2024 Sooke Reports

[Tips Up]

Yesterdays Derby was my last day of fishing chinooks for this season. Some back dated reports...

Last Sunday (Sept.1) fished with my daughter and her boyfriend. Fished Otter to Muir. Daughter landed one in low 20's, the boyfriend landed one in high teens and landed one around 9lb. We also released a few wild coho. Was a great day with good weather and fun with the kids. Reports were slow that day and not many fish at the dock so we did well but felt like things are slowing down.

Saturday Sept. 7. Reports all week were slow so did a solo fish from first light to 10:30am to do some scouting for the derby Sunday. I ran up to Sheringham for first time in a few years. 1 other boat fishing there. No bait but lots of fish marking. Could not get anything to bite and there were lots of weeds in the water so I moved down to high end of Muir Creek. Flat calm and not a boat for miles. I marked some fish and there was big bait popping. I hooked into an epic battle with one around 20lb. So much fun solo. Best fight in years. While fighting that fish I doubled up on the other side. I was too busy with the battle and could not work the second rod so that fish was lost. Landed the 20 finally. 20 min later same spot I hooked and played one in high teens but lost it near boat. Release 4-5 coho. Great morning for a short fishing trip. But figured I knew where I wanted to be Sunday for derby.

Sunday Derby day we were on water in the dark and as soon as light enough we made our way to Muir to fish same spot. Passed Otter and there must have been 30 boats up there in the dark. Kept going and got the quiet spot we wanted but no marks, no bait, no nothing. Stuck to plan and fished there for 2 hours. Nice wild coho on every tack but no springs so we widened our search from Muir to Gordon Bay and back. Ended up with 1 spring around 8lb and a bunch of coho. No derby fish.

Congrats to those who found fish yesterday. It was a grind so you did well. I'm good with a derby where not everyone is catching and you have to mix a little skill, experience and luck to get on the board.

Time to hang up the rods and pull out the rifles. Season is changing. Was a great year. Fished with good friends and family. Fished Sidney, Sooke, Renfrew and Bamfield. Everyone's freezer is full and lots of good times were had. Will get out for some cohos first week of October.

 

[kaelc]

Yesterdays Derby was my last day of fishing chinooks for this season. Some back dated reports...

Last Sunday (Sept.1) fished with my daughter and her boyfriend. Fished Otter to Muir. Daughter landed one in low 20's, the boyfriend landed one in high teens and landed one around 9lb. We also released a few wild coho. Was a great day with good weather and fun with the kids. Reports were slow that day and not many fish at the dock so we did well but felt like things are slowing down.

Saturday Sept. 7. Reports all week were slow so did a solo fish from first light to 10:30am to do some scouting for the derby Sunday. I ran up to Sheringham for first time in a few years. 1 other boat fishing there. No bait but lots of fish marking. Could not get anything to bite and there were lots of weeds in the water so I moved down to high end of Muir Creek. Flat calm and not a boat for miles. I marked some fish and there was big bait popping. I hooked into an epic battle with one around 20lb. So much fun solo. Best fight in years. While fighting that fish I doubled up on the other side. I was too busy with the battle and could not work the second rod so that fish was lost. Landed the 20 finally. 20 min later same spot I hooked and played one in high teens but lost it near boat. Release 4-5 coho. Great morning for a short fishing trip. But figured I knew where I wanted to be Sunday for derby.

Sunday Derby day we were on water in the dark and as soon as light enough we made our way to Muir to fish same spot. Passed Otter and there must have been 30 boats up there in the dark. Kept going and got the quiet spot we wanted but no marks, no bait, no nothing. Stuck to plan and fished there for 2 hours. Nice wild coho on every tack but no springs so we widened our search from Muir to Gordon Bay and back. Ended up with 1 spring around 8lb and a bunch of coho. No derby fish.

Congrats to those who found fish yesterday. It was a grind so you did well. I'm good with a derby where not everyone is catching and you have to mix a little skill, experience and luck to get on the board.

