cap spin direction

[mayday]

thought about derailing the vancouver report thread, but apparently that is frowned upon
been fishing the cap these last couple weeks - it's always a gong show, but the last couple of days were worse - i thought the general idea was to go counterclockwise - i.e as someone else said - right shoulder to the beach - but it seems like that is no longer the case, and everyone seems to go willy nilly - frustrating to say the least - did it change and i never got the memo?

 

[TheBigGuy]

In the old days clockwise was a pretty common pattern there. For a long time it's been far more of a counter rotation. Not sure exactly why that is, but I think it might have been a result of bigger and bigger boats starting to work that area. Couldn't say for sure. I just go with the flow. My boat is small and maneuverable so it really doesn't matter to much to me which way the pattern goes, but you need to have some sort of pattern. Why the clowns are out in full force at this time of year is beyond me. Used to be the jack holes put away there boats after labor day and decent boatsmen were only on the water later in the year.

 

[Daveroo]

It actually makes sense to go counterclockwise I think. The "rule" starboard rod to the beach and right shoulder to the beach both make sense by the same reasoning. According to the rules navigation if two vessels approach each other they steer to their starboard so that they pass each other on their respective port sides. Another variation is driving cars, if two cars approach headon, the natural move is steer to right and pass each other on the left.

Going counter clockwise you are always keeping boats headed in the opposite direction on your port side .

 

[RiverBoy]

Similar story as above. Fishing last weekend at Chatham point north of campbell River. I'm fishing starboard rod to shore. At one point three boats are coming right at me all giving me the stink eye. I manage to maneuver myself thru the mess. I notice a OBMG guide beside me, fishing by himself. ( it was Duane Mustard , very well known guide ) I say," man that was close, whatever happened to starboard rod to shore? " he replies, "it's port rod to shore. Depends on tide direction." Huh? I feel your pain. Hate not being in the know.

 

[Pippen]

From Jason's weekly report and what I've always done/understood.

http://www.pacificangler.ca/pacific-angler-friday-fishing-report-september-9-2016/

Also remember that starboard rod has the right of way when you are fishing here. Think of this fishery as a big oval race track. As you are heading towards the Lions Gate Bridge, stay to the outside of the pack of boats, out in the deeper water, then as you get close to the green marker turn in towards shore, so you will be turning to your port side, complete your turn and then troll away from the bridge, into the flood tide current, and you will be on the inside of the tack. Once you get up to Ambleside most anglers will do a turn in that area to the port again, out to the deep water, then head back down towards the bridge on the outside of the pack of boats, then repeat. This keeps this crowded fishery a little more civil. What you don’t want to do is try and come down with the flood tide current, towards Lions Gate Bridge, on the inside of the pack of boats. That causes a lot of problems and you are going to get some verbal abuse if you do that. As most of you know, the name of the game with this fishery is bait and keep it close to the bottom.

 

[wildmanyeah]

From Jason's weekly report and what I've always done/understood.

http://www.pacificangler.ca/pacific-angler-friday-fishing-report-september-9-2016/

good advice! and a great blog! Cap is starting to really heat up seen a few nice 25 pounders caught in the last few days. I hate making any report about the Cap all it take as 1 and the next day there will be 50 more boats!

 

[adanac]

yeah the cap is one of the Vancouver fall fisheries best kept secrets!

 

[Peahead]

Don't get me going on direction .... I really tried not to post on that topic.... lol

TBG is right about years past. I have been fishing the Cap since mid 70's when hardly a boat there - and those that were, were mostly cartoppers. While those earlier years were mostly mooching, motor mooching/cutplugging, bait casting, jigging, buzz bombing and back trolling , when rigger trolling became popular it was more logical for me to fish (flood) toward the bridge east along the shallow contour ledge past the old cap light (when it was legal and long before the original light was taken out by a barge). When you needed to make your turn back to the west it was much easier to turn south outward (clockwise) into the deeper water rather than the opposite (making your turn into the rapidly shallowing water). Making a turn into deeper water makes more sense for a reason....its easier and safer especially when there is limited room in an area. Right/starboard rod to shore became popular as a guideline to keep consistency and works as a basic rule when nothing else about location needs a change. It follows navigationally better as well and this is where Davaroo's example absolutely makes sence (boats coming east run port to port with those running west) but that rule can be narrow thinking for certain situations . We actuall aren't cars and we aren't commercial traffic needing to follow navigational channels....we are fishing. If a spot has other factors that make that norm not such a good idea they can be changed - River Boy's example of the Campbell River rotation is just that. As long as all "get it" , it works. The problem with the cap is there are too many fishing it with varied experience and too many fishers now to all get together and communicate a logical plan. 4, 5 or 6 boats running abreast and all wanting to make that eastern turn at different moments will create mayhem no mater what rotation. All running a single file would work but won't happen at the cap, ever. I know Jason well and repect his skills to the highest degree. His suggestion to fish it counter clockwise is likely an attempt to stick with something uniform and standard....a general rule (right rod to shore) and considering the area and the commercial traffic situation if you don't have all 50-100 boats with a particular uniform plan of some sort then no order will ever happen. Falling back to the "default" , the standard/norm of right rod to shore for a zoo like the cap then has some logic to it. I respect that. Even as an old fart and fishing this area when it was mostly all to myself I realize that now the best way to fish the cap can't be the way I used to or what is more logical to me but one that will keep the huge fleet of boats organized and safe as possible, provide the most enjoyable situation for all (and keeps Port Authority from the need to push us out! )

 

[Peahead]

