2024 Gulf Island Reports

[ship happens]

All these regulations are spelled out in the fishery openings and closure notice. Read the notice. Area 29 is open for Chinook retention. There is one sub area and one portion of an area open. Read the notice. Don't rely on some app.

 

[Seasalt]

I'm t

I wouldn’t feel too bad about it if I were you. There are obviously others who didn’t dig into the regs enough to find the closures.

The cynical part of me thinks they want the regs to be complicated so when people fish in the no-go zones they can say fishermen can’t be trusted to follow them and they should just shut everything down to be sure. The ‘abundance of caution’ phrase was used a lot by the fisheries minister in defence of the Pender bluffs closure for six months when the whales are there for 7-10 days per year. Apparently science can’t compete with politics when it comes to fisheries management decisions.

If you just read the table under Salmon for area 29 it says Chinook are Open(See Restrictions) for 29-5. Toward the bottom of the Restrictions table is a link to the Strait of Georgia Chinook Closure map that shows the closed area in blue stripe.
There is another link near the top of the Salmon section under Maps called ‘Area 17 and Sub-areas 29-1 to 29-5 Nanaimo, Sechelt, Strait of Georgia: Chinook and Coho openings and other management measures’ that takes you to the map I posted.

If DFO tried to make the Tidal regulations more convoluted and less intuitive to find openings and closures, they would have a hard time doing so. It is simply a horribly designed site. I hadn't seen that particular map ( or probably I had at some point or somehow forgotten about it amidst all the other regulations, as I spent ages clicking though other areas and maps). It is not under the restrictions link, but in maps. Weird? I know that it is our responsibility to find this information, and the information is all there ( buried in various places), but you think DFO might try to make it a tad easier to navigate, especially where areas and sub-areas collide ... Hats off to the Fishing BC app for trying. Rant over! Donn't get me started on Pender Bluffs...
Fished Collinson Point for a few hours on flood after tide change yesterday, but not a sniff.

 

[Grant_J]

In defense of the Fishing BC App, I spent some more time looking at their layout of the regulations, and it does have the SKRW fishing restrictions for various areas like 29-5. The problem is if you are like me and read the very first paragraph under Species Regulations you may assume it is open based on:

Chinook Salmon - (1/2/10) - 29,3, 29-4, 29-5, 29-8 August 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025

So you can't stop there and assume it is open - you then need to keep scrolling, past the Fishery Management Regulations which show 29-5 open for Chinook, marked or unmarked, but cannot exceed 80cm, and then keep scrolling and expanding out the restrictions to read that they must be transported with head on, and then scroll down and expand out to see OH WAIT there are Strait of Georgia closures, with not easy to read GPS coordinates showing the SKRW closure. Complicating this, I also use the Fishing BC App map to make sure I'm not in RCAs (which are static and not changing) but wasn't aware this left out other possible restrictions. Only if you leave the Fishing BC app and find the official DFO map for 29 does it show the SKRW restrictions.

What a mess. I guess I'm headed back to Sooke which has SRKW closures as well, but at least it's not all blocked and has some open areas along the shoreline.

 

[GalianoDave]

Fished from Lions Island up Galiano and back early this afternoon. One good tap and a couple shakers. Another boat said they got a nice one on a Hootchie but pretty slow for us.

 

[sweettjim]

Fished 18-1 yesterday afternoon, steady action, gold phantom skinny g out performed everything else by a mile

nice fish that spring is a foot ball was it a red?

