Vancouver Island Bass Advice

[kimberly saint]

Hi All

After a bit direction and help , I'm visiting from Australia in early Oct this year and am in early stages of planning trip around Vancouver island . Iv researched a small amount info that targeting bass on the island is a viable option ?

iv been to Canada several times as my partner is Canadian , in the past of been lucky enough to tangle with sturgeon and bass over the Ontario side .

My interest in the Bass on this trip comes from my passion for making swimbaits in Australia and i would love to come to Canada and test them out on your countries great fish and even be lucky enough to land few on them .

So my question is mainly based around is a particular part of the island better for bass , and also can any one point kindly point me in the direction of a good guide or business that runs charters for bass on the island ?

Any help will be appreciated , few pictures or our fish back in Australia i chase and few the swimbaits i make to catch them.

Thanks Curt McCartney

 

[Dogbreath]

October the water starts to cool and Bass don't feed nearly as enthusiastically.

Those baits would be excellent for saltwater Rockfish (and Lingcod & Halibut) my advice is to research kayak rentals near where you're staying/see if any are Open at that time and if so work the edges of local Kelp beds to see what bites.

 

[Paperslayer]

The only bass I've seen in BC were smallmouth; I caught them in Quennell Lake near Nanaimo, and in St. Mary Lake on Saltspring Island. None were of spectacular size (all under 25 cm). Granted, I have not fished them in many years.

 

[RBL]

Your best bet might be sea bass which would probably be a lot more fun as they are bigger and your swim bait would work great for them. I’m sure you could find plenty of charter guys willing to take you out targeting them. Port Renfrew or Barkley Sound are both good options

 

[eroyd]

Lots of lakes with Smallmouth bass on southern Vancouver Island. Quennell near Nanaimo, Shawnigan, Langford and most land locked low lying lakes near Victoria. Some Largemouth in Elk/Beaver Lakes near Victoria. Pretty slow fishing for them in the winter but they still get caught. Easy to catch May-Sept.

 

[RalphH]

Provided the weather is good, early October should provide good bass fishing particularly in the late morning to late afternoon. I don't live on the Island but I have fished Shawnigan, St Marys (Saltspring Island) and Quennell. Shawnigan was the best though it's been a few years. I once fished St Marys in early October and did well. Shawnigan has an issue with high speed boat use but by early October that shouldn't be a much of an issue. Shawnigan has bigger bass in my experience. There are other lakes from the Victoria area to Nanaimo that also have smallmouth bass and likely largemouth as well.

 

[Bryan Allen]

https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/sports/a-day-fishing-on-spider-lake-1547293 Old report, but still a good lake for bass and rainbows. Rumour has it that a 9lb smallmouth was caught years back. btw that photo was a 17in rainbow--- not 17lbs ! LOL

 

[RalphH]

Bass I Caught in Shawnigan were up to 3 to 4lbs and I was usually able to find 15 to 17 inch fish. First time I went around Sep 4th I lost a fish that looked much larger- perhaps 6 to 7lbs. Never had a trout shake me like that one. Several leaps then a run that took my line around a pair of submerged boat buoys. I am sure she had done that before. Leader broke. Brannon Lake & Long Lake near Nanaimo also have bass.

 

[eroyd]

A couple of bass from Langford Lk. dredged up a few Decembers ago.