Just happened to be walk'in the Ambleside seawall with family today and observed the cap for 45 min at Suzie breakwater from about 2:00-2:45. 12-15 boats
( inc approx 7 guide boats I know of) I was chuckling to myself because what is often preached is not at all what is done!
All was civil as there weren't a ton of boats BUT there was absolutely no uniform rotation or right rod to shore rotation at all. If anything the most common rotation for the guide boats was to do the eastern turn in the clockwise direction with left rod to shore and turning south and out into deeper water to come back west (as I posted above that I actually prefer if I had my choice). Many actually came back west not on the outer most deepest water position but worked their way west coming in to the middle of the pack that was heading east. This is exactly the opposite of what Jason T was trying to promote recently. I only saw a couple of guide boats do a tack to the east being out deeper and then once just past the light do a counter rotation (turning to north) at the eastern end. This was done by maybe 10-15% of the boats there. Often however these counterclockwise turns required them to go east past the light into closed area to make that counter rotation turn. One particular guide boat was working the inside shallow on both eastern and the western tacks lol... He obviously beleives in both right AND left rod to the shore positioning lol .....actually smart if you found fish in a particular location but just another reason things will never be able to be organized well. BTW alot easier to notice all this when your not out there fishing but just sitting observing things from shore....

PH

 

[TheBigGuy]

Just happened to be walk'in the Ambleside seawall with family today and observed the cap for 45 min at Suzie breakwater from about 2:00-2:45. 12-15 boats
( inc approx 7 guide boats I know of) I was chuckling to myself because what is often preached is not at all what is done!
All was civil as there weren't a ton of boats BUT there was absolutely no uniform rotation or right rod to shore rotation at all. If anything the most common rotation for the guide boats was to do the eastern turn in the clockwise direction with left rod to shore and turning south and out into deeper water to come back west (as I posted above that I actually prefer if I had my choice). Many actually came back west not on the outer most deepest water position but worked their way west coming in to the middle of the pack that was heading east. This is exactly the opposite of what Jason T was trying to promote recently. I only saw a couple of guide boats do a tack to the east being out deeper and then once just past the light do a counter rotation (turning to north) at the eastern end. This was done by maybe 10-15% of the boats there. Often however these counterclockwise turns required them to go east past the light into closed area to make that counter rotation turn. One particular guide boat was working the inside shallow on both eastern and the western tacks lol... He obviously beleives in both right AND left rod to the shore positioning lol .....actually smart if you found fish in a particular location but just another reason things will never be able to be organized well. BTW alot easier to notice all this when your not out there fishing but just sitting observing things from shore....

PH

I totally agree pea head, I much prefer ed the old traffic pattern as well. It does make far more sense to do your turn out into deeper water. I'm pretty sure I caught more fish with the old pattern, but I guess that probably had a lot to do with the hatchery producing more fish back then as well. Oh well, times change I just go with the flow and hope to catch something besides another guys lines there.

 

[Bows Up]

x3 on the old pattern . That shallow contour was golden and if you hit a fish it seemed easier to get clear of the pack.

 

[bigdogeh]

I always try to go by the adage, "right rod, to rocks (shore)"... seems most go by that i've found. was fishing an area that seems to always goes by that when its busy last couple of summers. was fishing there this fall when it was secluded and a small boat quite far off was coming towards me so i started to veer to the outside away from shore. (his right rod was to the rocks) it was quite obvious I was going out into deep water thinking he'd get that I was going outside. he started to veer in the same direction. so I made an obvious 45 degree to the outside and he countered about 5 seconds later by doing the same. I thought...WTF? as I was the first to initiate the turns. so I make a 90 degree and go straight out from shore thinking he's got to get that message.... and he follows a few seconds later and does the same coming alongside almost hitting me (he would have sunk, lol) . I thought, does he want to talk to me or something? obviously he's not getting the hint he has the right of way to shore. he then starts swearing and asking how long i've been on the water, etc... (kinda funny as he was in a boat that was obviously not even a fishing boat... more a ski boat if anything... ) I countered yelling at him "right rod to the rocks... always the way it's been around here." and i made it clear that I wasn't going to take his crap... he just grumbled after that. I was suprised at how grumpy of an old codger he was. he was actually quite arrogant. I think his friend was a bit embarassed to even be with him as he kept his head down and didn't have anything to say the whole time.... . the guys on my boat just had a good laugh that you can fish all season, in a pack of 50 boats or more quite often, and then almost hit someone on a troll at the end of the busy season when your the only 2 boats in a couple miles of shoreline...
If he would have been the first to initiate going to the outside, possibly (probably) I would have gone against what I try to stick to and stayed inside. by my making obvious moves before he did he could have easily done the same but it seemed he was trying to play chicken with me or something... seemed really weird at the time. i guess it's quite possible maybe he was starting to go senile or something... he did seem a bit "off"....

 

[tubber]

We were fishing Wya in a large pack this summer. The pattern was obvious. I was on the port rigger messing with gear. I looked up and my rod was close to the beach. My friend the skipper, who had never fished there in 50 trips to Ukee was in the cabin steering and there were 10 boats in a line coming at us, so no way to get back outside until we passed them all in a shame-riddled slow troll in about 15 feet so they could maintain their tacks in 40-60. They were surprisingly calm and I was glad we didn't hook a fish or them. One of them gave us **** at the dock. We deserved it and now he knows.

 

[BCTony]

Today with a strong north-westerly wind and swell on top of tide and current was good example of conditions when a clockwise rotation / turn was preferable for the east turn at the Cap. At times it was very difficult to maintain a tack on a contour without being pushed into shallower water. Turning clockwise today at the Cap marker-light meant that the turn was tight and controlled without risk of being pushed into shallower water and risk of downriggers snagging while the very factors that made turning clockwise more comfortable meant that boats were not turning wide out into the shipping channel. While it was not very busy today it seemed that about 90% of boats preferred to make their eastern turn clockwise today.