Time to hang up the rods and pull out the rifles. Season is changing. Was a great year. Fished with good friends and family. Fished Sidney, Sooke, Renfrew and Bamfield. Everyone's freezer is full and lots of good times were had. Will get out for some cohos first week of October.

Which boat were you in? We did the same thing, some guys flying past us in the dark, one with a spotlight he kept shining on our boat while we slowly made our way.

We got our chance to get on the board thanks to @Doug and his great anchovy rigging and deadly monitoring of the rods. Seriously I have fished with some amazing fishermen but the one thing I noticed about Doug is even when chatting he is monitoring both rod tips like an eagle. I was inside the cabin, and his rod went off, and we were in. He had a hoot chatting with some of the best fishermen and guides while playing the fish. It came to the boat 3 times but spit the trailer hook the last time it got close to the boat.

I'm shopping for net with an 8 foot handle, I'll never fish another derby without one. I don't know if I would have taken a shot at netting it without it settling down, I would have let Doug make the call, but with a longer net handle we would have had a shot.

We saw 5th place @tigerprawn net his fish, and I got some of it on camera with my iphone 15pro max zoom, tough to get zoom footage and keep fishing at the same time on a rolling boat.

So much money was raised by a great organization. Thanks @SVIAC and to the volunteers!! Love the 1 day and done format.

We got two nice coho to the boat, one was a hatch coho of good size and the other wild, so we got dinner.

If you ever get a chance to hire @Doug, you will not regret it. He's a master, teaches well, and has the best attitude, if you are catching or in our case coming close.

 

[SpringVelocity]

Pretty much same @chris73 and myself came over just when there was a bit of light at Muir. I knew @Doug was on your boat I heard the laughing in the distance.

Slow for us .Got lots of coho no springs though.

Yes was good derby and will look forward it next year.

 

[Tips Up]

Which boat were you in? We did the same thing, some guys flying past us in the dark, one with a spotlight he kept shining on our boat while we slowly made our way.

We got our chance to get on the board thanks to @Doug and his great anchovy rigging and deadly monitoring of the rods. Seriously I have fished with some amazing fishermen but the one thing I noticed about Doug is even when chatting he is monitoring both rod tips like an eagle. I was inside the cabin, and his rod went off, and we were in. He had a hoot chatting with some of the best fishermen and guides while playing the fish. It came to the boat 3 times but spit the trailer hook the last time it got close to the boat.

I'm shopping for net with an 8 foot handle, I'll never fish another derby without one. I don't know if I would have taken a shot at netting it without it settling down, I would have let Doug make the call, but with a longer net handle we would have had a shot.

We saw 5th place @tigerprawn net his fish, and I got some of it on camera with my iphone 15pro max zoom, tough to get zoom footage and keep fishing at the same time on a rolling boat.

So much money was raised by a great organization. Thanks @SVIAC and to the volunteers!! Love the 1 day and done format.

We got two nice coho to the boat, one was a hatch coho of good size and the other wild, so we got dinner.

If you ever get a chance to hire @Doug, you will not regret it. He's a master, teaches well, and has the best attitude, if you are catching or in our case coming close.

I'm in 176 Double Eagle with blue top.
I'm not big on long handle nets unless you have huge freeboard and need it to reach the water. I don't like when partners try to reach for a fish. If it is that far out it is not ready to be netted IMO. Not much leverage or control over a net when held out that far. That might be just me. I like to keep net out of the way until guy on rod says fish is ready and pulls into net beside the boat. I'm spoiled though as I fish a fair amount so not every fish has to get in the boat. I think I lose less fish at the net now that I don't worry so much about getting in the net asap.
I'm entertained watching people net fish. Love that guy in gear, standing on swim grid, reaching out with 8ft net. Next thing you see if the flasher flying past his head. LOL!
Doug's a Legend! LOL. Always a good report and everyone has good things to say. Good on ya Doug!

 

[kaelc]

Pretty much same @chris73 and myself came over just when there was a bit of light at Muir. I knew @Doug was on your boat I heard the laughing in the distance.

Slow for us .Got lots of coho no springs though.

Yes was good derby and will look forward it next year.

