Sooke Reports - Spring and Summer 2012

[Rockfish]

Got out later morning and had one on down 80 feet in 130 feet of water on a red and chrome teaser head and green glow flasher. Was likely in the high teen/low twenty range when we get sealed. The seal try’s the old bite the head off bit, the one where you usually get back the lower or upper jaw and maybe part of the head. Somehow the seal manages to get himself hooked. From there it just got worse.

Turned the boat and chased him down as the 40 lb main line and 50 lb leader was not wanting to break off. The seal then dragged the line under the boat and gets it caught in the kicker prop which takes a fair bit of line off the reel and winds it around the prop before we can shut down the kicker. At least it cuts the seal loose.

With the kicker way out on the Pod we only manage to get a little of the line off with a long gaff. Even with all the line wrapped around it, the kicker kept working for the rest of the day and later at the dock we were able to get what we think was all of it off. I am a little worried we could have damaged the shaft seal and hope that is not the case. If we end up with water in the leg oil we will know what caused it.

Ran out of bait with a lot of short bites etc. so switched over to glow hootchies and got one down 40 feet in 73 feet of water (they do work). Good fight and when we got back to the dock it weighed in at 33lbs on the marina scale. Our first tyee in the last two years and we saved getting skunked. Beautiful calm day out their today and a pleasant change from yesterdays wind and waves.

Back out tomorrow am for a few hours.

 

[Discus]

The wire voltage I'm referring to is the voltage on the downrigger wire........

Doesn't sound like your anchovy is rigged right.

The treble hook should be basically just behind the fin on the back of the anchovy.....and it should be about halfway down the side of the anchovy (or just where the dark upper skin meets the lighter belly skin).

Then you pull it up so there is a bit of a curve in the anchovy. You use a toothpick in the teaser head where the line goes through......that way the line can't slip and screw up your curve.

The wires that I mentioned:- one end affixes to a hole in the teaser head and you run the wire down through the anchovy so it is hidden. Then you bend it to the curve you like.

There are ways to achieve different rolls....depending on where you put the treble hook and also what kind of curve you have in the body of the anchovy.

A slight bend up front with a bit of a pronounced "kick out" at the tail end will give you a tighter roll.

A mild eliptical "C-bend" will give you a classic rotating roll.

Have a look at the You-Tube David Murphy videos.

Google "How To rig An Anchovy".

I saw it. I should buy the wire. I will try with that.

Thanks for your advise and tip.

Duncan

 

[Chaos]

How about a discus " How to fish thread", personally I would like to see fishing reports.

 

[drilleryells]

Out from 11 to 2.00, Started at Otter and went West, got one 77 ft off the Rigger in 150 ft. of Water, Betsy and Bait, biggest fish of the year so far, pushing 30Lbs, Fat Golden Pig. Hooked in the Lower Jaw with the Trailer so it was an easy release , got one more before the Whales came through. Good Day Driller

 

[Lipripper]

Sounds like driller wins Sooke for today ... Pretty slow from what I hear

 

[Saxe Point]

Sounds like driller wins Sooke for today ... Pretty slow from what I hear

It was. Fished Sheringham for a while and then all the way back to Otter Point. Just a few shakers and only saw one fish caught that looked like it was in the low teens. Tons of boats all the way to Sheringham. At the dock, others said it was slow as well. Beautiful day to be on the water, although it got a little rough later in the day.

 

[Discus]

how is fishing at Shack Trap?

 

[profisher]

Definitely slower today..got a 10 pound spring right off the bat then quiet...so left the flotilla at Muir and powered up to Point No Point. A long run only to find out that some non-local commi crab guys have flooded the prime fishing tack with gear. It was almost impossible to see the floats when travelling east with the flood because of bright sun glare. Only stayed for one pass and decided that Otter might be worth a try. Turned out to be a decent move with a 13 and 26 1/2 to top up the days catch. K pod and a decent show at Muir at 2pm so we watched then called it day.

 

[Lipripper]

Driller still beat you.......

 

[Saxe Point]

Does anyone run from Sooke to Renfrew to fish for the day when weather is good? It's about a 30 mile run and if, calm, could be done in an hour or so. Just wondering.

