2025 Sooke Reports

[Rain City]

Epic fishing is Sooke this weekend. Flat calm seas and lots of fish. When the bite was on it was ON!
Lots of boats and very little boat etiquette. Weeds were an issue at times.

We were in Cheanuh derby so early starts.

Saturday we landed 7 nice springs and lost 3 by 9am when the bite ended. 1 was 79cm, fat and was around 18lb on my boat scale so we decided to weigh it in with another around 14lb rather than waiting around for the next bite. Fish weighed in at 18lb even and was second place at that time. There was a prize for top halibut so we weighed in and went Hali fishing. Currents were a bust and we could not keep gear on bottom so we gave in early afternoon with no Hali.

Sunday was on fire again. Did not keep track but similar results. We kept 2 fish right on 80cm but around 15lb each to weigh in. We also picked up 2 nice sockeye as by catch. Sockey were nice size so I’ll be going on a sockeye mission one morning this week for sure.

Our Saturday fish at 18lb held for 3rd place and a nice cash payout. Top 3 fish were 20.2, 18.7, 18. Lots of fish weighed in.
The derby was very well run. Wind up was reasonably quick and organized with lots of prizes. The kid that one kids prize was sooo happy. He could barely carry the trophy. Good job cheanuh on an organized and fun derby!

A 20.2lb slot fish?! Juicy

 

[Stizzla]

Must’ve been shaped like a cube.
Are you a believer now?!

 

[cby]

They do exist for sure. They are really chunky fish this year.

 

[Tips Up]

Did anyone target sockeye this weekend?
Tomorrow looks like great weather and good excuse to hit the tide lines and go to work late.

 

[Tsquared]

I tried yesterday 400 ft off the Head using pink gear, deep line was 90 ft on the rigger. All I got was pinks but other people were getting them word was they were deep which is why I had gear at 90.

 

[Deewar25]

I tried yesterday 400 ft off the Head using pink gear, deep line was 90 ft on the rigger. All I got was pinks but other people were getting them word was they were deep which is why I had gear at 90.

we tried Saturday, but they ended up targetting us first and got 5 (had to throw the last nice one back as we filled ticket), didn't matter the lure or the depth (bait and artificial), but typically 40-70ft. Hit a double off Otter but didn't go back for them, the rest at Muir, in close and bit further out.

 

[Rain City]

Must’ve been shaped like a cube.
Are you a believer now?!

I have no idea, but I'd love to see the calibration of that derby scale now. Fack. I'm just impressed at how seemingly difficult it is to find them. You have to agree it was a good line he set. I also don't think he actually claimed that they don't exist at all, they would just be super rare.

 

[tubber]

<80cm 20lb fish debate is closed. Nice work on 3rd.

 

[cby]

Ok I agree they do exist, but I also agree that they are rare. The unicorn of the sea!

 

[A-a-Ron]

<80cm 20lb fish debate is closed. Nice work on 3rd.

Did anyone check the belly for lead?

 

[Mozart]

That'll be too obvious. Just stuff with a pack of xl anchovies

 

[Rain City]

That'll be too obvious. Just stuff with a pack of xl anchovies

With lead in them!

 

[chris73]

Did anyone check the belly for lead?

That'll be too obvious. Just stuff with a pack of xl anchovies

That'd be as expensive as donating your entire prize money!

 

[kingspring]

But they get bit by the big ones.

 

[Newf]

Late start as tide too low for me to launch earlier at Pedder. Lines in the water by 9am just South of Church. Pink after pink so move in closer and then shaker after shaker Chinook. Back out off of Church and picked up a couple of clipped Coho. At noon started to troll back through Race Passage and got into pinks and shakers again. Once through the passage I replaced the pink hoochies for a couple of spoons. 10 minutes later hooked a nice fish and within 30 seconds the 2nd rod goes off and pops the clip. Landed the first one and knew it was close to the limit. Fish still on the 2nd rod so get it to the side of the boat and could see that it was also a nice fish but not as fat as the one I landed. Left it in the holder, grabbed the tape and measured the one in the deck. 80cm on the nose and a fatty compared to the one in the water. Couldn’t do much better than that so released the one at the side of the boat and called it a day. 18.4lbs on my cheap scales.

 

[WaldoDingy]

I was out with a friend and hit 2 sockeye at 120 on the rigger Saturday 10 am. They're deep.

 

[PHW]

Pulled in to Beecher Monday am from US side for our annual Sooke trip. Was a lot slower than I was expecting , but we got our Springs. Both 78 cm. One in Beecher at 70 ft and the other between Secratery and Trap shack at 65. Green Herring Aid Kingfisher Lite 3.5 inch and then last one on an Ace Hi-Fly green splatter back. First Spring I pulled out of the water here on the Ace Hi so happy with that. Caught several NICE Coho that had an extra fin so back to their home they went.

On the water this am and Otter gave up 2 nice springs in short order before 8. Not a fan of morning low tides but 135-150 feet with 70 on downrigger working today. More follow -up tomorrow. Same spoon as yesterday. Match the Hatch (see below picture). Now trying to find some silvers or Sox we can keep. Tight lines!

 

[Lewy]

Out of Cheanuh to the head today looking for a sockeye or two ...none for us today but limited out on pinks in 2 hours, loads of jack springs released. Had to park in overflow but checked out the parking lot first ...could have fitted a few more trailers in if the early guys had a clue how to park.
To be expected though, summer fishing, kinda like Sunday driving.

 

[Tips Up]

With the sockeye opening and calm seas I also did a short fish this morning. Plan was to launch in Sooke and fish the tide lines where we fish coho and where we caught Sockey last opening 9 or so years ago. But remembered the new (and stupid) save the whales no fishing zone out front of Sooke. After plotting it I found it was much closer in than I thought and interfered with the plan. I’m sure there are tons of people in aware and fishing in it.
So we hit the water at first light after parking my trailer properly at cheanuh lol. Fished first light till 8:30 from the head west to the closure. 300-450ft and all over. Fished strictly Sockey gear at slow speeds
We caught pinks right out of our hands while trying to set gear and right down to 120ft. 1 spring around 7lb released. 1 hatch coho and zero sockeye. Ripping ebb tide probably didn’t help. We did better with bycatch on the weekend in close on the flood.
Beauty morning and at my desk by 11am. Every day should start like that.

 

[Englishman]

After resolving the kicker kill switch problem over the week-end, we went out again today on a beautiful flat day. Launched late because my son wanted to accompany us and low tide at Sunny Shore meant we had to go to the Prestige.

Made our way down to Muir again, where there were at least a dozen boats including several charters. However, for us, once again Muir was disappointing. We had a couple of pinks, a nice unclipped coho released and several undersized chinook but not a proper keeper did we contact. We used both bait and spoons. Did not see any chinook netted by anyone else either.

At 1:00pm we head out into 250-300’ of water with little pink hootchies hoping for sockeye but settling for pinks. We contact the latter but not the former, managing to miss hits and lose some fish, before boating a couple.

So at 2:45 pm we were headed east rounding Otter at 300’ and I had “crisp” hit on the little pink hootchie that looked different from the bites we had had all day. It was still a huge ironic surprise when it took off powerfully running 70 metres. I got it to the surface halfway to the boat and it made another run straight down this time. So this was no pink. However a few seconds later it turned into a long distance release. So we remain “chinookless” (is that a word? ) for three trips in a row, although today’s fish would have been a complete fluke, that is for sure.