2024 Nanaimo Reports
- Thread starter SFBC
- Start date
Brave Ulysses
New Member
Went out wednesday, two 4 lb clipped coho, but the exciting event was the adult octopus in my crab trap at Horswell reef!
Couldn’t lift the old trap out of the water for fear of it bending apart.
BTW is anyone having luck with prawns off Neck Point? Seems like they vanished.
Couldn’t lift the old trap out of the water for fear of it bending apart.
BTW is anyone having luck with prawns off Neck Point? Seems like they vanished.
Attachments
Tomfoolery
Active Member
Got out to Entrance this morning and managed a chinook and a couple coho. There are a LOT of coho out there right now and at least a half dozen times we would reel up fish and three or four fish would be schooled up with the one on the line. I had coho following and hitting the lure on the surface on multiple occasions. They seem picky though on what they will take. We were using a three inch Skinny-G irish Cream that was getting hit almost before we could get it down and has had so much action in the last few trips it is bent to **** and half the paint is gone. I pulled a few plugs and a hootchie for a while on the other side looking for the bigger fish and hit a few coho but ended up boating the chinook on another larger chartreuse spoon. Our best hits came close in to the reef where the bait was piled up, and there is a ton of bait out there right now.
Out to Entrance yesterday from about 6am - 12:30pm. Lots of boats out there. We did alright on the Coho - probably 7 or 8 to the boat and quite a few more lost on the take. It was the first time out ever for my fishing partner and I was letting him manage the starboard rigger and rod. My left hand retrieve reels were throwing him for a loop too - so all that to say, plenty of bites that were gone between the time he got the rod out of the holder and line off the clip. Ah well, nobody is born a pro and practice is what it takes. I'm sure I'm slow to some people who've been fishing longer too.
Higher percentage of wilds than previous times I have been out - we only managed to find 2 hatchery all day, only one of which was bonked. Other one was on the small side so he swam away to get bigger. A couple of the wilds we got were beauties. All gaff released and swam away strong.
Other than small shakers, didn't bring in a chinook all day. Possible some of the ones we lost were, but I think more likely coho based on how they hit. There was one spot we found in tight to the reef where it shallows up that had a tonne of bait and looked promising, but all we found there was more coho.
No particular depth was better, we got fish anywhere from 55 to 122. Didn't try deeper than that. The bigger wilds came in from the deeper sets. White flasher white hoochie, purple flasher blue/white hoochie, green flasher with both WCFT 3.5 herring aid and trailhead skinny G all got fish.
It was busy at the Breckin launch. We got there at 5:30am and were far from the first ones. Pulling out around 1 and the lot was full. I noticed lots of guys left their truck and trailer across the road from the exit - the gravel patch on the Sea Air road, where the chain link fence is. Has anyone ever been ticketed or had issues parking there, or is it more or less accepted? I always worry about going down after work and not being able to find a parking spot. Hasn't happened yet but I expect it will at some point.
Higher percentage of wilds than previous times I have been out - we only managed to find 2 hatchery all day, only one of which was bonked. Other one was on the small side so he swam away to get bigger. A couple of the wilds we got were beauties. All gaff released and swam away strong.
Other than small shakers, didn't bring in a chinook all day. Possible some of the ones we lost were, but I think more likely coho based on how they hit. There was one spot we found in tight to the reef where it shallows up that had a tonne of bait and looked promising, but all we found there was more coho.
No particular depth was better, we got fish anywhere from 55 to 122. Didn't try deeper than that. The bigger wilds came in from the deeper sets. White flasher white hoochie, purple flasher blue/white hoochie, green flasher with both WCFT 3.5 herring aid and trailhead skinny G all got fish.
It was busy at the Breckin launch. We got there at 5:30am and were far from the first ones. Pulling out around 1 and the lot was full. I noticed lots of guys left their truck and trailer across the road from the exit - the gravel patch on the Sea Air road, where the chain link fence is. Has anyone ever been ticketed or had issues parking there, or is it more or less accepted? I always worry about going down after work and not being able to find a parking spot. Hasn't happened yet but I expect it will at some point.