 

[Lipripper]

Totally possible and not hard to do..

Just bring $$

 

[profisher]

Have done it before, 1.5 hrs from Sooke Harbour to Owen Pt in good weather. Its exactly half way to Bamfield which I've done before as well when I used to work up there every August. Longest Sooke to Bamfield was 5.5 hrs in some serious weather and only time i wasn't that comfortable on the water as I was all alone...no other boats the whole way.

 

[Saxe Point]

Totally possible and not hard to do..

Just bring $$

Yeah, I estimate that the best case for me would be 25 gallons for the return trip and some trolling, probably closer to 30. Does anyone do it, or do they they just haul their boats to Renfrew?

 

[Saxe Point]

Have done it before, 1.5 hrs from Sooke Harbour to Owen Pt in good weather. Its exactly half way to Bamfield which I've done before as well when I used to work up there every August. Longest Sooke to Bamfield was 5.5 hrs in some serious weather and only time i wasn't that comfortable on the water as I was all alone...no other boats the whole way.

Can you get the coast guard on VHF once you are past Point No Point and all the way up to Renfrew? I'd like to make the trip by boat some day when the weather is favourable. Double Eagle 16 too small?

 

[profisher]

The Coast Guard have repeaters all the way up the coast so Tofino will pick you up on the west coast...we can reach Tofino when we are in Nootka as well. Your boat is fine in good weather. Before GPS was common equipment I used to follow the 30 fathom mark on my sounder as I ran due west. This keeps you far enough offshore if there is fog that you don't have to worry about the shore jumping out of the fog at you. On a good day there will be boat traffic out there with you if you have mechanical problems so not a big deal to run up. Once your past Jordon River you usually loose the winds if any that are common inside the straits. While you loose the wind at Jordon River you will start to feel the roll of the open ocean.

 

[Saxe Point]

The Coast Guard have repeaters all the way up the coast so Tofino will pick you up on the west coast...we can reach Tofino when we are in Nootka as well. Your boat is fine in good weather. Before GPS was common equipment I used to follow the 30 fathom mark on my sounder as I ran due west. This keeps you far enough offshore if there is fog that you don't have to worry about the shore jumping out of the fog at you. On a good day there will be boat traffic out there with you if you have mechanical problems so not a big deal to run up. Once your past Jordon River you usually loose the winds if any that are common inside the straits. While you loose the wind at Jordon River you will start to feel the roll of the open ocean.

Thanks for the info Rollie. I've been to Nootka for the last 3 years and I know you can get Tofino CG there, so it's good to know that you can pick them or Victoria up all the way along. Also good to hear there are usually other boats along the way. I'm going to give it a whirl on a good day. I love the exploring as much as the fishing! Any good fishing spots along the way, or is it best just to head for the usual spots around Renfrew?

 

[drilleryells]

Sounds like driller wins Sooke for today ... Pretty slow from what I hear

I was out on Friday close to where Rolie was and all I got to show for it was two empty Gas Cans so..... out again tomorrow.... early

 

[Theb55]

Watching the fish come into Sooke Harbour today as I worked on my boat. A few did not get hookups but almost everyone else had at least one. 33 was the largest I was aware of, most were teens. A good fishing in spite of rough water.

 

[Lipripper]

Totally Right?

How did you do HF?... Hope you didn't take my advice.........

 

[tigerprawn]

The Battle

Was off Possession Point this morning and it looked to be slow for springs. Our first was a nice hatchery coho. I was just baiting up and about to send it back down and the the other rod took off. I passed off the rod to a buddy from Nitinat Hatchery and felt like a nice fish. It took a nice run and I set the boat in neutral and I saw the fish make a roll and went down again. It started to screem out line and you know what I was thinking dam Seal. I was not about to loose my gear so I stayed on it. It popped up with the fish 18lber and down again. I stayed on him and he came up again. This went on for about twenty minutes and finally he came up beside the boat with its back to us let go the fish. I grabbed the net and got the fish and all my gear.

So if you got the time don't give up, it can pay off. The fish was it good shape and the only marks were on the tail. The best fight all year.