 

[A-a-Ron]

Been enjoying the unsettled weather here this weekend, feels more fishy than full sun. Worked the slack window the past few days east entrance Active Pass, a couple short dances with pin poppers but nothing close to the boat except a big wild coho. Until today mid day high slack. Great fight, came to the surface after the first run and jumped full out of the water twice, then took off again. Got close to the boat and then a third short run, finally landed er solo. 80cm on the tape, 15lb beauty red spring. 55’ on the rigger, 5” G-force spoon (herring aid)

 

[Brett83]

Got out to tumbo today. From 300pm to 730pm, it was really good. Fished with some guys that never get out. Put 2 hatchery coho and a nice chinook in the box and released a 90 plus cm fish. Watched a guy lose a couple chinook due to being to tense. The other boat we went with got four chinook. Things are looking up

 

[cpony]

Got out to tumbo today. From 300pm to 730pm, it was really good. Fished with some guys that never get out. Put 2 hatchery coho and a nice chinook in the box and released a 90 plus cm fish. Watched a guy lose a couple chinook due to being to tense. The other boat we went with got four chinook. Things are looking up

Looks like a calm day a gain tomorrow, thinking of going exploring. Do you fish Tumbo Channel or the Georgia Strait side?

 

[Brett83]

Looks like a calm day a gain tomorrow, thinking of going exploring. Do you fish Tumbo Channel or the Georgia Strait side?

Straight side, here right now. I'll let you know how it goes

 

[Pearl dog]

How’d it go out there @Brett83?

Anybody try Salamanca recently? There were 30 boats at collinson yesterday when we went past. Any reports?

 

[Salted]

Was at Salamanca yesterday from 4 - 8PM, 8 or so other boats. Dead slow, shakers was it, no good hits (maybe one or two down deeeep). Didn't see any nets (not for anything big). It was very good there on Wednesday, lots of schooling mid size fish. Fire up your time machine and try last Wednesday, highly recommended

Mid size fish (including the 79.99999999cm fish retained on Wed) had small anchovy in belly.

 

[Brett83]

How’d it go out there @Brett83?

Anybody try Salamanca recently? There were 30 boats at collinson yesterday when we went past. Any reports?

We did three days in a row at tumbo, full on days like first light to dark because some boys from the Okanagan came down to fish. It was our only option. Two boats got a mixture of 15 fish. Plus an 88 a 90 and an 84. Couple major rookie mistakes. So hard to say, for me it felt slow. But yesterday both boats limited out at sandheads with a 21# and 20# in the mix on my boat.

 

[Grace underfire]

Anyone trying Porlier at the moment? Was thinking of heading out that way next weekend.

 

[Pearl dog]

We crossed to sandheads today. 40 miles round trip. Good fishing. Lots of boats hooking up. Boxed 2 big springs, lost 1 and released a huge wild coho. Funny it’s usually a bait show over there but today for us all hits on skinny G or white hootch.
These coho this year are big like I see in Alaska.

 

[Bradfish]

We crossed to sandheads today. 40 miles round trip. Good fishing. Lots of boats hooking up. Boxed 2 big springs, lost 1 and released a huge wild coho. Funny it’s usually a bait show over there but today for us all hits on skinny G or white hootch.
These coho this year are big like I see in Alaska.

What size boat did you go to Sand Heads?

 

[coastrunner]

Anyone trying Porlier at the moment? Was thinking of heading out that way next weekend.

Let us know how it was if you go

 

[Salmonseeker17]

Went out yesterday from 1-4pm at the flat tops. Fishing was pretty non stop action. We ended up keeping our 4 springs, biggest was about 20lbs. Lost a few other teen size springs. Plus kept 2 hatchery coho. And released 5 or 6 wilds. Clear hoochie short leader, at 166ft got 90% of the action.

 

[coastrunner]

Went out yesterday from 1-4pm at the flat tops. Fishing was pretty non stop action. We ended up keeping our 4 springs, biggest was about 20lbs. Lost a few other teen size springs. Plus kept 2 hatchery coho. And released 5 or 6 wilds. Clear hoochie short leader, at 166ft got 90% of the action.

Good to hear
Flattops off gabreola?

 

[Salmonseeker17]

Good to hear
Flattops off gabreola?

Yes

 

[Grace underfire]

Let us know how it was if you go

Looks like it won't be this weekend due to wind today and family commitments tomorrow. I'll definitely be trying Porlier next weekend, likely for the same combo I was hitting in June (lings + cohos) and post a report.
Tight lines to those braving the wind today.