TheHurtLocker
Well-Known Member
Fished Nootka Sunday to Thursday, weather was great. Flat calm on the outside, Ling fishing was fantastic, didn’t target salmon too much but did well when we did. Camel, 3 Bay. Cut plug, and needle fish hoochies. 
2025 Nootka Sound/Esperanza Inlet Reports
- Thread starter Admin
- Start date
Islander91
New Member
I’m pretty confident moutcha bay has showers in the camp site not sure how the rules are around people who aren’t guests there using them are
littlechucky
Crew Member
Coin showers….Best 3 mins of your life.
pacemaker
Well-Known Member
Pretty sure the coin showers are reserved for guests at Critter only. Get dockside moorage for 1 night and that would certainly qualify….
Fishin
Well-Known Member
Great day on the water. Started at Hoiss Point. First fish in the boat within 20 minutes. Lots of nets out as we arrived. Lost 2 nice fish and one of my favorite spoons to the local seal. 4 released while we hoped for a bigger one. Decided to head out past the lighthouse to try our luck as the bite slowed inside. Fishing was red hot, back-to-back springs up to 20 lbs. We were limited out before 10 a.m. Tried heading out deeper to look for coho but couldn’t keep the springs off. Can’t complain there! Jigged up a few rockfish for tacos and called it a day. Best trip of the season for me so far. Definitely lots of fish on the inside now. Spoons, hootchies, bait didn’t seem to matter as most people were catching fish around us. Small spoons and hootchies were the hot ticket for us though!
Attachments
Doubleheader
Well-Known Member
If you’re in a proper chicken halibut hole all you’ll catch is undersize hali. Sand n gravel.
Sneaky Weasel
New Member
Fished M-F at Nootka. Stayed at Moutcha. Always good. Expensive but good. Thanks Dad! Red hot M&T. Got selective by W&TH. Lots of jack Springs around. 8-10 pounds. They went back for the most part. Ended with limits - largest 21. Camel & Wall on the inside. Lighthouse on the outside. Not everyday was hot and we worked for them - understatement. Good grade of fish for the most part. Only a few looked to be turning slightly. Weather amazing. Best spoon was the Skinny G. Wee G also put a few in the box. But as others have said it all seems to work if you find the fish.
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
Not true. Sure it can happen you'll get a few chickens in the same spot and no bigger ones but that isn't a rule that happens all the time. Have been catching multiple different sized Halis including Chickens in the same spots for a very long time. Last week, same thing...
Change your gear size, methods, and tactics and see what happens.
All Hali like sand and gravel by the way...not just Chickens
Last edited:
Our group picked up halibut from 30cm to 145cm (ish) in the same spot over two weeks of fishing outside nootka.. Got an 87 and 92 within ten minutes pf each other to close out our trip. What a way to finish. Only had to let the one big one go.
Salmon stayed spotty until I left 2 weeks ago, we managed to take home 12 rock fish, 6 springs, 2 hali and 6 lings between two of us in 5 fish days. Wish i had spent a little less time trying to get the last two springs and went and found more lings.
After we left things picked up inside and the rest of the group managed to limit out salmon/hali and get a good amount of lings and rockfish.
Salmon stayed spotty until I left 2 weeks ago, we managed to take home 12 rock fish, 6 springs, 2 hali and 6 lings between two of us in 5 fish days. Wish i had spent a little less time trying to get the last two springs and went and found more lings.
After we left things picked up inside and the rest of the group managed to limit out salmon/hali and get a good amount of lings and rockfish.
Doubleheader
Well-Known Member
I’ve got spots that we’ve caught hundreds of flatties for 30 years out of and only a handful of fish over 30. They’re called chicken banks, far from any structure but not way offshore. 220-230’. There isn’t enough food to sustain big fish, tough to grow big on a sandlance diet.
the force
Crew Member
Worth it! Happy wife, happy life.
the force
Crew Member
Quality looking fish!
We hope to pick up a couple Hali, you guys get them trolling turds deep or still better off to anchor up and put out bait?
I’m glad to anchor but hard to have patience/trust sometimes
We hope to pick up a couple Hali, you guys get them trolling turds deep or still better off to anchor up and put out bait?
I’m glad to anchor but hard to have patience/trust sometimes
Esperanza-time
Member
Probably the best spring jigging I’ve ever had yesterday around wash rock, tons of small bait around.
