Halibut fishing near sooke

[sudsy]

Hopefully someone can help me out here, i am trying to get out this year and try for some halibut around sooke. I will be mooring at sooke harbour marina so dont wana drive too far, maybe farthest west is sheringham point. I just got a 400' anchor setup built by trevor at trotac, i do derstand how to set it up and retrieve and plan on playing around with it a bit until im comfortable with it prior to attempting fishing.

Can anyone pm me some lat/long for spots to halibut fish?

Im new to this so hopfully someoen can point me to the rig direction, i have a lowrance elite 5 chartplotter combo so was hopinh someone can send me some areas they have been successful.

Also, i bought the current atlas and murray tables and have been spending a lot of time educating myself about the currents in the area, can anyone tell me some murray #'s that they have been succesful with or plan there trips around so i can highlight them on my tables and try fishing those tides.

Thanks in advance
Sudsy

 

[GDW]

You gotta get out for few trips and try on your own before you ask for somebodys spot dont ya? Youll probably find your own spot and not need to ask for someone else to spoon feed you the lat/long.

there is more then enough info on this forum to get you started. Good luck!

 

[Chero]

You can try the Sooke bluffs from 100 ft and deeper for Hali but guys are usually trolling for salmon at 120 to 150 ft of water.

 

[peetz]

Its very simple .... just look for the scotchmen .... its a dead give away ...

 

[Rockfish]

Its very simple .... just look for the scotchmen .... its a dead give away ...

Ah yes the high speed buzz pass or slow speed salmon fishing troll pass and wave -- and a quick icon click on the Chart Plotter and you will have a collection of spots in no time. Generally best to stay out of lead weight throwing range and not get fouled in their lines or anchor rope. Don't expect them to be happy when they come up on you the next day sitting on their spot.

 

[ChoveyRoller]

Its very simple .... just look for the scotchmen .... its a dead give away ...

Keep in mind that just because someone is fishing there doesn't mean it's a good hali spot by any means.
The most rewarding spots are the ones you find on your own.
Good luck!

 

[peetz]

Ah yes the high speed buzz pass or slow speed salmon fishing troll pass and wave -- and a quick icon click on the Chart Plotter and you will have a collection of spots in no time. Generally best to stay out of lead weight throwing range and not get fouled in their lines or anchor rope. Don't expect them to be happy when they come up on you the next day sitting on their spot.

I myself have never done the click of the GPS .... but when you have a bunch of boats sitting i one general area ... is what i am saying .... but if you look at your GPS ... it will show you the humps and bumps

 

[sudsy]

Thanks for the replies so far, i appreciate any help i can get. I dont expect people to give me there honey holes but a good starting place to safely anchor and get some lines in the water would be nice. Il definetly be trying off the bluffs, what is the max current i should attemp hali fishing? Looking at the murrays tables i see alot of tides in the 1-1.5knots, is that do able at the bluffs or muir creek area?

Thanks again

 

[Dave S]

I don't drop anchor in more than 2 knots current. Drop your gear 1.5-2 hrs before a slack. Helps spread the scent. Off the trailer park in 240-280'. That's all I got for ya.

 

[Rockfish]

Thanks for the replies so far, i appreciate any help i can get. I dont expect people to give me there honey holes but a good starting place to safely anchor and get some lines in the water would be nice. Il definetly be trying off the bluffs, what is the max currant i should attemp hali fishing? Looking at the murrays tables i see alot of tides in the 1-1.5knots, is that do able at the bluffs or muir creek area?

Thanks again

I have seen boats anchored all over that area and west to the point. I have caught Hali trolling for salmon on the bottom just west of the Bluffs in about 140 feet.

I am assuming you have deep water anchored before and know what you are doing and how those systems work. If not, take someone with you who has a lot of experience at it and learn from them. It looks easy but is one of the more dangerous things you can do sport fishing if you get it wrong, especially if the current is too strong or you stay to long. Everthing from wraping your anchor line around the prop, flooding, capsizing or drifiting into the rig of another anchored boat if you are too close.

