the grinch
Active Member
Just wondering if anyone jigs for salmon in the winter around Howe Sound/Bowen? All i do us jig in the summer (have no down riggers and always do very well in the summer). Anyone have success jigging?
Jigging For Salmon in Winter
- Thread starter the grinch
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the grinch
Active Member
Yeah but I see many screen shots of sounders with fush at 100-120… totally reachable. I went out a few weeks ago, found a school and bait with some fish around 80-90. Got a good hit but wasn’t really paying attention. Gonna go out again, give it a shot and let you all know!
Deepaaaar
Well-Known Member
Quite a few of us kayak fishers jig for winter fish over in Sooke. We have a fair bit of structure that concentrates the fish on the right tides, so jigging can be really effective. This time of year it's usually 100-150', but I was out yesterday and had a bit of action between 60-80' first thing in the morning at the start of the ebb. I'm not sure what the structure is like over there, but if you can determine where the bait might get pushed up or hung up, you should be able to jig with success. Winter fish are awesome - they'll take most things enthusiastically.
the grinch
Active Member
I will give it a shot and report back!
Tinny
Well-Known Member
It can probably be done but the main problem I see is that if you get anywhere close to the bottom you are just as likely to to hook a rockfish or lingcod which are off limits in Howe Sound year round. I tried once at a rarely fished spot that can produce nice winters as I saw a bait ball at 100' in 140'. Dropped to 110' (colour coded braid) to purposely stay off the bottom, jigged up and at about 50' the rod bends over. Unfortunately it was a big ling that took a bit of work to release undamaged. I put away the jigging rod and started trolling again.
the grinch
Active Member
Tomorrow I am going to try HITW and around Grace Islands. I’ve lots of days finding and jigging around structure (it’s all I’ve done last five years) I have a selection of MacFish, Anchovy, needlefish jigs in a few colors, I will report on day’s events!
the grinch
Active Member
I’ll stay off bottom, use barbless hook. Should be ok.
Deepaaaar
Well-Known Member
Awesome, good luck! I'm hoping to head out to jig myself. Good tide and nice wind forecast out of Sooke. I haven't used anything but a white needlefish jig all season and it's been good.
the grinch
Active Member
How do you fare jigging in the winter? I would like to think it shouldn’t be much different than summer and that I should have the same results, but?
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Deepaaaar
Well-Known Member
Actually, I find jigging quite effective in the winter. The fish are pretty much always on the bottom (no need for a line counter), and they seem to be fairly predictable where I am. It's just a matter of finding the right depth each day, but the fish follow fairly similar patterns with the tides. It's not quite the same in that I don't go searching for bait balls, usually, but I'll look for bits of bait near the bottom and paddle around until I see marks.
That said, it varies a LOT from season to season. Last year was really difficult. This year has been great.
the grinch
Active Member
Well tried jigging at. HITW and arbutus tree. Two solid hits but no fish. Lots marking on sonar but none in boat. Tried Grace but nada. Three boats there, nothing from what I saw.
Deepaaaar
Well-Known Member
I struck out yesterday as well. First time I've been skunked since early November. It was a strange current, though - flooding on top and ebbing underneath - which made jigging difficult. I heard it picked up an hour after I got off the water. Classic.
TONS of herring around, though. Cool to see.
the grinch
Active Member
I got my two hits at around 4:30, 10 minutes apart.
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