Mostly herring and perch in the belly.
Trolled for a bit with little action, lots of big marks on the screen and turned to 1.5oz jig, on fire!
Caught until my arms were tired!
30-70’
Mostly herring and perch in the belly.
Trolled for a bit with little action, lots of big marks on the screen and turned to 1.5oz jig, on fire!
Caught until my arms were tired!
30-70’
Attachments
codfather
Crew Member
It's been a good few days with lots of fish in most spots.
We picked up a couple Coho that reached 10 pounds at Wash Rk. Those are so good on the BBQ.
Springs were on fire at Beano yesterday morning as we got all ours by 0800. It was very nice fishing them old school at 40 feet along the Caves and Kelp bed instead of the 70 foot line.
My buddy did well inside at Camel and 3 Bay yesterday.
That helps having the fish spread out now so everyone doesn't have to be in the same place.
Good luck.
We picked up a couple Coho that reached 10 pounds at Wash Rk. Those are so good on the BBQ.
Springs were on fire at Beano yesterday morning as we got all ours by 0800. It was very nice fishing them old school at 40 feet along the Caves and Kelp bed instead of the 70 foot line.
My buddy did well inside at Camel and 3 Bay yesterday.
That helps having the fish spread out now so everyone doesn't have to be in the same place.
Good luck.
Just got back from an incredible 6-day trip up in Nootka
The fishing was absolutely unreal. We spent our mornings out at Maquinn, spring and coho kept us busy the whole time. Surprisingly, there weren’t many boats out there in the morning, everyone seemed to stick to the lighthouse, which by all the radio chatter sounded like it was producing as well.
Evenings were spent at Camel, and we were picking up fish nearly every other pass. Only brought them on board if they were over ~15, biggest was around 23 lbs. Nothing massive, but the fights were solid and the fish at Maquinna were especially bright and healthy.
As for gear: bait, spoons, and white hoochies all produced well. In the evenings, a green flasher seemed to be the ticket for us, while mornings were productive no matter what we ran.
Tight lines
The fishing was absolutely unreal. We spent our mornings out at Maquinn, spring and coho kept us busy the whole time. Surprisingly, there weren’t many boats out there in the morning, everyone seemed to stick to the lighthouse, which by all the radio chatter sounded like it was producing as well.
Evenings were spent at Camel, and we were picking up fish nearly every other pass. Only brought them on board if they were over ~15, biggest was around 23 lbs. Nothing massive, but the fights were solid and the fish at Maquinna were especially bright and healthy.
As for gear: bait, spoons, and white hoochies all produced well. In the evenings, a green flasher seemed to be the ticket for us, while mornings were productive no matter what we ran.
Tight lines
staying alive
Active Member
Got back from 4 days at critter cove, was a great time as usual, staff were great.
Fished inside the whole time as I had my 6 and 9 year old granddaughters with me and didn’t want to take any chances with them.
Reading reports here sounds like it would of been ok, but oh well , on the upside I didn’t burn much fuel, we went home with
15 salmon, average 14 - 17 lbs which sadly seems pretty normal the last few years, not like the good old days.
Morning bite was the most productive for us, only got a few in the afternoon
Fished Hoiss point at first light then the camel and San Carlos in the afternoon
Skinny G was the best producer for us , cream coloured with green stripe , mini G worked as well same colour, got 2 on anchovies
Was a great trip , made some memories with the grandkids and they loved being out there
Thanks Nootka
Fished inside the whole time as I had my 6 and 9 year old granddaughters with me and didn’t want to take any chances with them.
Reading reports here sounds like it would of been ok, but oh well , on the upside I didn’t burn much fuel, we went home with
15 salmon, average 14 - 17 lbs which sadly seems pretty normal the last few years, not like the good old days.
Morning bite was the most productive for us, only got a few in the afternoon
Fished Hoiss point at first light then the camel and San Carlos in the afternoon
Skinny G was the best producer for us , cream coloured with green stripe , mini G worked as well same colour, got 2 on anchovies
Was a great trip , made some memories with the grandkids and they loved being out there
Thanks Nootka
Nisquallydave
New Member
15 salmon coming home seems like a great trip. Although the average size was down, still sounds ok. Did you fish Moutcha Bay at all? Are the fish staging there yet? Mahalo.
Similar threads
