A bit of a late report here, but posting for posterity.
Fished Barkley Sound for a few days a week and a half ago. Twas a windy trip which foiled our attempts to get out to the action offshore. One morning we made it 33kms out only to turn around when we saw a few of the waves cresting, which is always off-putting. Because we dislike the whole dying at sea thing we primarily stuck to the sound and the choppy but safer seas. As is often the case this time of year it was slow in the sound with early mornings at surf-line spots being the ticket. We did also try our hand at Swale and Pill but there wasn't much to be had there except shakers. Spoons and bait at 45'-65' seemed to be a good bet for us. The salmon were stuffed with very tiny silver bait fish.
Of note: we caught an absolute monster cabezon. Not sure if it is a record size for Barkley Sound but I haven't ever seen one that size before. Its head was so solid that the gaff bounced off it the first time. When we brought it in the boat it crapped all over my brother, which was almost certainly a highlight of 2020 (the bar is pretty low this year). We retained this one and it will be used to determine if we like cooking/eating them but won't be retaining any more until that culinary experiment is done.
Of other note: we had a 1970s themed day with a great playlist, 70s era snacks (Wagon Wheels and Pop Shop!), questionable outfits, and fake moustaches. We also brought along fake moustaches to put on the fish. I can confirm that trying to stick a fake moustache on a lingcod is not easily done.
We came home with some nice fish including a few high teens/low 20s and a fair haul of ling including the most "vulcan blood" coloured one we've ever caught.
Salty Alice will be back out there this week for the next adventure!