First Tyee of the year in Vancouver....

[fishin_magician]

Just finished chatting one of my charter boat buddies who charters locally. They departed early this morning at first light and headed out to the Slash.

They trolled around uneventfully for the first hour having a good hit, but nothing that stuck. After another half an hour they had just finished making a turn and then it hit.

After a 25 minute battle..it was in the box..the guest was aghast at what he saw...the biggest fish he had ever landed. On the dock it measured 33 lbs. It was BRIGHT chrome said the guide.

Details of the catch are that it was hit about 830 am, on a Big Shooter 11" flasher with a long leader to a 5" anchovy.

Depth was at 90 feet.

For the duration of the trip they hit 2 undersize springs on a gypsy florescent glo green spoon and lost one other possible keeper to a seal.

Guess where I'm going to be fishing tomorrow? Looks like it's gonna be windy..DARN!

I knew I shoulda called in sick today! DOH!

 

[scott craven]

that's a big spring for this time of the year...
i remember a few years back an old timer got a 40lb
spring in february off Victoria waterfront.
Those big boys should start increasing in numbers soon.

 

[nedarb2]

wasnt a 46?? cought off sidney last winter

 

[fishin_magician]

That's a pretty decent sized fish.

I know that a 37 and a 44 were caught locally last year by one charter firm in May last year.

A year ago February there was a Tyee caught in the same general area.

I had a couple of screamers on in the general area of where that fish was caught last weekend, but I was much much further offshore than he was.

These fish are moving by at this time of year..it's just intercepting them that is hard as there isn't much for bait around to slow them down---and these fish are MOVING fast by the area if they're not terminal fish---but I think they could be.

From my conversation with the guide, yesterday's fish was as pretty as any he's seen in the Charlottes. That's a trophy for down here.



Anyways..

 

[fishin_magician]

Looks like the Fraser fish are here...

Almost the year's 2nd TYEE for Vancouver. It went 29 lbs and was a WHITE spring...likely an early Howe Sound fish.

Just had a phone call from my acquaintance who was out doing a trip this afternoon. He works for the same firm. He had a 2 pax from Australia out for a 5 hour charter. It started out plenty rough but nevertheless they trooped on fishing the outside of the bay. Making a pass from the Bell Buoy to towards the QA. They made a couple of passes off Spanish Banks and managed 2 undersize about 12" long. So they prompted decided to pull up lines and move after Sally the Seal decided she'd follow the boat for a good half hour. Sucks when there's no one out there.

So they ran almost half way to the QA and dropped lines.

After a half hour of NOTHING, the water was finally calming down, and then they got it. JERK JERK JERK on the rod. He ran down to the rod and popped it off and reeling down to the clip and popped it off and then reeled down to the fish and slammed the hook into the fish. It didn't even budge! The fish kinda sat there for a second and did some head shakes, and the guest had the rod in his hands. Then it promptly took out a short run of 50 yards, stopped, lots of headshakes, then took off and burned out all kinds of line. He knew it was a good fish.

Finally 15 minutes later with all the gear out of the water and riggers up, they netted the fish. It went 29lbs on the scale, was a WHITE and a male.

The fish was caught on a 5 inch anchovy on a 7 foot leader behind a flasher. The colour of the teaser head was Chrome/Blue. Magic depth? 75 feet.

The finished off the trip about an hour later with a nice 11 lb Red Feeder caught on a PUNK SKUNK Gibbs Gypsy Spoon.

Sounds like fishing is decent here with a 33lber caught on Friday, a 19 lber from the weekend, and now a 29 pounder today. This has to be the best biggest fish April/Early May in years around Vancouver that I can remember.

Gotta get out fishin!

 

[scott craven]

Unconfirmed at this point, but reports of a 48lb spring
taken off the kelp bed at Pedder bay last night.
there was a 43lb spring trolled up there last week.

now those are serious fish !

 

[fishin_magician]

Hey! Those are some pretty serious fish!

Got another Vancouver fishing report. I spoke to the owner of another local firm this morning (Friday) and he did ok..his boats got a couple of keepers. 9 lbs and 11 lbs. His guides caught the fish on spoons. Glo Flow Coyotes and Purple Haze Hootchies! Although another boat had a nice fish on a Mongoose Coyote but they never saw it..it took out a nice run of line, and it was the guides opinion that it was no 10 pounder. Interestingly, the fish hit while he was lowering the rigger and the counter was at 80 feet when the fish hit, and it was on the bottom rod. The focus in area he says was on the "outside" of the bay in deep water, well offshore.

Depths remain the same, although this morning they were a bit deeper, with 100 feet being the shallowest hit.

He also heard an unconfirmed report of another guide boat that was on the water and had 5 keepers at 160 feet deep in the vicinity, however he reportedly caught them "offshore" but were fishing away from the rest of the boats towards Pt. Atkinson.

Sounds like these feeder springs and the odd "big" fish are around out there mixed in, and it's great, because basically there's next to NOBODY on the water around Vancouver.

It's always good fishing around Vancouver after it blows Northwest for a few days...

Gotta get out on the water....Tomorrow..and that's where I'll be!!!!!!!!! Time for bed.