Which boat were you guys in? I wonder how many of the 20lbers came from Muir, saw a guide net a couple and others get close.

Laughter makes such a difference on a slow day. If I catch one coho with a good fishing buddy it's a good day, with captain Ahab we could limit out and I'll feel kinda happy.

So good how that so many people ended up going in. It was a sick morning for fishing. I wanted to go again this morning since my son woke me at 5am! I might head to the Trap. How has the seal been this year? Sealions where thick from Otter up, but not sure if they got anyones catch?

 

[Grant_J]

We were in the 80+ boats that we could see on Saturday in or around Beechy Head, the trap etc... no luck at all for us, and we were out there from 7:30 to 1:30, although from the chatter on 68 it seemed we weren't the only ones for who it was quite slow. I tried shallow 45-75, then deeper at 110 and even tried really deep 200' for whatever was showing up on the fish finder. What's the trick with Coho or are they not really around much now either?

 

[kaelc]

We were in the 80+ boats that we could see on Saturday in or around Beechy Head, the trap etc... no luck at all for us, and we were out there from 7:30 to 1:30, although from the chatter on 68 it seemed we weren't the only ones for who it was quite slow. I tried shallow 45-75, then deeper at 110 and even tried really deep 200' for whatever was showing up on the fish finder. What's the trick with Coho or are they not really around much now either?

Go deeper 150 feet to 450+ feet of water, anywhere from 30-80 feet on the rigger. Now is the time to fish for coho when they are bigger. Ours was good for feeding, 6 people with one filet, plus a little bit of crab bait.

The two coho we hit were nice size. Only issue is identifying wild in the water.

Thanks for the report on the trap.

 

[wolf]

Time to hang up the rods and pull out the rifles. Season is changing. Was a great year. Fished with good friends and family

YES totally agree I had a awesome season .. and everyone for most part was great on water , I fished on sat off possesion /bluffs and got a nice almost 22 lber YUP a day to early , figured Id try that as it has been great had the place all to myself in that am flood and I beat the heck out of the reef doing some recon but to no joy , but the woman played it great like a champ... So figured go with what I know and we got a fish 15.8 on the scale poor mikey didnt get in the money but he had fun here is some pics of sat fish and my best friends kid on derby day...
I too am pulling boat after this week as I (HAVE) to go moose hunting now lol

 

[wolf]

Well i was pleasntly surprised yesterday did a lil am trip with that am flood and we had 3 springs on landed one just out front of harbour and a limit of htch coho... maybe a flush of fish came in? another charter got 3 springs as well so maybe a few around seems its a bait is prefered choice...

 

[Cataline]

Very productive day off Secretary this morning. Launched at Prestige around 7:30 and was fishing shortly after 8:00 at Posession. The plan was to hope for a Spring still hanging around, however by the time we trolled to Secretary it was Coho country. Two lines out, one at 40 and one at 60, but it was mostly double header after double header. Mostly 'wild' Coho but by 10:00 we had our limit of marked Coho. But what was really nice is the size of the fish, 60 - 70 cm and solid! In the end we did get one Spring but smaller than the Coho. Spoons were the lure, 3½" white with a lime yellow edge, also a 4" chrome with spots and again the lime yellow edge. Both spoons had those little flappers on the hook ring. We trolled at about 2.2mph.
Late in the trip I dropped down to 120 on the down rigger looking for a Spring but again it was a Coho that took the spoon.

 

[kaelc]

Whipped out to Muir to fish for halibut this morning and buzz bomb for coho. Three hits on the buzz bomb, one wild to the boat. 1 skate/ 1 rat fish and 1 dog, we were due but buddy had a 1pm and I need to go see a client. Thick fog, couldn’t get above it with my buddies drone at 120M. First time using the Hali anchor in 2 years. Mostly wanted to get the rust off, my brain on how to use it before it’s 3 years!

 

[Hot-Streak]

Fished the head recently. Started head to trap and no bites in the morning till about 830 or 9am. Then it was coho madness for about 1 1/2 hours. Double headers, lots of fish. Wild were big but the clipped we got were decent size too. Got them at about 50 ft on spoons and hootchies, actually I don't think it really mattered when the bite came on.
Coho season is one of my favorite times of year.