 

[sudsy]

I don't drop anchor in more than 2 knots current. Drop your gear 1.5-2 hrs before a slack. Helps spread the scent. Off the trailer park in 240-280'. That's all I got for ya.

Thanks for the info dave,
Sudsy

 

[wolf]

You cant really fish properly fish in a 2 kt current unless you use downriggers or if you like to have your gear out 800 ft but hey different strokes .... most ill ever fish in is a 1kt current. look for slacks and tide changes with WEAK movements. I have said many time on here if your not experienced in anchoring please dont do it on your own to many things can happen, Ive been doing it now over 20 plus years and still very very cautious. soo many factors can go wrong heard of about 5 systems lost over the week already of too strong of current.
if you want call me and we can chat and set something up and ill help you ok.

wolf

 

[sudsy]

You cant really fish properly fish in a 2 kt current unless you use downriggers or if you like to have your gear out 800 ft but hey different strokes .... most ill ever fish in is a 1kt current. look for slacks and tide changes with WEAK movements. I have said many time on here if your not experienced in anchoring please dont do it on your own to many things can happen, Ive been doing it now over 20 plus years and still very very cautious. soo many factors can go wrong heard of about 5 systems lost over the week already of too strong of current.
if you want call me and we can chat and set something up and ill help you ok.

wolf

Thanks wolf, definetly will be looking to get out with someone experienced, i tried organizing some guys to go out with you to learn how to hali fish but couldnt get enough guys together, if you can slip an extra guy in on any if your trips let me know, or if anyone on here who is experienced wants to come out with me on my boat and show me the ropes, let me know that would be great.


One thing i have noticed is my murray charts that i have dont seem to match up with big wave dave, so either which one do i trust? I am looking at big wave at sooke for tides and current, also, i looked at the online murray tables that someone posted on here (http://www.epiphyte.ca/proj/currents) and they dont match up with the murray tables i bought at trotac, definetly confusing....


Some tides show an ebb but water surging east( which i would think is a flood) and vice versa, definetly some weird stuff going on out there, i can see how people can get into trouble

Looking at my murray table, am i wrong to think that this weekend (saturday 23rd) a good window to hali fish would be between 10am-2pm?

My trotac tables say charts#16,17,18,19,20 (10am-2pm)
The online charts say #42,17,18,18,19 (10am-2pm)

Im referencing the current atlas for juan de fuca straight - straight of georgia

Big wave dave shows an ebb from 0800-1530 at sooke.....

My murray tables show currents from west to east most of the ebb...is this actually true, in my head on the ebb tide it should be moving the opposite direction?

Thanks for all the help so far everyone,

 

[reelfast]

there are a couple of wonderful apps for smart phones that include hundreds of reporting stations, thats real time, all over JDF. tides are interesting, but is the currents you should be paying attention too. i have to agree, >1knot, come back tomorrow.

 

[scott craven]

Looking at my murray table, am i wrong to think that this weekend (saturday 23rd) a good window to hali fish would be between 10am-2pm?

No you're not wrong , maybe even longer , I think it will be closer to 4:00 pm
before the ebb gets too strong...

 

[sudsy]

Im planning on heading out fishing for halibut tomorrow, can anyone confirm the a good window for currents is between 12-2pm? Just want to make sure im readingmy murray tables correctly.

Thanks

Sudsy

 

[TheSookesOfHazzard]

Im planning on heading out fishing for halibut tomorrow, can anyone confirm the a good window for currents is between 12-2pm? Just want to make sure im readingmy murray tables correctly.

Thanks

Sudsy

Yes, 12-2 could be fish-able (and safe) depending where you are. The farther west you go, the better it will be. Anywhere east of Race will be a small window indeed.

 

[sudsy]

Yes, 12-2 could be fish-able (and safe) depending where you are. The farther west you go, the better it will be. Anywhere east of Race will be a small window indeed.

Thanks for the reply, i was planning on fishing just off sooke bluffs around 180' mark, still getting the hang of my gear, and want to make sure im not going out during the wrong conditions.