2022 Port Alberni and Alberni Inlet Reports

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Better today started at 6 done by 8:20. Had a quad right off the start, had 5 in the first hour and then 1 here and there for the next hour and a half.

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Same report I got today, no fish and water temps were 11. With the low water temperatures and now with warmer temperatures coming, more glacial runoff, and higher water in the river the fish are still going to shooting up the river. Anybody know what the numbers are at the counter? Just wondering what the record is for returns. With the fish I've heard that are going though there, I can't remember a time when they have gone though there like this. Hoping this bids well for the future.
Cold water years are always the toughest. Fish stay shallow and blast through. As to your question on record return, not sure of that, but the first year we fished the Inlet from China Creek in the very late 80's, the prediction was for 1,500,000. It was crazy. Never fished more than an hour for our four limits of 4. Those were the days of pink surveyor tape. On our way in from Alberni, we would stop on the road, my wife would run into the woods and grab a piece off one of the trees. Fun times. jc Tuna Maru
 
Those were the days of pink surveyor tape.
Lol I remember coming back form Banfield back then and telling the guys I was going to do that and them all laughing till I limited out your boat and then they all wanted my flagging tape. Yes the good old days
 
Lol I remember coming back form Banfield back then and telling the guys I was going to do that and them all laughing till I limited out your boat and then they all wanted my flagging tape. Yes the good old days
Lots of great stories during that time. Limiting at Ten Mile and giving two pink flagging tape leaders to a couple that hadn't had a bite. Them having a double on before we could pack everything away and leave; being told on the sly by a wonderful old time 'seasonal' about using Kripple K's with pink crinkle tape and going on a 'road trip' all the way to Chemainus, stopping at every tackle store on the way and buying every one. Leadering them up on our return then stopping at every camp site on the Creekside and passing them out with everyone limiting daily until we left; When we discovered Halloween Coyotes were killer on Henderson fish (especially at the 'blue roof'), but everyone was sold out, so there was a lady in the campground that bought yellow & black ones and taped over the black and sprayed the yellow part orange. She wasn't a great taper though and left a little yellow stripe down the middle. To this day, that Coyote is still a Sockeye killer. Our Italian friends from Seattle who were the first to introduce '2 Black Hooks' in '89 or '90 that gave us our first leader while I drank Grappa with Grandma one evening; And finally, the Campground Pot Lucks that Diane set up every July in the covered picnic area. Some happy, happy days, lots and lots of Sockeye gone by. jc Tuna Maru
 
Alright, I gotta ask. What’s this pink flagging tape method.
What we did was take about a 1" piece of the tape and fold it in half. You cut the end off at an angle forming like an 'caddis insect wing'. As we tied the forward hook on using a 'snell knot', we would tie the front of the tape into the knot tenting the tape over the hook; 27" leaders for us, but that is based on the spped we troll. I was tying a lot of flies during that time, so I tried to be fancy. Anything worked though. Our first time at China Creek, while I was checking in, I sent my wife down to the ramp to talk to 3 guys there that were taking out. She asked them what they were using and they handed her a leader with three 1/4" x 1" strips of the pinkl tape tied in the knot. I just wanted to make it a little fancier. It obviously really didn't matter. It was the color they wanted, basically the same color as a M15 Bubble Gum hootchie that everyone went to later. It was the first time I had ever seen the stuff, but saw it tied to trees as we drove the road in to the campground. If I did it today (it would probably still work!) I would also tie in a couple of maybe 1/8" wide skinny strips of black electrical tape. When we still use hootchies, our favorite is the Pink and Black Michael Bait Mini Hootchie. We pull the swivel out to use a 2 black hook leader, but a siwash works too. I hope that answers your question. jc Tuna Maru
 
We fished hard this morning from China Creek to the narrows for 2 sockeye. They are being caught but must people didn’t have much.

Watched the seines on their first sets at 10. The one we were beside only had around 50 fish. After first set the 6 seines up above all moved down towards the bottom boundary. No large schools for them means they have to grind it out. Not good sign for sporties with them grinding.
 
3hr shift today 6-9, wanted to get off the water before the big boys started mopping up what little there was. Double header right off the bat and then it was slow. Only 5 to the boat today.
 

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Perhaps an odd question, but can one retain a sockeye caught in Sproat Lake? I can’t find anything saying I can’t! Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
For salmon retention, you can only keep what has been stated as allowed and not what is not been stated. So for Sproat lake if you can’t find anywhere that says you can or cannot that means no retention.
 
They unleashed the bag fleet on those fish for 3 days..it cleans out the schools pretty efficiently. They did most of the canal..it's always tough going after the seines.
 
For salmon retention, you can only keep what has been stated as allowed and not what is not been stated. So for Sproat lake if you can’t find anywhere that says you can or cannot that means no retention.
Yah, figured! Thanks. Been catching some nice cutthroats/rainbow and landed a lake sockeye! All released. Downrigger-trolling with fly rods as mini-mooching rods (using the gel-spun PE backing as the mainline). Watching this forum, as I may try the Alberni harbour for sockeye (I also brought my salmon gear). Cheers!
 

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When did they come through last? I had a tripple header on today!
Category(s):
COMMERCIAL - Salmon: Seine


Fishery Notice - Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Subject: FN0644-COMMERCIAL - Salmon: Seine - Sockeye - Alberni Inlet - Subareas 23-1 and 23-2 - Opening - June 26-28, 2022

Seines will open for Sockeye Salmon at 10:00 hours Sunday June 26, 2022 until 22:00 hours Tuesday June 28, 2022, in the following areas:

That portion of Subarea 23-1 south of a line drawn from Polly Point to Stamp Point, then south to a line drawn from Dunsmuir Point to a point located at 49 degrees 09.660 minutes north latitude and 124 degrees 47.720 minutes west longitude, approximately 0.37 nautical miles north of China Creek; and

That portion of Subarea 23-2 south of a line drawn from Hocking Point, then easterly to a point on the opposite shore at 49 degrees 05.260 minutes north latitude and 124 degrees 49.158 minutes west longitude. Pocahontas Point is the southern boundary of this area.