 

[Newf]

Hottest time slot for me today was 10:30 to 11:30 and off the head in 420-450 ft of water and 65 to 85 on DR. Lost a couple but 6 to the boat and all wild. Slow after that but 4 more to the boat up to 2pm but also wild. All on spoons. Some really nice fish in the bunch. Started to troll back in and picked up a 79cm white spring just before Allridge. That was it other than a couple little shakers. Almost lost a rod and reel due to a failed holder post. Got lucky and rod caught between the DR and my leg as I happened to be standing next to it when it snapped.

 

[wolf]

Got lucky and rod caught between the DR and my leg as I happened to be standing next to it when it snapped.

Thats why I dont use those ive seen many be lost incding myself . the worse are the one on the riggers make look pretty but use them only for a holder while im playing a fish and running from spot to spot , I only use the strikers.
I will have my last trip of the year tommorow time to pull boat and get ready for moose hunt next week , FALL is in the air

 

[Grant_J]

Very productive day off Secretary this morning. Launched at Prestige around 7:30 and was fishing shortly after 8:00 at Posession. The plan was to hope for a Spring still hanging around, however by the time we trolled to Secretary it was Coho country. Two lines out, one at 40 and one at 60, but it was mostly double header after double header. Mostly 'wild' Coho but by 10:00 we had our limit of marked Coho. But what was really nice is the size of the fish, 60 - 70 cm and solid! In the end we did get one Spring but smaller than the Coho. Spoons were the lure, 3½" white with a lime yellow edge, also a 4" chrome with spots and again the lime yellow edge. Both spoons had those little flappers on the hook ring. We trolled at about 2.2mph.
Late in the trip I dropped down to 120 on the down rigger looking for a Spring but again it was a Coho that took the spoon.

As someone relatively new to the ocean salmon fishing game I find reports like this incredibly useful. Depth, speed, lures all helps me compare to what I'm currently doing to see if the dry spells I sometimes get are due to improper technique. Thanks!

 

[Englishman]

Almost lost a rod and reel due to a failed holder post. Got lucky and rod caught between the DR and my leg as I happened to be standing next to it when it snapped.

Yeah, we have been terrified of losing a rod and reel overboard since day 1. Either through bad luck/equipment failure, inattention, or now the beginnings of arthritis, this can easily happen.

So we use short lanyards. These are fixed to the reel or reel seat somehow and the other end is a climbing carabina clipped to a large split ring zap- strapped to the boat gunwale.

The lanyard gets in the way a bit sometimes but we have never lost a fish because of it. If we connect with a large fish (which does not happen very often LOL ) and we need to move around the back of the boat a bit, the carabina end can be easily unclipped and clipped to a strap on the life jacket or even a jeans belt loop.

Gives us peace of mind anyway!!

 

[eroyd]

Out to Beechy hd. area in the early morning fog. Cleared up a bit and turned out to be very nice. Big strike within the first 15 mins. Heavy fish, taking lots of line. Played for a minute but then it popped off. Big Spring? Covered water all morning only picking up one clipped coho and releasing another. Slow. Small shakers became a nuisance.
Around noon things turned on, had six or so coho, some large up to the boat within half hour. Unfortunately the wind turned on as well and the sea got nasty. 60ft on the DR and "Outfitter" skinny g seemed best.
Cool whale show off the Head. Orca's and a Humpback going head to head. Passed through each other without a sniff.

 

[wolf]

Out front in 90 foot level first pass popped a spring hatchery about 14 ish then a hatch coho about a hour later off bluffs in the mud (bottom) slammed a big spring taking line then poof gone damn hard jaws at this time of year.. picked up 1 more hatchery coho and that was it 2 coho bites both hatch .. came in at 11 ...

 

[MRW]

Out in front of the harbour today from9-1130. 7 nice coho alas all wild tho. 120’ of water 53&63 on the rigger. Couple more hits that didn’t stick. Spoons outfished bait for me.

 

[scott craven]

That looks like a beer can spoon !