2025 Victoria and Oak Bay Reports

[Sam7]

Got on the water early, started fishing by about 5:45, counted about 17 boats just after 6am. All was quiet for me until I made my way out to Brochie where I quickly got into some pinks and also landed a hatch coho. Made my way back to try and fill my dance card with the quad variation. Trolled loops between breakwater to Saxx. Finally around 11:00, rod with bait @73’ goes off. Fish is peeling some line and I noticed that he is headed right for Islandboy. I gave him a quick whistle, and islandboy turns to avoid the possible catastrophe . Get the fish into the boat, 77cm red female that came in at over 14, but close enough to call it 15lbs. I trolled all around the neighborhood trying different lure set ups trying to find my sockeye for the quad. But it never came. I was going to pack it in at 1:15, and the rod goes off at 1:13 and this one is peeling some line….it’s not my sockeye, but another spring. Since I was fishing alone, I had to release about a 12-13lber. This one caught on a mini flasher with a pink hootchie.

 

[Fishician]

Just curious if anybody had a fish on and lost it using a cop car skinny g. Caught and released a nice 82 CM spring off the Waterfront on sunday. As he came up to the net there were some extra shine on the side of his mouth and loan behold a beautiful black and white skinny g was present. It was barbless. Curious if this fish had been lost same location or west in the days prior.

 

[Doug]

Fished with a group from Kelowna today and there was lots of action. Got lots of spring action 730 to 9 and then it went dead and the pinks moved in. Ended up with 79,78,78,62 and 4 pinks and 8 crabs.

I know of four other guys who were out fishing the water front today and they also had their limit of springs by 9am and we saw lots of nets out. From the green can to Sax the fish were everywhere and at all depths.

The group took the 79 filleted spring for a BBQ to night and I took care of vacuum packing their fish and crabs.

What a day for everyone.

 

[WaldoDingy]

Fished Brochie this morning and got 2 sockeye hits around 9 am at wildly different depths and gear. I got one on bait at DR 90 while trying for springs and one at DR 35 running a squirt trying for a pink to smoke. Both came in easy and then lost their minds when they got to the boat. One got off and the other somehow stayed on after bouncing itself off the tube of my zodiac in mid air. Hooked through the eye so no mouth tear.

 

[tinboatrobb]

Waterfront was great for us this morning. 2 white springs, 1 hatchery Coho and 5 big Pinks. Countless hits that never made it to the boat. Multiple double headers. Crazy action for a while. The smoker will be very busy this week.

 

[SVIAC]

Awesome reports, great fishing to be had, including some of those sox! As a reminder, the 2025 Alpine JDF Fishing Tournament is coming up fast on September 7! Details are at this LINK, and you can click there to get your tickets too. $20,000 first place price, $45,000 total prize board, as well as great raffle prizes with lots of great sponsors! Check it all out, and good luck out there!

 

[islandboy]

With the goal of my first sockeye from the rowboat, I was on the water at 8 am.
Battled the waves for two hours before they settled. Only one hit in 170' of water.
Pinks with their telltale hump jumping all around. Saw a number of nets out, fish being cleaned when I came in.
I was about to pull up my tackle in front of Macaulay breakwater and head in for an appointment when both rods went off. Only saw the silver flashes as they spit the hook at the boat. Pink squirts deep and shallow in 75' of water. @Stizzla, I feel your pain.

 

[Doug]

Started at 615 this morning and not a bite for the first 45 minutes. Then winter springs 5 to 8lb and let go 3 and kept 70, 65cm.
At 830 start seeing larger fish on the sonar and they started biting. Landed a 79.5 and 78. Then picked up the crab traps and got 8. Back to the dock at 10.
Great day on the water for some people from Toronto who never fished before.

All the fish were deep today at 90ft on the DR. XL bait

 

[Stizzla]

Started at 615 this morning and not a bite for the first 45 minutes. Then winter springs 5 to 8lb and let go 3 and kept 70, 65cm.
At 830 start seeing larger fish on the sonar and they started biting. Landed a 79.5 and 78. Then picked up the crab traps and got 8. Back to the dock at 10.
Great day on the water for some people from Toronto who never fished before.

All the fish were deep today at 90ft on the DR. XL bait

The big one is a fatty!

 

[Doug]

The big one is a fatty!

Fattest fish of the year with fillets 1.5 inches thick, male, deep body and a red. The scales on that fish were hard to remove too.
This year 40% of the fish landed have been whites so far and more whites than I have ever caught.
We have still not landed a clipped spring this year.........????

 

[Doug]

Started fishing today at 615 and there were about 20 boats out fishing already. Fishing today with three young women who had fished with us the last three years. But they forgot everything and over all did a great job. When we came in I counted 48 boats from Sax to the breakwater.