Minimum bunt mesh size is 70 mm. The minimum net length is 270 metres and a minimum depth of 20 metres. The maximum net length is 400 metres and a maximum depth of 52 metres.

The target species is Sockeye Salmon. Coho, Pink, Chum, Chinook and Steelhead may not be retained.

All catch must be brailed and the use of power skiffs is approved.

Variation Order No. 2022-SAL-23-SN-01 in effect.


The target catch for this opening is 25,000 Sockeye Salmon. This fishery will close once the target is caught or may be extended if needed.

On June 23, 2022 Department staff met with the Area 23 Harvest Committee to discuss fishery planning for Area 23 Somass Sockeye. The attendees at this meeting were representatives from the Tseshaht, Hupacasath and Maa-nulth First Nations, and representatives from the commercial gillnet and seine fisheries, and the Alberni Valley Sport Fishing Advisory Committee. An increased run size of 550,000 was adopted for management purposes.

The involvement of the Area B seine fleet in the Alberni Inlet Sockeye Salmon fishery is dependent on the Area B Seine Harvest Committee developing and implementing a fishing plan that limits the harvest of Sockeye Salmon to weekly target allocations. This fishing opportunity is possible due to the cooperation between Fisheries Management staff and the Area B Harvest Committee to actively manage this weekly fishing plan.

As a result, Area B vessel masters and vessels must have a valid 2022 Area B Seine Licence and also be designated by their representative Working Group body and subsequently by the Area B Harvest Committee to participate in this fishery.

This fishery will not proceed should undesignated seine vessels attend or attempt to participate in this fishery.

NOTES AND REMINDERS:

Lost Gear Reporting:
The licence holder/operator must report any of their lost fishing gear within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of lost gear must be submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by completing the Lost Fishing Gear form available online at http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/commercial-commerciale/reporting-declaration-eng.html.

If using an Electronic logbook, the licence holder/fishing vessel operator must report any of their lost fishing gear to Fisheries and Oceans Canada gear within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of lost gear must be submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by completing the section reserved for that purpose in its electronic logbook.

Retrieved Gear Reporting:
The licence holder/operator must report the retrieval of any of their own previously reported lost gear within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of retrieved gear must be submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by completing and submitting the Retrieval of Previously Reported Lost Fishing Gear form available online at http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/commercial-commerciale/index-eng.html. Retrieval can only occur during the validity period of these licence conditions and only in relation to the specific type of gear authorized to be used by these licence conditions.

If using an Electronic logbook, the licence holder/fishing vessel operator must report the retrieval of any of their own previously reported lost gear within 24 hours of returning to port at the end of the fishing trip. Reports of retrieved gear must be submitted to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) by completing the section reserved for that purpose in its electronic logbook. Retrieval can only occur under a valid fishing licence and only in relation to the specific type of gear authorized to be used by the fishing licence.

As required by the US Marine Mammal Protection Act regulations, all countries exporting fish and fish products to the United States must comply with the updated import provisions which include requirements to report and record all incidental fishery-related interactions with marine mammals. This aligns with reporting requirements under the Marine Mammal Regulations. The link to the online National form and instructions for filling in and reporting can be found at http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/mammals-mammiferes/report-rapport/page01-eng.html. For more information, please see FN0388 (2018).

Environment and Climate Change Canada continues to monitor seabird by-catch in net fisheries. Please retain and provide all dead birds entangled in nets to DFO, or call the BC Wild Bird Mortality Line (1-866-544-4744). Label birds with date, time, location, and vessel name. Alternatively, send a photograph of birds with a reference object (i.e. coin) to Laurie.Wilson@ec.gc.ca. For more information contact Laurie Wilson (Laurie.Wilson@ec.gc.ca, 604-862-8817).

The Government of Canada recognizes that Southern Resident Killer Whales face imminent threats to their survival and recovery. On April 29, 2022, the Government announced a suite of management measures to be implemented this summer that help address the key threats of reduced prey availability (primarily Chinook salmon), and acoustic and physical disturbance. These measures include salmon fishery closures, Interim Sanctuary Zones that restrict vessels from entering (including fishing), minimum vessel approach distances, Seasonal Slowdown Areas where vessels are required to slow down to 10 knots while in these areas and a number of voluntary measures including to stop fishing (do not haul gear) within 1,000 metres of killer whales and let them pass. For more information about the 2022 management measures, please visit https://www.canada.ca/southern-resident-killer-whales or contact the Marine Mammal Team at DFO.SRKW-ERS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

If you see a sea turtle, please call this toll-free phone number: 1-866-I SAW ONE (1-866-472-9663). Please include information such as the type of sea turtle seen (i.e. leatherback), the location and time of sighting.

If a marine mammal becomes entangled in fishing gear, fishers should immediately call the Observe, Record, Report (ORR) line at 1-800-465-4336. Fishers are advised not to attempt to free the animal of the fishing gear as this can pose a serious threat to the safety of the fisher and the animal. If your vessel strikes a whale, or if you observe a sick, injured, distressed, or dead marine mammal in B.C. waters, please contact the hotline immediately: 1-800-465-4336 or VHF Channel 16.
 
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