SOOKE REPORT OCTOBER 2006

[scott craven]

An 8 lb winter spring makes a couple of nice meals for a family
not to mention they taste better than any other salmon....
(sockeye excluded)

 

[DOCKBUSTER]

Was out on Sunday @ 12:30 PM off Church and trolled out to Race Passage. Out about 1 mile from Race Rocks. Got 7 fish in total. 1 wild coho 14 lbs. on anchovie, 2 8 lbs springs on spoon, 2 hatchery coho on spoons and 1 small spring on spoon. All in 4 hours.

 

[Mongoose]

never fished for winter spings before, do they taste better then a a summer spring??

 

[victoriaboater]

Winter is a nice way of saying small.... Taste is 6 and 1/2 dozen the other.

 

[scott craven]

I think the flesh is firmer, and they are usually bright
orange to red in color. Great tasting fish...

 

[Gooey Bob]

What!!!

IMHO, anyone who considers no difference in the taste and texture of a 2 -3 year old winter chinook with a mature summer summer chinook, simply ain't done much winter chinook fishin'!

Maybe part of the reason is we don't tend to freeze the winters (perhaps because their typically diminuitive size lends well to that nights dinner...)but in my humble experience, 100% of the folks who have sampled fresh winter chinook have considered it to be the best salmon they've eaten. I believe its more a texture thing than simply the flavor, but no doubt in my mind - they're simply better!

They're not always smaller either - back in the late 80's at Kingcome Inlet I guided to a 42 lb bullet in early May that had milt sacks smaller than a pencil. Looked like a HUGE shaker!

Gooey

 

[powder]

Since when do you call someone from Japan a Jap? Way to go there lil fella. Without those Japanese people buying our seafood some of us would be out of work! Just a friendly reminder.

 

[wolf]

AAAAWWWWWWW knight inlet in march oh those were the days funny how we call them the good ol days and it was less than 20 years ago!!!!!

And I agree a winter spring is by far the best tasting fish I think its beacuse they feed alot on shrimp. cant mistake the nice musky smell of a spring in your boat...

Wolf

 

[scott craven]

maybe they call us cans ???

 

[Mongoose]

quote: maybe they call us cans

hahhahaahha

 

[LazyDayz]

I was at Trotac & they said that they heard from some fisherman that the coho have are already heading up the rivers at Sooke & Renfrew. Have we missed the boat?[V]

 

[yo mama]

Yep this rain will do it!

 

[Fins -n- Skins]

Lazydays-- George ?? (Chico)

 

[HALILLAMA]

A good source told me today...over 1700 coho,(1500 in 1 hr) and 8 more large springs thru San Juan river fish counting fence today[^]
I'll give it another try on sat..[8D] They can finally taste the fresh water

 

[drhook]

Thats an amazing stat! Must be a sight to see!

 

[saltybeaver]

I wonder how long before they are netted ?

 

[scott craven]

any recent reports on winter springs ?

 

[rockfish99]

spoons or hoochies seem to work, arms length leader. 100 feet or so.

Tried around aldridge point, nothing then went in front of the bedfords in around 250 feet of water and got one 5.5 and one 7 pound spring on Wednesday.

Some of the smaller ones might be legal but they sure are small! the size limits should be raised...

trolled back in by Fraiser Island and didnt' catch any springs...

 

[Last Chance]

Goin to Whirl Bay Sunday morning, will give a report in the afternoon.

 

[codfish]

Fished Sooke today 10 winter springs caught released 6 had one big coho doing acrobatics behind the boat but lost it too bad!!!! Great day on the water nice and flat a little wet though. We'll be out again next weekend.

Cheers Codfish