Got winter springs at first and released 3 and keep one that was bleeding and landed a clipped coho. At 930 started hooking into bigger fish and lost 3 before getting a 78cm in the boat and then got a 79cm and we were done. One spring was white but must have been eating shrimp and turned into a marbled as you can see in the photo

All the fish were deeper today at 90ft on the DR and close to bottom. XL bait.

Pulled the crab traps and got 8 keeper and some of the biggest crab (hard) I have ever seen in the Victoria water. A couple were over 7.5 inches and bigger than the measuring stick.

Here is one of the young ladies with her 79cm fish. That fish (After being filleted) will be in Toronto tomorrow night for dinner

 

[Slack-tider]

I headed out of Flemming to Ross Bay about 6pm for a late night test on my OBM. All good after Sooke Marine Services solved a run issue. "plug" 2 thumbs up to those guys/girls!! Hugh bait clusters everywhere from the Bay to Brochie. All on the surface. I'm talking 20-30 meters around. I have never seen anything like this before. Maybe this is normal as I seldom fish this time of the day. Took my wife on this short trip and she brought in a beauty 77cm nook. A couple good runs, under the boat and 2 missed nettings. Finally got it in the boat and high 5's. Her first big fish. Off Brotchie, 60' on the rigger and no bananas. Don't be afraid to add a little extra bend to your skinny gee to have an aggressive roll. I think she now knows why I am a dedicated fisherman. Maybe now I can sell her on a bigger boat. ;-).

 

[Doug]

Got out fishing at 6am with some friends of Kealc. In five minutes got a big fish on and the 14-year-old played it for 15 minutes. I could see it was over size but I had to net it and boat it to get the hook out and got a measurement of 88cm. Continued with none stop spring action until 9am when we had our four fish (80,77,72,64) and one monster big coho. The coho at the top of the fish row, was the largest, fat clipped coho I’ve seen at this time of the year..

The 14 yr old was pumped with his 80cm fish and he did an excellent job getting that fish in the boat too.

All the fish were deep again at 90 ft on the dr (20lb balls) and close to bottom. That is why we are picking up winter springs. All caught on XL bait.

On our way out at 550am, I counted 24 boats. On our way in at 915, I counted 72 boats fishing all over the water front.

 

[eroyd]

Waterfront with my daughter. Kind of slow with only a couple of winters release. Crazy amount of small herring bubbling on the surface. Around 8:30 another light hit. Carmen thinks it's the bottom or not released, but we are no where near and I'm happy to see the DR line and fishing line start to separate. Awesome! I start clearing rods when the second rod gets hit. Double! Fun and excitement. Good runs and both fish behaved and went their separate ways and were spent by the time they got to the boat and into the net. 77 cm (14#) and 80cm (18#) weighed.

 

[Sam7]

Unbelievable day in the water…..

8 springs to the boat, 3 of us fishing so we had to release 5. Our first fish just after 6 am and 5 minutes into fishing was a 68cm hatchery coho. Springs were 76, (white) and a 74 & 73 (hatchery). We didn’t t release any overs today. Besides the 68 coho, we also grabbed a 73 cm hatchery coho and kept a pink.

Released a few shakers and lost a couple (I am assuming pinks) we had a decent amount of crabs today, but only 3 keepers out of about 25 total crabs in 3 traps

On the water just after 6am and packed it in at 12:00. bait at 77’, spoons at 66’ and third rod was 33’-45’. All rods were getting hit today

 

[tinboatrobb]

Waterfront with my daughter. Kind of slow with only a couple of winters release. Crazy amount of small herring bubbling on the surface. Around 8:30 another light hit. Carmen thinks it's the bottom or not released, but we are no where near and I'm happy to see the DR line and fishing line start to separate. Awesome! I start clearing rods when the second rod gets hit. Double! Fun and excitement. Good runs and both fish behaved and went their separate ways and were spent by the time they got to the boat and into the net. 77 cm (14#) and 80cm (18#) weighed.

Nice work Ian

 

[kayladog]

Good morning off esquimalt, 6:30 - 11:30, 3 springs and 2 hatch coho. Biggest 78cm 14lb spring and 8lb coho. Wasn't on fire but steady, fish every hr. Springs were in close on bait. Caught coho on old faithful beat up coho killer with barely no paint left on it.

 

[eroyd]

Less chinook activity this morning. One bonked and a couple lost. Light hits. Lots of shakers seemed to have flooded in. South Trial, loaded up my partners fish bag with humpies under the condition I don't have to deal with them.
Found a few springs on the flats heading in. All lost by an excited newbie. A taste of the frustration guides must feel. Still fun!