys when you arrive. I'll be leaving from there to come back home on the 3rd
redman210
Active Member
Look forward to the reports.I should have an up to date fishing report for you guys when you arrive. I'll be leaving from there to come back home on the 3rd
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
I was just talking to a couple guys up there right now and some decent size springs showing up at the highway. Also heard the new smaller size limit for the Hali's is making for a lot of returned fish between 115 and what we used to be able to keep at 133 cm's.. seems the ones up to 115 haven't been as common but they are still there. I'm going up this Wednesday. I'll update the thread with fresh reports when I'm up there fishing
redman210
Active Member
I suspect my new Seaqulizer is going to get a work out.... and there will be some gut wrenching moments releasing 65-70 pound hali next week... uuuuuuugh! Might be a Hewescratft SeaRunner 210 fully decked out on the market by middle of next month if they keep closing things on us fisherman who get out 2-3 times a year. Anyhow.... its called fishing... not catching....I was just talking to a couple guys up there right now and some decent size springs showing up at the highway. Also heard the new smaller size limit for the Hali's is making for a lot of returned fish between 115 and what we used to be able to keep at 133 cm's.. seems the ones up to 115 haven't been as common but they are still there. I'm going up this Wednesday. I'll update the thread with fresh reports when I'm up there fishing
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
Yup I know man releasing them is not gonna be pleasurable especially if/when they are those sizes. This stuff is getting really ******. There's gotta be better ways to conserve and still benefit us sporties.
Aces
Well-Known Member
How about a 6 week Halibut season ? There's your alternative
outoftowner
Banned
Aces
Well-Known Member
So who's wants to pay over $500 to kill a 100 lb Halibut?
outoftowner
Banned
No one. But who wants to let go 50lber after 50lber and go home skunked . No one
redman210
Active Member
Im fine with that.... not an issue.
redman210
Active Member
I would.... if that is what it cost... so be it... as long as the money went to the right place. No need to get cranky... was simply stating what will most likely be happening.... its all good.
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
Well for me actually that would be great but it most likely wouldn't be for most people that can't always dictate exactly when they will have their holidays to match up with an opening like that. It's hard to make everyone happy with a situation like this. That's a given.
Aces
Well-Known Member
It wouldn't bother me either but there are several different factions in play but the attempt to please everyone as how it's been the last few years seems impossible now with the shrinking quota.
interesting that many guys want that big halibut-back in my commercial days the crew would take 4-5 home and all would choose 25-30 lb-best steak size,good filet thickness , not much sport winding a 100 lb up from 150'
Chaisin Tail
New Member
I'll be heading up in a couple weeks, looking forward to hearing some reportsI was just talking to a couple guys up there right now and some decent size springs showing up at the highway. Also heard the new smaller size limit for the Hali's is making for a lot of returned fish between 115 and what we used to be able to keep at 133 cm's.. seems the ones up to 115 haven't been as common but they are still there. I'm going up this Wednesday. I'll update the thread with fresh reports when I'm up there fishing
Barnacle Bill
Well-Known Member
Cellular very good just by Kains. ........BB
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
Got back last night from our trip to Winters Harbour. We got three days of fishing in due to one day of a heavy NW storm that blew in. We got lot's of nice Lings jigging around all the reefs everywhere where we tried with nice rock structure. Released a few nice Yellow Eye's on the decending device. Hooked a massive Hali for a 45 minute fight at a 160' contour off the reef two bays north of Lawns Point and pulled more Lings in that area too. We didn't spend much time anchored for Hali cause I like Ling meat better so we spent time targeting getting our quota of Lings. A couple fella's were doing well for Hali's out from the Lighthouse between the 250 to 300' contour on some pinnacles there. We also got a couple nice Cabazon off the reefs.
We had heard there had been some salmon showing up around the Light House and Grants bay over the past few days so we spent 45 min one morning trolling bait around the shallows off the Lighthouse with no action other than some rock fish and a couple small grills salmon so we pulled our gear and tried on the 300' contour "highway" area for another 45 min with no action, no bait showing, or fish showing on the sounder. So we pulled our gear and headed for Grants bay. There were a few boats there doing the circuit inside and just outside the bay. We hit our first Spring in just a few minutes trolling Anchovy in 65' of water and down 45' on the rigger. We hit our second minutes after that on a Herring in teaser head at the same depths. Then about 15 min after that we had a double header both on chovies at the same depth. Lot's of bait and fish showing on the sounder that morning. We also lost 3 springs in the bay and all that action in about a two hour window in the morning then it died down but still got one more spring two hours later in the bay. In the stomachs of the Springs were white Squid. See the picture of the Rock Fish for what the squid looked like that were in the Salmon's bellies. They were in large numbers in the bay according to some local info from a friend up there. We got all our Springs on chovies or Herring but other guys there were hammering the Springs with large white hootchie/flashtail/squid gear. All our Springs were in the 16 to 21 lb range and we heard someone got a 25 in the bay as well. No need to use flashers there in the small bays when the bait is in. The fish are ready to hammer down if you are trolling the right stuff at the right depths. And much funner fishing without flashers. If you wanna use one I recommend a dummy flasher off the rigger and not on your rod line.
Don't bother bringing crab or prawn traps IMHO. All our prawn traps were filled with Hag Fish that ate the prawns and sprayed slime all over the inside of the traps and of all the areas we tried for crabs we got ziltch except for one small rock crab. So many otters in the area I think they are doing a good job at eating up all the crab from the local areas.
View attachment 38185
We had heard there had been some salmon showing up around the Light House and Grants bay over the past few days so we spent 45 min one morning trolling bait around the shallows off the Lighthouse with no action other than some rock fish and a couple small grills salmon so we pulled our gear and tried on the 300' contour "highway" area for another 45 min with no action, no bait showing, or fish showing on the sounder. So we pulled our gear and headed for Grants bay. There were a few boats there doing the circuit inside and just outside the bay. We hit our first Spring in just a few minutes trolling Anchovy in 65' of water and down 45' on the rigger. We hit our second minutes after that on a Herring in teaser head at the same depths. Then about 15 min after that we had a double header both on chovies at the same depth. Lot's of bait and fish showing on the sounder that morning. We also lost 3 springs in the bay and all that action in about a two hour window in the morning then it died down but still got one more spring two hours later in the bay. In the stomachs of the Springs were white Squid. See the picture of the Rock Fish for what the squid looked like that were in the Salmon's bellies. They were in large numbers in the bay according to some local info from a friend up there. We got all our Springs on chovies or Herring but other guys there were hammering the Springs with large white hootchie/flashtail/squid gear. All our Springs were in the 16 to 21 lb range and we heard someone got a 25 in the bay as well. No need to use flashers there in the small bays when the bait is in. The fish are ready to hammer down if you are trolling the right stuff at the right depths. And much funner fishing without flashers. If you wanna use one I recommend a dummy flasher off the rigger and not on your rod line.
Don't bother bringing crab or prawn traps IMHO. All our prawn traps were filled with Hag Fish that ate the prawns and sprayed slime all over the inside of the traps and of all the areas we tried for crabs we got ziltch except for one small rock crab. So many otters in the area I think they are doing a good job at eating up all the crab from the local areas.
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