Squire
Well-Known Member
Does your white flasher look like the one in the pic? My wife chose this one out of the bag about a month ago and with a ghost flashfly it’s outfishing everything else artificial. Only anchovies are coming close.
Attachments
No but I like the looKs of that one! Mine is an older one and used to have silver tape on one side, but that has almost entirely come off at this point.
jim morrow
Active Member
Left hand retrieve, OMG, why?
Just what feels natural to me. I like the rod in my strong arm. Probably a hold over from river fishing, which I have all my reels set up the same way. Maybe has something to do with playing guitar too, since all the fine motor skills with the fretting happens in the left hand. I dunno. I can fish a reel set up for right hand retrieve, but my own are left.
Deepaaaar
Well-Known Member
LH retrieve makes waaay more sense, IMO, especially for casting/retrieving. I grew up in the States and that was the way. Anyhoo... </divergence>
Pineapple Express
Well-Known Member
I'm the same way. LH rocks
A-a-Ron
Well-Known Member
Tried Entrance Sunday for a few hours, no love. Then we went in close to the Island on the west side to jig for cod in 80’ water. Saw lots of bait half way up so we switch to jigging 3oz anchovy type lures halfway up, and quickly hooked up with a feisty 79cm 15lb spring. Great fight for the kid on the jigging rod. I was jealous tho, I wanted to play that one
Attachments
Great fish!
Just got back from Hardy . Slayed them!!!! Tagged out on jumbo springs and coho
the force
Crew Member
Gave it a shot today, 5 wilds to get a hatch for supper 120-155 down in Horswell channel - coho killer and needle fish hootchie. One under spring. Was a little lumpy and the niece was not feeling very well so didn’t spend too much time. My boy was in the cuddy reading his book just like a regular day lol.
Crabs were all just barely under. Was nice to get out and enough action to keep the kids entertained.
Hope to give it a go first thing tomorrow morning - windy or what’s the best weather app for current conditions?
Crabs were all just barely under. Was nice to get out and enough action to keep the kids entertained.
Hope to give it a go first thing tomorrow morning - windy or what’s the best weather app for current conditions?
Northdogboy
Active Member
Son and I went out on Sunday agan to in front of Neck point, in the rubber green machine. And got another nice Chinook and 5 greenling. We are doing so well mamma bear is letting us go again next weekend. This time it was yelow little nibs jigs.
Squire
Well-Known Member
I certainly wouldn’t recommend Environment Canada or Windfinder after today
Waited til early afternoon to run out to the North side of Gabriola with the wife based on winds that were supposed to die down from 5-15 SE to light for the afternoon/evening then turning to 5-15 NW later in the evening.
We fished two passes from the Grande to Whalebone with the wind and managed to boat four hatch out of six coho total - best ratio of the season!
With that done and the forecast being favourable we popped out to Entrance to find some springs ‘knowing’ even if it was a bit rugged it would only get better. Well, it didn’t …but after a couple of cohos and some missed hits we did get into one spring just as we were going to pack it in.
We’re only eating coho though because it ended up being a fat 86 cm scrapper that had to go back.
Attachments
Aces
Well-Known Member
It definitely blew up more than any weather site I follow.I certainly wouldn’t recommend Environment Canada or Windfinder after today
Waited til early afternoon to run out to the North side of Gabriola with the wife based on winds that were supposed to die down from 5-15 SE to light for the afternoon/evening then turning to 5-15 NW later in the evening.
We fished two passes from the Grande to Whalebone with the wind and managed to boat four hatch out of six coho total - best ratio of the season!
With that done and the forecast being favourable we popped out to Entrance to find some springs ‘knowing’ even if it was a bit rugged it would only get better. Well, it didn’t …but after a couple of cohos and some missed hits we did get into one spring just as we were going to pack it in.
We’re only eating coho though because it ended up being a fat 86 cm scrapper that had to go back.
jackfish
Active Member
Windy with the ECMWF model seems closest to reality to me, in the salish sea area.
Similar threads
