Lost, confused and Now Scared

[Cut Plug]

Thanks for the great info Blake, it’s a 23 foot Campion and I was hoping to go out early, take my kid over to Newcastle for a few hours and then try and see what the weather brings late in the afternoon. I imagine Northumberland/Dodds channel will be the same.
I got caught last year coming back through Dodds and it wasn’t fun travelling at 5 knots, should have bought a bigger boat
Windy App shows 10-15 knots, maybe I will take your advice and drive to Ladysmith and find a boat launch, hopefully the flags aren’t flying
Thanks again for the awesome advice from this forum, The Best !

Also remember that in these tricky times for salmon abundance vis a vis different productivity for different runs that complicated regs are what keeps us fishing. It does involve more effort to understand what you can do, but way better than being off the water IMHO.

 

[Dgsafe]

Also remember that in these tricky times for salmon abundance vis a vis different productivity for different runs that complicated regs are what keeps us fishing. It does involve more effort to understand what you can do, but way better than being off the water IMHO.

I agree, plus the fact that I own a security company that DFO and Pacific Salmon Foundation are my customers, it wouldn’t be good to get busted for doing something wrong either, not good ethics lol
Thanks

 

[Dgsafe]

2 Things. First, Yes it can seem overwhelming at first with all the restrictions but it is your responsibility to know the rules in the area you are going to fish. Good on you for asking for help. Area 17(Nanaimo) is pretty straight forward, one chinook hatch or non 62-80cm 1 per person. Measure those on a gaff or stick and mark with tape, then when you pull the fish up to the boat you can try and get an eyeball with your measuring stick in the water before netting. Also the measurement is from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail, not the ends of the tail. There is pretty much zero coho around so 99% chance if you catch a salmon right now it will be a chinook. Look up the Identify Your Catch- Salmon on the dfo site, take screen shots if you want quick access. Black mouth with sharp teeth and spots on the tail are the biggest identifiers, also if it starts pulling line off your reel its probably a chinook lol.

Second, The weather. The area you want to go is going to be hit with 15-25knot NW winds from Sat morning to most likely Monday or Tuesday due to the high pressure ridge building up. Im not sure what size boat you have but i would HIGHLY recommend you dont go out in anything close to that. Unfortunately there is really nowhere to hide and fish from the nw winds. If you still want to get out I would suggest launching from Ladysmith and do some gulf island cruising and maybe drop a line by Tent Island.

I run a charter out of Nanaimo (Unreel Charters), if you want any more info feel free to PM me or you can text me at 250-802-3816, I am out most days right now.
Blake

Hi Blake, what is the boat launch in Ladysmith like? Trying to find out as much information before I make the trek from Nanoose Bay

 

[Brett83]

How about area 17-1 17-2. I went last Saturday and it seemed like a good location. I have no area knowledge, we drove to were it was legal and dropped line and got two.

 

[sly_karma]

For the life of me, I don't understand in this day and age of communication why DFO could not arrange a web site where all you had to know was the area number of where you were planning to fish.
You would then enter that area number and see all the up to date information for ALL the rules for ALL species of fish, retention, annual, size limits, closures and speed limits. AND update it regularly with current information.

<puts hand up>
I know exactly why they don't do this: because it moves the responsibility to them. Any issues with the aggregation process in the software would have to be owned by DFO. For anyone working in government it would be sheer terror to be asked, "Is it legal for to me keep this fish in this location?" Far easier for the angler to be held completely responsible.

 

[Unreel]

Hi Blake, what is the boat launch in Ladysmith like? Trying to find out as much information before I make the trek from Nanoose Bay

It’s decent, not as big or updated like Brechin but 2 launch lanes and docks. Probably be bonkers this weekend but what launch won’t be. I used to launch my 2470 there often when I didn’t have a slip in Nanaimo and wanted to run to Thetis, Decourcy or other islands.

 

[Dgsafe]

It’s decent, not as big or updated like Brechin but 2 launch lanes and docks. Probably be bonkers this weekend but what launch won’t be. I used to launch my 2470 there often when I didn’t have a slip in Nanaimo and wanted to run to Thetis, Decourcy or other islands.

Yea, seems to be getting like that all over, maybe try to hit Ladysmith really early , beat the rush, just checked the marine forecast for Nanaimo, RED all over now
My wife’s kid coming over to go out on the boat, now what are we going to do?

 

[baddogg]

Don't forget it is bath tub weekend. Lots of boats and crazies will be on the water and at the launches.

 

[RiverBoy]

my favorite is when you are on the dfo website and you go to an area and you study up on the salmon sizes and retention etc and it reminds you to check the “restrictions” for that area; and the restrictions contradict what it states on the original page…..

so which one is the law?!

 

[Northdogboy]

I would go to the island fisherman magazine site and order the salmon I.D. guide card and the rockfish I.D. card. Both are laminated and ez to read. Or fined a buddy who knows the area to go with you a few times till you get more comfortable.

 

[Decks]

Perfectly honestly phased question that highlights how our government has turned a simple process into an excercise so complex it needs fishers to have a Phd in Astrophysics and Interpretive Dance. We need spreadsheets to understand sub area nuances, different lengths by species,clipped not clipped, non binary dates, last minute changes, no barbs but ok from ground fish, RCA’s, Resident Orca no fish zones, surfline restrictions on the west coast and so on. All engineered to scare people and encourage them to stop fishing. I would take any fine to court and challenge DFO if they ever issued me anything. Don’t break rules but I understand your frustration in keeping fish. It’s confusing.

This is 100% spot on. Obviously serious fishermen know the rules like the back of their hand for the areas they fish but for the casual sporty or even worse someone out for their once a year take my lake boat out because they hear fishing is hot boater it's an absolute nightmare to figure out.

End result is casual fishers feeling like they are constantly breaking the law when they go out.

For the OP Brandos link to the downloadable summary is IMO the easiest way to understand the rules for your area. Click the Salmon tab in Area 17 and then the link for Chinook management measures and closures. Why they label it this way I have no idea.

 

[Bryan Allen]

For the life of me, I don't understand in this day and age of communication why DFO could not arrange a web site where all you had to know was the area number of where you were planning to fish.
You would then enter that area number and see all the up to date information for ALL the rules for ALL species of fish, retention, annual, size limits, closures and speed limits. AND update it regularly with current information.

Sorry-- but you have to understand that with DFO regs-- they dont ( Communications Branch, DOJ etc ) care as long as they meet the minimum requirement for posting. Bouncing an angler all over the DFO website is NOT their problem. I have talked to Fisheries Officers that are just as concerned as we are about the lack of openness and ease of use , but they have to try to figure them out too.

 

[Bryan Allen]

my favorite is when you are on the dfo website and you go to an area and you study up on the salmon sizes and retention etc and it reminds you to check the “restrictions” for that area; and the restrictions contradict what it states on the original page…..

so which one is the law?!

So why cant they keep everything that is current on one web page-- see my other comment on this.

 

[Prawn Hub]

bring it up with leri.davies@dfo-mpo.gc.ca the communications professional for dfo in the pacific. But she might be too busy sending out 4 tweets a day....